Tukhul is an

exclosure 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. Environmental ...

located in between the villages of Tukhul and Miheni in the

Dogu'a Tembien Dogu'a Tembien (, "Upper Tembien", sometimes transliterated as Degua Tembien or Dägʿa Tämben) is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is named in part after the former province of Tembien. Nowadays, the mountainous district is part of the ...

''woreda'' of 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 ...

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 ...

. The area has been protected since 1998 by the local community.

Timeline

* 1998: established as exclosure by the community * 2017: support 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

Environmental characteristics

* Area: 36 ha * Average slope gradient: 16% * Aspect: the exclosure is oriented towards the south and the east * Minimum altitude: 1959 metres * Maximum altitude: 2039 metres * Lithology:

Antalo Limestone The Antalo Limestone, also known as the Antalo Sequence, is a geological formation in Ethiopia. It is between 300 and 800 metres thick and comprises fossiliferous limestones and marls that were deposited in a reef. Marine microfossils have shown ...

Management

As a general rule, cattle ranging and wood harvesting are not allowed. The grasses are harvested once yearly and taken to the homesteads of the village to feed livestock. Physical soil and water conservation has been implemented to enhance infiltration, and vegetation growth. There are two guards to protect the exclosure. Field observations showed that no illegal grazing occurred in the exclosure in 2018.

Benefits for the community

Setting aside such areas fits with the long-term vision of the communities were ''hiza’iti'' lands are set aside for use by the future generations. It has also direct benefits for the community: * improved

ground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidat ...

availability *

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

production Tukhul exclosure 2

* climate ameliorator (temperature, moisture) * the sequestered carbon (in total 73 tonnes per ha, dominantly sequestered in the soil, and additionally in the woody vegetation) is certified using the Plan Vivo voluntary carbon standard,EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website
/ref> after which carbon credits are sold * the revenues are then reinvested in the villages, according to the priorities of the communities; it may be for an additional class in the village school, a water pond, or conservation in the exclosures.

Biodiversity

With vegetation growth, biodiversity in this exclosure hast strongly improved: there is more varied vegetation and

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

. Particularly, with regard to birdlife, one may observe black-winged lovebird,

greyish eagle-owl The greyish eagle-owl or vermiculated eagle-owl (''Bubo cinerascens'') is a rather large owl of the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa. It was previously regarded as the northern subspecies of the spotted eagle-owl (''Bubo africanus''). Descri ...

hoopoe Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "Crest (feathers), crown" of feathers which can be raised or lowered at will. Two living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many y ...

black-billed wood hoopoe The black-billed wood hoopoe (''Phoeniculus somaliensis'') is a species of bird in the family Phoeniculidae. It is native to eastern Africa where it is found in wooded and scrubby areas. Description The black-billed wood hoopoe is very similar ...

, banded barbet, Nubian woodpecker, Abyssinian woodpecker,

grey-headed batis The grey-headed batis (''Batis orientalis'') is a species of bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae, it was previously classified with the Old World flycatchers in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in eastern and central Africa. Des ...

and

montane white-eye The Ethiopian white-eye (''Zosterops poliogastrus''), formerly known as Heuglin's white-eye or montane white-eye, is a small passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which incl ...

. In the adjacent seasonal grazing land Clapperton's francolin,

black-bellied bustard The black-bellied bustard (''Lissotis melanogaster''), also known as the black-bellied korhaan, is an African ground-dwelling bird in the bustard family. Description The black-bellied bustard is long. The bill and legs are dull yellow. The mal ...

, and

red-backed shrike The red-backed shrike (''Lanius collurio'') is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family, Laniidae. Its breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia. It is migratory and winters in the eastern areas of ...

, can be spotted during the tall grass season.

References

{{reflist, 32em

External links

EthioTrees on Davines website

EthioTrees project website

EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website

Link For Forestry Projects
1998 establishments in Ethiopia Exclosures of Tigray Region Dogu'a Tembien