Expansion of Accacian Decurrens tree plantation on cultivated land in
Fagita Lekoma District, Northwestern of Ethiopia
Abstract
The main objectives of the study were to examine the magnitude and
rate of the current status of Accacian decurrens expansions, to identify
the driving force of the local communities to shift, crops to tree
plantation land use, to evaluate its economic benefits and its problems
and opportunities for the sustainable future tree plant production in
Fagita Lekoma district. ArcGIS 10.4 and ERDAS Imagine 2014 software was
used for spatial analysis and land use classification. Landsat images
were used to generate the land use maps by using the maximum likelihood
algorithm of supervised classification. The results show that cultivated
lands, grasslands, and wetlands are declining while forests and
settlements are increasing. Forest cover was the most widespread land
use, increasing by 210% during the study year. The conversion rate of
forest land is 15.1%, which is the highest value in the general study
period of the district. The rationale behind the expansion of forest
land use is the introduction and spread of new species of trees known as
Accacian decurrens plantations. Accacian decurrens forestation is the
main cause of the change of use, system from arable land to forest
system. These plantation-based land uses have been shown to be a way to
increase economic benefits, employment opportunities and reduce soil
erosion and increase soil fertility in the area.
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