Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate

Ewers, Robert M., Orme, C. David L., Pearse, William D., Zulkifli, Nursyamin, Yvon-Durocher, Genevieve, Yusah, Kalsum M., Yoh, Natalie, Yeo, Darren C. J., Wong, Anna, Williamson, Joseph, Wilkinson, Clare L., Wiederkehr, Fabienne, Webber, Bruce L., Wearn, Oliver R., Wai, Leona, Vollans, Maisie, Twining, Joshua P., Turner, Edgar C., Tobias, Joseph A., Thorley, Jack, Telford, Elizabeth M., Teh, Yit Arn, Tan, Heok Hui, Swinfield, Tom, Svátek, Martin, Struebig, Matthew, Stork, Nigel, Sleutel, Jani, Slade, Eleanor M., Sharp, Adam, Shabrani, Adi, Sethi, Sarab S., Seaman, Dave J. I., Sawang, Anati, Roxby, Gabrielle Briana, Rowcliffe, J. Marcus, Rossiter, Stephen J., Riutta, Terhi, Rahman, Homathevi, Qie, Lan, Psomas, Elizabeth, Prairie, Aaron, Poznansky, Frederica, Pillay, Rajeev, Picinali, Lorenzo, Pianzin, Annabel, Pfeifer, Marion, Parrett, Jonathan M., Noble, Ciar D., Nilus, Reuben, Mustaffa, Nazirah, Mullin, Katherine E., Mitchell, Simon, Mckinlay, Amelia R., Maunsell, Sarah, Matula, Radim, Massam, Michael, Martin, Stephanie, Malhi, Yadvinder, Majalap, Noreen, Maclean, Catherine S., Mackintosh, Emma, Luke, Sarah H., Lewis, Owen T., Layfield, Harry J., Lane-Shaw, Isolde, Kueh, Boon Hee, Kratina, Pavel, Konopik, Oliver, Kitching, Roger, Kinneen, Lois, Kemp, Victoria A., Jotan, Palasiah, Jones, Nick, Jebrail, Evyen W., Hrone, Michal, Heon, Sui Peng, Hemprich-Bennett, David R., Haysom, Jessica K., Harianja, Martina F., Hardwick, Jane, Gregory, Nichar, Gray, Ryan, Gray, Ross E. J., Granville, Natasha, Gill, Richard, Fraser, Adam, Foster, William A., Folkard-Tapp, Hollie, Fletcher, Robert J., Fikri, Arman Hadi, Fayle, Tom M., Faruk, Aisyah, Eggleton, Paul, Edwards, David P., Drinkwater, Rosie, Dow, Rory A., Döbert, Timm F., Didham, Raphael K., Dickinson, Katharine J. M., Deere, Nicolas J., de Lorm, Tijmen, Dawood, Mahadimenakbar M., Davison, Charles W., Davies, Zoe G., Davies, Richard G., Danák, Martin, Cusack, Jeremy, Clare, Elizabeth L., Chung, Arthur, Chey, Vun Khen, Chapman, Philip M., Cator, Lauren, Carpenter, Daniel, Carbone, Chris, Calloway, Kerry, Bush, Emma R., Burslem, David F. R. P., Brown, Keiron D., Brooks, Stephen J., Brasington, Ella, Brant, Hayley, Boyle, Michael J. W., Both, Sabine, Blackman, Joshua, Bishop, Tom R., Bicknell, Jake E., Bernard, Henry, Basrur, Saloni, Barclay, Maxwell V. L., Barclay, Holly, Atton, Georgina, Ancrenaz, Marc, Aldridge, David C., Daniel, Olivia Z., Reynolds, Glen and Banks-Leite, Cristina 2024. Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate. Nature 631 , pp. 808-813. 10.1038/s41586-024-07657-w

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Abstract

Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded and depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they are dynamic ecosystems1 that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity2,3, 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 irreplaceable5, but they also reinforce the message that logged forests retain considerable conservation value that should not be overlooked.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Publisher:	Nature Research
ISSN:	0028-0836
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 July 2024
Date of Acceptance:	4 June 2024
Last Modified:	26 Jul 2024 09:16
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/170826

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