Effect of Forest Landscape Restoration on Ecosystem Services in Ethiopia: Review for Future Insight

Giche Yadesa Hirpa; Sammy C Letema; Felix L. M Ming’ate

doi:10.47540/ijsei.v4i3.1148

Authors

Giche Yadesa Hirpa Department of Environmental Planning and Management, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Sammy C Letema Department of Spatial and Environmental Planning, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Felix L. M Ming’ate Department of Environmental Studies and Community Development Kenyatta University, Kenya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47540/ijsei.v4i3.1148

Keywords:

Deforestation, Ecosystem service, Forest Landscape, Restoration Time

Abstract

Forests are crucial covering 31% of the Earth’s land surface. Deforestation has caused damage to these forest landscapes limiting their ability to provide ecosystem services like provisioning, supporting, regulating, and cultural services. In response to this degradation issue, the concept of forest landscape restoration was introduced in 2000. This review aims to provide comprehensive studies of existing literature on the effect of forest landscape restoration and restoration time on reversing ecosystem service in Ethiopia. The goal is to inform evidence-based decision-making and guide research in this field. The review analyzed 16 studies conducted from 2011 to 2023 that covered aspects of forest landscape restoration. The findings indicated that these restorations had an impact on ecosystem services such as improving soil properties, storing carbon stack, enhancing species diversity, richness, evenness, and regeneration status, and benefiting community livelihood. However, the review found that most of the studies were limited to specific regions, little information on the cultural service, and there were inconsistencies in some research findings. In general, this study provides significant evidence supporting the importance of restoration as a viable strategy to rehabilitate degraded forest landscapes. It also highlights the importance of long-term monitoring and considering ecological conditions for sustainable restoration efforts in regaining ecosystem services.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abay, K., Tewolde-Berhan, S., & Teka, K. (2020). The effect of exclosures on restoration of soil properties in Ethiopian lowland conditions. SN Applied Sciences, 2(11), 1–12.

AFR100 (n.d). The African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative. https://afr100.org/content/countries.

Ameha, A., Meilby, H., & Feyisa, G. L. (2016). Impacts of participatory forest management on species composition and forest structure in Ethiopia. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services and Management, 12(1–2), 139–153.

Ameha, A., Nielsen, O. J., & Larsen, H. O. (2014). Impacts of access and benefit sharing on livelihoods and forest: Case of participatory forest management in Ethiopia. Ecological Economics, 97, 162–171.

Asmare, M. T., & Gure, A. (2019). Effect of exclosure on woody species diversity and population structure in comparison with adjacent open grazing land: the case of Jabi Tehnan district north western Ethiopia. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, 5(1), 98–109.

Birhane, E., Mengistu, T., Seyoum, Y., Hagazi, N., Putzel, L., Rannestad, M. M., & Kassa, H. (2018). Exclosures as forest and landscape restoration tools: lessons from Tigray Region, Ethiopia. International Forestry Review, 19(4), 37–50.

CBD. (2018). Pan-African Action Agenda on Ecosystem Restoration for Increased Resilience. UN Biodiversity Conference - COP 14, 8, 38.

Convention on Biological Diversity (n.d). Aichi Target 15. https://www.cbd.int/nbsap/.

Damene, S., Tamene, L., & Vlek, P. L. G. (2013). Performance of exclosure in restoring soil fertility: A case of Gubalafto district in North Wello Zone, northern highlands of Ethiopia. Catena, 101, 136–142.

Ebabu, K., Tsunekawa, A., Haregeweyn, N., Adgo, E., Meshesha, D. T., Aklog, D., Masunaga, T., Tsubo, M., Sultan, D., Fenta, A. A., & Yibeltal, M. (2019). Effects of land use and sustainable land management practices on runoff and soil loss in the Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. Science of the Total Environment, 648(August 2018), 1462–1475.

FAO. (2020). Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020: Main report.

Gebregergs, T., Tessema, Z. K., Solomon, N., & Birhane, E. (2019). Carbon sequestration and soil restoration potential of grazing lands under exclosure management in a semi-arid environment of northern Ethiopia. Ecology and Evolution, 9(11), 6468–6479.

Gebrehiwot, G., Teka, K., & Welday, Y. (2022). Can landscape restoration improve soil carbon stock? A study from Sero Watershed, Northern Ethiopia. Global Ecology and Conservation, 39.

Hailu Shiferaw and Adugna Abebe. (2020). Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) Options for Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) Regional State. Ethiopian Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission and World Resources Institute. (Issue May).

Hishe, S., Lyimo, J., & Bewket, W. (2017). Soil and water conservation effects on soil properties in the Middle Silluh Valley, northern Ethiopia. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 5(3), 231–240.

Initiative 20x20 (n.d). Initiative 20x20 member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. https://initiative20x20.org/regions-countries

IPBES. (2018). Summary for policymakers of the assessment report on land degradation and restoration of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (M. S. and L. W. (eds. ). R. Scholes, L. Montanarella, A. Brainich, N. Barger, B. ten Brink, M. Cantele, B. Erasmus, J. Fisher, T. Gardner, T. G. Holland, F. Kohler, J. S. Kotiaho, G. Von Maltitz, G. Nangendo, R. Pandit, J. Parrotta, M. D. Potts, S. Prince (ed.); IPBES secr, Issue July 2018).

IPBES. (2019). Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. ( and C. N. Z. (eds. ). S. Díaz, J. Settele, E. S. Brondízio E.S., H. T. Ngo, M. Guèze, J. Agard, A. Arneth, P. Balvanera, K. A. Brauman, S. H. M. Butchart, K. M. A. Chan, L. A. Garibaldi, K. Ichii, J. Liu, S. M. Subramanian, G. F. Midgley, P. Miloslavich, Z. Molnár, D. Obura, A (ed.); IPBES secr).

