Editing Exclosure

{{Short description|Area protected from livestock grazing}}
{{Distinguish|Enclosure}}
[[File:Ruba Dirho.jpg|thumb|Ruba Dirho exclosure in [[Tigray Region|Tigray]]]]
[[File:Bee exclosure.jpg|thumb|An insect exclosure used to investigate pollination. A specific bee species is inserted into the exclosure with no other pollinators present.]]

An '''exclosure''', in an area being used extensively for grazing, is a limited area from which unwanted [[browsing (herbivory)|browsing]] animals, such as domestic [[cattle]] or wildlife such as [[deer]], are excluded by fencing or other means.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Cleemput |first1= Stijn |last2= Muys |first2= Bart |last3= Kleinn |first3= Christoph |last4= Janssens |first4= Marc J.J. |date= 2004|title= Biomass estimation techniques for enclosures in a semi-arid area: a case study in Northern Ethiopia |url= http://www.tropentag.de/2004/abstracts/full/3.pdf |access-date= 19 Aug 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ubuy|first1= Mengesteab Hailu |last2= Eid |first2= Tron |last3= Bollandsås |first3= Ole Martin |last4= Birhane |first4= Emiru |date= 21 May 2018|title= Aboveground biomass models for trees and shrubs of exclosures in the drylands of Tigray, northern Ethiopia |journal= Journal of Arid Environments|volume= 156 |pages= 9–18|doi= 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2018.05.007|doi-access= free |bibcode= 2018JArEn.156....9U }}</ref>

==Environmental protection==
Most commonly, exclosures are areas that are set aside for regreening.<ref>{{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 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Wood harvesting and livestock range are not allowed there. 
=== Effects on environment ===
The establishment of an exclosure has positive effects on:
* [[biodiversity]]<ref name="ALN2019">{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{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 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> 
* [[water infiltration]]
* protection from flooding<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Descheemaeker|first1= K. and colleagues| title= Runoff on slopes with restoring vegetation: A case study from the Tigray highlands, Ethiopia. |journal= Journal of Hydrology |date=2006 |volume=331 |issue=1–2 |pages=219–241 |doi= 10.1016/j.still.2006.07.011|bibcode= 2006JHyd..331..219D|url= https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/378900|hdl= 1854/LU-378900 |hdl-access= free }}</ref>
* [[sediment]] deposition<ref>{{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 }}</ref>
* [[carbon sequestration]]<ref>{{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 }}</ref>

=== Economic benefits ===
In developing countries, people commonly have economic benefits from these exclosures through grass harvesting, beekeeping and other [[non-timber forest product]]s.<ref>{{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 }}</ref> The local inhabitants also consider it as “land set aside for future generations”.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 
=== Carbon credits ===
Exclosures have as an additional benefit that the surrounding communities may receive [[carbon credit]]s for the [[Carbon sequestration|sequestered]] CO<sub>2</sub>,<ref name="chapter">{{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}}</ref> as part of a [[carbon offset]] programme.<ref name="vivo">[https://www.planvivo.org/project-network/ethiotrees-tembien-highlands/ EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website]</ref> 
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;<ref name="davines">[https://www.davines.com/blogs/projects/ethiotrees EthioTrees on Davines website]</ref> it may be for an additional class in the village school, a water pond, conservation in the exclosures, or a store for [[incense]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moens |first1=T |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |last2=Lanckriet |first2=S |last3=Jacob |first3=M |chapter=Boswellia Incense in the Giba River Gorge |date=2019 |publisher=Springer Nature |pages=293–300 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_19 |series=GeoGuide |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |s2cid=199113310 }}</ref> 

==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.{{fact|date=January 2020}}
[[File:Exclusion plot on Island Saddle.jpg|thumb|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, [[ecology|ecological]] characteristics, etc.) if grazing were not conducted.{{fact|date=January 2020}}

==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.{{fact|date=January 2020}}

==See also==
*[[Predator proof fence]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite journal |last1=Aerts |first1=R. |last2=Nyssen |first2=J. |last3=Haile |first3=M. |title=On the difference between 'exclosures' and 'enclosures' in ecology and the environment |journal=Journal of Arid Environments |date=1 August 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 |url-access=subscription }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100610211330/http://tpyoung.ucdavis.edu/KLEE/index.html The Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment] - An exclosure experiment in Africa with both livestock and wildlife.
*[http://www.mikehudak.com/PhotoEssays/BurntCreek2002/index.html Burnt Creek Exclosure] - photos of a [[Bureau of Land Management]] exclosure in the [[Pahsimeroi River|Pahsimeroi River Valley]] of [[Idaho]]

[[Category:Land management]]
[[Category:Environmental conservation]]