Lafa (exclosure)

Lafa exclosure
Lafa exclosure
	Lafa exclosure
Location	Mizane Birhan municipality, in Dogu’a Tembien district, Ethiopia
Nearest city	Hagere Selam
Coordinates	13.596°N 39.294°E
Area	45 ha (110 acres)
Established	1988
Website	https://ethiotrees.com

Lafa is an exclosure located in the Dogu'a Tembien woreda of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The area has been protected since 1988 by the local community.[1]

Timeline[1]

1988: established as exclosure by the community
2017: support by the EthioTrees project

Environmental characteristics[1]

Area: 45 ha
Average slope gradient: 41%
Aspect: the exclosure is oriented towards the south
Minimum altitude: 2008 metres
Maximum altitude: 2088 metres
Lithology: Antalo Limestone

Typical in Lafa and other exclosures: a larger tree as evidence of an earlier forest, and numerous smaller trees of approximately the same height that have grown since 1988

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. There are two guards to protect the exclosure. Field observations showed that however some illegal grazing occurred in the exclosure in 2018.[1]

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[2]:

improved ground water availability
honey production
climate ameliorator (temperature, moisture)
the sequestered carbon (in total 75 tonnes per ha, dominantly sequestered in the soil, and additionally in the woody vegetation)[1] is certified using the Plan Vivo voluntary carbon standard,[3] 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 exclosure.[4]

Biodiversity

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

Young trees as undergrowth in Lafa

gollark: They're meant to test some underlying general intelligence factor. Correlates quite well with stuff.

gollark: 55 would be ridiculous, that's 3 standard deviations.

gollark: Well, I sometimes ignore norms I don't like and it works fine.

gollark: I use bignums.

gollark: Yes. Fear my intelligence of 829283849327193.

References

De Deyn, Jonathan (2019). Benefits of reforestation on Carbon storage and water infiltration in the context of climate mitigation in North Ethiopia. Master thesis, Ghent University.
Jacob, M. and colleagues (2019). Exclosures as Primary Option for Reforestation in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website
Reubens, B. and colleagues (2019). Research-based development projects in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[jona-1] De Deyn, Jonathan (2019). Benefits of reforestation on Carbon storage and water infiltration in the context of climate mitigation in North Ethiopia. Master thesis, Ghent University.

[2] Jacob, M. and colleagues (2019). Exclosures as Primary Option for Reforestation in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.

[vivo-3] EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website

[chapter-4] Reubens, B. and colleagues (2019). Research-based development projects in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.