#ethiopian highlands mountain range

[mountainfieldguide]

Ethiopian Highlands

Photo: Amazing panorama of the Simien Mountains National Park in Ethiopia, Africa by Framalicious. Welcome to the mesmerizing world of Ethiopia’s Highlands, where nature’s grandeur takes center stage. In this enchanting mountain range, discover a realm of breathtaking beauty that will leave you in awe. From cascading waterfalls to ancient rock-hewn churches, the Ethiopian Highlands offer a…

[wingsoffirenames]

IceWing Names- Letter A

Abalone (A shellfish, or a very pale gray color.) Achromatic (Literally means 'without color'.) Adélie (A type of penguin. Great for a SeaWing hybrid.) Agate (A variety of chalcedony that comes in many colors, often with swirl or banded patterns throughout.) Ague (A fever or shivering fit.) Ahmar (A mountain range of the Ethiopian Highlands.) Akaishi (A mountain range in Japan.) Alabaster (A soft, white, translucent rock that is often used for carving and making decorative objects.) Alaska (As in the state.) Alba (Latin for 'white'.) Albedo (The fraction of light reflected by a surface.) Albescent (Growing or shading into white.) Albite (A white, brittle, glassy mineral.) Album (Also Latin for 'white'.) Algid (Very cold or chilly.) Alp (A high, rugged mountain that is often snowcapped. Could also be good for a SkyWing hybrid.) Alpenglow (The rosy light of the setting or rising sun seen on high mountains.) Alpine (Relating to high mountains.) Amethyst (A violet or purple quartz gem or a violet color.) Ametrine (A mixture of amethyst and citrine.) Andes (A South American mountain range that i also one of the worlds longest.) Anhydrite (A mineral that is made up of calcium and sulfate. Often pale blue or pale violet.) Annapurna (The 10th highest mountain in the world, located in Nepal.) Antarctic (Relating to the south polar region or Antarctica. Antarctica can work too.) Antler (Horns typically grown on the head of male animals such as deer, and often shed.) Apatite (A phosphate mineral.) Apex (The top or highest part of something, especially one forming a point.) Apricity (The warmth of the sun in winter.) Aragonite (A calcium carbonate mineral that forms in carbonate sediments.) Arctic Hare (A species of hare adapted to live in the arctic.) Arctogadus (A type of fish found in icy waters.) Aufeis (A sheet-like mass of layered ice that forms from successive flows of ground or river water during freezing temperatures.) Aurora (A luminous phenomenon that consists of streamers or arches of light appearing in the upper atmosphere of a planet's magnetic polar regions.) Avalanche (A mass of snow, ice, and rocks falling rapidly down a mountainside.) Azure (A shade of bright blue.) Azurite (A soft, deep-blue copper mineral.)

[mprgz]

(Scotland, Highlands Council Area)

The satyrs (Homo faunus) are native to the temperate mountainous regions of Europe, and in historical times, have been pushed back to the Scottish Highlands, Pyrenees Mountains, the Carpathians, while an isolated population exists in the Ethiopian highlands. The photographs above were all taken in Scotland. They are a mono-gender species. Their X and Y chromosomes merged, which may possibly be related to their unusual leg morphology. Their ears are variable, being humanlike or elflike. This was once believed to be evidence that the satyrs were a hybrid species. However, genetic testing has disproved this. The satyrs are a fully integrated species, having no tribes of their own. They historically were bards and storytellers, and were believed to be a magical. They typically settled at very low population density, spreading themselves thin the regions around their home mountain ranges, often one family to a village. They are the only humanoid that (generally) has the same 'racial' features are the local human population. Like other non-human humanoids, the satyrs do not do well in cities, due to their weaker immune systems. They can be found all over Scotland and the North of England, often in traditional pubs working as bartenders or singing during traditional folk celebrations. While some believe that satyrs to be lucky, they were also historically associated with the vices of alehouses and brothels, and were expelled from the British Isles under Cromwell. Fortunately, most remained in hiding, and the expulsion was repealed at the Restoration of Charles II. The satyrs, being mono-gender, do not marry, and so have come into conflict with more fundamentalist religious sects. They also have a reputation as tricksters. This is, at least in part due to them embracing the whimsical role assigned to them by human society. Their deep, strong singing voices and natural charisma have been valued by many human cultures.

[rjzimmerman]

These Wolves Like a Little Treat: Flower Nectar. (New York Times)

Excerpt from this New York Times story:

he Ethiopian wolf, Africa’s most endangered predator, has a sweet tooth.

While the wolves are otherwise strict meat eaters, scientists have spotted the canids slurping nectar from torch lilies, tall, cone-shaped flowers also known as red hot pokers with nectar that tastes like watered-down honey. And because the wolves’ muzzles get absolutely covered in sticky yellow pollen, researchers suspect they might even be acting as pollinators — a first for a large carnivore, the authors write in a paper published last week in the journal Ecology.

It’s a scene from a storybook, said Sandra Lai, an Oxford University ecologist and an author of the paper.

“The wolves lick the flowers like ice cream cones,” she said.

The Ethiopian wolf is a lanky, reddish-brown canid that looks more like a coyote or fox than a wolf. It lives in Ethiopia’s mountainous highlands, a tundra-like landscape where the wolves feed on abundant rodents.

In the Bale mountain range, the wolves’ prey of choice is the big-headed African mole rat, a preposterous-looking creature with eyes set directly on top of its head so it can peep out of underground burrows. The mole rats surface for about only an hour a day to forage for vegetation. “They try keep their butt inside the hole so they can retreat if something happens, so they stretch out as long as they can” and grab at plants with their buck teeth, Dr. Lai said.

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

How big can a desert oasis be? I know the Nile river delta is massive but how much bigger can it get? I'd like to have one half the area of Egypt. What also needs to be done about the rivers that flow into them?

Tex: An oasis has a geological underpinning that is man-made in its longevity (Wikipedia), so I suppose they’re only as large as they need to be. Some factors in that include amount of irrigation, size of the underlying water table, how long you can travel from one oasis to another before running out of water, and mode of transportation that typically dictates rate of travel. By definition, an oasis resides in a desert. If something is large enough to cover, as you say, half of Egypt, then the resulting changes in the local environment might create a temperate climate rather than an arid one. Rivers are part and parcel with sedimentary or metamorphic rocks because of its more porous nature than igneous rock, and are the surface-visible part of water movement that also works underground through things like water tables/aquifers.

Licorice: Apparently the largest oasis in our world is 33 square miles. It has four cities and 22 villages. It's in Saudi Arabia and it's called Al-Ahsa. Al-Ahsa_Oasis (Wiki)

I think it might all be a question of scale. An oasis half the size of Egypt wouldn’t be an oasis in the Sahara desert, but if your desert took up half your planet, then that huge oasis might be considered an oasis.

Utuabzu: The exact definition of oasis gets a little fuzzy, since it’s not super clear at what point your lake becomes an inland sea. But an oasis is typically a body of water formed by upwelling groundwater - generally from an artesian basin of some kind - in an otherwise arid environment. They can range in size from a glorified puddle to the one Licorice mentioned, and they’re not necessarily permanent features on the landscape. Plenty of oases are seasonal, only present when the groundwater has risen due to rains elsewhere and vanishing again once the water table drops.

You mentioned the Nile Delta, which is not an oasis. I suspect you may have meant the Fayum, which is a body of water formed by a branch of the Nile entering an endorheic basin - a watershed that cannot empty to the sea because it is too high on all sides - and has been and remains a very agriculturally productive region of Egypt. Endorheic basins can also produce what are called inland deltas, where a river fans out into a large wetland at the bottom of the basin, as it is unable to reach the sea and does not have high enough water flow to flood the basin and create a lake or inland sea. Examples of this include the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the Sistan Delta in Iran and Afghanistan. More commonly endorheic basins have lakes (often salt lakes) or saltpans at their lowest points, and small or intermittent to non-existent waterways.

If we take what you want to be a region approximately the size of Egypt with a river that ends in a delta but does not flow into the sea, surrounded by desert, then that is possible. The Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers flow through the Central Asian deserts and steppe to empty into the Aral Sea, which is an endorheic basin that once housed an enormous freshwater lake.* The region between these two rivers - called Transoxiana in classical sources - has been home to a chain of vibrant, prosperous civilisations and a vast diversity of peoples and cultures. So if you want to have a big river run through a desert and empty either into a lake or an inland delta, so long as you know where the water is coming from - the Syr Darya and Amu Darya are fed by snowmelt from the Hindu Kush and Tian Shan mountains, while the White Nile, which is the source of the Nile floods, rises in the Ethiopian Highlands and is fed by the wet season rains there - then there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t. Far stranger things exist in real life.

*Soviet hydroengineering has resulted in the Aral Sea all but drying up, causing immense ecological damage to Central Asia.

[taitutour]

Ethiopia's Flora: Unveiling Nature's Tapestry Through Topographical and Climatic Forces

Ethiopia's landscape is a vibrant showcase of natural beauty, offering a diverse array of vegetation zones. This richness arises from the country's unique climate and varied terrain, which create perfect conditions for many plant and animal species. It's one of the few African nations where you can find nearly every type of natural vegetation, from dry thorny areas to lush tropical forests and grassy highlands.

This variety gives Ethiopia Vegetation its unique character, with about 10% of its plants being exclusive to the country. For those seeking an adventure with Ethiopia Safaris, Taitu Tour & Travel offers a captivating journey into this botanical paradise.

In the diverse Ethiopia Biomes, distinct flora and fauna coexist which are integral to the nation’s rich biodiversity. This ecological richness is deeply influenced by Ethiopia’s Topography and climate, creating varied habitats across its landscape.

The Major Vegetation Belts of Ethiopia offer a backdrop for unique wildlife, from the Ethiopian wolf in the highlands to rare birds in the lowlands.

These biomes showcase a range of species in their natural habitats. Protecting these ecosystems is paramount for the continuity of Ethiopia Safari Vacations, ensuring the survival of this ecological treasure.

This intricate ecological web underscores the importance of conservation, making Ethiopia Travel and Tours an exploration of life in its most natural form.

Interesting Fact: Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains are a sanctuary for the rare Ethiopian wolf, the world’s rarest canid.

When you get into the diverse Ethiopia Vegetation, you get a real sense of its ecological variety. This richness adds something special to Ethiopia Safaris. Doesn’t matter if you are trekking through lush forests or exploring arid scrublands, the vegetation of Ethiopia is an integral part of any travel and tour experience, promising an enriching journey through nature’s wonders.

Ethiopia's varied landscape and climate create perfect conditions for diverse vegetation zones, making it an ideal destination for safaris. Taitu Tour & Travel offers captivating journeys into this botanical paradise, where travelers can explore unique biomes and encounter rare flora and fauna. Conservation efforts are crucial to preserve Ethiopia's ecological treasures and ensure the continuity of safari vacations, promising an enriching journey through nature's wonders.

[twf2020]

How are Ethiopian Wolves being conserved?

