Abstract. Gully erosion can be combatted in severely affected regions like sub-Saharan Africa by a range of low-cost interventions that are accessible to affected farmers. However, for successful implementation, biophysical evidence of the effectiveness of interventions needs to be combined with buy-in and input from local communities. Working with farmers in a watershed in Southern Ethiopia, we investigated (a) the effectiveness of low-cost gully rehabilitation measures to reduce soil loss and upward expansion of gully heads, (b) how farmers and communities view gully interventions, and (c) whether demonstrating gully interventions in-context changes farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of their capacity to act. On-farm field experiments, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and household surveys were used to collect and analyze data. Three gully treatments were explored, all with riprap, one also with grass planting, and one with grass planting and check-dam integration. Over a period of 26 months these low-cost practices ceased measurable gully head expansion, whereas untreated gullies had a mean upward expansion of 671 cm resulting in a calculated soil loss of 11.0 tonnes. Farmers viewed these gully rehabilitation measures positively, apart from the high cost of input materials and technical requirements of gabion check-dams. Ongoing rehabilitation activities and on-farm trials influenced knowledge and understanding of similar gully treatments among survey respondents. On-farm experiments and field day demonstrations empowered farmers to act, addressing pessimism from some respondents about their capacity to do so.

中文翻译：

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埃塞俄比亚南部的沟壑修复——对农民的价值和影响

摘要。在撒哈拉以南非洲等受影响严重的地区，可以通过受影响农民可以采取的一系列低成本干预措施来对抗沟渠侵蚀。然而，为了成功实施，干预措施有效性的生物物理证据需要与当地社区的支持和投入相结合。我们与埃塞俄比亚南部流域的农民合作，调查了 (a) 低成本沟壑修复措施对减少土壤流失和沟渠头向上扩张的有效性，(b) 农民和社区如何看待沟壑干预措施，以及 (c)展示沟壑干预措施是否会改变农民的知识和对其行动能力的看法。通过农场田间实验、关键知情人访谈、焦点小组讨论和入户调查来收集和分析数据。探索了三种沟渠处理方法，全部采用抛石，一种还植草，一种采用植草与淤地坝一体化。在 26 个月的时间里，这些低成本做法停止了可测量的沟头扩张，而未经处理的沟渠平均向上扩张了 671 厘米，导致计算出的土壤流失量为 11.0 吨。除了投入材料成本高和石笼拦河坝技术要求高之外，农民们对这些沟渠修复措施也持积极态度。正在进行的恢复活动和农场试验影响了调查受访者对类似沟渠处理的认识和理解。农场实验和田间示范使农民能够采取行动，消除了一些受访者对其行动能力的悲观情绪。