An exclosure, in an area being used extensively for grazing, is a limited area from which unwanted

browsing Browsing is a kind of orienting strategy. It is supposed to identify something of relevance for the browsing organism. In context of humans, it is a metaphor taken from the animal kingdom. It is used, for example, about people browsing open sh ...

animals, such as domestic

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

or wildlife such as

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

, are excluded by fencing or other means.

Environmental protection

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

Effects on environment

The establishment of an exclosure has positive effects on: *

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

water infiltration Infiltration is the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil. It is commonly used in both hydrology and soil sciences. The infiltration capacity is defined as the maximum rate of infiltration. It is most often measured in meter ...

* protection from flooding *

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

deposition *

carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. It plays a crucial role in Climate change mitigation, limiting climate change by reducing the amount of Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide in the atmosphe ...

Economic benefits

In developing countries, people commonly have economic benefits from these exclosures through grass harvesting, beekeeping and other

non-timber forest product Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are useful foods, substances, materials and/or commodities obtained from forests other than timber. Harvest ranges from wild collection to farming. They typically include game animals, fur-bearers, nuts, see ...

s. The local inhabitants also consider it as “land set aside for future generations”.

Carbon credits

Exclosures have as an additional benefit that the surrounding communities may receive

carbon credit Carbon offsetting is a carbon trading mechanism that enables entities to compensate for offset greenhouse gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere. When an entity invests in a carbon offsetting p ...

s for the sequestered CO₂, as part of a

carbon offset Carbon offsetting is a carbon trading mechanism that enables entities to compensate for offset greenhouse gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere. When an entity invests in a carbon offsetting ...

programme.EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website
/ref> In the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

, in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, several exclosures are managed by the

EthioTrees The EthioTrees Ecosystem Restoration Association, in short EthioTrees, established in 2016, is a project for environmental rehabilitation and woodland restoration in Dogu’a Tembien (Ethiopia). The association manages exclosures (land protect ...

project. The revenues are then reinvested in the villages, according to the priorities of the communities;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 Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...

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. Exclusion plot on Island Saddle

Experimental sites

One purpose of the exclosure is to determine how the area would develop (in

, vegetation height,

ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

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.

References

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
The Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment
- An exclosure experiment in Africa with both livestock and wildlife.

- photos of a

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

exclosure in the Pahsimeroi River Valley of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Land management Environmental conservation