In the highlands of Ethiopia, a charismatic and endangered species, Ethiopian Wolves (Canis simensis), roam the vast Afroalpine landscape. This strikingly beautiful and highly specialized canid is the world’s rarest wolf and is unique to the Ethiopian Highlands. Despite its ecological importance and cultural significance, the Ethiopian wolf faces numerous threats, making its conservation imperative.

What are the threats faced by Ethiopian Wolves

Habitat Loss

Ethiopian highlands have witnessed extensive habitat loss and fragmentation due to agricultural expansion, overgrazing, and human settlements. As the human population grows, the demand for agricultural land increases, leading to the encroachment into the wolf’s natural habitat. In the Bale Mountains, the expansion of agricultural lands has led to the destruction of valuable Afroalpine habitats, resulting in a significant reduction in the suitable range for Ethiopian wolves.

Human-Wildlife Conflict

Conflict between local communities and Ethiopian wolves arises when the wolves prey on livestock, particularly domesticated animals. As a result, farmers and herders often view these wolves as threats to their livelihoods, leading to retaliatory killings. In the Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopian wolves have been known to prey on sheep and goats, resulting in farmers resorting to lethal methods to protect their livestock.

Disease Outbreaks

Diseases transmitted by domestic dogs, such as rabies and canine distemper, pose a severe threat to Ethiopian wolf populations. Feral dogs living in close proximity to the wolves can act as carriers of these diseases, leading to deadly outbreaks among the vulnerable wolf populations. In the Ethiopian Highlands, an outbreak of rabies in domestic dogs spreads to Ethiopian wolves, causing a sharp decline in wolf numbers within a short period.

Climate Change

Climate change is impacting the Afroalpine ecosystem, affecting both the wolves and their prey. Shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns can lead to changes in the distribution and abundance of small mammal species, which constitute a significant portion of the Ethiopian wolf’s diet. Research conducted in the Bale Mountains indicates that the changing climate is causing a decline in rodent populations, resulting in reduced prey availability for Ethiopian wolves.

Small and Fragmented Populations

The Ethiopian wolf’s naturally small population size makes it particularly vulnerable to various threats. Isolated populations are at a higher risk of inbreeding and genetic bottlenecks, reducing the species’ genetic diversity and overall resilience. The Ethiopian wolf population in the Guassa Plateau is isolated from other populations, making it susceptible to genetic issues and making the entire population more vulnerable to threats like disease outbreaks

So what is being done to save Ethiopian Wolves?

Establishing Protected Areas

One of the key conservation initiatives to safeguard the Ethiopian wolf is the establishment of protected areas. These areas serve as safe havens for the species, allowing them to thrive without the threat of habitat destruction and human-wildlife conflict.

Bale Mountains National Park: Located in the Bale Mountains of southeastern Ethiopia, this national park is the largest Afroalpine habitat and a crucial stronghold for the Ethiopian wolf. The park’s creation in 1969 provides protection for the unique ecosystem that supports the wolf population.

Simien Mountains National Park: Situated in the northern part of Ethiopia, this national park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and provides a refuge for the Ethiopian wolf. With its stunning landscapes and rich biodiversity, the park plays a vital role in conserving the species.

Community-Based Conservation Initiatives

Engaging local communities in conservation efforts is vital for the long-term survival of the Ethiopian wolf. Community-based initiatives not only raise awareness about the importance of conservation but also foster a sense of ownership and responsibility among the people living near wolf habitats.

Guassa Community Conservation Area: Located in the Guassa Plateau, the Guassa Community Conservation Area is a shining example of community-based conservation. The local communities actively participate in conservation activities, such as patrolling the area to prevent illegal hunting and raising awareness about the importance of protecting the Ethiopian wolf.

Wildlife Corridors

Creating wildlife corridors and promoting connectivity between fragmented habitats is crucial for maintaining healthy and genetically diverse Ethiopian wolf populations. These corridors allow wolves to move freely between different habitats, reducing the risks of inbreeding and improving overall population health.

Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP): The EWCP, a leading conservation organization dedicated to Ethiopian wolf conservation, has been involved in identifying and protecting critical wildlife corridors for the species. By working with local communities and governments, they ensure the long-term viability of Ethiopian wolf populations.

Disease Monitoring and Vaccination

Disease outbreaks, particularly those transmitted from domestic dogs, pose a significant threat to Ethiopian wolf populations. Monitoring and vaccinating domestic dogs living near wolf habitats are crucial to prevent disease transmission and protect the wolves.

Collaborating with the Ethiopian authorities, the Born Free Foundation has been conducting vaccination campaigns in communities surrounding Ethiopian wolf habitats. By vaccinating domestic dogs against diseases like rabies and canine distemper, the risk of transmission to wolves is reduced.

Research and Monitoring

Sound scientific research is the backbone of successful conservation initiatives. Research and monitoring efforts provide essential data on Ethiopian wolf populations, behavior, and habitat requirements, aiding in the development of effective conservation strategies.

WildCRU — University of Oxford: The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford has been conducting long-term research on Ethiopian wolves. Their studies focus on wolf ecology, population dynamics, and the impact of human activities on wolf habitats, providing valuable insights for conservation planning.

International Collaboration

Conserving an endangered species like the Ethiopian wolf requires global cooperation. International organizations and collaborations play a critical role in providing support, expertise, and funding for conservation efforts.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): As the Ethiopian wolf is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN works closely with Ethiopian authorities, NGOs, and researchers to develop conservation action plans and prioritize efforts to save the species.

We at Think Wildlife Foundation recently launched our Livelihoods for Conservation project to provide alternative, sustainable livelihoods to the communities living with wildlife. This is with the aim to incentivize conservation while uplifting these communities economically. You can purchase merchandise from these communities here!

Originally published at https://thinkwildlifefoundation.com on July 30, 2023.

[earthpkmnheadcanons]

What kind of unique Pokemon can be found in the highland area of Ethiopia? The climate is pretty different from the rest of Africa. I heard it even snows sometimes.

The Ethiopian highlands are not only some of the most beautiful places on earth - they're also some of the most biodiverse! The wild Pokemon available here are endless, ranging from Pokemon icons of the African continent, to unique Ethiopian endemic species, to the urban sights and sounds of the city of Addis Ababa.

Perhaps the jewel in the crown of Ethiopia's highlands is the Simien Mountains National Park, the country's largest. It's here that one can find elusive variants like the Ethiopian Rockruff - a unique rock and flying-type variant of standard Rockruff which only survives at high altitudes. Today Ethiopian Rockruff are endangered, threatened by diseases, habitat loss, and overgrazing from livestock Pokemon. In the sky of this park, Mandibuzz soar overhead while Mankey and Poochyena hide in the undergrowth. This is a dream destination for any Pokemon lover.

However, the highlands are not all untouched wilderness - in fact, they've been inhabited by humans stretching back to humanity's earliest origins! Today, there's no better example of this than Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital and a major center of East Africa. Here international Pokemon mingle with African natives, including Litleo and Pyroar or Girafarig caught in Ethiopia's south. Addis Ababa is a modern metropolis, and for that reason Magnemite and Klink also make their homes here. There's few better cities on earth to experience the brilliant diversity of the Pokemon world.

[rabbitcruiser]

Bronx Zoo, New York City (No. 31)

The Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) is a desert-dwelling goat species found in mountainous areas of northern and northeast Africa, and the Middle East. Its range is within Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen. It is historically considered to be a subspecies of the Alpine ibex (C. ibex), but is increasingly considered a specifically distinct species (C. nubiana). The wild population is estimated at 1,200 individuals. 

Nubian ibexes stand around 65–75 cm (2.1–2.6 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh around 50 kg (110 lb). They are a light tan color, with a white underbelly; males  also have a dark brown stripe down their backs. Nubian ibexes have long, thin horns that extend up and then backwards and down. In males, these reach around 1 m in length, while in females they are much smaller (around 30 cm (12 in)).

Source: Wikipedia

Baboon Reserve, opened in 1990, is a two-acre recreation of the Ethiopian highlands which, at the time of its opening, was the largest primate exhibit in the United States. The exhibit's main features revolve around the zoo's troop of geladas such as artificial rocks and earthbanks, and displays about life in the highlands and the side-by-side evolution of humans and geladas. Visitors can watch the geladas from multiple viewpoints along with Nubian ibex and rock hyrax, all of which are mixed together in the hilly enclosure. An African village-styled café overlooks the exhibit. Baboon Reserve won the AZA Exhibit Award in 1991. In the fall of 2014, a male gelada was born at the zoo, the first in over 13 years. 

Blue-winged geese and Cape teals have been exhibited here as well, though are currently absent. The former can now be found in African Plains while the later appears to be absent from the zoo's current on-exhibit collection.

Source: Wikipedia

[spiritroots]

Afrocentric Hair & Skin Care 101

What is Afrocentric hair and skin care?

There’s a difference between general black hair and skin care vs. Afrocentric hair and skin care. A lot of mainstream brands sold in stores targeted at black hair and beauty are designed FOR black people but aren’t made BY black people and/or don’t contain ingredients from our own cultures.

You should always pick the products in your price range and that are good for your hair and your body! But it’s also helpful to be an informed consumer when choosing between hundreds of beauty brands - and unfortunately, the information isn’t always readily available. So here’s a simple guide to Afrocentric hair and skin care to help you put the best nature can provide into your body while also supporting and giving back to our own communities.

What’s good for my hair and skin?

Here’s some tips and general guidelines that I’ve learned so far through research and practice on my hair and skin hair journey!

1. The more natural, the better. Now, personally, I wouldn’t say this about everything in life! Pharmaceuticals can be life-saving, and I don’t think all natural or traditional remedies should be used in place of prescribed medications. However, when it comes to the regular care of your skin and hair - the fewer toxins and chemicals are absorbed by your body, the better!

2. As I’ve done more research, I’ve discovered that in most cases when it comes to all-natural ingredients, what’s good for your hair is also what’s good for your skin - and vice versa. Most natural ingredients can be used to hydrate, heal, protect, soothe, and strengthen your skin and your hair!

3. One size does not fit all. On your own journey to care for your skin and hair, you’ll want to experiment with different oils, butters, creams, and products to find out which types, combinations, and amounts work best for your skin and hair types! Find out if you have normal, dry, oily, combination, or sensitive skin to get a sense of what your skin care needs are. Knowing your hair type is also helpful for figuring out what types of products will keep it the healthiest and strongest.

4. Always read the ingredients list on the labels of any products you purchase. Whether you’re buying a supposedly single-ingredient product or something that lists three natural ingredients on its front label, always look at the fine print and check the official list. For instance, SheaMoisture is an excellent and popular black-owned skincare brand, but unfortunately, many of their products do include chemicals alongside the good stuff. And if you don’t check the labels, you might wind up with a “99% aloe vera gel” that contains mostly water.

This is a long post so click below the read more line to get to my lists of black-owned skin & hair care brands + Afrocentric skin & hair care ingredients.

Which skin and hair care ingredients are Afrocentric?

The following ingredients are all from different parts of Africa or were used traditionally in Africana cultures. They are all good for both skin and hair care, and they all contain good juju - physical and spiritual properties that are healing, rejuvenating, and nourishing for the body.

