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Journal article
Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate
Nature, Vol.631, pp.808-813
2024
PMID: 39020163
Abstract
Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded and depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they are dynamic ecosystems that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity, so we cannot afford to underestimate their conservation value4. Here we present empirically defined thresholds for categorizing the conservation value of logged forests, using one of the most comprehensive assessments of taxon responses to habitat degradation in any tropical forest environment. We analysed the impact of logging intensity on the individual occurrence patterns of 1,681 taxa belonging to 86 taxonomic orders and 126 functional groups in Sabah, Malaysia. Our results demonstrate the existence of two conservation-relevant thresholds. First, lightly logged forests (<29% biomass removal) retain high conservation value and a largely intact functional composition, and are therefore likely to recover their pre-logging values if allowed to undergo natural regeneration. Second, the most extreme impacts occur in heavily degraded forests with more than two-thirds (>68%) of their biomass removed, and these are likely to require more expensive measures to recover their biodiversity value. Overall, our data confirm that primary forests are irreplaceable, but they also reinforce the message that logged forests retain considerable conservation value that should not be overlooked.
Details
- Title
- Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate
- Authors
- Robert M. Ewers (Corresponding Author) - Imperial College LondonC. David L. Orme - Imperial College LondonWilliam D. Pearse - Imperial College LondonNursyamin Zulkifli - Universiti Putra MalaysiaGenevieve Yvon-Durocher - University of BristolKalsum M. Yusah - Universiti of Malaysia SabahNatalie Yoh - University of KentDarren C. J. Yeo - National University of SingaporeAnna Wong - Malaysian Nature Society (Malaysia)Joseph Williamson - Queen Mary University of LondonClare L. Wilkinson - Imperial College LondonFabienne Wiederkehr - Imperial College LondonBruce L. Webber - The University of Western AustraliaOliver R. Wearn - Imperial College LondonLeona Wai - Danau Girang Field CentreMaisie Vollans - Imperial College LondonJoshua P. Twining - Imperial College LondonEdgar C. Turner - Imperial College LondonJoseph A. Tobias - Imperial College LondonJack Thorley - University of CambridgeElizabeth M. Telford - University of EdinburghYit Arn Teh - Newcastle UniversityHeok Hui Tan - National University of SingaporeTom Swinfield - University of CambridgeMartin Svátek - Mendel University in BrnoMatthew Struebig - Canterbury, UKNigel Stork - Griffith UniversityJani Sleutel - Vrije Universiteit BrusselEleanor M. Slade - Nanyang Technological UniversityAdam Sharp - Imperial College LondonAdi Shabrani - University of MontanaSarab S. Sethi - Imperial College LondonDave J. I. Seaman - University of KentAnati Sawang - Sabah State MuseumGabrielle Briana Roxby - Imperial College LondonJ. Marcus Rowcliffe - Zoological Society of LondonStephen J. Rossiter - Queen Mary University of LondonTerhi Riutta - Imperial College LondonHomathevi Rahman - Universiti of Malaysia SabahLan Qie - University of LincolnElizabeth Psomas - Imperial College LondonAaron Prairie - Imperial College LondonFrederica Poznansky - Imperial College LondonRajeev Pillay - University of FloridaLorenzo Picinali - Imperial College LondonAnnabel Pianzin - Universiti of Malaysia SabahMarion Pfeifer - Newcastle UniversityJonathan M. Parrett - Adam Mickiewicz University in PoznańCiar D. Noble - Imperial College LondonReuben Nilus - Sabah Forestry DepartmentNazirah Mustaffa - Universiti of Malaysia SabahKatherine E. Mullin - Canterbury, UKSimon Mitchell - Canterbury, UKAmelia R. Mckinlay - Imperial College LondonSarah Maunsell - Griffith UniversityRadim Matula - Czech University of Life Sciences PragueMichael Massam - Imperial College LondonStephanie Martin - Imperial College LondonYadvinder Malhi - University of OxfordNoreen