Minding the boundary: social–ecological contexts for fence ecology and management

Abstract

The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said 'This is mine', and found people naive enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society." -Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1754 Fencing is a globally ubiquitous yet largely underestimated human infrastructure. To date, most fencing-related research and management has focused on its biophysical outcomes. However, fencing is often part of coupled human and natural systems, and inevitably affects social and ecological dynamics and the links between them. Drawing from three key case studies in the US, China, and South Africa, we delineate five social pathways through which fencing shapes social-ecological dynamics in a landscape. We show that the social functions and physical appearance of fencing conjointly form a positive feedback loop that stimulates the proliferation of fences across entire landscapes, rendering fencing a more impactful feature than expected from its ecological impacts alone. The emerging field of fence ecology and management must embrace the social-ecological complexities of fenced landscapes to minimize unanticipated social consequences.

Fencing amplifies individual differences in movement with implications on survival for two migratory ungulates

“…Since the invention of barbed wire in the late 19th century in the western United States, fencing has rapidly spread across the world and become one of the most prominent linear infrastructures (McInturff et al, 2020; Xu & Huntsinger, 2022). Today, fencing is a major obstacle to the movement of many wide‐ranging ungulates, yet our understanding of the extent of its impacts remains in its infancy (Jakes et al, 2018; Xu, Dejid, et al, 2021).…”

Editorial: Disentangling the complexity of fence effects on wildlife and ecosystems

“…As fence ecology is an inherently interdisciplinary field, we cast a broad net for this Research Topic. While the term fence ecology implies a focus solely on ecology, fences of any purpose are fundamentally a sociopolitical construct rooted in complex human histories and needs (Xu and Huntsinger, 2022). Thus, the field of fence ecology, and any policies related to fences, will need to take into account the sociocultural and economic contexts underlying fence construction, maintenance, and removal.…”

Using smart farming technologies to improve the sustainabilty of livestock grazing systems

“…Involving animals in the processes that determine their environment (concept of cooperative livestock management) could enable cost-eective and exible solutions with the potential to improve animal welfare at the same time (Manteuel et al, 2021). Fences are known to determine the environment (Xu et al, 2022). Therefore, using behavioural indications of the animals to adapt the forage allocation via VF involves them in decision making.…”