Ghassoul Clay

Origins: Natural mineral clay mined from the Atlas Mountains in Morroco that has been used in North Africa to create skin and hair treatments for centuries.

Benefits: Increases hair shine, reduces acne, exfoliates dead cells

Use It to Make: Exfoliating facial mask, face and body soap, facial cleanser, hair mask, deep conditioner

How-to-Use Guide: [LINK]

Yejide’s Product Recommendation: Zadia’s Morocco

Shea Butter

Origins: Fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree, which grows in the dry savannah belt of West Africa from Senegal to Sudan and the Ethiopian highlands. It’s used both for cosmetics and in cooking!

Benefits: Anti-aging, anti-inflammation, soothes itchy or irritated skin

Use It to Make: Skin moisturizer, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, soap

How-to-Use Guide: [LINK]

Yejide’s Product Recommendation: SheaMoisture

Cocoa Butter

Origins: Fat extracted from cocoa beans. It is used for skin care and also to create chocolate. Nearly 70% of the cocoa world crop today is grown in West Africa.

Benefits: Reduces stretch marks, anti-aging, moisturizing

Use It to Make: skin moisturizer, chapstick, shaving cream

How-to-Use Guide: [LINK]

Yejide’s Product Recommendation: SheaMoisture

Raw Honey

Origins: Honey was used in Kemet (Ancient Egypt) to treat stomach and skin wounds and other issues.

Benefits: Antibacterial, anti-fungal, reduces acne, pore unclogging

Use It to Make: Facial mask, acne treatment, bath, facial cleanser

How-to-Use Guide: [LINK]

Yejide’s Product Recommendation: beelove

Black Castor Oil

Origins: Oil from roasted castor seeds using a traditional Jamaican method of extracting them to create black castor oil. Castor seeds are from East Africa and have been used as a traditional medicine by multiple cultures including Kemet (Ancient Egypt).

Benefits: Hair / eyelash / eyebrow growth, healthy scalp, mild pain relief

Use It to Make: Hair moisturizer, acne treatment, pain relief rub

How-to-Use Guide: [LINK]

Yejide’s Product Recommendation: Sunny Isle

Coconut Oil

Origins: Oil extracted from coconut meat. Coconuts grow in various regions of Africa and in the Caribbean, where they are popular for both cuisine and cosmetics.

Benefits: Moisturizer, fights dandruff, anti-frizz, anti-aging

Use It to Make: Lip gel, skin softener, hair wash, deep-conditioner 

How-to-Use Guide: [LINK]

Yejide’s Product Recommendation: Alaffia

Argan Oil

Origins: Oil produced from the kernels of the argan tree, which is native to Morocco. It is used in both Moroccan cuisines and cosmetics.

Benefits: Anti-aging, heat styling protection, combats dandruff

Use It to Make: Skin toner, exfoliator, nighttime moisturizer, conditioner

How-to-Use Guide: [LINK]

Yejide’s Product Recommendation: Zakia’s Morocco

Which hair and skin care brands are black-owned?

There’s many more black-owned brands out there, but here’s a starter list! I’ve specifically highlighted these particular brands based on how natural and high quality the ingredients are in their products. These are some real goodies for your hair and skin. 

Some of these companies also have a social impact - whether it’s supporting black communities around the world, empowering women, or protecting animals and the environment with cruelty-free or vegan products!

Hair & Skin Care

BLK + GRN - Here you’ll find a selection of hair and skin products (alongside jewelry, cosmetics, and other goodies) from black-owned brands at this all-natural online marketplace curated by “Black women's health experts who know what an all-natural product truly looks like."

ILERA Apothecary - Sister duo Chinonye and Nneji Akunne went on a mission to create this premium organic and vegan skincare brand. You can find everything you’d want to put in your bathroom cabinet from fragrant body butters to beard oil to aluminum free deodorant!

beelove - Get your honey and honey-infused products for skin and hair care from this black-owned company in Chicago that provides job opportunities specifically for folks returning to society from incarceration. You'll find an amazing selection of lip balms, lotion, sugar scrubs, and bath/shower products. Don't forget that their pure, all-natural Chicagoland honey can also be used on your skin and hair all by itself!

ASIM Supreme - Started by entrepreneur Akil Jabbar, this hair and skin care product line has top-quality natural ingredients - many of which are even exported from the African countries where they are naturally grown and produced. Here you can meet all your natural skin and hair care needs for shea butter, coconut oil, argan oil, black castor oil, aloe vera oil, grapeseed oil, and more!

Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil - This company supports rural farmers in Jamaica and preserves traditional Jamaican methods for extracting castor oil and coconut oil by using them to create excellent skin care products. Black Castor Oil can be used for many purposes including moisturizer, hair and eyelash growth, acne treatment, and even a pain relief rub!

Alaffia - By shopping at Alaffia, not only do you get quality natural ingredients, you are also helping encourage gender equality and alleviate poverty in Togo. Proceeds help fund Alaffia’s “Empowerment Projects” such as “Education-Based Projects, Maternal Health, FGM Eradication, Eyeglasses, and Reforestation.”

Natural Cosmetics

Blac Minerals Cosmetics - Merced Boyce wanted to create natural makeup for women of color that is "powered by healthy, skin-loving ingredients." Blac Minerals products are free of animal testing, phthalates, parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, petroleum, and other nasty chemicals. Check out the mineral foundations and lip glosses, which come in lots of shades!

Laws of Nature Cosmetics - Jasmine Rose, the founder of this all-natural makeup line, will personally email you her recommendation for which foundation shade best matches your skin tone if you fill out the Foundation Quiz! You can get powder, gel, or foundation sticks that are vegan, antioxidant-rich products free of parabens, silicone, and alcohol.

LUV + CO. - Join the #luvtribe and check out this incredible line from Dr. Melodie Ray Davis-Bundrage, which focuses on natural and organic foundation formulas specifically for women of color. These products are free of toxins, parabens, and carcinogens. Beyond foundation, there's also lipsticks, nail polish, and more!

OMGLO Cosmetics - Gone are the days of using highlighters and makeup setting sprays full of chemicals! Thank you, Joelle Phillips, for finding a way to give a golden finish to our makeup routine that’s full of organic, natural ingredients good for our skin.

[trainerfox25]

Civ 6 Highlander

Nov 16, 2018 Civilization 6 new Civs - all new Civs in Rise and Fall and other Civ 6 DLC. Scotland Unique Unit - Highlander: Industrial Era recon unit with additional Combat and Ranged Strength, and another. Myles Horton discusses the founding of Highlander, 1979, Warren Wilson College, Digital Library of Appalachia. Police file on Myles Horton, Alabama Photographs and Pictures Collection, ADAH. Minutes for Planned Freedom School Meeting at the Highlander Folk Center, January 6, 1965, Lucile Montgomery Papers, WHS. The Skirmisher is a Medieval Era recon unit in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. It upgrades from the Scout (or its replacements).

EthiopiaLeaderZara YaqobAbilitySolomonic DynastyUnitShotelaiBuildingRock-Hewn Church

More on this on Wikipedia:

Ethiopia is a modded civilization in Civilization VI, created by Sukritact.

History

Home to ancient empires dating back to the waning centuries of the first millennium BC, Ethiopia has a storied history driven by the rule of great kings and emperors. Bootstrap parallax template. As one of the few African nations to avoid the colonial ambitions of Europe, Ethiopia maintained its sovereignty into the 21st century, only briefly coming under Italian occupation for 8 years during WWII and its prelude.

Civilization Ability

IconNameEffectSolomonic DynastyMay purchase Settlers, Builders, and Traders with Faith. City Centers receive a Standard Faith bonus for each adjacent Hill and Mountain.

Civilization Unit

IconNameReplacesEffectShotelaiEthiopian unique Medieval era melee unit that can counter Cavalry units. Receives +7 Combat Strength when fighting in or next to home territory.

Civilization Building

IconNameReplacesEffectRock-Hewn ChurchTempleA building unique to Ethiopia replacing the Temple. Required to purchase Apostles and Inquisitors with Faith. +3 Production, this bonus increases to +5 Production if this district has a Worship Building. +1 Great Engineer point.

Civilization leaders

IconNameAuthorZara YaqobSukritactEzanaSukritact

Credits

Civilization vi release date. • Sukritact - Author.

Login to Dropbox. Bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and keep your files safe. Collaborate with friends and clients in real time with a Dropbox personal plan. Learn more about our powerful sharing and security features. Get started for free. Dropbox.co.nz has been informing visitors about topics such as Dropbox, Share Files and Files. Join thousands of satisfied visitors who discovered File Share, Share Large Files and Access. Dropbox nz. Dropbox brings your cloud content and traditional files together with the tools you love—so you can be organized, stay focused, and get in sync with your team. With all your files organized in one central place, you can safely sync them across all your devices and access them anytime, anywhere. Dropbox is a modern workspace designed to reduce busywork-so you can focus on the things that matter. Sign in and put your creative energy to work.

External links

v·d·eSukritactCivilizations

Ethiopia • Siam • Swahili

Leaders

Al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman • Chulalongkorn • Ezana • Hadrian • Khosrow I • Lorenzo de Medici • Ramkhamhaeng • Senusret III • Zara Yaqob

TerrainsInfrastructures

See Full List On Civilization-v-customisation.fandom.com

Retrieved from 'https://civ6customization-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Ethiopia?oldid=3180'

[lupine-publishers-sjfn]

Lupine Publishers | Raya Indigenous Livestock Husbandry Practices in the Highlands of Southern Tigray, Ethiopia

Lupine Publishers | Scholarly Journal of Food and Nutrition

Abstract

Raya indigenous livestock husbandry practices was conducted in Emba-Alaje Enda-Mekoni and Ofla Wereda of Southern Tigray, featured by mountain chains and located at 12°47’ N latitude 39°32’ E longitude. with the aim to determine constraints and opportunities that exist within the farming systems, for better targeted improvement and to design policies strategies to support peculiar livestock husbandry practice, since it is experiences of the greatest successes stories of developing country agriculture and one of the most unsung, especially in the disadvantaged marginalized areas. Single household respondent was used as sampling unit, using Proportional Probability to Size approach. Out of 156HHs, 73.5% were male headed while 26.5% female-headed. Educational status of HHs members was diverse that was composed of 12.8% educated while 41%HHs members were illiterate. Average family size was 4.6±1.84. 83.33%HHs used own family labour, while others use hired labour. Feeding, watering, barn cleaning, animal keeping, monitoring animal health, cow milking, and selling dung cake tasks of wives and children, while feed purchase, buying and selling animals were husband’s duty. Age at first calving was 3.5 years for local while 2.5years for exotic breeds and calving interval was similar 1.5 year. The average milk yield was 2±1 litres for Arado, 5±1 litres for jersey and 10±2 litres for Holstein Frisians. The average cattle herd size were 3+1 in urban, 4.67+4.93 in periurban and 3.75±2.12 in rural farms. There was significant (P< 0.05) difference for cattle breed in lactation length and milk yield but no remarked (p>0.05) difference in Wereda level. Housing system of the study areas were featured backyard compound in 62.18% of the respondents, partial shelter in 17.95% of the respondents and improved barn in 19.87% of the dairy farmer respondents. Alternative interventions for betterment of the indigenous husbandry practice is with the climate change are timely scenario.

