Acacia decurrens tree plantations brought land use land cover change in northwestern of Ethiopia

Abstract Tree plantation-based land use in Ethiopia is a crucial sustainable approach to improving community income and reducing soil resource degradation in highland areas. The study aimed to evaluate land use and cover change and examine factors driving community transition from crop agriculture to tree plantation in Fagita Lekoma district. Landsat 1986, 2002 and 2020 images were used to generate the land use maps by using the maximum likelihood algorithm of supervised classification. This study utilized field observations, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews as crucial data collection tools for socioeconomic analysis. The change detection results show that cultivated land, grassland, and wetlands are significantly declining by 22.6, 20.1, and 63%, respectively. On the contrary, forestland and settlement areas are increasing by 210 and 1,665%, respectively. Forest cover was increased by 210% in the district’s study year, with the highest conversion rate of 15.1% from cultivated land to forest land in the overall study period. As a result, Acacia decurrens forestation is the main cause of the change of use from arable land to forest land systems. This tree plantation-based land use is also the main driving force behind shifting crop farming to tree plantation-based livelihoods because it increases economic benefits and employment opportunities, reduces soil erosion, and increases soil productivity in the area. To limit the negative consequences and raise the beneficial effects of tree plantations, systematic management of tree-based land use systems, integrated advanced land resource management, and increased economic and environmental benefits are suggested for the district.