OAKTrust :: Browsing by Author "Dile, Yihun T."

Browsing by Author "Dile, Yihun T."

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Assessing Irrigation Potential and Land Suitability in Ethiopia
(Texas A&M AgriLife Research, [2019?]) Worqlul, Abeyou W.; Osorio, Javier; Jeong, Jaehak; Gerik, Thomas; Dile, Yihun T.; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Clark, Neville; Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, TAMU, IDSS, ILSSI
Assessing potential land suitable for surface irrigation using groundwater in Ethiopia
(Applied Geography, 2017) Worqlul, Abeyou W.; Jeong, Jaehak; Dile, Yihun T.; Osorio, Javier; Schmitter, Petra; Gerik, Thomas; Srinivasan, R.; Clark, Neville; Elsevier
Although Ethiopia has abundant land for irrigation, only a fraction of its potential land is being utilized.This study evaluates suitability of lands for irrigation using groundwater in Ethiopia using GIS-basedMulti-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) techniques in order to enhance the country's agricultural industry.Key factors that significantly affect irrigation suitability evaluated in this study include physical landfeatures (land use, soil, and slope), climate (rainfall and evapotranspiration), and market access (proximity to roads and access to market). These factors were weighted using a pair-wise comparison matrix,then reclassified and overlaid to identify suitable areas for groundwater irrigation using a 1-km grid.Groundwater data from the British Geological Survey were used to estimate the groundwater potential,which indicates the corresponding irrigation potential for major crops. Results indicated that more than6 million ha of land are suitable for irrigation in Ethiopia. A large portion of the irrigable land is located inthe Abbay, Rift Valley, Omo Ghibe, and Awash River basins. These basins have access to shallowgroundwater (i.e., depth of groundwater less than 20 m from the surface) making it easier to extract. Thecomparison between available groundwater and total crop water requirements indicate that groundwater alone may not be sufficient to supply all suitable land. The study estimates that only 8% of thesuitable land can be irrigated with the available shallow groundwater. However, groundwater is a viableoption for supplementing surface water resources for irrigation in several basins in the country
Economic and Nutrition Impacts of Irrigated fodder and Crossbreed Cows on Households in Lemo woreda, SNNP region of Ethiopia
(Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, 2020) Bizimana, Jean-Claude; Derseh, Melkamu; Richardson, James W.; Bryant, Henry; Herbst, Brian K.; Lefore, Nicole; Clarke, Neville P.; Dile, Yihun T.; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Worqlul, Abeyou W.; Adie, Aberra
Economic and Nutrition Impacts of Irrigated fodder and Crossbreed Cows
Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana
(Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2019) Worqlul, Abeyou W.; Dile, Yihun T.; Jeong, Jaehak; Adimassu, Zenebe; Lefore, Nicole; Gerik, Thomas; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Clarke, Neville; Elsevier
Estimating the potential land resources suitable for irrigation and evaluating the possible impact of climate change on land suitability is essential for planning a sustainable agricultural system. This study applied a GIS-based Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) technique to evaluate the suitability of land for irrigation in Ghana for a baseline period (1990 to 2010) and future time horizons 2050s (2041 to 2060) and 2070s (2061 to 2080). Key factors considered to evaluate the suitability of the land for irrigation include biophysical features (such as climate, land use, soil, and slope) and socioeconomic factors (such as proximity to roads and population density). These factors were weighted using a pairwise comparison matrix then reclassified and overlaid on a 30 m grid to estimate the irrigation potential of the country. Groundwater data from the British Geological Survey (BGS) were superimposed onto the land suitability map layer to evaluate the irrigation potential and the accessibility of shallow groundwater with simple water lifting technologies. Downscaled and bias-corrected future climate data from HadGEM2-ES under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 emission scenario were used to represent the future climate horizon. Due to climate change, on average, rainfall will increase by 15 mm and 20 mm from the baseline period in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. The average temperature shows a consistent increase in the majority of Ghana and a higher rate of increase is expected in the 2070s. Consequently, the rising temperature will increase the potential evapotranspiration by 6.0% and 7.6% in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. The suitability analysis indicates that approximately 9% of the country is suitable for surface irrigation under the baseline period. A large portion of the potential land is located in the southwestern part of the country. The potential suitable land has an average groundwater access of 12 m from the surface with an average borehole potential yield of 2.5 L/second, which makes it favorable for utilization of simple water lifting technologies. Due to climate change, 9.5% of the suitable land will become unfavorable for irrigation in 2050s, and it is expected to reach 17% in 2070s.