Keywords: Raya, Indigenous livestock husbandry, Arado, Holestain fresian

Introduction

Domestication of ruminant animals and their use to produce milk, meat, wool, and hides represents one of the cornerstone achievements in the history of agriculture. The essential feature of the ruminant animal that has fostered its utility as a dairy animal is the presence of a large pre-gastric chamber where microbial digestion of feed particularly fibrous feeds not directly digestible by human, provides various fermentation products that serve as precursors for efficient and voluminous synthesis of milk. Without this symbiosis between animal and microbe, the dairy industry would not have developed, and indeed human culture would be vastly different in its food-gathering methods (Weimer and James, 2001).

In Ethiopia, the livestock production system, which is dominated by indigenous breeds of low genetic potential for milk production, accounts for about 98% of the country’s total annual milk production. The low productivity of the country’s livestock production system in general and the traditional sector in particular is mainly attributed to shortage of crossbred dairy cows; lack of capital by dairy producers, inadequate animal feed resources both in terms of quality and quantity; unimproved animal husbandry system; inefficient and inadequate milk processing materials and methods; low milk production and supply to milk processing centers; and poor marketing system. Making improvement interventions to the traditional sector is, therefore, crucial if development of the livestock sector of the country is targeted. Its large livestock population; the favorable climate for improved, high-yielding animal breeds; and the relatively diseasefree environment for livestock make Ethiopia to hold a substantial potential for dairy development. Considering the substantial potential for smallholder income and employment generation from high-value livestock products, development of the dairy sector can contribute significantly to poverty alleviation and nutrition in the country. With the present trend characterized by transition towards market-oriented economy, the dairy sector appears to be moving towards a takeoff stage [1].

Dairy enterprises are the “white gold” of many developing countries, creating pathways out of poverty while boosting better human nutrition and health, regular income generation, employment, crop farming, and natural resource management. The context for smallholder dairy development in Ethiopia has been changing rapidly, creating both new opportunities and challenges [2]. According to Mburu [3] characterization of smallholder dairy production systems in highlands is critical in understanding the constraints and opportunities that exist within the farming systems. It allows better targeting of dairy improvement research and development. Therefore, information obtained can be valuable for detailed analysis of constraints and opportunities found in smallholder dairy systems and to design policies and strategies to support smallholder dairy development programs in variable intensification that one has to be aware of the challenges of dairy which, is one of the greatest successes stories of developing country agriculture and one of the most unsung, especially in the disadvantaged marginalized areas.

The bulk of Ethiopian livestock’s provision to the economy is not properly identified in conventional national accounts as coming from livestock. These distortions are particularly acute for highland livestock production systems in which animal energy for transport and dung for fuel are as important as conventional milk and meat production [4] that confirmed less attention was given to the sector despite its indispensible contribution to the economy of the majority of dairy farmers and the nation.

Livestock production in Ethiopia is constrained by a multitude of technical, financial, institutional and socio-economic factors [5]. Coordinating inputs (knowledge, finance, social and political capital) of various actors and their expectations in a way to create best practices and innovations could contribute better exploitation of the resource [2]. ‘When there is no bridge, there is always other means!’ [1]. The marginalized disadvantaged dairy farmers did not have exposure and access to affordable improved technological facilities that enable livestock production ease and profitable; consequently they do act according to their local resources and custom which demand due focus and research.

In Ethiopia, particularly in the highlands of Southern Tigray where previous research is very meagre [5], the indigenous livestock husbandry system is very peculiar than any other areas since long period of time but the doubt is their extent of production in comparison to their demand, nutritional needs and economic values, that is why the objective of this paper has targeted on the main indigenous livestock husbandry practices in relation to the livestock resource potential. Thus this work was initiated with the following objectives:-

1. To identify indigenous livestock husbandry practices & constraints in the study area, and

2. To determine the livestock breed composition of the area

Materials and Methods

The research was conducted in Emba-Alaje Enda-Mekoni and Ofla Wereda of Southern Tigray, from December 01, 2011 to February 30 2012, which are featured by mountain chains, where Maichew of Enda-Mekoni is located at 12°47’ N latitude 39°32’ E longitude and an altitude of 2450m.a.s.l. It has a rainfall ranging from 600-800mm , temperature ranging 12-24oC, and relative humidity of 80% , which is highly variable from year to year and erratic in nature. The district is located on about 90-180km south of Mekelle city and 600-690Km north of the capital city Addis Ababa. The study area is also categorized as one of the populated highland areas of the country where land per household is 0.8h. Korem of Ofla lay on 12029’N latitude, 39o32’E longitude and that of Adishehu of Emba-Alaje is located on 120 56’N latitude and 39029’E longitude [6].

Single household respondent was used as sampling unit and sample size determination was applied according to the formula recommended by Arsham [7] for survey studies:

SE = (Confidence Interval)/(Confidence level) = 0.10/2.58 = 0.04, n= 0.25/SE2 = 0.25 / (0.04)2= 156

Where, confidence interval=10% and confidence level=99%

Where: N- is number of sample size

SE= Standard error, that SE is at a maximum when p= q = 0.5, with the assumption of 4% standard error and 99% confidence level.

The total sample size was determined to be 156 for the household level interview. Proportional Probability to Size (PPS) approach for uniformity matters as Desalegn [8]. Three approaches namely, participatory rural appraisal for base line information and formal (diagnostic) survey using well-structured questionnaire, farm visit & group discussions of the entire system were used to generate qualitative & quantitative data.

A translated pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on quantitative and qualitative data: Demographic situations, level of education, type of dairy breed, production performance, production objectives, variety of products, husbandry system, major production constraints, livestock disease incidences; opportunities for improvement and other related issues.. For the field survey, the method of data collection used was single- visit-multiple-subject survey. Data collected were analyzed using Microsoft Excel [9] and Statistical Package for Social Sciences [10] computer software program. Survey results were summarized using descriptive statistics like mean, standard deviation, and percents; mean differences were tested using student’s t.

Result

The results obtained on household characteristics are presented in (Table 1). As shown, 25.6% of the respondents were less than 40 years of age, 51.3% of them aged 41-60 years while those with the age of more than 60 were only 23.1%. Of the total households interviewed, 73.5% were headed by males the rest being female-headed. When the issue comes to literacy level, the educational status of the household members was diverse that was composed of 12.8% educated while 41% of the household members were illiterate (i.e., do not read and write). Average family size was 4.6±1.84 that ranged from 1 to 14. Labour use, 83.33% of the interviewed households used own family labour, where as the other proportion of them use hired labour in addition for dairy farming. Feeding, watering, barn cleaning, animal keeping, monitoring animal health, cow milking, and selling dung cake were performed mainly by wives and children, while feed purchase, buying and selling animals were responsibilities of the husband.

Milking Procedure Practiced

Milking twice per day (morning and evening) was the tradition followed by all households. Among the respondent dairy farmers, 25% of both urban and periurban dairy farmers practice zero grazing and milk their animals at a regular time of the day to supply the product according to their customers demand (Table 2). Whereas the rest of the proportion do not follow regular time of milking apart from maintaining the frequency. The housing systems, the cleaning processes and the procedures followed by the household are predominantly traditional. Udder washing was practiced by 10.89% respondents, of which 23.10% were from Emba-Alaje, 35.3% from Enda-Mekoni, 29.4% were from Ofla urban and 8.6% were Ofla rural areas who introduced cross breed cows.

Feeding Practice

Crop residues from teff, pulses, barley, wheat and maize and sorghum plus hay and natural pasture are the major feed resources the study area. Coping mechanisms practiced in the study areas during feed scarcity were moving to areas with available feed termed as ‘urna’, providing grass harvested from sloppy hills. The other important feed resources include spineless and thorny Cactus while some do practice forage development minimally. The crop residue conservation practices followed by the farmers are subject to nutritional losses. In the urban dairy farming, use of concentrate feeds is a potential alternative through which productivity of cows can be improved; however, the high cost was a limiting factor. Majority of the dairy farmers use leftover house hold feeds such as hull of grain after milling. Hatela (slurry from local brew) was another form of concentrate feed available (Figures 1 & 2).

Housing Systems

Housing system of the study areas were featured backyard compound in 62.18% of the respondents, partial shelter in 17.95% of the respondents and improved barn in 19.87% of the dairy farmer respondents. In Urban Emba-Alaje, 76.92% of the respondents practiced improved housing but not hygienic for they do not clean the barn because they deemed crucial bedding to absorb heat for the animals (Figure 3).

Calf Rearing

Cattle are kept in barns under normal circumstances and calves are kept in houses until they are strong enough to bear the extreme climatic phenomena. Young animals are managed in a traditional way. Suckling calves are kept separate from their dams, except when calves are used to stimulate milk letdown. Traditionally, calve suckling practice is believed to stimulate milk letdown, prevent teat blockage and softened the teat for ease of hand milking. If the calf dies, the hide is stuffed with cereal straw or grass with four legs made of sticks, rubbed by salt so that the dam would lick it to simulate the presence of the calf and stimulate milk letdown. Young children and females in general do mostly attend calves near encampments. Herders are well aware of colostrum feeding for the new born animals and understand the beneficial effect on health of the young.

In all the rural and periurban areas calves are herded in group by child and/or widowed of misery part of the community and encouraged by providing milk of every Wednesday termed as ‘tseba rebue’, while urban areas do practice tethering in backyards. Overnight, calves do spent in calf pen (urban and periurban) or in the normal household home (rural areas) isolated from their dams or herd. In local cows majority of the dairy farmers responded until the cow become dry of that rejects her calf from suckling was related with end of lactation period. But those owners of exotic do practice 4-6 months suckling before weaning. Traditionally, the herders use different types of weaning methods. Weaning is performed by piercing the nose of the calf with thorns, twisting up the nose skin of the calves to prevent suckling (as this causes pain when the wounded nose touches the teat) and smearing of teats with animal dung (Figures 4 & 5).

Record keeping

The most important record kept in the dairy farms was birth date that was considered in 44.9% respondents followed by 29.49% respondents to record amount of milk sold, 27.56% respondents used breeding record and 27.56% respondents used feed expenditure record, while 53.20% of the respondents do follow random husbandry practice. Breeding record, birth date and feed cost are recorded. Wereda level 72% of respondents from Enda-Mekoni, 33.33% respondents from Emba-Alaje and 32.76% of respondents from Ofla had record keeping trials (Table 3).

Milk Products Marketing

It was noticed that milk marketing was limited to urban and periurban areas but not in the rural districts. The major milk marketing challenges the respondents complained were 52.56% claimed cultural taboos and distance from market areas while 26.92% of the respondent dairy farmers blamed the discouraging market due to lower understanding of consumers to milk nutrition, poor talents of entrepreneurship of milk producers, and lack of road to transport milk from remote areas. Majority of the studied households reported that the demand for the milk products was high during dry season and low during wet season, besides to the fasting periods.

