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Monitoring State of Biomass Recovery in the Blue Nile Basin Using Image-Based Disturbance Index

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Nile River Basin

Abstract

The heavy dependence of the Ethiopian rural population on natural resources, particularly land, to maintain their livelihood is an underlying cause for the degradation of land and other natural resources. The Ethiopian highlands, which are the center of major agricultural and economic activities, have been eroding for many years. Various actors have undertaken reforestation programs with an aim to mitigate the land degradation problem; however, the status of these plantations has never been evaluated at a basin scale. The image-based disturbance index (DI) measures the status of the ecosystem on the basis of the ratio of long-term enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and the land surface temperature (LST). This study applied the DI to assess the current state of biomass in the upper Blue Nile basin with a focus on areas where degradation mitigation measures are implemented through reforestation campaigns. The DI maps are validated through field visits to 19 selected sites and inventory data obtained from the World Food Program (WFP) over five sites. The results showed that the largest expansion of plantations has taken place in five subbasins and is between 6 and 8.5 % of the subbasin area with expansion in the remaining 11 subbasins ranging from 3 to 5 %. Despite the very low annual rate of expansion, it can be concluded that the mitigation measures implemented through reforestation campaigns contribute to the total recovered forest area.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil and Water Resources Engineering, Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Essayas K. Ayana, Fasikaw A. Zimale, Seifu A. Tilahun & Muhammed Elkamil

  2. Division Geospatial Data and Technology Center Organization, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Essayas K. Ayana

  3. US Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Research Service, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Amy S. Collick

  4. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    William D. Philpot

  5. Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Essayas K. Ayana & Tammo S. Steenhuis

Authors
  1. Essayas K. Ayana
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  2. Fasikaw A. Zimale
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  3. Amy S. Collick
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  4. Seifu A. Tilahun
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  5. Muhammed Elkamil
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  6. William D. Philpot
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  7. Tammo S. Steenhuis
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Correspondence to Essayas K. Ayana .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Earth & Environment ECS 339, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA

    Assefa M. Melesse

  2. South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

    Wossenu Abtew

  3. Florida International University, North Miami, Florida, USA

    Shimelis G. Setegn

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Ayana, E. et al. (2014). Monitoring State of Biomass Recovery in the Blue Nile Basin Using Image-Based Disturbance Index. In: Melesse, A., Abtew, W., Setegn, S. (eds) Nile River Basin. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02720-3_13

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