Letter to the Editor

Abstract

Pollution of the environment is a topic that provokes sensations of dread today, because climate change, global warming and the pollution of cities are very notorious elements in our day to day. It is only a few years that concern about these problems has been become part of a global consciousness. But are they really all treated? Problems obviously this answer is unfortunately negative. Water pollution is par excellence one of the problems that human beings generate organic matter wherever we go, phosphates, nitrates and non-soluble solid residues (as major elements) among others, they are the cause of the death of aquatic ecosystems. Throughout this article we will see the different sources of contamination of waters of the Pisuerga River as it passes through Valladolid (Spain) [1].

Description

Rapid increase in population demands more production of food, fodder, fiber and fuel from the land. Highlands of Ethiopia, with altitude above 1500 Meters Above Sea Level (MASL) are the dominant sources of water, crop and fodder production. They are densely populated and hold about 90% human and about two-thirds of livestock population. The highlands cover about 50% of the land area with 95% of the cropping land accounting for over 90% of the country’s economy. To meet these needs, vast tracts of land are being put under intensive cropping and large areas of grasslands are being overgrazed and degraded in Ethiopia. Additionally, new and often marginal lands are being brought into production. Soil resources are finite, non-renewable and prone to degradation through misuse and mismanagement [1].

In Ethiopia, natural resources are under great pressure. Land degradation, including deforestation, soil erosion and biological soil degradation had been reported to be very rampant throughout the country [2]. Reported that because of its topographic nature, the removal of land cover leads to soil degradation. Environmental degradation, high population growth in developing countries, and the need to enhance sustainable agricultural productivity are interlocked issues that constitute a triple global challenge currently. For combating and minimizing the rate of soil degradation and to improve the land productivity through sustainable use of soil resources, understanding the soil physicochemical characteristics of land use systems and management practices are required. Moreover, understanding the effect of land use types and conservation practices on soil properties is useful for developing land management strategies and for sustainable agriculture [3].

Soil erosion is one of the most important environmental problems leading to losses in crop production and degrading the landscape. In most developing countries, including Ethiopia, human activity triggers these losses. This is associated with rapid population growth, inadequate attention to the basic natural resources (soils, water and vegetation), and the need to maximize production to meet the needs of the growing population.

Land use is one of the main drivers of many processes of environmental change, as it influences basic resources within the landscape, including the soil resources. It is obviously constrained by environmental factors such as soil characteristics, climate, topography and vegetation. The possible major land use type in agriculture are grazing land, forest land, cultivated land and settlement land