Forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Despite these facts, the expansion of agriculture and settlement at the expense of forest resources has threatened the forest resources and results in biodiversity loss. To halt this problem, various conservation practices that believed to restore the degraded lands and biodiversity of the country have been implemented. Area exclosure is among the conservation strategies that have been used to restore the degraded lands in Mount Adama forest. However, its role in woody species regeneration in Mount Adama was not investigated. Thus, the objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of area exclosure on woody plant species composition, regeneration status, structure and diversity in Mount Adama. A systematic transect sampling method was used to collect vegetation data. Hence, 53 plots with 400 m² area were laid along 11 transects. Then, within the main plots, five subplots with 1 m² were laid to determine the abundance and frequency of seedlings. The results showed that about 31 woody species that belong to 30 genera and 19 families including four endemic species were identified. The majority (67.74%) of the species were categorized under shrub habitat, while the remaining 19.35% and 12.90% were trees and lianas or climbers, respectively. Asteraceae family was dominant by contributing 4 species followed by Rosaceae and Solanaceae each contributed 3 species. Hypericum revolutum was the dominant species with 53.38 important value index followed by Erica arborea and Hagenia abyssinica with 49.12 and 40.05, respectively. The overall Shannon- Wiener diversity index and Shannon evenness in the exclosure site were 2.6 and 0.73, respectively. Furthermore, the number of seedlings and saplings were higher in the exclosure than the untreated site. The results of the study evidently showed that area exclosure that implemented in Mount Adam successfully contributed to the biodiversity restoration. Therefore, further conservation efforts targeting species with low IVI values are needed for sustainable management and ecological recovery of the area.

Poverty is a challenge facing all countries but worst in Sub-Sahara African. Ending poverty in its all form is the Nation’s 2030 core goals where Ethiopia is striving. Therefore, to step forward the effort, it is necessary to assess rural poverty. Accordingly, the study intended to investigate the determinants of rural poverty at the household level in Tenta district, South Wollo Zone. A mixed research design is employed to frame the study and 196 representative samples are identified using a multistage sampling technique from three agroecological zones. Primary data are collected through a detailed structured household survey which involves questionnaires, semi-structured interview and FGD techniques. Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) method and a binary logistic regression model is used for analyzing data. The result unveils that the total poverty line of the study area is 387.43 ETB per person per month and 4649.16 ETB per year where 67.3% of the societies are poor. The probability of rural household flees from poverty increases as they own beehive, large farmland size, oxen and small ruminant animals, and as the household headed by a male. On the other hand, family size and non/off-farm activities increase the probability of poor. Therefore, sex of household head, farmland holding size, beehive ownership, number of oxen and number of small ruminants, household size and non/off-farm activities were determinant factors of rural poverty. So, the national, and regional governments should work together on family planning, farm income diversification and design gender-based anti-poverty development policy to curb poverty.

This study analyzes the variability and trends of precipitation (P), air temperature, and reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) in Ethiopia’s Lake Tana sub-basin from 1980 to 2023, evaluating their impacts on water resources, agriculture, and forestry. As a vital ecological and socio-economic area in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, the sub-basin faces growing climate-related risks. Using monthly climate data from five sources (MSWX-Past, MERRA-2, ERA-5, CRUTS4.06, and TerraClimate), the study assessed spatiotemporal variability and trends. ET₀ was estimated using the FAO56 Penman–Monteith method, and statistical tools such as linear regression, coefficient of variation, and standardized rainfall anomaly were applied. Results show significant increases in annual and Kiremt (June–September) rainfall, while Belg (February–May) and Bega (October–January) experienced slight, non-significant declines. Air temperatures rose significantly, peaking in March, while ET₀ was highest in the sub-basin’s north and during the Belg season. Rainfall variability was low during Kiremt but higher during Belg and Bega. The climatic water balance also showed rising seasonal and annual trends. These changes present challenges for sustainable resource management. Strengthening climate monitoring, integrated water management, and climate-resilient practices is essential to support sustainable development in the Lake Tana sub-basin.

Soil moisture availability affects agricultural productivity and in turn food security. Estimating the moisture content of soil is imperative for proper water resource management and agricultural productivity. However, field based method is expensive and covers limited spatial variation. The advancement of remote sensing technology eases the soil moisture estimation over large geographic area. Hence, this study intended to apply the optical and thermal remote sensing data for estimating SM in the Lake Tana sub basin. Temperature vegetation dryness index (TVDI) model which is used in this study to estimate soil moisture is derived from the wet and dry edge of the LST-NDVI triangular scatterplot. The finding revealed that NDVI and LST have inverse relationship where LST decrease with increasing NDVI. Spatially, northern and north western part has experienced high LST. The estimated soil moisture result ranging from 0 to 1 where the soil moisture is higher in areas with TVDI value is near 1. Thus, soil moisture is higher in the east, and northeast part of the sub basin whereas the central, western and northwest part experienced low soil moisture. Therefore, applying remote sensing enables estimation of soil moisture across large geographical area with scarcity of field data (in-situ observations).