Land use land cover change and expansion of Eucalyptus plantations in Senan District, northwest Ethiopia: analysis of potential factors

Farmers in Ethiopia’s highlands are rapidly converting their agricultural land into Eucalyptus plantations, which may have socioeconomic and environmental implications for local communities. This study aims to assess the expansion of Eucalyptus tree plantations at the expense of other land use practices in Northwest Ethiopia, specifically in the Senan district, and the factors that contribute to it. Data was collected from 332 (166 Eucalyptus planter and 166 non-planter) households and analyzed using the binary logit model. Land use and land cover change in the study area were investigated using Landsat satellite images of four periods (1990, 2000, 2010, and 2021). The land use and land cover classes were categorized using a supervised classification method. The findings revealed a decrease in cropland from 58.4% in 2010 to 38.1% in 2021, whereas the vegetation cover, predominantly consisting of Eucalyptus, experienced an increase from 16.8% to 26.5% during the same period. The results of the binary logit analysis indicate that the age of the household head, the size of the farmers’ land, and savings had a positive and significant impact on the adoption of Eucalyptus plantation, while the family size of households, educational status, livestock ownership, and the fertility level of farmers’ land had a significant negative effect on Eucalyptus plantation. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct comparative studies to assess the impact of Eucalyptus plantations on the livelihoods of farmers, ensuring that their well-being is improved as a result.