Kassa, H., Abiyu, A., Hagazi, N., Mokria, M., Kassawmar, T., & Gitz, V. (2022). Forest landscape restoration in Ethiopia: Progress and challenges. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 5.

Kedir, H., Negash, M., Yimer, F., & Limenih, M. (2017). Contribution of participatory forest management towards conservation and rehabilitation of dry Afromontane forests and its implications for carbon management in the tropical Southeastern Highlands of Ethiopia. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 37(4), 357–374.

Lowell, E. C., Maguire, D. A., Briggs, D. G., Turnblom, E. C., Jayawickrama, K. J. S., & Bryce, J. (2014). Effects of silviculture and genetics on branch/knot attributes of coastal Pacific northwest douglas-fir and implications for wood quality-a synthesis. Forests, 5(7), 1717–1736.

Wetland Utilization and its Implications on Provisioning Ecosystem Services of Nyando Wetland, Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 24(01).

Maithya, J. K., Ming’ate, F. L. M., & Letema, S. C. (2020). A Review on Ecosystem Services and their Threats in the Conservation of Nyando Wetland, Kisumu County, Kenya. Tanzania Journal of Science, 46(3), 711–722.

Mekuria, W. (2013). Conversion of Communal Grazing Lands into Exclosures Restored Soil Properties in the Semi-Arid Lowlands of Northern Ethiopia. Arid Land Research and Management, 27(2), 153–166.

Mekuria, W., & Aynekulu, E. (2013). Exclosure land management for restoration of the soils in degraded communal grazing lands in northern Ethiopia. Land Degradation and Development, 24(6), 528–538.

Mekuria, W., Langan, S., Noble, A., & Johnston, R. (2016). Soil Restoration after Seven Years of Exclosure Management in Northwestern Ethiopia. Land Degradation and Development, 28(4), 1287–1297.

Mekuria, W., Wondie, M., Amare, T., Wubet, A., Feyisa, T., & Yitaferu, B. (2018). Restoration of degraded landscapes for ecosystem services in North-Western Ethiopia. Heliyon, 4(8).

Mekuria, W., Yami, M., Haile, M., Gebrehiwot, K., & Birhane, E. (2018). Impact of exclosures on wood biomass production and fuelwood supply in northern Ethiopia. Journal of Forestry Research, 30(2), 629–637.

Mengistu, D. A., Bekele, D. A., Gela, A. G., Meshesha, D. T., & Getahun, M. M. (2023). Woody species diversity and regeneration status of Sub-Alpine forest of Mount Adama exclosure site, Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Heliyon, 9(6), e16473.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. (2005). Ecosystems and human well-being: synthesis (Issue January). Island Press.

Moola S, Munn Z, Tufanaru C, Aromataris E, Sears K, Sfetcu R, Currie M, Qureshi R, Mattis P, Lisy K, Mu P-F. (2020). Chapter 7: Systematic reviews of etiology and risk. In: Aromataris E, Munn Z (Editors). JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. JBI.

N. Pasiecznik and C. Reij. (2020). Restoring African Drylands (N. Pasiecznik and C. Reij (ed.); Tropenbos, Issue 60). Tropenbos International.

O’Dea, R. E., Lagisz, M., Jennions, M. D., Koricheva, J., Noble, D. W. A., Parker, T. H., Gurevitch, J., Page, M. J., Stewart, G., Moher, D., & Nakagawa, S. (2021). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses in ecology and evolutionary biology: a PRISMA extension. Biological Reviews, 96(5), 1695–1722.

S. Díaz, U. Pascual, M. Stenseke, B. Martín-López, R. T. Watson, Z. Molnár, R. Hill, K. M. A. Chan, I. A. Baste, K. A. Brauman, S. Polasky, A. Church, M. Lonsdale, A. Larigauderie, P. W. Leadley, Alexander P. E, and Y. S. (2018). Assessing nature’s contributions to people. Science, 359(6373), 270–272.

Sabogal, C., Besacier, C., & McGuire, D. (2015). Forest and landscape restoration: Concepts, approaches and challenges for implementation. Unasylva, 66(245), 3–10.

Sinore, T., Kissi, E., & Aticho, A. (2018). The effects of biological soil conservation practices and community perception toward these practices in the Lemo District of Southern Ethiopia. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 6(2), 123–130.

Solomon, T., Derero, A., & Lemenih, M. (2022). Woody species regeneration through exclosure and perception of local community on mountain Damota, Wolaita, Ethiopia. Trees, Forests and People, 8(March), 100234.

Tadesse, S., Woldetsadik, M., & Senbeta, F. (2017). Effects of participatory forest management on livelihood assets in Gebradima forest, southwest Ethiopia. Forests Trees and Livelihoods, 26(4), 229–244.

Tallis, H., Guerry, A., & Daily, G. C. (2013). Ecosystem Services. Encyclopedia of Biodiversity: Second Edition, 2, 96–104.

Teka, K., Haftu, M., Ostwald, M., & Cederberg, C. (2020a). Can integrated watershed management reduce soil erosion and improve livelihoods? A study from northern Ethiopia. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 8(3), 266–276.

Teka, K., Haftu, M., Ostwald, M., & Cederberg, C. (2020b). Can integrated watershed management reduce soil erosion and improve livelihoods? A study from northern Ethiopia. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 8(3), 266–276.

The Bonn Challenge (n.d). Restore our future Bonn challenge. https://www.bonnchallenge.org/

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. (2020). The Great Green Wall United Nations Convention.

WWF and IUCN, 2000. Minutes of the Forests Reborn Workshop, Segovia (unpublished).