{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T05:02:39Z","timestamp":1774674159532,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,22]],"date-time":"2023-01-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1674345600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Converting fertile, cultivated land into Eucalyptus plantations has become a common practice in Ethiopia. Integrating geospatial techniques with socio-economic data analysis can be a useful method to evaluate the expansion of Eucalyptus and its underlying factors. The objective of this study is to detect the spatio-temporal patterns and main factors contributing to Eucalyptus expansion in the Mecha district of Ethiopia. To quantify the spatial extents of Eucalyptus plantations, the study employed Landsat images from 1991 to 2021 with supervised image classification in ERDAS Imagine 2015. In addition, 120 households were chosen using random sampling technique to incorporate socioeconomic factors related to Eucalyptus expansion. The result shows that, Eucalyptus plantations expanded significantly across the study area during the last three decades. Eucalyptus plantation covered 908.87 ha, 3719.05 ha, and 26261.9 ha in 1991, 2006, and 2021, respectively. The increment was mostly at the expense of fertile cultivated land use. The main reasons for its expansion are linked with farmer\u2019s expectations of a better source of income, apprehension about the detrimental effects on nearby cropland, and its affordable production cost. In conclusion, the study area faces challenges from the uncontrolled expansion of Eucalyptus plantations on productive lands. Therefore, careful management and intervention strategies should be established to manage its rapid expansion.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs15030661","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,23]],"date-time":"2023-01-23T04:19:22Z","timestamp":1674447562000},"page":"661","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["Expansion of Eucalyptus Plantation on Fertile Cultivated Lands in the North-Western Highlands of Ethiopia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2777-4893","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gashaw","family":"Molla","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar P.O. Box 79, Ethiopia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5074-9392","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meseret B.","family":"Addisie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guna Tana Integrated Field Research and Development Center, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor P.O. Box 272, Ethiopia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4568-5528","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gebiaw T.","family":"Ayele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Australian Rivers Institute, School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.9734\/JGEESI\/2016\/26606","article-title":"Evaluation of land use\/land cover changes and Eucalyptus expansion in Meja watershed, Ethiopia","volume":"7","author":"Jaleta","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Geogr. Environ. Earth Sci. 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