Lim'at
Lim’at
Maygwa | |
|---|---|
 Farmlands in Lim'at | |
  Lim’at Location within Ethiopia | |
| Coordinates:13°37′N39°8′E/ 13.617°N 39.133°E | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Tigray |
| Zone | Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) |
| Woreda | Dogu'a Tembien |
| Area | |
| • Total | 17.90 km2(6.91 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 2,620 m (8,600 ft) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 5,362 |
| • Density | 299/km2(770/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3(EAT) |
Lim’atis atabiain theDogu'a Tembiendistrict of theTigray RegionofEthiopia.Thetabiacentre is in Maygwa village, located approximately 8 km to the southwest of theworedatownHagere Selam.
Geography
[edit]Thetabiastretches down from the Tsatsen plateau (2810 m a.s.l.), across the main road towards Zeleqwa (Upper Tanqwa) river (2270 m a.s.l.).
Geology
[edit]From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:[1]
- Upper basalt
- Interbedded lacustrine deposits
- Lower basalt
- Amba Aradam Formation
- Antalo Limestone
- Quaternaryalluviumand freshwatertufa[2]
Geomorphology and soils
[edit]The maingeomorphicunit is the Hagere Selam Highlands. Corresponding soil types are:[3]
- Associated soil types
- Inclusions
- Rock outcrops and very shallow soils (LithicLeptosol)
- Rock outcrops and very shallow soils on limestone (CalcaricLeptosol)
- Deep dark crackingclayswith very good natural fertility,waterloggedduring the wet season (ChromicVertisol,PellicVertisol)
- Shallow stony darkloamson calcaric material (CalcaricRegosol,CalcaricCambisol)
- Brownloamysoils on basalt with good natural fertility (Luvisol)
Climate and hydrology
[edit]Climate and meteorology
[edit]The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August. Mean temperature in Maygwa is 17 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 9.4 °C and maximum of 24.4 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts.[4]
Rivers
[edit]The Giba River's tributary, the Tanqwa is the most important river in the surroundings of thetabia.It flows towardsTekezze Riverand further on to theNile.The rivers have incised deep gorges which characterise the landscape.[5] Thedrainage networkof thetabiais organised as follows:[6]
- Giba River
- Zeleqwa River, intabiasMelfaand Lim’at, which becomes Ruba Dirho inAregenandDegol Woyane,andTanqwaRiver, in theworedasKola TembienandAbergele (woreda)
- Adawro River,intabiaLim’at
- ArwaditoRiver, intabiaLim’at
- May Qoqah,intabiaLim’at
- Zeleqwa River, intabiasMelfaand Lim’at, which becomes Ruba Dirho inAregenandDegol Woyane,andTanqwaRiver, in theworedasKola TembienandAbergele (woreda)
Whereas they are (nearly) dry during most of the year, during the main rainy season, these rivers carry high runoff discharges, sometimes in the form offlash floods.Especially at the begin of the rainy season they are brown-coloured, evidencing high soilerosionrates.
Springs
[edit]As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The main springs in thetabiaare:[7]
- Mhtsab Alabu in Adawro
- Hamute
Water harvesting
[edit]In this area with rains that last only for a couple of months per year, reservoirs of different sizes allow harvesting runoff from the rainy season for further use in the dry season.