In the study area, the smallholders rear livestock for draught power, milk production, beef production and generate income through live animal sale, especially as a guarantee in case of risk. Also respondents indicated that cattle were used as manure for fertilizing the homestead farmland and compaction of seedbeds. Hide and skin of the animal was used either as source of cash income or used as household furniture such as grain storage, mat and to carry a baby on back of mothers locally termed as “delobo” Others: include manure, dung to smear floors and walls and also for fuel (for cooking purpose or to fire alternative thorny cactus feed). Concerning to dung utilization, 5% of Ofla Wereda respondents do practice biogas, while the rural Enda-Mekoni in vicinity to Ofla have exposure and were in infant stage unlike to Emba-Alaje Wereda where there was no dream of biogas. The interesting thing is dairy farmers exchange dung cake for hatela concentrate feed contracts in majority of urban dairy farms or else cover some part of household earning by selling particularly females of the household (Figure 6).

Age at first calving was 3.5 years for local while 2.5years for exotic breeds and calving interval was similar 1.5 year. The average milk yield was 2±1 litres for Arado, 5±1 litres for jersey and10±2 litres for Holstein Frisians. The average cattle herd size were 3+1 in urban, 4.67+4.93 in periurban and 3.75±2.12 in rural farms. The population of Holstein Frisian decreased from urban to rural while that of the Arado breed increased, indicating that dairy farming in rural destined on Arado while urban destined on Holstein Frisian breeds. Milking cows of the study areas were 23.1% out of 845 cattle owned by the respondents, which were composed of 631 local including Arado, Raya and Begait breeds and 214 crossbred of Holstein Frisian and Jersey upgraded cattle (Figure 7) (Table 4).

Animal Health Challenges

There was outbreak of FMD regional level, in particular, Emba- Alaje area but controlled due to regional vaccination campaign. In steep gorges of mountain area and less infrastructure, efficiency of the veterinary services or the veterinary personnel highly depends on the availability of facilities such as transportation, veterinary equipment, drugs. Besides, the farmers practice folklore medicine, to save their animals by bleeding, branding and use of herbal medicines. Urban dairy farmers do have better access to veterinary service that could be affordable in comparative to their income from milk. The steep gorges of the study area are part of animal and human hazard losses that enforced some farmers to stick on zero grazing. The author has also experienced to see severely broken or death of animals through falling in the steep gorges (Figure 8) (Table 5).

CBPP= Contagious Bovine Pleuro Pneumonia

Discussion

The mean value of family size in the study areas 4.6±1.84 persons was comparable to CSA [6] report which was 4.5 for Enda- Mekoni, 4.29 for Ofla and 4.36 persons to a household for Emba- Alaje. This slight difference might be the reflection of the steady growth of the population. The proportion of the households who participated in the dairy technology package was 28.8%. In terms of labour use, 83.33% of the interviewed households used own family labour, where as the other proportion of them use hired labour in addition for dairy farming. Feeding, watering, barn cleaning, animal keeping, regulating animal health, cow milking, churning milk, milk selling and selling dung cake were more of performed by wife and children, while feed purchase, buying and selling animals as well as medication activities (bleeding and branding), were responsibility of the husband. Sell and purchase of dairy animals belong to the spouses more of men while women discharge feeding, milking and dairy products processing and selling. Herding to adolescents or hired in free grazing on communal natural pastures that constituted almost the only feed resource for all rural dairy farmers. Similar work by Girma, et al. [11] characterized that children are the primary care takers of cattle at day time. Rural dairy farms are characterized by roofless fenced enclosures to keep cattle during night times; calves being separated from adults and housed in the same shelter with households, however, dairy farming packaged households do abide by zero grazing and modified shelter for the hybrid Holstein Frisian cows.

Milking cows of the study areas were 23.1% out of 845 cattle owned by the respondents, which were composed of 631 local including Arado, Raya and Begait breeds and 214 crossbred of Holstein Frisian and upgraded Jersey cattle The result is indifferent from MoA (2004) report in Ethiopia that 11.82% of 2990 cattle population in 1998 was milking cows. That could be due to time difference and business mindedness of dairy farmers in urban agriculture now than draught oxen focus by the then time. The population of Holstein Frisian decreased from urban to rural while that of the Arado breed increased, indicating that dairy farming in rural destined on Arado while urban destined on Holstein Frisian breeds. Milking twice a day is similar to the milking frequency practiced in many parts of the country. Time of milking is normally early morning and late evening that is consistent with Sintayehu (2008). But time of the day particularly morning hours could vary that milking is delayed during cool seasons.

Average age at first calving was 3.5 years for local, while 2.5 years for exotic breeds and calving interval was similar 1.5 year. The lactation length was averaged 6±1 months for local cows while 8±1 months for exotic breeds that matched with Dawit (2009) report in Eastern Tigray who also summarized, milk yield of local breeds from 1.8±0.4 in Arado to 5±0.5 of Begait breeds. The average milk yield was 2±1 litres for local breeds, 5±1.5 litres for hybrid jersey and10±2 litres for hybrid Holstein Frisians. There was significant (P< 0.05) difference for cattle breed in lactation length and milk yield but no remarked (p>0.05) difference in Wereda level. Highest lactation length recorded in Maichew Holstein Frisian was 2 years, contrary to the universal record of 10 months exotic breeds, actually the cows displayed no observed heat. The study result disagreed with Mulugeta [12] who reported average daily milk off take from local cows 1.09 litres and crossbred cow 5.97 litres, with overall lactation length of both local and crossbred cows was 7.52±1.64 months as per farmer’s statements. Adebabay [13] recorded local cow’s milk yield of 1.46kg/cow/day. Genzebu (2012) in northern Tigray also added that Arado cows give an average milk yield of 1 - 2 liters/day for an average lactation period of 7.3 months.

In close affinity to Asfaw (2010) work in Arsi zone, generally more number of services per conception was reported using AI as compared to natural mating, attributed to inefficient AI services that included poor quality semen, poor heat detection techniques and inaccurate AI services. The same is true in feeding system that dairy producers practiced inadequate crop residue storage that hinders productivity of the animals. Similar to the reports of FAO, IDF [14] and Thapa (2000) dairy production was influenced by feed problem, poor animal health services and shortage of drugs, dissemination of poor genetic material, poor government attention to dairying, unreliable AI service, working land shortage to expand and/or forage development, market problems for dairy products, financial problem (absence of credit), waste disposal, lack of recording system (poor information flow), lack/poor extension service & training, lower understanding of the respondent, poor hospitality of AI/ veterinary renders. Traditional medication practice such as bleeding and hot branding that damage hide economy of the nation for unreliable remedy could be minimized as remarked PPLPI [15] by pen side diagnostics for common diseases.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Livestock production plays an important role in the socioeconomic and cultural life of the people inhabiting in the mountainous chains of the area. The cows fulfil an indispensable role for the dairy farmers serving as sources drought ox, milk food, income from sale of butter, the only determinant women hair lotion, source of dunk cake for family fuel and served as prestige and confidence to avert risks. The respondent remarked Wedi Lahimika for own bull and no one could cheer you what a cow could do indeed” to mean reliable resource and do have special dignity for the cow [16,17].

Establishment of dairy shades in the urban areas enabled to strengthen women economy who could not have initial capital and land access, to create employment opportunity and access of protein feeds to the other part of society. The marginalized disadvantaged dairy farmers do not have exposure and access to affordable improved technological products to handle and process their milk products where balanced scenarios are implemented by avoiding pasteurizing and packaging costs, raw milk markets offer both higher prices to producers and lower prices to consumers. Constraints of dairy farming involve higher cost of dairy cows, disease problems, fasting leads to poor milk demand, low productivity of the cows, technology to improve shelf life of milk products, fear of hazards, thefts and predators, and land scarcity particularly in the case of mountain area where fragmentation of land is distributed ‘gebo meqolo’ for landless youths. Steep cliff of the area has its own agro-ecological advantage, but featured by cattle falling hazards [18-21].

The amount of milk collected for a single churn varies with the number of milking cows and their productivity. Interventions in input supply system, production technologies, processing, and marketing practice including the crossbred heifer supply, AI and bull services, vaccination, emerging infectious animal diseases prevention and treatment, development of feed sources, access to dairy production technologies, access to market and market information and supportive infrastructure development, and capacity development on skills of dairy cows management are all in infant stage in the Wereda that demand integrated implementation.

1. To recommend possible interventions for the betterment of existing conditions

2. Further study on nutritional composition of cactus feed mixes

 https://lupinepublishers.com/food-and-nutri-journal/pdf/SJFN.MS.ID.000109.pdf

https://lupinepublishers.com/food-and-nutri-journal/fulltext/raya-indigenous-livestock-husbandry-practices-in-the-highlands-of-southern-tigray-ethiopia.ID.000109.php

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[glyphsmash]

The rarest Canid on earth, the Ethiopian Wolf is Africa's most endangered carnivore, and the continent's only wolf species. They are only found in the Ethiopian Highlands, alongside a myriad of other species entirely unique to the region.

Ethiopian wolves live in close-knit territorial packs of up to 18 adults, with a strong hierarchy. They congregate for social greetings and territory patrols at dawn, midday and in the evening and rest together at night. They hunt alone, preying mainly on rodents such as giant mole rats and common grass rats, which are abundant in their habitat. On rare occasion they may hunt cooperatively to bring down larger prey such as lambs, hares, or young antelope.

Fewer than 500 Ethiopian Wolves remain in an increasingly shrinking and fragmented mountain habitat, in small, isolated populations. Ethiopia's growing human population live mainly in the highlands, which has put a strain on resources as well as introducing CDV, or Canine Distemper Virus, into several local populations.

CDV is a contagious and serious disease that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems. It is considered highly contagious. Canine distemper is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae (the same family of the viruses that causes measles, mumps, and bronchiolitis in humans). Relating to infections in the Bale Mountains National Park in 2005-2006 and 2010, "Death rates ranged from 43% to 68% in affected subpopulations and were higher for subadult than adult wolves (83%–87% vs. 34%–39%). The 2010 CDV outbreak started 20 months after a rabies outbreak, before the population had fully recovered, and led to the eradication of several focal packs in BMNP’s Web Valley. The combined effect of rabies and CDV increases the chance of pack extinction, exacerbating the typically slow recovery of wolf populations, and represents a key extinction threat to populations of this highly endangered carnivore."

SOURCES:

Ethiopian Wolves

https://www.oneearth.org/species-of-the-week-ethiopian-wolf

https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/ethiopian-wolf

https://www.earthtouchnews.com/conservation/endangered/the-last-wolves

https://www.bornfree.org.uk/animals/ethiopian-wolves

Canine Distemper in Ethiopian Wolf populations

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4412237/

https://www.ethiopianwolf.org/disease-control

https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/50199

Canine Distemper

https://virologyj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12985-019-1136-6

https://www.avma.org/resources/pet-owners/petcare/canine-distemper

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_distemper

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

Megeti: Africa's Lost Wolf

(The name is wrong on YouTube, not sure why!)

who else up & learning about ethiopian highland wolves

[facts-before-ideology]

Deep in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia, wildlife workers trek up above 9,800 feet to save some of the world’s most rare carnivores, Ethiopian wolves.

