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Agriculture is the basis of the Ethiopian economy, accounting for the majority of its employment and export earnings. Land degradation is, however, widespread and improved targeting of land management interventions is needed, taking into account the variability of soil properties that affect agricultural productivity and land degradation risk across landscapes. In the current study we demonstrate the utility of Landsat ETM+imagery for landscape-level assessments of land degradation risk and soil condition through a combination of systematic field methodologies, infrared (IR) spectroscopy and ensemble modeling techniques. The approaches presented allow for the development of maps at spatial scales that are appropriate for making spatially explicit management recommendations. Field data and soil samples collected from 38 sites, each 100km², were used to develop predictive models that were applied as part …