- Traditional surface water harvesting ponds, particularly in places without permanent springs, calledrahaya
- Horoyo,household ponds, recently constructed through campaigns[8]
Settlements
[edit]Thetabiacentre Maygwa holds a few administrative offices, a health post, a primary school, and some small shops. Saturday is the market day.[7]There are a few more primary schools across thetabia.The main other populated places are:[6]
- Addi Gerahti
- Hahawti
- Agerbi’a
- Adawro
- Ksad Adawro
Vegetation and exclosures
[edit]Thetabiaholds severalexclosures,areas that are set aside for regreening,[9]such asAdawro exclosure.Wood harvesting and livestock range are not allowed there. Besides effects onbiodiversity,[10][11][12]water infiltration,protection from flooding,sedimentdeposition,[13]carbon sequestration,[14]people commonly have economic benefits from these exclosures through grass harvesting, beekeeping and othernon-timber forest products.[15]The local inhabitants also consider it as “land set aside for future generations”.[16]
Agriculture and livelihood
[edit]The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated byfarmlandswhich are clearly demarcated and are cropped every year. Hence theagricultural systemis a permanent uplandfarming system.[17]The farmers have adapted theircropping systemsto the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall.[18]
History and culture
[edit]History
[edit]The history of thetabiais strongly confounded with thehistory of Tembien.
Religion
[edit]Most inhabitants areOrthodox Christians.
Inda Siwa,the local beer houses
[edit]In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses (Inda Siwa), often in unique settings, where people socialise. Well known in thetabiaare[7]
- Amete Kiros at Agerbi’a
- Tekien Gebresellasie at Maygua
- Tekien Alemayehu at Maygua
Roads and communication
[edit]The main roadMekelle–Hagere Selam–Abiy Addiruns across thetabia.There are regular bus services to these towns.
Tourism
[edit]Its mountainous nature and proximity toMekellemake thetabiafit for tourism.[19]As compared to many other mountain areas inEthiopiathe villages are quite accessible, and during walks visitors may be invited for coffee, lunch or even for an overnight stay in a rural homestead.[20]
Geotouristic sites
[edit]The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".[21]Geosites in thetabiainclude:
- May Qoqah river with permanentbaseflowandgullycontrol structures (log dams and check dams)
- Views onMelfa,withdebris flows
- Adawro Ch’erkos church forest, dominated byEuphorbia candelabra
- Views from Tsatsen plateau to the wider surroundings
Trekking routes
[edit]Trekking routes have been established in thistabia.[22]The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded.GPX files.[23]
- Trek7,across thetabiatoDebre Sema'itrock church, and on toAbiy Addi
- Trek8,at the southeastern edge of thetabiaover the Tsatsen plateau throughInda Maryam QorartoZeyicave and on the Giba River gorge
- Trek20follows May Qoqah River and then the deep Zeleqwa gorge
See also
[edit]- Dogu'a Tembiendistrict.
References
[edit]- ^Sembroni, A.; Molin, P.; Dramis, F. (2019).Regional geology of the Dogu'a Tembien massif. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District.SpringerNature.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.
- ^Moeyersons, J. and colleagues (2006). "Age and backfill/overfill stratigraphy of two tufa dams, Tigray Highlands, Ethiopia: Evidence for Late Pleistocene and Holocene wet conditions".Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.230(1–2): 162–178.Bibcode:2006PPP...230..165M.doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.07.013.
- ^Nyssen, Jan; Tielens, Sander; Gebreyohannes, Tesfamichael; Araya, Tigist; Teka, Kassa; Van De Wauw, Johan; Degeyndt, Karen; Descheemaeker, Katrien; Amare, Kassa; Haile, Mitiku; Zenebe, Amanuel; Munro, Neil; Walraevens, Kristine; Gebrehiwot, Kindeya; Poesen, Jean; Frankl, Amaury; Tsegay, Alemtsehay; Deckers, Jozef (2019)."Understanding spatial patterns of soils for sustainable agriculture in northern Ethiopia's tropical mountains".PLOS ONE.14(10): e0224041.Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1424041N.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224041.PMC6804989.PMID31639144.
- ^Jacob, M. and colleagues (2019). "Dogu'a Tembien's Tropical Mountain Climate".Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains.GeoGuide. SpringerNature. pp. 45–61.doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_3.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.S2CID199105560.
- ^Amanuel Zenebe, and colleagues (2019). "The Giba, Tanqwa and Tsaliet Rivers in the Headwaters of the Tekezze Basin".Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains.GeoGuide. SpringerNature. pp. 215–230.doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_14.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.S2CID199099067.
