Abstract: Depletion of soil fertility due to soil erosion and nutrient mining farming system leads to decline in soil productivity and subsequently crop yields. This study was initiated to assess soil fertility status and to determine micronutrient concentration in the tissues of maize and sorghum grown at Daro Labu district, Eastern Ethiopia. Twelve maize and twelve sorghum growing fields from four peasant associations (PA) were selected purposively. Field survey was conducted to collect ge...
Abstract: Although forest biosphere reserve interventions are crucial for sustaining forest ecological functions and services, there is a dearth of information on whether the biosphere reserves in the southwest of Ethiopia contribute to the offset of the three intermingled contemporary challenges, including biodiversity loss, climate change, and livelihood sustainability. This dissertation therefore aimed to quantify (i) land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics and its driver in Sheka Forest Bios...
Abstract: In Ethiopia, including Haramaya district, low soil fertility remains a pressing concern, leading to reduced crop productivity due to nutrient depletion and inadequate use of agricultural inputs. Against this backdrop, a field experiment was conducted at Rare at Haramaya University to assess the effects of different rates of vermicompost application and cropping system on selected soil properties, yield, and yield components of maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) during...
Abstract: The study was conducted in Dabal forest to investigate the floristic composition, population structure and regeneration status of woody plant species (WS) in the forest. 52 nested quadrats of the size 20m × 20m, 10m x 10m and 5m × 5m for tree/shrub, sapling and seedling respectively, were laid systematically along seven line transects. For each quadrat, variables such as altitude, longitude and latitudes were recorded by using Garmin 62 GPS. A meter marked stick was used to measu...
Abstract: Soil fertility depletion is one of the major impediments to sustained agricultural productivity in Ethiopia. Soil fertility maintenance requires a balanced application of inorganic and organic nutrient sources. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of vermicompost (VC), nitrogen fertilizer and their interaction in improving soil fertility and increasing wheat productivity at Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center, southeastern Ethiopia during the main cropping se...
Abstract: Understanding the effects of land use types and slope positions on soil physicochemical properties is an essential for sustainable soil management. Therefore, this study was initiated to assess selected physicochemical properties of the soils under different land uses and slope positions at Gola Wachu sub-watershed, east Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia. The study area was divided in to three topographic unit based on slope positions (upper, middle and lower) and selected soil physicochemic...
Abstract: The decline in soil productivity and crop production are major challenge to ensure agricultural sustainability and food security in East Africa sub-Saharan country like Ethiopia particularly in the study area at Girisa SubWatershed of Dugda District. In order to alleviate this integrated soil fertility management has crucial role. However, there is no or very limited information and documented data on assessment of soil fertility status in Girisa SubWatershed, in Dugda District. Th...
Abstract: Limited fresh water resources due to climatic changes are major challenges to face the animal production industry, especially in semi-arid and arid regions. The survey study was conducted to assess the perception regarding the quality of Lake Basaka water for sheep and goats in relation to their physiological and blood response in Fentalle pastoralists and on-station experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of drinking salinity levels of Lake Basaka water on behavioural and...
Abstract: This study was conducted to evaluate dairy husbandry practices and microbial quality of raw and pasteurized cow milk samples in Wolaita Sodo town. A total of 156 milk producers which had at least one lactating cow were randomly selected from three kebeles were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. From a subset of the surveyed respondents, a total of 70 (200/ml) milk samples and 30 packed pasteurized milk samples ( 500/ml plastic bags) pasteurized milk samples were col...
Abstract: Due to a lack of species-site-specific models, information about the carbon (C) stock potential of highland bamboo in various carbon pools is limited. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop an allometric equation for estimating highland bamboo C pools along altitudinal gradients in Garamba forest, southern Ethiopia. Using a systematic design approach, 34 plots were chosen and placed along a transect in the altitude range. Then, bamboo culm diameter at breast height (DBH),...
Abstract: Two consecutive experiments were conducted with the objective of evaluating the performance of Koekoek and Sasso T44, exposed to temperature variation with coriander seed supplementation. The first experiment was conducted with the use of growers at an age of 9-20 weeks and the second experiment was continued from week 21 to 40 (layers phase). In both experiments, groups of Sasso T44 and Koekoek breeds of growers and layers were exposed to two different room temperature (heated and...
Abstract: Climate variability and change have serious direct and indirect consequences for crop production and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission in rainfed agriculture-based developing countries in general and in semi-arid environments like the Great Rift Valley (GRV) of Ethiopian particular. Agriculture is a sector that is vulnerable to the effects of climate change while it is contributing both as a sink and source to anthropogenic N2Oemission. Therefore, applying Climate Smart Crop Production ...
Abstract: Despite the vital importance of reliable data sets on the current effect of seasonal rainfall variability on water resources in Lake Mutanda catchment of southwestern Uganda, little is known about the status of this phenomenon. Lake Mutanda and its catchment provide water for domestic use, and irrigation. This study was aimed to assess the effects of seasonal rainfall variability on physicochemical and bacteriological water quality of Lake Mutanda and its catchments, and to suggest...
Abstract: Soil Organic carbon (SOC) is vital to the soil’s ecosystem functioning as well as improving soil fertility. Slight variation in C in the soil has significant potential to be either a source of CO2 in the atmosphere or a sink to be stored in the form of soil organic matter. Location-specific information on soil organic carbon (SOC) helps to identify potential sources and sinks of carbon. However, modeling SOC spatiotemporal changes was challenging due to lack of data to represent ...
Abstract: The adverse impact of climate change on agricultural production and productivity is increasing over time in Ethiopia. Smallholder farmers are the most vulnerable group of the society to the effects of climate change in this country since their livelihood depended on rainfed agriculture. This study was carried out to examine smallholder farmers’ vulnerability, perception, the choice of adaptation strategies, and institutional adaptive capacity of local institutions to climate chan...