Evaluation of regional climate models performance in simulating rainfall climatology of Jemma sub-basin, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia
(Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, 2018) Worku, Gebrekidan; Teferi, Ermias; Bantider, Amare; Dile, Yihun T.; Taye, Meron Teferi; Elsevier
This study examines the performance of 10 Regional Climate Model (RCM) outputs which are dynamically downscaled from the fifth phase of Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP5) GCMs using different RCMs parameterization approaches. The RCMs are evaluated based on their ability to reproduce the magnitude and pattern of monthly and annual rainfall, characteristics of rainfall events and variability related to Sea Surface Temperature (SST) for the period 1981–2005. The outputs of all RCMs showed wet bias, particularly in the higher elevation areas of the sub-basin. Wet bias of annual rainfall ranges from 9.60% in CCLM4 (HadGEM2-ES) model to 110.9% in RCA4 (EC-EARTH) model. JJAS (June-September) rainfall is also characterized by wet bias ranges from 0.76% in REMO (MPI-ESM-LR) model to 100.7% in RCA4 (HadGEM2-ES) model. GCMs that were dynamically downscaled through REMO (Max Planck Institute) and CCLM4 (Climate Limited-Area Modeling) performed better in capturing the rainfall climatology and distribution of rainfall events. However, GCMs dynamically downscaled using RCA4 (SMHI Rossby Center Regional Atmospheric Model) were characterized by overestimation and there are more extreme rainfall events in the cumulative distribution. Most of the RCMs’ rainfall over the sub-basin showed a teleconnection with Sea Surface Temperature (SST) of CMIP5 GCMs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but weak. The ensemble mean of all 10 RCMs simulations was superior in capturing the seasonal pattern of the rainfall and had better correlation with observed annual (Correl = 0.6) and JJAS season rainfall (Correl = 0.5) than any single model (S-RCM). We recommend using GCMs downscaled using REMO and CCLM4 RCMs and stations based statistical bias correction to manage elevation based biases of RCMs in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, specifically in the Jemma sub-basin.
Evaluation of static and dynamic land use data for watershed hydrologic process simulation: A case study in Gummara watershed, Ethiopia
(CATENA, 2019) Teklay, Achenafi; Dile, Yihun T.; Setegn, Shimelis G.; Demissie, Solomon S.; Asfaw, Dereje H.; Elsevier
Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change significantly affects hydrological processes. Several studies attempted to understand the effect of LULC change on biophysical processes; however, limited studies accounted dynamic nature of land use change. In this study, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT 2012) hydrological model and statistical analysis were applied to assess the impacts of land use change on hydrological responses such as surface runoff, evapotranspiration, and peak flow in Gummara watershed, Ethiopia. Moreover, the effects of static and dynamic land use data application on the SWAT model performance were evaluated. Two model setups, Static Land Use (SLU) and Dynamic Land Use (DLU), were studied to investigate the effects of accounting dynamic land use on hydrological responses. Both SLU and DLU model setups used the same meteorological, soil, and DEM data, but different land use. The SLU setup used the 1985 land use layer, whereas the DLU setup used 1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015 land use data. The calibration (validation) results showed that the model satisfactorily predicts temporal variation and peak streamflow with Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of 0.75 (0.71) and 0.73 (0.71) in the DLU and SLU setups, respectively. However, the DLU model setup simulated the detailed biophysical processes better during the calibration period. Both model setups equally predicted daily streamflow during the validation period. Better performance was obtained while applying the DLU model setup because of improved representation of the dynamic watershed characteristics such as curve number (CN2), overland Manning's (OV_N), and canopy storage (CANMX). Expansion of agricultural land use by 11.1% and the reduction of forest cover by 2.3% during the period from 1985 to 2015 increased the average annual surface runoff and peak flow by 11.6 mm and 2.4 m3/s, respectively and decreased the evapotranspiration by 5.3 mm. On the other hand, expansion of shrubland by 1% decreased the surface runoff by 1.2 mm and increased the evapotranspiration by 1.1 mm. The results showed that accounting DLU into the SWAT model simulation leads to a more realistic representation of temporal land use changes, thereby improving the accuracy of temporal and spatial hydrological processes estimation.