“It’s cold, tough work,” says Eric Bedin, who leads the field monitoring team in its uphill battle.

In this sparse, sometimes snowy landscape, the lanky and ginger-colored wolves (Canis simensis) reign as the region’s apex predators. Yet the combined threats of rabies, canine distemper and habitat reduction have the animals cornered.

Bedin and his colleagues, traveling by horse and on foot through dramatically shifting temperatures and weather, track these solitary hunters for weeks at a time. Team members know every wolf in most packs in these mountains. The team has vaccinated some wolves against rabies, only to have hopes dashed when the animals died of distemper months later.

“These guys work their asses off to protect these wolves,” says Claudio Sillero, a conservation biologist at the University of Oxford who heads up the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, of which the field monitoring team is an integral part. Down the line, humans stand to benefit from all this work too.

Sillero and his colleagues have been at this for 30 years. They’ve seen four major outbreaks of rabies alone, each leaving dozens of carcasses across the highlands and cutting some populations by as much as 75 percent.

Today, fewer than 500 Ethiopian wolves exist — around half of them in the Bale Mountains. A new oral rabies vaccine program aims to give the endangered animals a fighting chance. It may be their best hope for survival, Sillero says.

Later this year, if all goes well, oral vaccines hidden in hunks of goat meat will be scattered across wolf ranges and eaten by the animals. One dose every two years should bolster immunity against rabies among these iconic animals immortalized on several of their country’s postage stamps.

Vaccinating endangered animals en masse in the wild is rarely attempted. Making the case for vaccination takes years of testing. And even when the case is strong for stepping in, the tools needed to vaccinate wildlife aren’t often available, says Tonie Rocke, an epizootiologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Madison, Wis. On the opposite side of the globe from Bale, on North America’s Great Plains, Rocke’s lab is testing an oral vaccine to protect prairie dogs and endangered ferrets from plague.

A recent synergy has made these new oral vaccine efforts possible: improvements in vaccine technology (developed for humans and domesticated animals) and growing public and scientific interest in “One Health.” The conservation buzzword refers to efforts to help one species that also benefit others, including humans.

The researchers pushing for a green light in Ethiopia point to the one shining success in oral vaccines for wild animals, and to its One Health benefits. From 1978 to 2010, oral vaccines sprinkled across parts of Europe eliminated rabies in red foxes. Europe’s rabies cases in humans and other animals dropped by 80 percent from 1984 to 2014. But rabies is still common in certain parts of the world, including Ethiopia. Worldwide, more than 59,000 people die from the disease each year.

Successes on the plateaus of Bale and the prairies of North America could open the door for other vaccines to protect threatened species. Vaccines against Ebola in great apes and white-nose syndrome in bats are in the works.

But introducing vaccines into natural environments is a hard sell and can come with controversy and unexpected consequences.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/oral-vaccines-could-save-ethiopian-wolves-extinction?mode=topic&context=76

[annieboltonworld]

Juniper Publishers- Open Access Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources

Influence of Different Land Use Types and Soil Depths on Selected Soil Properties Related to Soil Fertility in Warandhab Area, Horo Guduru Wallaga Zone, Oromiya, Ethiopia

Authored by Tarekegn Fite

Abstract

Background: Inappropriate land use system in Ethiopia, leads to extensive deforestation which exacerbates soil erosion and other soil degradation.

Methods and Materials: The study was conducted at Warandhab area, Jimma Rare District, Wallaga Zone, Oromiya Region, with the objective to identify the influence of different land use types and soil depths on selected soil physical and chemical properties related to soil fertility.

Results: Soil physical properties, pH, SOM, total nitrogen, available P, exchangeable Mg, K, Na, CEC and micronutrients observed were significantly affected (P ≤0.05) by land use. All land use types were clayey but clay loam for forest land. The highest and lowest mean BD was obtained in subsurface of cultivated and surface layer of grazing land respectively. The highest soil water content at FC and AWHC and lowest was recorded in subsurface and surface of forest and cultivated land, respectively. The highest pH = 6.47 and lowest pH = 5.29, were obtained in subsurface of grass land and surface layers of cultivated land, respectively. The range of pH in surface and subsurface layers of all and use types were strongly acidic to slightly acidic. The higher (16.00, 20.04, 89.03, 2.49, 3.39) mg/kg available P, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, respectively and CEC (32.80 cmol(+)/kg) were recorded in surface layer of cultivated land than in subsurface. Values of exchangeable bases (Na, K, Ca and Mg) were lower on surface of cultivated land than subsurface of forest land, respectively.

Conclusion: The inappropriate land use management led to disturbance of soil nutrient status, indicating that the soil condition in the cultivated land is getting below the condition of soils under forest and grazing lands. Therefore, reducing intensity of cultivation, adopting integrated soil fertility management and application of organic fertilizers could maintain the existing soil condition and replenish degraded soil properties.

Keywords : Land use types; Soil depths; Soil fertility; Soil productivity; Soil physical properties; Soil chemical properties; Micronutrients; Soil Organic Matters; Grass land; Cultivated land

Abbreviations: SOM: Soil Organic Matter; GPS: Global Positioning System; GIS: Geographical Information System

Introduction

With the rapid growth of African population, soil fertility is a major concern of the world, including Ethiopia which is the second populous African country. High quality soils not only produce better food and fiber, but also help to establish natural ecosystems and enhance air and water quality [1]. Soil fertility changes and the nutrient balances are taken as key indicators of soil quality [2]. It is well known that in traditional farming systems, farmers use bush fallow, plant residues, household refuse, animal manures and other organic nutrient sources to maintain soil fertility and soil organic matter. Soil fertility varies spatially from field to larger region scale, and is influenced by both land use and soil management practices [3]. Revealing spatial variability of soil fertility and its influencing factors are important to improve sustainable land use strategies [4]. It is reported that differences in fertilization, cropping system and farming practices were the main factors influencing soil fertility quality at field scale [5].

The physical conditions and variations in altitude have resulted in a great diversity of climate, soil and vegetation Asrat [6] which constitutes the high mountains, deep gorges, flat- topped plateaus, and rolling plains of Ethiopian topographical feature. Due to such typical feature and cultivation pattern such as on steep and fragile soils with inadequate investments in soil conservation, erratic and erosive rainfall patterns, declining use of fallowing, limited recycling of dung and crop residues to the soil, limited application of external sources of plant nutrients, deforestation and overgrazing Belay [7] and Hurni [8] were the main causes of land degradation in Ethiopia. Inappropriate use of land, mainly characterized by extensive deforestation and conversion into agricultural land, is the most widespread change in land use in Ethiopia [9,10]. All these contribute to the change in chemistry, biology and hydraulics of the soil.

Smith et at. [11] reported that deforestation and cultivation of the same land as the main cause of changes in soil pH and acidifications. Although soil organic matter (SOM) are crucial in regulating the supply of plant nutrients, water flow and determines the physical properties of the soil Cotrufo et al. [12], its altered by soil managements and types, land uses systems and types and the climate [13-15]. As reported by Genxu et al. [16] the availability and distributions of P in soil profile is determined by the different land use types, management practices such as level of SOM, biomass production in the soil, vegetation cover and nutrient cycling in the ecosystems. In another study, in the sub-humid highlands of South-western Ethiopia, shift of land use changes from natural forest to cultivation led to depletion of P [9]. Because of the study area are facing agricultural challenges such as shortage of land for crop cultivation and livestock grazing, decline of soil fertility and rainfall variability resulting in low yield production, determining the soil property is crucial for further soil management and improvement. Therefore, this study was initiated with the objective to investigate the influence of different land use types and soil depths on selected soil physical, chemical properties and organic matter in Warandhab areas of Jimma Rare District.

Materials and Methods

Description of the Study Area

The study was conducted at Warandhab area in Jimma Rare District, Horo Guduru Wallaga Zone, Oromiya Regional State. It is about 255 km away from the capital, Addis Ababa, and located in the mid-west of Ethiopia and 10 km away from the district town, Wayu, to the west. Geographically, it is located between 9o 13' 26” to 9o 15' 58” north latitude, and 37o 15' 14” to 37o 16' 02” east longitude with an elevation ranging 2224-2243 metres above sea level (Figure 1). It covers an area of about 800 hectares and shares commonly with Dile Kolba Peasant Association to the west, Biqiltu Babala and GudataDobi PA in the east, Bada Warqe PA in the south and swamp/marsh area in the north. Jimma Rare District shares boundaries in the west with Jimma Ganati and BakoTibe Districts, in the north with Guduru District, in the south and east with Caliya District. This district possesses a total area of 340.78 km2 (Figure 1).

Climate

The average weather data recorded at the weather station located at Wayu town near the study area from the year 20042010 indicates that the study area has a uni-modal rainfall pattern with mean annual rainfall of 1530.9 mm. The rainy season covers the period from mid-April to October and the maximum rain is received in the months of June, July and August (Figure 2). The annual mean minimum and maximum and the annual average air temperature for the year 2010 are 11.5, 23.8, and 17.625 0C, respectively (Figure 2).

Site Selection, Soil Sampling and Preparation

Planning, surveying and appropriate sampling are important considerations when attempting to measure changes in surface soil chemical and physical properties to accommodate spatial variation. Primarily, a general visual field survey of the area was carried out to have a general view of the variations in the study area. Representative soil sampling site were then selected based on vegetation cover and cultivation history. Following this, three representative land uses (cultivated, forest and grass lands) were selected and Global Positioning System (GPS) and clinometers were used to identify the geographical locations and slopes of the sampling sites, respectively. Using Geographical Information System (GIS) and geographical coordinates for each sampling site, the sampling site was sketched. Composite soil samples were collected from the depths of 0-20 and 2040 cm. Each composite soil samples was made from 5-10 subsamples collected from within the respective area delineated as a replication of such land use. Dead plants, furrow, old manures, wet spots, areas near trees and compost pits were excluded during collection of samples. This was minimizing differences, which may arise because of the dilution of SOM due to mixing through cultivation and other factors.

The soil samples collected from representative land uses with its replications were then air-dried, mixed well and passed through a 2 mm sieve for the analysis of selected soil physical and chemical properties. Separate soil core samples from the 0-20 and 20-40 cm depths were taken with a sharp-edged steel cylinder forced manually into the soil for bulk density determination. To make one composite soil sample the subsamples were mixed well and about 1 kg of the mixed subsamples was properly labeled. Finally eighteen total composite soil samples were prepared and packed in a plastic bowl, and transported to Soil Testing Centre for further analysis.

