Dataset Information

Quantifying the biodiversity value of tropical primary, secondary, and plantation forests.

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity loss from deforestation may be partly offset by the expansion of secondary forests and plantation forestry in the tropics. However, our current knowledge of the value of these habitats for biodiversity conservation is limited to very few taxa, and many studies are severely confounded by methodological shortcomings. We examined the conservation value of tropical primary, secondary, and plantation forests for 15 taxonomic groups using a robust and replicated sample design that minimized edge effects. Different taxa varied markedly in their response to patterns of land use in terms of species richness and the percentage of species restricted to primary forest (varying from 5% to 57%), yet almost all between-forest comparisons showed marked differences in community structure and composition. Cross-taxon congruence in response patterns was very weak when evaluated using abundance or species richness data, but much stronger when using metrics based upon community similarity. Our results show that, whereas the biodiversity indicator group concept may hold some validity for several taxa that are frequently sampled (such as birds and fruit-feeding butterflies), it fails for those exhibiting highly idiosyncratic responses to tropical land-use change (including highly vagile species groups such as bats and orchid bees), highlighting the problems associated with quantifying the biodiversity value of anthropogenic habitats. Finally, although we show that areas of native regeneration and exotic tree plantations can provide complementary conservation services, we also provide clear empirical evidence demonstrating the irreplaceable value of primary forests.

SUBMITTER: Barlow J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2141815 | biostudies-other | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Publications

Quantifying the biodiversity value of tropical primary, secondary, and plantation forests.

Barlow J J Gardner T A TA Araujo I S IS Avila-Pires T C TC Bonaldo A B AB Costa J E JE Esposito M C MC Ferreira L V LV Hawes J J Hernandez M I M MI Hoogmoed M S MS Leite R N RN Lo-Man-Hung N F NF Malcolm J R JR Martins M B MB Mestre L A M LA Miranda-Santos R R Nunes-Gutjahr A L AL Overal W L WL Parry L L Peters S L SL Ribeiro-Junior M A MA da Silva M N F MN da Silva Motta C C Peres C A CA

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20071114 47

Biodiversity loss from deforestation may be partly offset by the expansion of secondary forests and plantation forestry in the tropics. However, our current knowledge of the value of these habitats for biodiversity conservation is limited to very few taxa, and many studies are severely confounded by methodological shortcomings. We examined the conservation value of tropical primary, secondary, and plantation forests for 15 taxonomic groups using a robust and replicated sample design that minimiz ...[more]

PMID: 18003934

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Project description:Conservation of temperate forest biodiversity has historically focused on natural old-growth. Less than 3% of the world's temperate forests remain unmodified by humans, however, and much of temperate-forest biodiversity is held in the predominating planted and secondary forests. Japan provides a widely applicable model for examining how to maximize biodiversity in managed temperate forests, because of its richness of forestry research generated from its vast forest area, albeit largely in Japanese, and the wide practice of its dominant management interventions across the northern temperate zone. Management for plantations includes thinning, extended rotation cycles and clear-cutting. For secondary forests regenerating from past clearance, traditional management varies in its intensities, from clear-cutting as coppices to small-scale understory clearance. Here we provide a first synthesis of published research on biodiversity in planted and secondary forests of Japan, relevant to management of these types of forest in northern temperate regions. Systematic review and meta-analyses of papers published in English and Japanese quantified management impacts on species richness and abundance of several taxa, in relation to moderator variables including stand age and management intensity. Plantation thinning substantially increases the richness and abundance of several taxa. Effect sizes decline with time since thinning for the abundance of regenerating saplings and seedlings, necessitating repeated thinning treatments every 6 years to sustain this positive effect. Taxonomic groups exhibit variable relationships with stand age in both planted and secondary forests, indicating a need to include both young and old forest stands in managed forest mosaics. We find an insufficient evidence base is available to allow for a meaningful synthesis of low-intensity management effects in historically managed secondary forests, with studies varying widely in scale and reported outcomes. We outline an agenda for the research community to achieve a systematic evaluation of scale-dependent effects of traditional forest management on biodiversity.

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Dataset Information

Quantifying the biodiversity value of tropical primary, secondary, and plantation forests.

Publications

Quantifying the biodiversity value of tropical primary, secondary, and plantation forests.

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