Ayninbirkekin

The tabia is located astride a main water divide (that is followed by the main road) and stretches down towards May Zegzeg river at the south and upper Tsaliet River at the north. Three highest places (at around 2600 m a.s.l.) are Meri’a Ziban in the west, Imba Ra’isot in the centre and the escarpment to Arebay at the north. The lowest places are the confluence of May Zegzeg and May Be’ati Rivers (1970 m a.s.l.) in the south and in the north May Leiba River near Iyesus church (2240 m a.s.l.).

From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:{{cite book |last1=Sembroni |first1=A. |last2=Molin |first2=P. |last3=Dramis |first3=F. |title=Regional geology of the Dogu'a Tembien massif. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}}

• Lower basalt
• Amba Aradam Formation
• Agula Shale{{cite journal |last1=Bosellini |first1=A. |last2=Russo |first2=A. |last3=Fantozzi |first3=P. |last4=Assefa |first4=G. |last5=Tadesse |first5=S. |title=The Mesozoic succession of the Mekelle Outlier (Tigrai Province, Ethiopia). |journal=Mem. Sci. Geol. |date=1997 |volume=49 |pages=95–116}}
• Mekelle Dolerite{{cite book |last1=Tefera |first1=M. |last2=Chernet |first2=T. |last3=Haro |first3=W. |title=Geological Map of Ethiopia (1:2,000,000). |publisher=Ethiopian Institute of Geological Survey |location=Addis Ababa, Ethiopia}}
• Antalo Limestone
• Quaternary alluvium and freshwater tufa{{cite journal |last1=Moeyersons |first1=J. and colleagues |title=Age and backfill/overfill stratigraphy of two tufa dams, Tigray Highlands, Ethiopia: Evidence for Late Pleistocene and Holocene wet conditions. |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |date=2006 |volume=230 |issue=1–2 |pages=162–178 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.07.013 |bibcode=2006PPP...230..165M }}

File:Rock sample 3 Agula shale May Bi'ati.jpg

The main geomorphic units, with corresponding soil types are:{{cite journal |last1= Nyssen|first1= Jan|last2= Tielens|first2= Sander|last3= Gebreyohannes|first3= Tesfamichael|last4= Araya|first4= Tigist|last5= Teka|first5= Kassa|last6= Van De Wauw|first6= Johan|last7= Degeyndt|first7= Karen|last8= Descheemaeker|first8= Katrien|last9= Amare|first9= Kassa|last10= Haile|first10= Mitiku|last11= Zenebe|first11= Amanuel|last12= Munro|first12= Neil|last13= Walraevens|first13= Kristine|last14= Gebrehiwot|first14= Kindeya|last15= Poesen|first15= Jean|last16= Frankl|first16= Amaury|last17= Tsegay|first17= Alemtsehay|last18= Deckers|first18= Jozef|title=Understanding spatial patterns of soils for sustainable agriculture in northern Ethiopia's tropical mountains. |journal=PLOS ONE |date=2019 |volume=14 |issue=10 |pages=e0224041 |doi= 10.1371/journal.pone.0224041|pmid= 31639144|pmc= 6804989|bibcode= 2019PLoSO..1424041N|doi-access= free}}

• Hagere Selam Highlands, along the central basalt and sandstone ridge
• Associated soil types
• shallow soils with high stone contents (Skeletic Cambisol, Leptic Cambisol, Skeletic Regosol)
• moderately deep dark stony clays with good natural fertility (Vertic Cambisol)
• deep, dark cracking clays, temporarily waterlogged during the wet season (Pellic Vertisol)
• Inclusions
• Rock outcrops and very shallow soils (Lithic Leptosol)
• Rock outcrops and very shallow soils on limestone (Calcaric Leptosol)
• Deep dark cracking clays with very good natural fertility, waterlogged during the wet season (Chromic Vertisol, Pellic Vertisol)
• Shallow stony dark loams on calcaric material (Calcaric Regosol, Calcaric Cambisol)
• Brown loamy soils on basalt with good natural fertility (Luvisol)
• Gently rolling Antalo Limestone plateau, holding cliffs and valley bottoms on limestone
• Associated soil types
• shallow stony soils with a dark surface horizon overlying calcaric material (Calcaric Leptosol)
• moderately deep dark stony clays with good natural fertility (Vertic Cambisol)
• deep, dark cracking clays on calcaric material (Calcaric Vertisol, Calcic Vertisol)

