J Moeyersons

Human impact on the environment in the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands¿a state of the art

Abstract This review analyses the environmental evolution of the Ethiopian highlands in the late Quaternary. The late Pleistocene (20,000–12,000 14C years BP) was cold and dry, with (1) low lake levels in the Rift Valley, (2) large debris fans on the flanks of Lake Abhe basin, and (3) the Blue Nile transporting coarse bedload. Then, a period with abundant and less seasonal rains existed between 11,500 and 4800 14C years BP, as suggested by increased arboreal pollen, high river and lake levels, low river turbidities and soil formation. Around 5000–4800 14C years BP, there was a shift to more arid conditions and more soil erosion. Many phenomena that were previously interpreted as climate-driven might, however, well be of anthropic origin. Thick sediment deposits on pediments as well as an increase of secondary forest, scrub and ruderal species in pollen diagrams are witnesses of this human impact. One important aspect of the late Quaternary palaeoenvironment is unclear: changes in Nile flow discharges and Rift Valley lake levels have been linked to changes in precipitation depth. Most authors do not take into account changes in land use in the highlands, nor changes in the seasonality of rain, both of which can lead to a change in runoff coefficients. Tufa and speleothem deposition around 14,000 years ago tend to indicate that at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), conditions might have been wetter than generally accepted. The most important present-day geomorphic processes are sheet and rill erosion throughout the country, gullying in the highlands, and wind erosion in the Rift Valley and the peripheral lowlands. Based on existing sediment yield data for catchments draining the central and northern Ethiopian highlands, an equation was developed allowing to assess area-specific sediment yields: SY =2595A −0.29 (n=20; r 2 =0.59) where SY=area-specific sediment yield (t km−2 year−1), and A=drainage area (km2). With respect to recent environmental changes, temporal rain patterns, apart from the catastrophic impact of dry years on the degraded environment, cannot explain the current desertification in the driest parts of the country and the accompanying land degradation elsewhere. Causes are changing land use and land cover, which are expressions of human impact on the environment. Deforestation over the last 2000–3000 years was probably not a linear process in Ethiopia. Studies on land use and land cover change show, however, a tendency over the last decades of increasing removal of remnant vegetation, which is slowed down or reversed in northern Ethiopia by a set-aside policy. Ongoing land degradation requires urgent action at different levels of society. Soil and water conservation (SWC) structures are now widely implemented. Local knowledge and farmers initiatives are integrated with introduced SWC techniques at various degrees. Impact assessments show clear benefits of the soil conservation measures in controlling runoff and soil erosion. In high rain areas, runoff management requires greater emphasis during the design of soil conservation structures. In such areas, investment in SWC might not be profitable at farm level, although benefits for society are positive. This pleads in favour of public support. The present land degradation in the Ethiopian highlands has a particular origin, which includes poverty and lack of agricultural intensification. Causes of these are to be found in the nature of past and present regional social relations as well as in international unequal development. This review strengthens our belief that, under improved socio-economic conditions, land husbandry can be made sustainable, leading to a reversal of the present desertification and land degradation of the Ethiopian highlands.

The Early to Middle Stone Age transition and the emergence of modern human behaviour at site 8-B-11, Sai Island, Sudan

Site 8-B-11 at Sai Island in northern Sudan is a stratified site containing late Middle and early Upper Pleistocene occupation levels in excellent conditions of preservation. In Middle Pleistocene times, the banks of a small gully were repeatedly occupied by human groups leaving Acheulean and Sangoan material cultures in an interstratified pattern. Optical age determinations on aeolian intercalations within the gully sediments range between 220 and 150 ka. This sequence is truncated by Nile floodplain silts in which three occupation levels with Lupemban-related Nubian Complex assemblages (Van Peer, 1998) are stratified. The long archaeological sequence at 8-B-11 is a rare African case to document the Early to Middle Stone Age transition by means of primary context situations in direct stratigraphic super-position (Clark, 2001; Tryon & McBrearty, 2002). In contrast to the Acheulean, the early MSA Sangoan levels show sophisticated behaviours involving considerable technological and symbolic investment. Quartzite cobbles were used in the grinding of vegetal materials. Yellow and red ochre were exploited and ground to pigments using shaped mortars and selected chert nodules. We conclude that 8-B-11 is a key site with regard to the initial emergence of modern human behaviour outside subsaharan Africa (McBrearty Brooks, 2000).

