Exclosure

An exclosure, in an area being used extensively for grazing, is a limited area from which unwanted browsing animals, such as domestic cattle or wildlife such as deer, are excluded by fencing or other means.[1][2]

Not to be confused with Enclosure.
Ruba Dirho exclosure in Tigray
An insect exclosure used to investigate pollination. A specific bee species is inserted into the exclosure with no other pollinators present.

Environmental protection

Most commonly, exclosures are areas that are set aside for regreening.[3] Wood harvesting and livestock range are not allowed there.

Effects on environment

The establishment of an exclosure has positive effects on:

Economic benefits

In developing countries, people commonly have economic benefits from these exclosures through grass harvesting, beekeeping and other non-timber forest products.[10] The local inhabitants also consider it as “land set aside for future generations”.[11]

Carbon credits

Exclosures have as an additional benefit that the surrounding communities may receive carbon credits for the sequestered CO2,[12] as part of a carbon offset programme.[13] In the Tigray Region, in Ethiopia, several exclosures are managed by the EthioTrees project. The revenues are then reinvested in the villages, according to the priorities of the communities;[14] it may be for an additional class in the village school, a water pond, conservation in the exclosures, or a store for incense.[15]

Range management

Exclosures are sometimes constructed by government agencies that manage livestock use on public lands—a practice in which private owners of cattle pay, though often only a nominal sum, for the right to graze their livestock on the public lands.

An exclusion plot on Island Saddle in the South Island of New Zealand. Introduced browsing mammals often have a detrimental effect on New Zealand's native vegetation.

Experimental sites

One purpose of the exclosure is to determine how the area would develop (in biodiversity, vegetation height, ecological characteristics, etc.) if grazing were not conducted.

Protection of humans

Another purpose is to demarcate an area safe for humans by excluding potentially deadly animals. For example, a beach may have a shark net around it to prevent sharks from attacking human swimmers. Another example is at wild animal preserves which provide fenced in areas for humans to safely watch lions, tigers, or other large predators.

See also

References
  1. Cleemput, Stijn; Muys, Bart; Kleinn, Christoph; Janssens, Marc J.J. (2004). "Biomass estimation techniques for enclosures in a semi-arid area: a case study in Northern Ethiopia" (PDF). Retrieved 19 Aug 2019. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Ubuy, Mengesteab Hailu; Eid, Tron; Bollandsås, Ole Martin; Birhane, Emiru (21 May 2018). "Aboveground biomass models for trees and shrubs of exclosures in the drylands of Tigray, northern Ethiopia". Journal of Arid Environments. 156: 9–18. Bibcode:2018JArEn.156....9U. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2018.05.007.
  3. Aerts, R; Nyssen, J; Mitiku Haile (2009). "On the difference between "exclosures" and "enclosures" in ecology and the environment". Journal of Arid Environments. 73 (8): 762–763. Bibcode:2009JArEn..73..762A. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.01.006.
  4. Aerts, R.; Lerouge, F.; November, E. (2019). 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. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
  5. Mastewal Yami, and colleagues (2007). "Impact of Area Enclosures on Density and Diversity of Large Wild Mammals: The Case of May Ba'ati, Douga Tembien Woreda, Central Tigray, Ethiopia". East African Journal of Sciences. 1: 1–14.
  6. Aerts, R; Lerouge, F; November, E; Lens, L; Hermy, M; Muys, B (2008). "Land rehabilitation and the conservation of birds in a degraded Afromontane landscape in northern Ethiopia". Biodiversity and Conservation. 17: 53–69. doi:10.1007/s10531-007-9230-2. S2CID 37489450.
  7. Descheemaeker, K. and colleagues (2006). "Runoff on slopes with restoring vegetation: A case study from the Tigray highlands, Ethiopia". Journal of Hydrology. 331 (1–2): 219–241. Bibcode:2006JHyd..331..219D. doi:10.1016/j.still.2006.07.011. hdl:1854/LU-378900.
  8. Descheemaeker, K. and colleagues (2006). "Sediment deposition and pedogenesis in exclosures in the Tigray Highlands, Ethiopia". Geoderma. 132 (3–4): 291–314. Bibcode:2006Geode.132..291D. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2005.04.027.
  9. Wolde Mekuria, and colleagues (2011). "Restoration of Ecosystem Carbon Stocks Following Exclosure Establishment in Communal Grazing Lands in Tigray, Ethiopia". Soil Science Society of America Journal. 75 (1): 246–256. Bibcode:2011SSASJ..75..246M. doi:10.2136/sssaj2010.0176.
  10. Bedru Babulo, and colleagues (2006). "Economic valuation methods of forest rehabilitation in exclosures". Journal of the Drylands. 1: 165–170.
  11. Jacob, M. and colleagues (2019). Exclosures as Primary Option for Reforestation in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
  12. Reubens, B. and colleagues (2019). Research-based development projects in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
  13. EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website
  14. EthioTrees on Davines website
  15. Moens, T; Lanckriet, S; Jacob, M (2019). "Boswellia Incense in the Giba River Gorge". Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains. GeoGuide. Springer Nature. pp. 293–300. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_19. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6. S2CID 199113310.
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