File:Calcaric Regosol Luqmuts Ethiopia.png

• Inclusions
• Rock outcrops and very shallow soils (Lithic Leptosol)
• Shallow very stony loamy soil on limestone (Skeletic Calcaric Cambisol)
• Deep dark cracking clays with very good natural fertility, waterlogged during the wet season (Chromic Vertisol, Pellic Vertisol)
• Brown to dark sands and silt loams on alluvium (Vertic Fluvisol, Eutric Fluvisol, Haplic Fluvisol)

File:Luvic Phaeozem thapto Calcaric Regosol Luqmuts Ethiopia.jpg

Common soil types in Hech'i are Vertisol, Vertic Cambisol, Cumulic Regosol, Calcaric Regosol and Phaeozem.{{cite journal |last1= Nyssen|first1= J.|last2= Naudts|first2= J.|last3= De Geyndt|first3= K.|last4= Haile|first4= Mitiku|last5= Poesen|first5= J.|last6= Moeyersons|first6= J.|last7= Deckers|first7= J.|title=Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia). |journal=Land Degradation and Development |date=2008 |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=257–274 |doi= 10.1002/ldr.840|s2cid= 128492271}} and, northeast of May Leiba Reservoir, “red-black” Skeletic Cambisol–Pellic Vertisol catenas on basalt and Calcaric Regosol–Colluvic Calcaric Cambisol–Calcaric Vertisol catenas on limestone.{{cite journal |last1=Van de Wauw |first1=J. and colleagues |title=Soil–landscape relationships in the basalt-dominated highlands of Tigray, Ethiopia. |journal=Catena |date=2008 |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=162–178 |doi=10.1016/j.catena.2008.04.006 |bibcode=2008Caten..75..117V }}

{{See also|Soil in Dogu'a Tembien}}

The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August. Mean temperature in Halah is 19.1 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 10.7 °C and maximum of 27.2 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts.{{cite book |last1=Jacob |first1=M. and colleagues |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |chapter=Dogu'a Tembien's Tropical Mountain Climate |series=GeoGuide |date=2019 |pages=45–61 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_3 |s2cid=199105560 }}

The Giba River as well as Tsaliet River (a tributary to Weri'i River) are the most important rivers in the surroundings of the tabia. They flow towards Tekezze River and further on to the Nile. These rivers have incised deep gorges which characterise the landscape.{{cite book |last1=Amanuel Zenebe |first1=and colleagues |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |chapter=The Giba, Tanqwa and Tsaliet Rivers in the Headwaters of the Tekezze Basin |series=GeoGuide |date=2019 |pages=215–230 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_14 |s2cid=199099067 }}

The drainage network of the tabia is organised as follows:{{cite book |last1=Jacob |first1=M. and colleagues |title=Geo-trekking map of Dogu'a Tembien (1:50,000). In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}}

• Giba River
• Hurura River, in tabia Addi Azmera
• Afedena River, in tabia Addi Azmera, which takes its source in Ra'isot
• May Ayni River, in tabia Addi Azmera, which takes also its source in Ra'isot
• Rubaksa River, in tabia Mika'el Abiy, which becomes Inda Sillasie River, at the border of Inda Sillasie and Amanit
• May Be'ati River, in tabia Ayninbirkekin
• May Zegzeg River, at border of tabias Ayninbirkekin and Mika'el Abiy
• May Sho'ate River, at border of tabias Ayninbirkekin and Mika'el Abiy
• Weri'i River
• May Leiba, in tabia Ayninbirkekin, which becomes Tinsehe R. in Selam and Mahbere Sillasie, and Tsaliet River, downstream from the Dabba Selama monastery
• Graliwdo River, in tabia Ayninbirkekin

