Farmers’ tree needs and traditional practices for managing seasonal frost in degraded highlands of central and northeastern Ethiopia

Ethiopia has made significant efforts to rehabilitate and restore degraded lands. However, these initiatives have been hindered by low soil fertility and extreme environmental events, such as seasonal frost. Reports indicate that frost is a major factor contributing to seedling mortality in the highlands. This study aimed to investigate farmers' tree preferences and traditional frost management practices in degraded, frost-affected highlands of central Ethiopia. The study was conducted in four purposively selected frost-prone districts (woredas) in the Amhara regional state: Dessie Zuria, Legambo, Menz Gera, and Menz Mama. A total of 202 households were sampled using a simple random sampling technique, based on the list of taxpayer households available at each site. Primary data were collected through household surveys using structured questionnaires and focus group discussions (FGDs). The most commonly grown tree species by farmers were Eucalyptus globulus (55.0%), Cytisus proliferus (20.0%), and Cupressus lusitanica (9.4%). Farmers prioritized tree attributes such as multipurpose use and fast growth (43.5%), and tree products like poles and construction materials (68.5%). Seasonal frost was identified as the primary cause of seedling mortality (59.4%), followed by drought (10.7%) and free grazing (8.5%). For frost management, farmers predominantly used mulching (33.5%), followed by hoeing and watering (24.1%) and plant cover (21.5%). Key variables, including district (P = 0.000), sex (P = 0.002), education (P = 0.044), and social status (P = 0.045), were found to have significant positive associations with farmers' frost management practices. To enhance these efforts, farmers' existing practices should be optimized, and alternative frost management strategies should be developed, tested, and scaled up in various frost-prone areas.