Complimentary methods to understand land-use changes : an example from the Ethiopian Rift Valley

In this article, the authors discuss the use of complementary methods to understand land-use changes, with an example from the Ethiopian Rift Valley. The study examines agro-pastoralism and recent land-use change through analysing social and environmental processes. Information is derived from a spectrum of methods -- soil sampling, aerial photography and mapping, satellite imagery combined with information from local communities on socio-economic and cultural aspects of land-use got through the use of PRA.