Whereas they are (nearly) dry during most of the year, during the main rainy season, these rivers carry high runoff discharges, sometimes in the form of flash floods. Especially at the begin of the rainy season they are brown-coloured, evidencing high soil erosion rates.

As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The main springs in the tabia are:{{cite book | title=What do we hear from the farmers in Dogu'a Tembien? [in Tigrinya] |date=2016 |location=Hagere Selam, Ethiopia |pages=100 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311151542}}

• May Genet in Addi Werat
• May Be'ati
• Gemgema in Ra'isot

File:Ra'isot village pump.jpg

File:48. May Leiba (dam).jpg

In this area with rains that last only for a couple of months per year, reservoirs of different sizes allow harvesting runoff from the rainy season for further use in the dry season. Overall they suffer from siltation.{{cite journal |last1=Nigussie Haregeweyn |first1=and colleagues |title=Reservoirs in Tigray: characteristics and sediment deposition problems |journal=Land Degradation and Development |date=2006 |volume=17 |pages=211–230 |doi=10.1002/ldr.698 |s2cid=129834993 |doi-access=free }} Yet, they strongly contribute to greening the landscape, either through irrigation or seepage water. Main reservoirs are:

• May Leiba reservoir, constructed in 1998
• Smaller reservoirs (ponds), such as the one in the village of Addi Qoylo
• Traditional surface water harvesting ponds, particularly in places without permanent springs, called rahaya
• Horoyo, household ponds, recently constructed through campaigns[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3763/ijas.2008.0366 Developers and farmers intertwining interventions: the case of rainwater harvesting and food-for-work in Degua Temben, Tigray, Ethiopia]

The tabia holds several exclosures, areas that are set aside for regreening.{{cite journal |last1=Aerts |first1=R |last2=Nyssen |first2=J|last3=Mitiku Haile |title= On the difference between "exclosures" and "enclosures" in ecology and the environment |journal=Journal of Arid Environments |date=2009|volume=73 |issue=8 |pages= 762–763 |doi=10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.01.006 |bibcode=2009JArEn..73..762A |url=https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/239842 }} Wood harvesting and livestock range are not allowed there. Besides effects on biodiversity,{{cite book |last1=Aerts |first1=R. |last2=Lerouge |first2=F. |last3=November |first3=E. |title=Birds of forests and open woodlands in the highlands of Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}}{{cite journal |last1=Mastewal Yami |first1=and colleagues |title= Impact of Area Enclosures on Density and Diversity of Large Wild Mammals: The Case of May Ba'ati, Douga Tembien Woreda, Central Tigray, Ethiopia |journal=East African Journal of Sciences |date=2007|volume=1 |pages=1–14 }}{{cite journal |last1=Aerts |first1=R |last2=Lerouge |first2=F |last3=November |first3=E |last4=Lens |first4=L |last5=Hermy |first5=M |last6=Muys |first6=B |title=Land rehabilitation and the conservation of birds in a degraded Afromontane landscape in northern Ethiopia |journal=Biodiversity and Conservation |date=2008 |volume=17 |pages=53–69 |doi=10.1007/s10531-007-9230-2 |s2cid=37489450 |url=https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/145812 }} water infiltration, protection from flooding, sediment deposition,{{cite journal |last1=Descheemaeker |first1=K. and colleagues |title= Sediment deposition and pedogenesis in exclosures in the Tigray Highlands, Ethiopia. |journal=Geoderma |date=2006 |volume=132 |issue= 3–4|pages=291–314 |doi=10.1016/j.geoderma.2005.04.027 |bibcode=2006Geode.132..291D }} carbon sequestration,{{cite journal |last1=Wolde Mekuria |first1=and colleagues |title= Restoration of Ecosystem Carbon Stocks Following Exclosure Establishment in Communal Grazing Lands in Tigray, Ethiopia |journal= Soil Science Society of America Journal |date=2011 |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=246–256|doi=10.2136/sssaj2010.0176 |bibcode=2011SSASJ..75..246M }} people commonly have economic benefits from these exclosures through grass harvesting, beekeeping and other non-timber forest products.{{cite journal |last1=Bedru Babulo |first1=and colleagues |title= Economic valuation methods of forest rehabilitation in exclosures |journal=Journal of the Drylands |date=2006 |volume=1 |pages=165–170 }} The local inhabitants also consider it as “land set aside for future generations”.{{cite book |last1=Jacob |first1=M. and colleagues | title= Exclosures as Primary Option for Reforestation in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}} In this tabia, some exclosures are managed by the EthioTrees project. They have as an additional benefit that the villagers receive carbon credits for the sequestered CO₂,{{cite book |last1=Reubens |first1=B. and colleagues | title= Research-based development projects in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}} as part of a carbon offset programme.[https://www.planvivo.org/project-network/ethiotrees-tembien-highlands/ EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website] The revenues are then reinvested in the villages, according to the priorities of the communities;[https://www.davines.com/blogs/projects/ethiotrees EthioTrees on Davines website] it may be for an additional class in the village school, a water pond, or conservation in the exclosures. The following exclosures are managed by the Ethiotrees project in the tabia:{{cite book |last1=De Deyn |first1=Jonathan |title= Benefits of reforestation on Carbon storage and water infiltration in the context of climate mitigation in North Ethiopia. Master thesis, Ghent University, Belgium| date=2019}}