Analysis of Soil Properties

Soil texture was determined by the Bouyoucos hydrometer method after destroying organic matter and dispersing the soil by using sodium hexametaphosphate as described by [17]. Bulk density was determined from undisturbed soil samples by the core method after drying a defined volume of soil in an oven at 105 °C to constant weight [18]. It was calculated as the ratio of mass of oven dried soil to the volume of the sampling core. The soil water content at PWP and FC was determined after soils were subjected to required pressures (15 and 1/3 bars, respectively) by the pressure plate apparatus. Soil pH (H2O) and pH (KCl) were measured by using a pH meter in a 1:2.5 soil: water and soil: KCl ratios, respectively [19]. Soil organic carbon was estimated by the Walkley-Black wet oxidation method and converted to organic matter by multiplying the percent organic carbon content by a factor of 1.724, assuming that organic matter is composed of 58% carbon [20].

Total nitrogen was determined by the micro-Kjeldahl digestion, distillation and titration method Sahlemedhin and Taye [21] and available P was determined using the standard Olsen extraction method [22]. Total exchangeable bases were determined after leaching the soils with ammonium acetate [23]. Amounts of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the leachate were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer and K+ and Na+ were analyzed by flame photometer. Cation exchange capacity was determined at soil pH level of 7 after displacement by using 1N ammonium acetate method in which it was estimated titrimeterically by distillation of ammonium that was displaced by sodium [24]. Percent base saturation was calculated by dividing the sum of the base forming cations (Ca, Mg, Na, and K) by the CEC of the soil and multiplying by 100. Total exchangeable acidity was determined by saturating the soil samples with potassium chloride solution and titrated with sodium hydroxide as described by [25]. Extractable micronutrients (Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn) were extracted by diethylene triamine penta acetic acid (DTPA) as described in [21]. Finally, the amounts of all these micronutrients were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer at their respective wave lengths.

Statistical Analysis

The general linear model (GLM) ANOVA procedure of statistical analysis system SAS [26] was used for performing the significance of differences in soli parameters. A post hoc separation of means was done by least significant difference (LSD) test after main effects was found significant at P ≤0.05. The analysis was performing for each land use types (cultivated, grass and forest lands) in six combined treatments.

Results and Discussion

Soil Physical Properties

Soil texture

The sand and clay fractions were significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by the interaction of land use and soil depth. Similarly, the silt fraction was significantly (P≤ 0.01) affected by land use and soil depth (Table 1). Considering the interaction effects of land use and soil depth, the highest (51%) sand and (31%) silt contents were recorded at the surface layer of forest land than cultivated land. In contrast, the highest (58%) clay content was recorded at the subsurface layer of the cultivated land, whereas the lowest (18.00) clay content was observed in the surface layer of the forest land (Table 1). The current result is in agreement with the findings of Shiferaw [27] who reported an increase in clay content with depth under cultivated lands due to long period of cultivation.

In a similar way Boke [28]; Alemayehu and Sheleme [29] reported that high sand content in grass land soils in Southern Ethiopia. Buol [30] also observed that the accumulation of clay in the subsurface horizon could also be contributed by the in situ synthesis of secondary clays or the residual concentration of clays from the selective dissolution of more soluble minerals of coarser grain size in the B horizon. Agoume and Birang [31] similarly found that land-use systems and soil depths significantly affected the sand, the clay and the silt fractions of the soils size distributions in Cameroon and even by land use alone Jaiyeoba, VoundiN, kana and Tonye [32-36] reported that continuous cropping and intensive land use affected the particle size distribution and that these changes related to cultivation time, but the current finding is in contradict to the result reported by Shepherd et al. [35] who found that land use systems were no effect on soil particles. Sand and silt content decrease while clay content increases across depth from surface to subsurface soils. The increase in clay contents with depth under all land use types may be due to translocation of clay from surface to subsurface layers, which ultimately increase the proportion of sand and silt contents in the surface soil layers.

Soil water characteristics

Water retention at both FC and PWP was significantly affected by main effects (P ≤0.01) and their interaction (Table 1). Moreover, AWHC was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by land use and soil depth but not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by their interactions (Table 1). Significant difference in FC and PWP due to the interaction of land use and soil depth as observed in the study area was high at subsurface layers of the forest and cultivated lands and low at the surface layers of the cultivated and grass lands, respectively (Table 2). On the other hand, the highest (17.98%) and the lowest (9.67%) AWHC among the land use types was obtained in the forest and cultivated lands, respectively. The soil water content at FC, PWP and AWHC increased with soil depth (Table 2). The result of this study is in agreement with Wakene [37] and Ahmed [38] who reported that soil water content at FC, PWP and AWHC were found to increase with depth for soils under different management practice. As per AWHC rating developed by Beernaert [39], the AWHC of the surface soils of the study area was in the range of low in cultivated land to medium in forest land (Table 2). Moreover, various studies also examined the effects of land use and land cover change on soil physico-chemical properties [31, 32,39-41]. *Main effect means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different from each other at p ≤ 0.05 LSD = least significant difference; SEM = standard error of the mean; BD = bulk density; FC = field capacity; PWP = permanent wilting point; AWHC = available water holding capacity.

Bulk density value was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected by land use types (Table 2). The highest (1.41 g/cm3) mean value of bulk density was recorded on the cultivated land and the lowest (1.11 g/cm3) mean value under the grass land (Table 2).

Compaction resulting from intensive cultivation might have caused the relatively higher bulk density values in the surface soil layers of the cultivated land than that of the respective soil depths in the grass land. Liu [5] and Celik, [36] reported that land use and soil management practices influence the soil nutrients and related soil processes, such as erosion, oxidation, mineralization and leaching etc. Moreover, in non-cultivated land, the type of vegetative cover is a factor influencing the soil organic carbon content as reported by Liu et al. [5]. Land use change also produces considerable alterations Fu et al. [42] and usually soil quality diminishes after the cultivation of previously untilled soils [38]. The reason for the relatively low soil bulk density on the grass and forest lands as well as surface soil layer could be due to the highest SOM content and low clay content, respectively. Similarly, Gol [43] also investigated the effects of land use change on soil properties and organic carbon at Dagdami river catchment in Turkey and bulk density as affected by land use in Ethiopia [40]. *Main effect means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different from each other at p ≤ 0.05; NS = not significant; STC = soil texture class; c = Clay; cl = Clay loam; BD = Bulk density; FC = Field capacity; PWP = Permanent wilting point; AWHC = Available water holding capacity; LSD = least significant difference; SEM = Standard error of the mean; CV = Coefficient of variation.

Soil Chemical Properties

Soil pH values measured in a suspension of soil to water ratio are greater than that of in soil to KCl solution ratio. The pH (H2O) value of the soils content was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by all land use types and their interaction effects (Table 3). The highest (6.47) and the lowest (5.29) soil pH-H2O values were recorded under the grass and the cultivated lands at 2040cm and 0-20cm soil depths, respectively (Table 3). Continuous cultivation practices, excessive precipitation, and application of inorganic fertilizers could be some of the factors which are responsible for the variation in pH in the soil profiles [42-45]. In line with the findings of this study, soil pH increased with depth of soil profile and relatively high pH was observed at subsoil horizons in Alfisols of Bako area Wakene [37] and in Vertisols of the central highlands of Ethiopia [46]. Agoume and Birang [31] also reported that pH of the soil as affected by land use system of an Oxisol in the Humid Forest zone of the Southern Cameroon. In other study conducted by Nega and Heluf [47] they found that pH the soil was affected by the interactions of land use changes and the soil depths in Western Ethiopia. Alemayehu and Sheleme [29] also found an increment of soil pH at two depths (0-15 and 15-30cm) under enset cultivations and. Generally, the pH (H2O) values observed in the study area were within the ranges of moderately acidic to slightly acidic (5.50-6.23) and pH (KCl) values ranged from very strongly acidic to strongly acidic (4.305.21) soil reactions as classifications indicated by Brady and Weil [48].

Soil organic matter/SOM content was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by the interaction of land use type with soil depth (Table 3). The interaction effect of land use by soil depth, on the variability of SOM was significantly higher (8.37%) at surface layer of the forest land and lower (1.83%) at subsurface layer of cultivated land (Table 3). The reason may be due to intensive cultivation of the land and the total removal of crop residues for animal feed and source of energy. Based on the distribution of SOM ranges suggested by Berhanu [49], the soils of the study area were ranged from medium in cultivated land to very high in forest land. Urioste et al. [50] suggests thatroots of the grass and fungial hyphae are probably responsible for the high amount of total organic matter in grassland. This result is in agreement with Eylachew [51,52] and who reported that SOM content under grazing and cultivated soils were lower than those under natural vegetation's/forest. Malo et al. [53]; Nega and Heluf [47] also reported less organic carbon in the cultivated soils than grassed soils and high in the surface soils of forest land while least were from subsurface layers of the cultivated soils, respectively.

Total nitrogen content of soils was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected the interaction of land use by soil depth (Table 3). On the other hand, carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio of the soils at the study area was significantly affected by the interaction of land use with soil depth (P ≤ 0.01). On the other hand, it was not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by soil depth (Table 3). The effect of land use by soil depth on total N was significantly higher (0.42%) at the surface layer of the forest land than (0.09%) in the subsurface layer of the cultivated land (Table 3). The mean total N content of the surface soils of the study area was within the range of low in soils of cultivated land to very high in soils of forest land as per total N rating suggested by Berhanu [49,47]. The very high total N content in soils of the forest land could be associated with the high available P and CEC contents of these soils. In their study,Alemayehu and Sheleme [29] also found higher total nitrogen in grassland fields followed by that of enset at 0-15 and 15-30cm soil depths. Moreover, this study was in agreement with Ukaegbu and Akamigbo [54]; Agoume and Birang [31] and Iwara et al. [55] they found that total nitrogen as affected by land use systems.

Carbon to nitrogen ratio of the subsurface layer of the cultivated land was significantly higher (11.65) than those under forest and grazing lands at 20-40cm soil depths (Table 3). The C/N ratios were numerically high in the subsurface than surface soil layers. Our current result contradicts the finding of Nega and Heluf [47] who found that land uses did not variant in C/N ratio but these ratios varied across soil depth. Yihenew [56] indicated that the optimum range of the C/N ratio is about 10:1 to 12:1 that provides nitrogen in excess of microbial needs. Accordingly, the C/N ratio of the soil across the study area may be considered to be within the optimum range in all land use types and soil depth. *Main effect means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different from each other at p < 0.05 LSD = least significant difference; SEM = standard error of the mean; SOM = soil organic matter; total N = total nitrogen; C/N = carbon to nitrogen ratio; AvP = available phosphorus; EA = exchangeable acidity.

