Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia

Effects of exclosures on restoring degraded lands may vary with soil type, exclosure age, and conditions before the establishment of exclosures. Yet, studies investigating the effectiveness of exclosures in restoring degraded lands under different environmental conditions are lacking. This study aim...

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Main Authors: Degefa, H., Tolera, M., Kim, D.-G., Mekuria, Wolde
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128372
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author Degefa, H.
Tolera, M.
Kim, D.-G.
Mekuria, Wolde
author_browse Degefa, H.
Kim, D.-G.
Mekuria, Wolde
Tolera, M.
author_facet Degefa, H.
Tolera, M.
Kim, D.-G.
Mekuria, Wolde
author_sort Degefa, H.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Effects of exclosures on restoring degraded lands may vary with soil type, exclosure age, and conditions before the establishment of exclosures. Yet, studies investigating the effectiveness of exclosures in restoring degraded lands under different environmental conditions are lacking. This study aims at investigating the changes in woody species richness and diversity, and ecosystem carbon stocks after implementing exclosures in the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia. Vegetation and soil data were gathered from 120 nested plots established in exclosures of eight and 30-years-old and adjacent grazing lands. Results showed that exclosures contained a higher number of economically important woody species compared to their respective adjacent grazing lands. However, the exclosures and respective adjacent grazing lands did not differ significantly in the diversity of tree and shrub species, and both the exclosures and adjacent grazing lands were dominated by few tree and shrub species. The older exclosure (30 years old) displayed significantly (p < 0.01) higher soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen content and stocks than the adjacent grazing land, whereas the youngest exclosure (8 years old) did not show a significant difference in these variables. The results suggest that a longer time (e.g., =10 years) is needed to detect significant differences in soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen. However, exclosures could bring considerable changes in woody species density in a relatively shorter period (e.g., =10 years) and support to restore degraded native woody species.
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spelling CGSpace1283722025-12-08T10:11:39Z Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia Degefa, H. Tolera, M. Kim, D.-G. Mekuria, Wolde exclosures carbon stock assessments degraded forest land grazing lands soil organic carbon woody plants ecosystems vegetation total nitrogen watersheds biomass Effects of exclosures on restoring degraded lands may vary with soil type, exclosure age, and conditions before the establishment of exclosures. Yet, studies investigating the effectiveness of exclosures in restoring degraded lands under different environmental conditions are lacking. This study aims at investigating the changes in woody species richness and diversity, and ecosystem carbon stocks after implementing exclosures in the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia. Vegetation and soil data were gathered from 120 nested plots established in exclosures of eight and 30-years-old and adjacent grazing lands. Results showed that exclosures contained a higher number of economically important woody species compared to their respective adjacent grazing lands. However, the exclosures and respective adjacent grazing lands did not differ significantly in the diversity of tree and shrub species, and both the exclosures and adjacent grazing lands were dominated by few tree and shrub species. The older exclosure (30 years old) displayed significantly (p < 0.01) higher soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen content and stocks than the adjacent grazing land, whereas the youngest exclosure (8 years old) did not show a significant difference in these variables. The results suggest that a longer time (e.g., =10 years) is needed to detect significant differences in soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen. However, exclosures could bring considerable changes in woody species density in a relatively shorter period (e.g., =10 years) and support to restore degraded native woody species. 2023-04-30 2023-01-31T22:50:57Z 2023-01-31T22:50:57Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128372 en Limited Access Wiley Degefa, H.; Tolera, M.; Kim, D.-G.; Mekuria, Wolde. 2023. Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia. Land Degradation and Development, 34(7):2073-2087. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4590]
spellingShingle exclosures
carbon stock assessments
degraded forest land
grazing lands
soil organic carbon
woody plants
ecosystems
vegetation
total nitrogen
watersheds
biomass
Degefa, H.
Tolera, M.
Kim, D.-G.
Mekuria, Wolde
Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia
title Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia
title_full Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia
title_fullStr Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia
title_short Effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks: lessons drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia
title_sort effects of exclosures on woody species composition and carbon stocks lessons drawn from the central rift valley ethiopia
topic exclosures
carbon stock assessments
degraded forest land
grazing lands
soil organic carbon
woody plants
ecosystems
vegetation
total nitrogen
watersheds
biomass
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128372
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