• Gemgema, near the village of Tsigaba (95.47 ha)
• May Be'ati, near the homonymous village (45.42 ha)

The tabia centre Halah holds a few administrative offices, a primary school, and some small shops. The largest settlement, actually a small town, is Ala'isa, where a market is organized on Thursdays. There is also a health post and several small restaurants and shops. There are a few more primary schools across the tabia. The main other populated places are:

File:View on Ksad Halah.jpg

The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated by farmlands which are clearly demarcated and are cropped every year. Hence the agricultural system is a permanent upland farming system. The farmers have adapted their cropping systems to the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall.{{cite journal |last1=Frankl |first1=A. and colleagues |title=The effect of rainfall on spatio‐temporal variability in cropping systems and duration of crop cover in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands |journal=Soil Use and Management |date=2013 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=374–383 |doi=10.1111/sum.12041 |url=https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/3123393 |hdl=1854/LU-3123393 |s2cid=95207289 |hdl-access=free }}

The history of the tabia is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien.

One particularity is that, during warfare, a major access to Dogu'a Tembien is through the slopes east of Ala'isa town. The Derg army was defeated here by TPLF during a major battle of the 1980s civil war.

Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The following churches are located in the tabia:

In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses (Inda Siwa), often in unique settings, where people socialise. Well known in the tabia are

• Tsadkan Kiros at Addi Qolqwal
• Letay Assefa at Halah
• Kiros Abadi at Ala'isa
• Birhan Haddush at Ala'isa

The lapiez or surface karst at Inda Meru’e near Hechi is commonly interpreted as a petrified group of people on their way back from a marriage party and who had omitted to greet the church. There is also, near Hech’i a huge cubic rock, named Ilias’ rock which would have been rolled there for sake of church building.{{cite book |last1=Seifu Gebreselassie |last2=Lanckriet |first2=S. |title=Local myths in relation to the natural environment of Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-Trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains, the Dogu'a Tembien District. |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}}

The main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi runs from east to west across the tabia. There are regular bus services to these towns. Further, rural access roads link Ala’isa on the main asphalt road to Arebay, Addi Qolqwal to Haddinnet and Halah to Mizane Birhan and Debre Nazret. Minibuses ply on the latter road.

