Next Article in Journal
Hyperspectral Estimation of the Chlorophyll Content in Short-Term and Long-Term Restorations of Mangrove in Quanzhou Bay Estuary, China
Previous Article in Journal
Governing Transactions and Interdependences between Linked Value Chains in a Circular Economy: The Case of Wastewater Reuse in Braunschweig (Germany)
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Sustainability
Volume 10
Issue 4
10.3390/su10041126
sustainability-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Variation in Ecosystem Service Values in an Agroforestry Dominated Landscape in Ethiopia: Implications for Land Use and Conservation Policy

by
Habtamu Temesgen
1,2,
Wei Wu
1,3,*,
Xiaoping Shi
1,4,
Eshetu Yirsaw
1,2,
Belewu Bekele
1,5 and
Mengistie Kindu
6
1
College of Land Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
2
Department of Natural Resources Management, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dilla University, Dilla 419, Ethiopia
3
National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Rural Land Resources Use and Consolidation, Nanjing 210095, China
4
College of Public Administration, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
5
Department of Natural Resources Management, Assosa ATVET Collage, Assosa 242, Ethiopia
6
Remote Sensing Working Group, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2018, 10(4), 1126; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041126
Submission received: 25 January 2018 / Revised: 29 March 2018 / Accepted: 30 March 2018 / Published: 9 April 2018
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

Human pressure on a rugged and fragile landscape can cause land use/cover changes that significantly alter the provision of ecosystem services. Estimating the multiple services, particularly those obtained from agroforestry systems, is seldom attempted. A combined approach of geospatial technology, cross-sectional field investigations, and economic valuation of natural capital was used to develop an ecosystem service valuation (ESV) model to estimate changes in ESV between 1986 and 2015 in southern Ethiopia. Over 120 values were sourced, mainly from an ecosystem service valuation database and allied sources, to establish value coefficients via benefit transfer method. Our 1848 km2 study landscape, with eight land use categories, yielded an annual total ESV of $129 × 106 in 1986 and $147 × 106 in 2015, a 14.2% ($18.3 million) increase in three decades, showing its relative resilience. Yet we observed losses of natural vegetation classes whose area and/or value coefficients were too small to offset their increased value from expanding agroforestry and wetland/marshes, which have the largest cover share and highest economic value, respectively. Appreciating the unique features of agroforests, we strongly recommend that their economic value is studied as a separate ecosystem for further valuation accuracy improvement.
Keywords: ecosystem services; ecosystem service valuation; agroforestry; Gedeo-Abaya; Ethiopian; land use and conservation policy ecosystem services; ecosystem service valuation; agroforestry; Gedeo-Abaya; Ethiopian; land use and conservation policy
Graphical Abstract

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Temesgen, H.; Wu, W.; Shi, X.; Yirsaw, E.; Bekele, B.; Kindu, M. Variation in Ecosystem Service Values in an Agroforestry Dominated Landscape in Ethiopia: Implications for Land Use and Conservation Policy. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1126. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041126

AMA Style

Temesgen H, Wu W, Shi X, Yirsaw E, Bekele B, Kindu M. Variation in Ecosystem Service Values in an Agroforestry Dominated Landscape in Ethiopia: Implications for Land Use and Conservation Policy. Sustainability. 2018; 10(4):1126. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041126

Chicago/Turabian Style

Temesgen, Habtamu, Wei Wu, Xiaoping Shi, Eshetu Yirsaw, Belewu Bekele, and Mengistie Kindu. 2018. "Variation in Ecosystem Service Values in an Agroforestry Dominated Landscape in Ethiopia: Implications for Land Use and Conservation Policy" Sustainability 10, no. 4: 1126. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041126

APA Style

Temesgen, H., Wu, W., Shi, X., Yirsaw, E., Bekele, B., & Kindu, M. (2018). Variation in Ecosystem Service Values in an Agroforestry Dominated Landscape in Ethiopia: Implications for Land Use and Conservation Policy. Sustainability, 10(4), 1126. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041126

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop