Effect of Land Use Land Cover Changes on the Forest Resources of Ethiopia

Abstract

Land cover change refers to modification of the existing land cover or complete conversion of the land cover to a new cover type. Most of these studies identified that deforestation and expansion of cultivation land in to marginal areas were the principal cause of land degradation. Change in land use and land cover may result in land degradation that manifests itself in many ways depending on the magnitude of changes. All of these manifestations have potentially severe impacts on land users and people who rely for their living on the products from a healthy Landscape. This alteration of LULC type coupled with poor land management practice in the region resulted in exposing of land for erosion hazard, which was later turned to accelerated land degradation. All the factors of deforestation such as the prevalence of various types of agricultural activities, fire wood and charcoal production, cutting trees to fulfill the demand of constructional materials, settlement expansion and income generation are directly or indirectly related to population growth and new settlements. The absence of applicable forest policy is cited as a contributing factor for deforestation in different parts ofthe world including Ethiopia.