Desertification? Northern Ethiopia re-photographed after 140 years

A collection of sepia photographs, taken during Great Britains military expedition to Abyssinia in 1868, are the oldest landscape photographs from northern Ethiopia, and have been used to compare the status of vegetation and land management 140 years ago with that of contemporary times. Thirteen repeat landscape photographs, taken during the dry seasons of 1868 and 2008, were analyzed for various environmental indicators and show a significant improvement of vegetation cover. New eucalypt woodlands, introduced since the 1950s are visible and have provided a valuable alternative for house construction and fuel-wood, but more importantly there has also been locally important natural regeneration of indigenous trees and shrubs. The situation in respect to soil and water conservation measures in farmlands has also improved. According to both historical information and measured climatic data, rainfall conditions around 1868 and in the late 19th century were similar to those of the late 20th/early 21st century. Furthermore, despite a ten-fold increase in population density, land rehabilitation has been accomplished over extensive areas by large-scale implementation of reforestation and terracing activities, especially in the last two decades. In some cases repeat photography shows however that riparian vegetation has been washed away. This is related to river widening in recent degradation periods, particularly in the 1970s-1980s. More recently, riverbeds have become stabilized, and indicate a decreased runoff response. Environmental recovery programmes could not heal all scars, but this study shows that overall there has been a remarkable recovery of vegetation and also improved soil protection over the last 140 years, thereby invalidating hypotheses of the irreversibility of land degradation in semi-arid areas. In a highly degraded environment with high pressure on the land, rural communities were left with no alternative but to improve land husbandry: in northern Ethiopia such interventions have been demonstrably successful.

The environmental significance of the remobilisation of ancient mass movements in the Atbara–Tekeze headwaters, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract Old landslides are prominent features in the landscape around Hagere Selam, Tigray Highlands, Ethiopia. The available evidence suggests their Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene age and conditions of soil humidity. The affected geological layers, often silicified lacustrine deposits prone to sliding, rest upon or above the water holding Amba Aradam sandstone aquifer. Three examples of present-day (remobilisation of old) mass movements are illustrated and discussed. The aims of the study were to unravel the environmental conditions of the present-day remobilisation of ancient flows, as well as those of first-time landslides. The first two mass movements discussed are slumps, located in areas with vigorous regeneration of (grassy) vegetation. Their activation is thought to be the consequence of an increase in infiltration capacity of the soils under regenerating vegetation. One of these slumps had a horizontal movement of the order of 10–20 m in 1 day. The other case is the remobilisation of the May Ntebteb debris flow below the Amba Aradam sandstone cliff. The debris flow presently creeps downslope at a rate of 3–6 cm year−1. Palynological evidence from tufa shows that the reactivation of the flow started 70 years ago. Shear resistance measurements indicate the danger for continuous or prefailure creep. From the soil mechanics point of view, the reactivation of the debris flow is due to the combination of two factors: (1) the reduction of flow confining pressures as a result of gully incision over the last hundred years, and (2) the increase of seepage pressure as a consequence of the cumulative effect of this incision and the increase in infiltration rates on the lobe since grazing and woodcutting have been prohibited 8 years ago. The role of such exclosures as possible landslide triggers is discussed. From the geomorphological point of view, the ancient movements and their present-day reactivation cannot be compared: the ancient movements led to the development of debris flows, whereas the reactivations relate to the dissection of these mass movement deposits.

Soil and water conservation in Tigray (Northern Ethiopia): the traditional dagat technique and its integration with introduced techniques

Between the cultivated fields in the highlands of Tigray, one finds, besides the recently introduced stone bunds, many lynchets, with a height ranging from 0·3–3 m. Grasses occupy the riser and a more or less large strip on the shoulder. Traditionally, farmers established an untilled strip of about 2 m wide at the lower plot limit. This grass strip reduced runoff velocity, allowed for water to infiltrate and trapped sediment. Year after year, these lynchets, locally called dagat, continued to grow. In this study, the dagat technique is characterized and its evolution and reasons for partial destruction are outlined. Stereoscopic aerial photo analysis shows for the study area near Hagere Selam (13 °39′N, 39 °10′E, 2650 m a.s.l.) that 20·7 per cent of the major dagats (more than 1 metre high) have disappeared between 1974 and 1994. These lynchets, however, remain an important linear element in the landscape (22·7 m ha−1, i.e. their density on cultivated fields is much higher). Of the smaller lynchets, a great proportion has been levelled in order to increase plot surfaces and spread fertile soil over the field. Famines and impoverishment caused the farmers to increase short-term agricultural production in this way. Since the 1980s, the farmers built stone bunds on most of the cultivated land. Their average length equals 56·1 m ha−1 in the study area. The establishment of stone bunds results in the development of small terraces. Especially during recent years, there is a tendency to integrate the traditional knowledge of dagat with the building of stone bunds. A quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of both techniques must be made. Copyright

