Integrated watershed management on soil quality, crop productivity and climate change adaptation, dry highland of Northeast Ethiopia

Miyo-Hadi watershed in the northeast dry highland of Ethiopia is known for the excessive degradation of natural resources and recurrent drought. To avert the problem soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs) were exhaustively implemented by governmental and non-governmental organizations based on the integrated watershed management approach. Although many studies have been conducted in the wet highlands of Ethiopia to assess the role of SWCPs on soil physical and chemical properties, carbon stock and grain yield, studies in the dry highlands of northeast Ethiopia are limited. Thus, this research is aimed to (i) investigate the impacts of SWCPs on soil physical and chemical properties, (ii) quantify the carbon stock trapped by the SWCPs, (iii) assess barley grain yield and (iv) evaluate farmers' perception on climate change adaptive strategies. Field experiment, observation, socio-economic survey were conducted for data collection. SPSS was used for data analysis. The result shows that soil and water conservation practices positively influenced the physico-chemical properties of the soil and barley grain yield. The quality of soil physico-chemical properties and barley grain yield in the treated farms/fields were better than the untreated farms. Similarly, the quality of soil physico-chemical properties and barley grain yield were found to be high in farms with lower slope gradients than the higher slope gradients. Almost all of the interviewed households (93%) perceived the existence of climate change in the area; and recurrent drought, pest and disease were among the events. About 65% of the households perceived that the implemented strategies (SWCPs, infrastructure, credit & saving, and capacity building) were helpful to adapt climate related shocks. Therefore, it can be concluded that integrated watershed management as a holistic approach, and SWCPs as specific technologies have meaningful roles in terms of minimizing land degradation, improving soil quality, increasing barley yield, and reducing climate change.