Majalap - Sabah Forestry DepartmentCatherine S. Maclean - Imperial College LondonEmma Mackintosh - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests and People Research CentreSarah H. Luke - Cambridge, UK Loughborough, UK Norwich, UKOwen T. Lewis - University of OxfordHarry J. Layfield - Imperial College LondonIsolde Lane-Shaw - Imperial College LondonBoon Hee Kueh - Universiti of Malaysia SabahPavel Kratina - Queen Mary University of LondonOliver Konopik - University of WürzburgRoger Kitching - Griffith UniversityLois Kinneen - Griffith UniversityVictoria A. Kemp - Queen Mary University of LondonPalasiah Jotan - Czech University of Life Sciences PragueNick Jones - Imperial College LondonEvyen W. Jebrail - Universiti of Malaysia SabahMichal Hroneš - Palacký University OlomoucSui Peng Heon - Imperial College LondonDavid R. Hemprich-Bennett - Queen Mary University of LondonJessica K. Haysom - University of KentMartina F. Harianja - University of CambridgeJane Hardwick - Griffith UniversityNichar Gregory - Imperial College LondonRyan Gray - South East Asia Rainforest Research PartnershipRoss E. J. Gray - Imperial College LondonNatasha Granville - Imperial College LondonRichard Gill - Imperial College LondonAdam Fraser - Imperial College LondonWilliam A. Foster - University of CambridgeHollie Folkard-Tapp - Imperial College LondonRobert J. Fletcher - University of FloridaArman Hadi Fikri - Universiti of Malaysia SabahTom M. Fayle - Queen Mary University of LondonAisyah Faruk - Royal Botanic Gardens, KewPaul Eggleton - Natural History MuseumDavid P. Edwards - University of SheffieldRosie Drinkwater - Queen Mary University of LondonRory A. Dow - Universiti Malaysia SarawakTimm F. Döbert - CSIRO Health and BiosecurityRaphael K. Didham - CSIRO Health and BiosecurityKatharine J. M. Dickinson - University of OtagoNicolas J. Deere - Canterbury, UKTijmen de Lorm - Imperial College LondonMahadimenakbar M. Dawood - Universiti of Malaysia SabahCharles W. Davison - Imperial College LondonZoe G. Davies - Canterbury, UKRichard G. Davies - University of East AngliaMartin Dančák - Palacký University OlomoucJeremy Cusack - Imperial College LondonElizabeth L. Clare - Queen Mary University of LondonArthur Chung - Sabah Forestry DepartmentVun Khen Chey - Sabah Forestry DepartmentPhilip M. Chapman - Imperial College LondonLauren Cator - Imperial College LondonDaniel Carpenter - Natural History MuseumChris Carbone - Zoological Society of LondonKerry Calloway - Natural History MuseumEmma R. Bush - Royal Botanic Garden EdinburghDavid F. R. P. Burslem - University of AberdeenKeiron D. Brown - Natural History MuseumStephen J. Brooks - Natural History MuseumElla Brasington - Imperial College LondonHayley Brant - Imperial College LondonMichael J. W. Boyle - University of Hong KongSabine Both - University of New EnglandJoshua Blackman - Queen Mary University of LondonTom R. Bishop - Ascot, UK Pretoria, South Africa Cardiff, UKJake E. Bicknell - Canterbury, UKHenry Bernard - Universiti of Malaysia SabahSaloni Basrur - University of KentMaxwell V. L. Barclay - Natural History MuseumHolly Barclay - Subang Jaya, MalaysiaGeorgina Atton - University of BristolMarc Ancrenaz - Borneo Futures, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Kinabatangan Orang-Utan Conservation Programme, Kota Kinabalu, MalaysiaDavid C. Aldridge - University of CambridgeOlivia Z. Daniel - Imperial College LondonGlen Reynolds - South East Asia Rainforest Research PartnershipCristina Banks-Leite - Imperial College London
- Publication details
- Nature, Vol.631, pp.808-813
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41586-024-07657-w
- ISSN
- 1476-4687; 0028-0836
- PMID
- 39020163
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- Datasets used in these analyses were published separately; information regarding individual Zenodo repositories is included in Supplementary Table 1.
- Organisation Unit
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; Indigenous Services - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991051598802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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