article · Ecological Processes
This study investigated the effectiveness of area exclosures, a land management practice excluding livestock and humans, in rehabilitating degraded mopane woodlands. Researchers compared woody species characteristics inside and outside a 10-year-old exclosure at the Okavango Research Institute in northern Botswana. They assessed species richness, diversity, stand structure, and regeneration status. Findings revealed significantly higher species richness, with 32 species inside compared to 24 outside, and a seven-fold increase in mean woody species density within the exclosure. The population structure and regeneration, particularly of seedlings, were markedly better inside the protected area, indicating an initial recovery stage of the degraded woodland. Outside the exclosure, recruitment and regeneration were hindered by human activities and overgrazing. The study provides empirical evidence that area exclosures play a crucial role in enhancing woody species diversity, density, and regeneration, even over a relatively short period.
This research demonstrates a practical, low-cost method for restoring degraded woodlands, which are vital for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and local livelihoods. Understanding how exclosures promote recovery can inform conservation strategies and land management policies, helping to combat desertification and support ecological health in arid regions.
The abstract highlights area exclosures as a cheap and convenient means of rehabilitating degraded forests and woodlands. This suggests a practical application for land managers, conservation organisations, and local communities involved in ecological restoration or sustainable land use. The findings provide empirical support for implementing such exclosures as a proven method for enhancing biodiversity and woodland health. This is an applied and tested land management technique, ready for wider adoption in similar ecological contexts.
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An area exclosure is the practice of land management that involves the exclusion of livestock and humans from openly accessing an area that is characterized by severe degradation. Area exclosures have been employed as cheap and convenient means of rehabilitating degraded forests/woodlands. A study was carried out to (i) assess the species richness, diversity and evenness; (ii) determine the densities, frequencies, dominance and importance value index; and (iii) assess the population structure and regeneration status of woody species inside and outside the fence (area exclosure) of Okavango Research Institute (ORI) located in Maun, northern Botswana. Thirty-five woody species were recorded inside (32 spp.) and outside (24 spp.) the ORI compound, and the population structure and regeneration status of the woody species were better inside than outside the ORI compound. The exclosure had seven times higher mean density of woody species than outside ORI, and an exceptional regeneration of seedlings was observed inside than outside the ORI compound, suggesting the process of recovery of the degraded woodland. The frequencies of more than half of the woody species also showed increment inside than outside the exclosure. The results suggest that the exclosed area is still in an initial recovery stage since it had been an open grazing area prior to the establishment of the exclosure. Most of the woody species encountered outside ORI showed hampered recruitment and regeneration, owing to different anthropogenic impacts and overgrazing by animals. Despite the relatively short period (10 years) of exclosure establishment, results from the present study have further provided empirical evidences on the actual crucial roles played by area exclosures to increase woody species richness, diversity, evenness, density, frequency, dominance and important value index as well as enhance the population structure and regeneration of the woody species in northern Botswana. Future research is recommended focusing on comparative studies on herbaceous species richness, diversity and density, horizontal and vertical distribution of soil seed banks, species richness of soil microorganisms, plant and soil biomass, plant and soil carbon pools (above and below ground) as well as soil contents and properties inside and outside the ORI compound.
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DOI: 10.1186/s13717-018-0116-x
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