Skip to main content

Table 2 Description of examples of LULC classes identified in Gedalas watershed

From: Land use/cover spatiotemporal dynamics, driving forces and implications at the Beshillo catchment of the Blue Nile Basin, North Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia

S/N

Land use/cover classesa

Description

1

Woodlands/plantations

Areas covered with intricate mixture of small trees and bushes. These categories also incorporate Eucalyptus woodlots and/or other remnant woody plantations found mainly in the form of farm boundary, in and around scared sites

2

Shrub/bush lands

Areas covered with woody shrubs, thorny bushes and scattered or patches of various species of small trees, usually found along banks of streams, rugged landscapes and escarpments. Some of these land cover is used for communal grazing and browsing purpose. Some Enclosures are included in this category

3

Grasslands

Land units (privately and communally owned) covered by pure stands of grass and/or forbs used for hay making and grazing and browsing areas for livestock

4

Farmlands/settlements

This categories include areas used for crop cultivation (either on a rain-fed basis or using irrigation); areas covered by rural towns, scattered hamlet, backyards, churches, schools and mosques and other institutions spatially mixed in a fuzzy manner

5

Stream course/beds

Land covered by major intermittent streams and boulders found on the beds and along the banks of streams

6

Bare lands

Areas with little or no vegetation cover consisting of barren eroded landscapes and/or exposed rocks. are included in this category

7

Afro/sub afro alpine vegetation

Areas covered by herbaceous vegetation-type including shrubby herbs and tussock-forming grasses grown at highest altitudes of the watershed

  1. aSince the LULC natures of the watershed are mixed each other in an intricate manner, it was very difficult to make further distinction; hence, generalized information is presented above