Assessing the impact of land cover changes on selected ecosystem services in upper Suha watershed, Gojjam, Ethiopia

This study was conducted in the upper Suha watershed in Enemay district, Gojjam, Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to assess land use/cover (LULC) change of the study area between 1986 and 2015 and to analyse its impact on selected ecosystem services. The LULC change was assessed by using Landsat Thematic Mapper(TM) 1986 and Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI/TIS) 2015. The socio-economic survey was collected through key informant interviews and focus group discussion. The Landsat data were analysed using ERDAS IMAGINE 2014 (R) and ArcGIS 10.5 (R) softwares. The ecosystem services were estimated using the value transfer method. The results revealed that farmland, plantation forests and settlement increased by 18%, 93% and 125%, respectively whereas natural forest, shrubland and grassland decreased by 54%, 82% and 16%, respectively. The result also showed that the total ecosystem service value decreased from $31.5 million in 1986 to $24.36 million in 2015 mainly due to the decreasing areas of natural forest, shrubland and grasslands. The research results suggest that future land use planning should give emphasis on properly managing the natural and semi-natural vegetation that has high ecosystem service values.