Environmental conditions and human drivers for changes to north Ethiopian mountain landscapes over 145 years

As quantitative or spatially distributed studies of environmental change over truly long-term periods of more than 100 years are extremely rare, we re-photographed 361 landscapes that appear on historical photographs (1868-1994) within a 40,000 km(2) study area in northern Ethiopia. Visible evidence of environmental changes apparent from the paired photographs was analyzed using an expert rating system. The conditions of the woody vegetation, soil and water conservation structures and land management were worse in the earlier periods compared to their present conditions. The cover by indigenous trees is a notable exception: it peaked in the 1930s, declined afterwards and then achieved a second peak in the early 21st century. Particularly in areas with greater population densities, there has been a significant increase in woody vegetation and soil and water conservation structures over the course of the study period. We conclude that except for an apparent upward movement of the upper tree limit, the direct human impacts on the environment are overriding the effects of climate change in the north Ethiopian highlands and that the northern Ethiopian highlands are currently greener than at any other time in the last 145 years.

The topographic thresholds of hillslope incisions in southwestern Rwanda

Abstract This article presents new quantitative evidence that land use in Rwanda contributes to the development of hillslope incisions. Two types of hillslope incisions can be distinguished in southern Rwanda. Incisions of the first type drain an area depending on the form and extension on the natural topography and geology. The Runyinya gully (25°) and the Rugabano soil slippage (39°) are two examples. On a logarithmic plot of critical slope inclination at the incision head versus drainage area towards the incision head, both incisions lay sensibly to the right of the Montgomery–Dietrich (M-D) envelope. The latter gives the range of these topographical thresholds for gully and mass-wasting incision in parts of North America. The Runyinya and Rugabano cases obey the linear equation: S cr =(±0.6)A −(±0.6) where Scr=critical slope gradient (tangent of slope in °) at the gully head or the scar and A=the area (ha) drained towards the incision head. Hillslope incisions of the second group rely on a run-on area larger than normal because they are localised at the ‘outlet’ of artificially runoff-collecting systems like roads, soil conservational contour trenches, tracks and other linear landscape elements. Such systems often drain a surface much larger in extension than the natural run-on area to the ‘outlet.’ These hillslope incisions, taking into account their artificially big drainage area, concentrate more or less along the line: S cr =(±0.3)A −(±0.6) This line is about in the center of the Montgomery–Dietrich envelope. If, however, only the natural drainage area of these ‘outlet’ incisions is taken into account, all points fall close to the left border or even to the left of the Montgomery–Dietrich envelope. This indicates a much higher probability for incision in those localities receiving supplementary runoff or interflow from outside the natural drainage area. In the case of a soil slippage at Rwaza Hill, detailed stability calculations show that the slope failure should be due to excessive water infiltration into the bottom of a trench. The digging of the trench provoked an increase in the area drained to the slippage head by a factor of 6. The phenomenon of ‘forward’ erosion is compatible with the existence of threshold combinations of slope and drained area. For slopes steeper than 7–8°, the phase of regressive erosion does often follow the forward incision event with a delay of several years or more. Finally, the scanty data set now available for Rwanda suggests that the drainage area critical to hillslope incision on the red-brown ferrallitic soils in Rwanda might be nearly twice as big as those in North America.