- ^abJacob, M. and colleagues (2019).Geo-trekking map of Dogu'a Tembien (1:50,000). In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District.SpringerNature.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.
- ^abcWhat do we hear from the farmers in Dogu'a Tembien? [in Tigrinya].Hagere Selam, Ethiopia. 2016. p. 100.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^Developers and farmers intertwining interventions: the case of rainwater harvesting and food-for-work in Degua Temben, Tigray, Ethiopia
- ^Aerts, R; Nyssen, J; Mitiku Haile (2009)."On the difference between" exclosures "and" enclosures "in ecology and the environment".Journal of Arid Environments.73(8): 762–763.Bibcode:2009JArEn..73..762A.doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.01.006.
- ^Aerts, R.; Lerouge, F.; November, E. (2019).Birds of forests and open woodlands in the highlands of Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District.SpringerNature.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.
- ^Mastewal Yami, and colleagues (2007). "Impact of Area Enclosures on Density and Diversity of Large Wild Mammals: The Case of May Ba'ati, Douga Tembien Woreda, Central Tigray, Ethiopia".East African Journal of Sciences.1:1–14.
- ^Aerts, R; Lerouge, F; November, E; Lens, L; Hermy, M; Muys, B (2008)."Land rehabilitation and the conservation of birds in a degraded Afromontane landscape in northern Ethiopia".Biodiversity and Conservation.17:53–69.doi:10.1007/s10531-007-9230-2.S2CID37489450.
- ^Descheemaeker, K. and colleagues (2006). "Sediment deposition and pedogenesis in exclosures in the Tigray Highlands, Ethiopia".Geoderma.132(3–4): 291–314.Bibcode:2006Geode.132..291D.doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2005.04.027.
- ^Wolde Mekuria, and colleagues (2011). "Restoration of Ecosystem Carbon Stocks Following Exclosure Establishment in Communal Grazing Lands in Tigray, Ethiopia".Soil Science Society of America Journal.75(1): 246–256.Bibcode:2011SSASJ..75..246M.doi:10.2136/sssaj2010.0176.
- ^Bedru Babulo, and colleagues (2006). "Economic valuation methods of forest rehabilitation in exclosures".Journal of the Drylands.1:165–170.
- ^Jacob, M. and colleagues (2019).Exclosures as Primary Option for Reforestation in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District.SpringerNature.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.
- ^Nyssen, J.; Naudts, J.; De Geyndt, K.; Haile, Mitiku; Poesen, J.; Moeyersons, J.; Deckers, J. (2008). "Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia)".Land Degradation and Development.19(3): 257–274.doi:10.1002/ldr.840.S2CID128492271.
- ^Frankl, A. and colleagues (2013)."The effect of rainfall on spatio‐temporal variability in cropping systems and duration of crop cover in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands".Soil Use and Management.29(3): 374–383.doi:10.1111/sum.12041.hdl:1854/LU-3123393.S2CID95207289.
- ^Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District.SpringerNature. 2019.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.
- ^Nyssen, Jan (2019). "Logistics for the Trekker in a Rural Mountain District of Northern Ethiopia".Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains.GeoGuide. Springer-Nature. pp. 537–556.doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_37.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.S2CID199198251.
- ^Miruts Hagos and colleagues (2019). "Geosites, Geoheritage, Human-Environment Interactions, and Sustainable Geotourism in Dogu'a Tembien".Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains.GeoGuide. SpringerNature. pp. 3–27.doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_1.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.S2CID199095921.
- ^Nyssen, Jan (2019). "Description of Trekking Routes in Dogu'a Tembien".Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains.GeoGuide. Springer-Nature. pp. 557–675.doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_38.ISBN978-3-030-04954-6.S2CID199271514.
- ^"Public GPS traces tagged with nyssen-jacob-frankl".OpenStreetMap.Retrieved2019-10-11.
