Tempo-spatial ecosystem service delivery variations of landscape restoration practices in Ethiopia

Land degradation and impairment of ecosystem services (ES) have been a serious problem in Ethiopia, due to excessive pressure on and improper use of land and water resources. Thus, various land management (LM) practices have been implemented to enhance ecosystem service and environmental sustainability. However, very little is known about the influence of efficacious land management practices on multiple ecosystem service. This paper assesses the implication of land management practices on crop yield, soil carbon stock, soil fertility, soil moisture, runoff, soil loss, nutrient loss, and cultural/societal services. A systematic review and synthesis methods were employed. Accordingly, different search engines were used to search and access published articles. Then, predefined criteria were used to screen relevant articles, where 571 observations from 92 studies were extracted and synthesized. The results showed that agronomic practices were increased grain yields, soil carbon stock, soil fertility, and soil moisture on average by 27.6%, 29.47%, 43.36%, and 14.26%, respectively. Biological practices also regulated runoff, soil loss, and nutrient loss on average by 45.81%, 59.47%, and 93.55%, respectively. Overall, land management practices efficacious to enhance bundle ecosystem service delivery but soil bund and fanyaa juu reduced grain yields on average by 24.4% and 21.9%, respectively. This indicates that there are a trade-offs between provisioning and other services like regulating, supporting and cultural practices under physical structures. Furthermore, land management practices were used to deliver ecosystem service at different times, positions and spatial scales. The integration of properly designed physical structures with agronomic and biological practices is imperative to enhance ecosystem service and balance the trade-offs in the agricultural landscapes. Further, it is important to find out a combination of alternative agricultural land management practices and their impacts on bundle ecosystem services at different temporal and spatial scales. Keywords: Agroecosystems, Ethiopia, grain yields, land management, trade-offs