Spatial distribution of rock fragments in cultivated soils in northern Ethiopia as affected by lateral and vertical displacement processes

Abstract Although, in semi-arid environments, rock fragments at the soil surface and within the topsoil play an important role in desertification control, little is known about their spatial distribution. Therefore, this study analyses spatial patterns of rock fragment cover along catenas, and the vertical variations in volumetric rock fragment content in soil profiles in the highlands of Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Natural and anthropogenic processes inducing these patterns are assessed. Volumetric rock fragment content (RV) was analysed in 10 soil pits. All rock fragments were extracted, and their volumes determined by pedo-stratigraphic unit, size and lithology. The rock fragment cover (RC) was determined by the point-count method using vertical photographs of the soil surface. The following processes contribute to the vertical variability of RV: (1) in Vertisols, upsqueezing as a consequence of swell-shrink cycles (argillipedoturbation) is responsible for high RC at the soil surface; (2) large rock fragments (>7.5 cm) are rapidly brought to the soil surface by kinetic sieving through tillage, even in the case of continuous fine sediment deposition, what may result in a rock fragment rich subsoil, underlying a thick soil layer (up to 80 cm) without large rock fragments and a topsoil with a high RC at the surface; (3) Skeletic Regosols at the foot of cliffs show no systematic vertical rock fragment distributions. As to rock fragment cover along the catena, some fundamental differences appear between the basalt and limestone substrate. On the basalt catena with slope gradients between 0.06 and 0.42 m m−1, RC is high everywhere (57–85%) and is unrelated to slope gradient. Vertical processes such as kinetic sieving through ploughing and argillipedoturbation determine the rock fragment distribution at the soil surface. In limestone areas, argillipedoturbation is less active and RC is positively correlated with slope gradient (R2=0.74; n=6; P 2 cm) and more kinetic sieving sensitive rock fragments lowers R2 to 0.46 (n=6; n.s.). Preconditions for the present spatial distribution of rock fragments at the soil surface in the study area are the occurrence of two geomorphic processes in the past: (1) mudflows depositing diamictons including much coarse debris and (2) intense water erosion, which occurred after deforestation and exposed rock fragments at or near to the soil surface. Generally, the balance between lateral and vertical movements of rock fragments now controls the spatial distribution of RC. With respect to the lateral displacement processes: (1) lateral transport over the soil surface by trampling, tillage and concentrated runoff, especially on steep slopes, and (2) rockfall from the cliffs. Vertical supply of rock fragments to the soil surface is caused by (1) selective runoff erosion and the development of erosion pavements, (2) tillage induced kinetic sieving, bringing preferentially large rock fragments (>7.5 cm) to the soil surface, and (3) argillipedoturbation in Vertisol areas.

Dry cave deposits and their palaeoenvironmental significance during the last 115 ka, Sodmein Cave, Red Sea Mountains, Egypt

The Sodmein cliff foot cave is the present-day remnant of an ancient cavity, probably of karstic origin. Physical breakdown of the limestone bedrock, rather than solution, has governed its subsequent evolution. Long before 115 ka BP an estimated 8000 m 3 of debris came off the weathered roof and mixed with contemporaneous cliff rockfall. Over 4 m of sediments have since accumulated. Wet conditions outside the cave during isotopic stage 5e are documented by sedimentary properties of the J-complex and by its detailed botanical and faunal content. These wet conditions were of regional significance. Shortly after 115 ka BP further subsidence of the roof of the ancient cave led to the present-day cave form. The cave interior has remained dry up to the present, but the deposits indicate an increase of animal passage and plant growth around 25 ka BP and during the Holocene interglacial. The latter period was rather arid in absolute terms, receiving less precipitation under a less regular pluvial regime, compared with the interglacial during isotopic stage 5e. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Groundwater recharge and flow in a small mountain catchment in northern Ethiopia

Abstract The hydrodynamic behaviour of a sloped phreatic aquifer in the Tigray Highlands in northern Ethiopia is described. The aquifer is situated in the soils of a plateau on top of a basalt sequence and lies on steep slopes; the latter lead to hydraulic gradients that can cause high discharge fluxes. Distinct wet and dry seasons characterize the climate of the Tigray Highlands and recharge is absent during the dry season. Because of the fertile vertisols that have developed, the plateau is heavily cultivated and thus has great local economic, and hence social, importance. Water for land irrigation is almost exclusively delivered by rainfall, which is largely restricted to the period June—September. During the dry season, the water table drops dramatically and the aquifer drains nearly completely, under the strong gravity-driven, sustained discharges. This study strives to give insights into recharge and discharge mechanisms of the aquifer, in order to improve the effectiveness of the implemented water conservation measures.