Available Phosphorus

The available phosphorus (P) was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by the interaction of the two factors (Table 3 and Appendix I). The content of available P in the cultivated land appeared to be significantly higher than the other two land use types. The higher in available P contents in soils of cultivated land were due to continuous application of mineral P fertilizer for few years as indicated by different farmers in the area. Van der Eijk et al. [57] have also reported that the high content of P under maize farms than of grass land soils could be due to the continuous application of phosphorus fertilizer applications. Similarly, Boke [28] also found that high availability of P under enset farms which is due to rapid mineralization and additions of manure and crop residue. Accordingly, by considering the interaction effect of land use with soil depth, the highest (16.00 mg kg-1) and the lowest (1.67 mg kg-1) available P contents were recorded at the surface soil layer of the cultivated and subsurface soil layer of the grass lands, respectively (Table 3). This result is in agreement with the findings reported by Nega and Heluf [47]; Ekukinam [58]; Alemayehu and Sheleme [29] that soil available P was significantly affected by land use types. The mean available P content of the soils of the study area was within the range of low in soils of grass land to high in soils of cultivated land as per available P rating suggested by [22].

Exchangeable Acidity and Basicity

The exchangeable acidity was not significantly (P >0.05) affected by land use and soil depth interaction (Table 3). Considering the absolute figures, relatively higher EA was recorded in soils of the cultivated land as compared to the other land use types (Table 3). These results show that intensive cultivation and application of inorganic fertilizers leads to the higher exchangeable acidity content under the crop field than the other land uses.

The content of exchangeable calcium (Ca) was not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by the interaction of land use with soil depth (Table 4). Based on the data obtained in the study area, relatively higher exchangeable Ca was recorded in subsurface soil layer of the forest land as compared to the other land use types and their depths (Table 4). According to the rating set by Landon [59], the Ca contents of soils in the study area ranged from high in surface cultivated land to very high in subsurface forest land (Table 4). The present study was in contradicted with Agoume and Birang [31]; Iwaraet al. [55]; Gebeyaw [32] who reported exchangeable calcium (Ca) was significantly affected by land use systems. However, Alemayehu and Sheleme [29] found higher Ca exchangeable under enset field at 0-15cm soil depths.

Exchangeable K content was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by the interaction of land use and soil depth (Table 4). Considering the interaction effects of land use by soil depth, the highest (2.15 cmol(+)/kg) and the lowest (0.77 cmol(+)/ kg) exchangeable K contents were recorded at the subsurface layers of the forest land and the surface layers of the cultivated land, respectively (Table 4). The low exchangeable K contents observed under cultivated land could probably due to continuous cultivations and inorganic farming practices in the study area which is supported by previous findings that indicate intensity of weathering, cultivation and use of acid forming inorganic fertilizers affect the distribution of K in the soil system and enhance its depletion [53].

The concentration of exchangeable potassium (K) followed trend of being enset field > grass land >maize farms for the three land uses and depths (0-15 and 15-30cm) and highest cation exchange capacity (CEC) under grassland [29].With the exceptions of the surface layers of the forest land and the subsurface layer of the grass lands, the mean exchangeable K contents of the remaining treatment combinations were significantly different (P≤ 0.05) from each other due to the interaction effects. The rate of mean exchangeable K values observed in this study ranged from high in cultivated land to very high in forest land Wang et, al. [60,61] (Table 4). Urioste et al. [50] reported that, the addition of organic matter increases the amount of exchangeable cations bases and the low cations bases in cultivated fields are due to the intensive cultivations and continues use of inorganic fertilizers which enhances the loss of base cations through erosion, crop harvest and leaching [62].

The content of exchangeable Na was significantly (P ≤0.01) affected by the interaction of land use by soil depth (Table 4). The effects of land use by soil depth on exchangeable Na was significantly high (0.25 cmol(+)/kg) under subsoil layer of the forest land and low (0.13 cmol(+)/kg) under surface soil layer of the cultivated land (Table 4). According to the rating set by Landon [59], the Na contents of soils in the study area is low. Alemayehu and Sheleme [29] reported higher exchangeable Na exists in the 15-30cm depth in grassland soils under enset field.The increase in basic cations concentration as well as percent base saturation with depth may suggest the existence of downward movement of these constituents exchangeable Ca, Mg, Na and K within the profile. Generally, the lower available exchangeable Na cation under cultivated land is an indicative for the depletion of the surface soils of the study area. Moreover, Negassa [62] reported that intensive cultivation and continuous use of inorganic fertilizers in the cultivated fields that will enhance loss of base cations through leaching, erosion and crop harvest.

Cation Exchange Capacity

The CEC values of the soils in the study area were significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by the interaction of land use with soil depth (Table 4). Significant difference in CEC contents due to the interaction of land use and soil depth was observed in the study area as highest (39.00 cmol+/kg) in surface soil layer of the grass land and lowest (23.87 cmol+/kg) in subsurface soil layer of the cultivated land. CEC values decreased from the surface to the subsurface layer under different land use types (Table 4). Based on CEC ratings developed by Landon [59], the CEC content of soils of the study area was rated as high in their CEC. It was generally low in the cultivated land than in the other land use types (Table 4). As indicated by Mesfin [63]; Negassa [62]; Boke [28] the depletion of exchangeable bases as the result of intensive cultivation and application of acid forming inorganic fertilizers which reduced the CEC under the cultivated land. Reid and Dirou [64] reported that oils with large amounts of clay or OM have higher exchange capacities than sandy soils, which are usually low in organic matter. Alemayehu and Sheleme [29]; Wasihun et al. [40] also reported high cation exchange capacity (CEC) values under grassland and grazing land compared to cultivated land respectively.

Exchangeable magnesium (Mg) was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by land use, but not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by soil depth and the interaction of land use with soil depth. The mean values of exchangeable magnesium (Mg) was higher (8.51 cmol(+)/kg) under the forest land and lower (3.62 cmol+/kg) under the cultivated land. As per exchangeable Mg rating set by Landon [59], the Mg contents of soils in the study area was in the range of high in cultivated land to very high in forest land (Table 5). The result of study was in agreement with those reported by Wakene [41], who reported that inorganic fertilizer application is the root cause of soil acidity. In addition, Wang et, al. [60]; Iwara et al. [55] also indicated that climate and geological history are the main important factors affecting soil properties.

Extractable micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu)

The contents of extractable micronutrients (Zn, Mn and Cu) were significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by the interaction of land use by soil depth (Table 6), while Fe was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by land use and soil depth, but not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by the interaction of land use with soil depth (Table 7). As to the ratings of Sims and Johnson the critical level of soil available (DTPA extractable) Fe, Cu, and Mn are 2.5-4.5, 0.1-2.5 and 1-50 mg/kg, respectively. Therefore, the soil contents of extractable micronutrients in all land use types with depth were above the critical levels indicating that there is no deficiency of these micronutrients in the study area (Table 6). According to the report of Alemayehu and Sheleme [29]; Wasihun et al. [40] in that micronutrient status was significantly influenced by different land use systems and soil depth. Accordingly, the contents of all these micronutrients were higher at the surface (0-20 cm) layer than in the subsoil layer of all land use types (Tables 6 & 7). This is due to the lower contents of exchangeable bases in the surface layer which is decreased as the result of leaching. In study conducted by Wasihun et al. [40] at Itang-Kir Area of Gambella Region, Ethiopia, higher extractable micronutrient cations (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) were available in grazing land use compared to cultivated land. Laiho et al. [65] also studied the variability in extractable micronutrient (Fe, Mn and Zn) within floristically defined peat land sites. Considering the main effects of land use, the highest contents of Fe (19.74mg/kg), Mn (84.04 mg/kg), Zn (1.87 mg/kg), and Cu (3.03 mg/kg) were recorded under the cultivated land, while the lowest Fe (15.53mg/kg), Mn (47.55 mg/kg), Zn (1.38 mg/kg), and Cu (1.51 mg/kg) were observed under the grass land (Table 7). *Main effect means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different from each other at p ≤ 0.05 LSD = least significant difference; SEM = standard error of the mean; CV = coefficient of variation.

Conclusion

The result of this finding suggests that the textural class of cultivated and grass land were clayey, whereas it was clay loam for forest land. The mean bulk density value of cultivated land was significantly greater than the value in the forest and grass land. Soil water content were highly significantly affected by land use and soil depth whereas the mean exchangeable Mg and K content of the soil were highly significantly affected by land use but not by soil depth. On the other hand, Ca was not affected by both land use and soil depth. The mean value of exchangeable Na, K, Ca and Mg were relatively lower in the surface and higher in the subsurface soil layers of cultivated and forest lands, respectively. The value of exchangeable bases relatively increases with soil depth. The mean CEC content of the soil were highly significantly affected by both land use and soil depth. However, it was greater in the surface grass land and lower in subsurface cultivated land. The values of available Fe, Zn and Cu observed were highly significantly affected by land use and soil depth while the mean value of available Mn was highly significantly affected by land use but not with soil depth.

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Ethiopia Travel Itineraries

Ethiopia is Africa's oldest country and has a unique cultural history. An independent nation tour will introduce you to a rich heritage that dates back to the 4th century when Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity was established. From deserts, savannahs, and canyons, to soaring mountains and high plateaus, you will embark on a trekking tour across a landscape like no other. You can also meet modest, polite people, visit ancient ruins and have exciting experiences with wildlife. Unsure what comes with an Ethiopian trip? Here's what a travel itinerary via Ethiopia looks like with some of the scenic highlights you might expect to see. We highlight those 4 picturesque areas:

Addis Ababa will be your jumping-off point for Cultural Tour to Ethiopia once you arrive at Bole International Airport. This is Ethiopia's capital city, which lies on the border of the Great Rift Valley. It has a population of over 3 million people and is an African international diplomatic hub.  

After transferring to your hotel from the airport you'll have time to relax and freshen up. A guided city excursion in the afternoon takes in some of Addis Ababa's cultural highlights, including the National Museum, Ethnological Museum, the Orthodox church of the Holy Trinity, and the Merkato - Largest Eastern African sector.

 Gonder, also known as the 'Camelot of Africa' is in the north of Ethiopia and is accessed by plane from Addis Ababa and also by 4WD from the Simien Mountains.

Here you'll explore a ruined city of emperors, from Fasilides (reigned 1632-- 67), to Iyasu II (1730-- 55). Visit the walled fortress and palace of Fasil Ghebbi, consisting of six castles and a multitude of tunnels and elevated walkways. The most notable of these is the Castle of Fasilida and the Royal Archive house .

The Simien Mountains are a World Heritage Site in the Ethiopian Highlands and a must-see on every trip of Ethiopia. Located approximately 2 1/2 hours drive from Gonder, you can ascend high into an exotic mountain range with spectacular amazing views of pure cliffs and lowlands. 

The Simien Awash National Park Tour is home to the endemic Gelada baboon, the Walia ibex, the klipspringer (a small antelope) and you may also encounter the rare Simien fox. There are plenty of opportunities for walks to explore the area, and you'll be accompanied by a local guide and scout.  

You'll stay the Limalimo Lodge, an eco-friendly lodge built from sustainable materials and local methods. Situated on 10 acres of land, the lodge is a great base for walks and bird watching. Its hilltop bar and restaurant take advantage of the fabulous views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

Your Ethiopia tour should include a visit to Africa's 'Petra', Lalibela Tour, Lake Tana Tours situated in the northern Amhara region. A pilgrimage site for Coptic Christians, this fascinating town is one of the holiest cities in the country.