Transhumance between the Afar lowlands and Tigray escarpments has been a common practice in northern Ethiopia. However, the impact of transhumance on landscape changes in the marginal grabens has not been significantly researched. Hence, this study aims to understand the process of transhumance and the linkages between social and biophysical aspects of the graben landscapes of northern Ethiopia. Google Earth (2010-2016) and Landsat Imageries (1995-2015) were used to analyse the spatio-temporal landscape changes. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was applied to measure the change in vegetation cover. Interview and Focus Group Discussions were used to collect perceptions of communities on transhumance and landscape change. The findings reveal that transhumance caused conflicts between the lowlanders and highlanders, which in turn led to displacement of communities. Consequently, the NDVI value of the abandoned settlement increased over time. Conversely, the analysis of Google Earth Imageries and NDVI values show that vegetation cover of the new settlement has decreased. Moreover, the NDVI values of the transhumance areas showed little increase due to the establishments of exclosures in the escarpments. The findings of this study can, therefore, be used to develop targeted interventions aimed at solving transhumance-induced conflicts, displacement of communities and conservation of natural resources.

中文翻译：

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迁徙是埃塞俄比亚北部边缘地堑景观变化的驱动力

在埃塞俄比亚北部，阿法尔低地和提格雷悬崖之间的迁徙是一种常见的做法。然而，迁徙对边缘地堑景观变化的影响尚未得到大量研究。因此，本研究旨在了解迁徙过程以及埃塞俄比亚北部地堑景观的社会和生物物理方面之间的联系。Google Earth (2010-2016) 和 Landsat Imageries (1995-2015) 用于分析时空景观变化。归一化差异植被指数 (NDVI) 用于测量植被覆盖的变化。访谈和焦点小组讨论用于收集社区对迁徙和景观变化的看法。研究结果表明，迁徙造成了低地人和高地人之间的冲突，这反过来又导致社区流离失所。因此，废弃定居点的 NDVI 值随着时间的推移而增加。相反，对 Google Earth Imageries 和 NDVI 值的分析表明，新聚落的植被覆盖已经减少。此外，由于在悬崖上建立围栏，迁徙区的 NDVI 值几乎没有增加。因此，本研究的结果可用于制定有针对性的干预措施，旨在解决迁徙引起的冲突、社区流离失所和自然资源保护。由于在陡峭的悬崖上建立围栏，迁徙区的 NDVI 值几乎没有增加。因此，本研究的结果可用于制定有针对性的干预措施，旨在解决迁徙引起的冲突、社区流离失所和自然资源保护。由于在陡峭的悬崖上建立围栏，迁徙区的 NDVI 值几乎没有增加。因此，本研究的结果可用于制定有针对性的干预措施，旨在解决迁徙引起的冲突、社区流离失所和自然资源保护。