Ex Ante Analysis of Small-Scale Irrigation Interventions in Bihinaayili
(Feed the Future, [2016?]) Bizmana, Jean-Claude; Clarke, Neville P.; Dile, Yihun T.; Gerik, Thomas J.; Jeong, Jaehak; Osorio Leyton, Javier M.; Richardson, James W.; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Worqlul, Abeyou W.; USAID; The Borlaug Institute; Texas A&M AgriLife Research; Texas A&M University System; IFPRI; IWMI; ILRI; North Carolina A&T State University
The impacts of rice cultivation on an indigenous Fogera cattle population at the eastern shore of Lake Tana, Ethiopia
(Ecological Processes, 2019) Desta, Mare Addis; Zeleke, Gete; Payne, William A.; Shenkoru, Teshome; Dile, Yihun T.; Springer
BackgroundEven though increasing population pressure and associated increased demand for food and economic development have led to overexploitation and degradation of wetlands throughout the world, the drivers are most severe in developing countries. For generations, Fogera wetlands in Ethiopia which are parts of Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve have been widely used for grazing of indigenous cattle. Fogera cattle are one of several recognized indigenous breeds of Abyssinian zebu bovine cattle (Bos primigenius indicus) found in Fogera district, Ethiopia. This study was conducted to quantify impacts of rice expansion on cattle population in Fogera wetlands. Data were collected through questionnaire, focus group discussions, interviews, and land use/land cover analysis. Respondents were selected using systematic random sampling. Variance and LEVENES test were used to analyze the livestock unit and to check homogeneity.ResultsThe study revealed that during the 20-year period preceding 2015, the number of cattle owned decreased from 3509 to 1510 heads. In the same period, rice cultivation increased from 182 to 9499 ha and production from 6701 to 714,013 qt. Grazing lands were reduced from 8550 to 3501 ha, wetlands from 3114 to 1060 ha, and forests from 1542 to 907 ha. Land use/land cover changes showed a negative balance of 40% dry matter requiring cattle feed to be increasingly supplemented through purchases, or reduction in herd number. The study also indicated that the land-use changes brought at the expense of traditional cattle production systems.ConclusionHence, proper management is required to maintain these valuable resources and keep their role in socioeconomic development of the area.
Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems: Estimating water resource availability to produce livestock fodder in the rainfed agricultural land in Ethiopia using small scale irrigation
(ILRI, 2020) Srinivasan, Raghavan; Dile, Yihun T.; Bizimana, Jean-Claud; Lefore, Nicole; Clarke, Neville (all TAMU); Worqlul Abeyou W. (Texas AgriLife Research).
Estimating water resource availability to produce livestock fodder in the rainfed agricultural land in Ethiopia using small scale irrigation
Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems: Identification of areas suited for fodder production in Ethiopia
(ILRI, 2020) Srinivasan, Raghavan; Worqlul, Abeyou W. (Texas A&M AgriLife Research); Bezabih, Melkamu; Adie, Aberra (both International Livestock Research Institute, ILRI); Dile, Yihun T.; Bizimana, Jean-Claude; Lefore, Nicole; Clarke, Neville (all TAMU)
Potential fodder production in Ethiopia
Introducing a new open source GIS user interface for the SWAT model
(Environmental Modelling & Software, 2016) Dile, Yihun T.; Daggupati, Prasad; George, Chris; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Arnold, Jeff; Elsevier
The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is a robust watershed modeling tool. It typically uses the ArcSWAT interface to create its inputs. ArcSWAT is public domain software which works in the licensed ArcGIS environment. The aim of this paper was to develop an open source user interface for the SWAT model. The interface, QSWAT, is written in the Python programming language and uses various functionalities of the open source geographic information system, QGIS. The current interface performs similar functions to ArcSWAT, but with additional enhanced features such as merging small subbasins and static and dynamic visualization of outputs. The interface is demonstrated through a case study in the Gumera watershed in the Lake Tana basin of Ethiopia, where it showed a successful performance. QSWAT will be a valuable tool for the SWAT scientific community, with improved availability and functionality compared with other options for creating SWAT models.
