Land-use/land-cover dynamics in Sego Irrigation Farm, southern Ethiopia: A comparison of temporal soil salinization using geospatial tools

Land-use patterns are changing fast in most of the tropical nations in relation to the human population growth and related impacts. Majority of the rural population in Ethiopia depends on agriculture, and hence the land-use changes during the past couple of decades in rural Ethiopia are mostly linked to agricultural developments. The present study deals with the status and trends of land-use and land-cover dynamics in Sego Irrigation Farm in southern Ethiopia. Geospatial tools were used to assess changes in land-use/land-cover patterns in the study area during 1984–2010. Patch dynamics was assessed to understand the degree of fragmentation and changes along the terrain topography. Detailed analyses have revealed that the extent of cultivated land, which was 38.1% in 1984 has increased to 60.7% by 2010, with an average change of 58 ha per year. The extent of land, which was intensively and sparsely cultivated in 1984 and 1995, was converted to barren and fallow land due to irrigation-related salinization problems. The water body/ swamp, which was 55 ha in 1984 has significantly decreased to 2 ha by 2010. Land-use changes have been attributed to factors such as population pressure and environmental changes as more land area was put under irrigated cultivation, leading to salinization and lowering productivity of the soils in the area. Findings of the present study have implications for other rural areas in Ethiopia and elsewhere in the tropical regions, where irrigated agriculture is practiced.