Almost all children of the tabia are schooled,{{cite book |title=Socio-demographic profile, food insecurity and food-aid based response. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}} though in some schools there is lack of classrooms, directly related to the large intake in primary schools over the last decades.{{Citation |last=Hartjen |first=Clayton A. |title=Denial of Education |date=2012 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2179-5_8 |work=The Global Victimization of Children: Problems and Solutions |pages=271–321 |editor-last=Hartjen |editor-first=Clayton A. |access-date=2023-10-13 |place=Boston, MA |publisher=Springer US |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-2179-5_8 |isbn=978-1-4614-2179-5 |last2=Priyadarsini |first2=S. |editor2-last=Priyadarsini |editor2-first=S.}} Schools in the tabia include Ra'isot school.

Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle make the tabia fit for tourism.{{cite book |title= Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}} As compared to many other mountain areas in Ethiopia the villages are quite accessible, and during walks visitors may be invited for coffee, lunch or even for an overnight stay in a rural homestead.{{cite book |chapter=Logistics for the Trekker in a Rural Mountain District of Northern Ethiopia|date=2019 |publisher=Springer-Nature |pages=537–556 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_37 |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |series=GeoGuide |last1=Nyssen |first1=Jan |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |s2cid=199198251 }}

• Viewpoints on Imba Ra'isot, Guyeha Ridge and Meri'a Ziban

The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".{{cite book |last1=Miruts Hagos and colleagues |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |chapter=Geosites, Geoheritage, Human-Environment Interactions, and Sustainable Geotourism in Dogu'a Tembien |series=GeoGuide |date=2019 |pages=3–27 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_1 |s2cid=199095921 }} Geosites in the tabia include:

Birdwatching (for the species, see the main Dogu'a Tembien page) can be done particularly in exclosures and forests. The following bird-watching sites have been inventoried{{cite book |last1=Aerts |first1=R. |last2=Lerouge |first2=F. |last3=November |first3=E. |title=Birds of forests and open woodlands in the highlands of Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains – The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}} in the tabia and mapped. :

• Iyesus church forest
• Mika'el church forest in Ala’isa
• May Be'ati church forest

Trekking routes have been established in this tabia.{{cite book |date=2019 |publisher=Springer-Nature |pages=557–675 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_38 |series=GeoGuide |last1=Nyssen |first1=Jan |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |chapter=Description of Trekking Routes in Dogu'a Tembien |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |s2cid=199271514 }} The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files.{{cite web|url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/traces/tag/nyssen-jacob-frankl|title=Public GPS traces tagged with nyssen-jacob-frankl|website=OpenStreetMap|accessdate=2019-10-11}}

• Trek 12, from Rubaksa, along several geosites to Hechi and Addi Qolqwal
• Trek 13, from Mizane Birhan through Tsigaba and May Be'ati to Addi Qolqwal and Meri'a Ziban on the main road
• Trek 14, along the ridges on the highest places in the tabia
• Trek 26, from Ala'isa to the Ekli Imba peak in Arebay

• Dogu'a Tembien district.

Image:May Be'ati church forest.jpg|May Be'ati church forest.

Image:48. May Leiba (catchment 1).jpg|Catchment of May Leiba reservoir.

Image:48. May Leiba 1.jpg|May Leiba.

Image:48. May Leiba (catchment 2).jpg|May Leiba catchment.

{{reflist}}

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Ayninbirkekin

|North = Haddinnet Arebay

|East = Addi Azmera

|South = Mizane Birhan

|Southwest = Mika'el Abiy

|Northwest = Selam

}}

{{ Tabias (municipalities) of Dogu’a Tembien }}

Category:Dogu'a Tembien

Category:Populated places in the Tigray Region