Multi-Dimensional Evaluation of Simulated Small-Scale Irrigation Intervention: A Case Study in Dimbasinia Watershed, Ghana
(Sustainability, 2018) Worqlul, Abeyou W.; Dile, Yihun T.; Bizimana, Jean-Claude; Jeong, Jaehak; Gerik, Thomas J.; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Richardson, James W.; Clarke, Neville; MDPI
This paper studied the impacts of small-scale irrigation (SSI) interventions on environmental sustainability, agricultural production, and socio-economics using an Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS). The IDSS is comprised of a suite of models, namely the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX), and Farm Income and Nutrition Simulator (FARMSIM). The IDSS was applied in Dimbasinia watershed in northern Ghana using irrigation water from shallow groundwater. The watershed has a modest amount of shallow groundwater resources. However, the average annual irrigation water requirement exceeded the average annual shallow groundwater recharge. It was found that the current crop yield in Dimbasinia watershed was only ~40% of the potential crop production. This is mainly related to climate variability, low soil fertility, and land-management practices. For example, application of 50 kg/ha urea and 50 kg/ha DAP doubled maize and sorghum yield from the current farmers’ practices. Better income was obtained when irrigated vegetables/fodder were cultivated in rotation with sorghum as compared to in rotation with maize. Investment in solar pumps paid better dividends and also supplied clean energy. The socio-economic analysis indicated that having irrigated dry season vegetables will improve household nutrition. Since shallow groundwater recharge alone may not provide sufficient water for irrigation in a sustainable manner, surface water may be stored using water-harvesting structures to supplement the groundwater for irrigation. Integrated use of the water resources will also reduce depletion of the shallow groundwater aquifer. We conclude that IDSS is a promising tool to study gaps and constraints as well as upscaling of SSI.
Observed changes in extremes of daily rainfall and temperature in Jemma Sub-Basin, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia
(Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 2018) Worku, Gebrekidan; Teferi, Ermias; Bantider, Amare; Dile, Yihun T.; Springer
Climate variability has been a threat to the socio-economic development of Ethiopia. This paper examined the changes in rainfall, minimum, and maximum temperature extremes of Jemma Sub-Basin of the Upper Blue Nile Basin for the period of 1981 to 2014. The nonparametric Mann-Kendall, seasonal Mann-Kendall, and Sen’s slope estimator were used to estimate annual trends. Ten rainfall and 12 temperature indices were used to study changes in rainfall and temperature extremes. The results showed an increasing trend of annual and summer rainfall in more than 78% of the stations and a decreasing trend of spring rainfall in most of the stations. An increase in rainfall extreme events was detected in the majority of the stations. Several rainfall extreme indices showed wetting trends in the sub-basin, whereas limited indices indicated dryness in most of the stations. Annual maximum and minimum temperature and extreme temperature indices showed warming trend in the sub-basin. Presence of extreme rainfall and a warming trend of extreme temperature indices may suggest signs of climate change in the Jemma Sub-Basin. This study, therefore, recommended the need for exploring climate induced risks and implementing appropriate climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Observed changes in extremes of daily rainfall and temperature in Jemma Sub-Basin, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia
(Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 2018) Worku, Gebrekidan; Teferi, Ermias; Bantider, Amare; Dile, Yihun T.; Springer
Climate variability has been a threat to the socio-economic development of Ethiopia. This paper examined the changes in rainfall, minimum, and maximum temperature extremes of Jemma Sub-Basin of the Upper Blue Nile Basin for the period of 1981 to 2014. The nonparametric Mann-Kendall, seasonal Mann-Kendall, and Sen’s slope estimator were used to estimate annual trends. Ten rainfall and 12 temperature indices were used to study changes in rainfall and temperature extremes. The results showed an increasing trend of annual and summer rainfall in more than 78% of the stations and a decreasing trend of spring rainfall in most of the stations. An increase in rainfall extreme events was detected in the majority of the stations. Several rainfall extreme indices showed wetting trends in the sub-basin, whereas limited indices indicated dryness in most of the stations. Annual maximum and minimum temperature and extreme temperature indices showed warming trend in the sub-basin. Presence of extreme rainfall and a warming trend of extreme temperature indices may suggest signs of climate change in the Jemma Sub-Basin. This study, therefore, recommended the need for exploring climate induced risks and implementing appropriate climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Statistical bias correction of regional climate model simulations for climate change projection in the Jemma sub-basin, upper Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia
(Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 2019) Worku, Gebrekidan; Teferi, Ermias; Bantider, Amare; Dile, Yihun T.; Springer
This study evaluates bias correction methods and develops future climate scenarios using the output of a better bias correctiontechnique at the Jemma sub-basin. The performance of different bias correction techniques was evaluated using several statisticalmetrics. The bias correction methods performance under climate condition different from the current climate was also evaluatedusing the differential split sample testing (DSST) and reveals that the distribution mapping technique is valid under climatecondition different from the current climate. All bias correction methods were effective in adjusting mean monthly and annualRCM simulations of rainfall and temperature to the observed rainfall and temperature values. However, distribution mappingmethod was better in capturing the 90th percentile of observed rainfall and temperature and wet day probability of observedrainfall than other methods. As a result, we use the future (2021–2100) simulation of RCMs which are bias corrected usingdistribution mapping technique. The output of bias-adjusted RCMs unfolds a decline of rainfall, a persistent increase of temperature and an increase of extremes of rainfall and temperature in the future climate under emission scenarios of RepresentativeConcentration Pathways 4.5, 8.5 and 2.6 (RCP4.5, RCP8.5 and RCP2.6). Thus, climate adaptation strategies that can provideoptimal benefits under different climate scenarios should be developed to reduce the impact of future climate change.
Suitability of Water Harvesting in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia: A First Step towards a Mesoscale Hydrological Modeling Framework
(Advances in Meteorology, 2016) Dile, Yihun T.; Rockström, Johan; Karlberg, Louise
Water resource assessment, gaps, and constraints of vegetable production in Robit and Dangishta watersheds, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia
(Agricultural Water Management, 2019) Worqlul, Abeyou W.; Dile, Yihun T.; Schmitter, Petra; Jeong, Jaehak; Meki, Manyowa N.; Gerik, Thomas J.; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Lefore, Nicole; Clarke, Neville; Elsevier
The vast majority of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa depend on rainfed agriculture for food production and livelihood. Various factors including but not limited to rainfall variability, land degradation, and low soil fertility constrain agricultural productivity in the region. The objectives of this study were to 1) estimate the water resources potential to sustain small-scale irrigation (SSI) in Ethiopia during the dry season so as to expand food supply by growing vegetables, and 2) understand the gaps and constraints of vegetable production. The case studies were conducted in the Robit and Dangishta watersheds of the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia. To document farmers’ cropping practices, field-level data were collected from 36 households who had been cultivating tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and onion (Allium cepa L.) during the dry season (November – April). Two components of the Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS) - the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) – were respectively used to assess impacts of SSI at the watershed and field-scale levels. Results suggest that there is a substantial amount of surface runoff and shallow groundwater recharge at the watershed scale. The field-scale analysis in the Robit watershed indicated that optimal tomato yield could be obtained with 500 mm of water and 200 to 250 kg/ha of urea applied with 50 kg/ha of diammonium phosphate (DAP). In Dangishta, optimum onion yield can be obtained with 400 mm of water and 120 to 180 kg/ha of urea applied with 50 kg/ha of DAP. The field-scale simulation indicated that the average shallow groundwater recharge (after accounting for other groundwater users such as household and livestock use) was not sufficient to meet tomato and onion water demand in the dry season (October to April). The field-scale analysis also indicated that soil evaporation attributed a significant proportion of evapotranspiration (60% for onion and 40% for tomato). Use of mulching or other soil and water conservation interventions could optimize irrigation water for vegetable production by reducing soil evaporation and thereby increasing water availability in the crop root zone.

Browsing by Author "Dile, Yihun T."

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