Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate

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.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Ewers, R.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9001-0610 Orme, C.D.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7005-1394 Pearse, W.D. Zulkifli, N. Yvon-Durocher, G. Yusah, K.M. Yoh, N. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6171-3800 Yeo, D.C.J. Wong, A. Williamson, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4916-5386 Wilkinson, C.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0022-2522 Wiederkehr, F. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9746-3762 Webber, B.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5934-6557 Wearn, O.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8258-3534 Wai, L. Vollans, M. Twining, J.P. Turner, E.C. Tobias, J.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2429-6179 Thorley, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8426-610X Telford, E.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1511-1083 Teh, Y.A. Tan, H.H. Swinfield, T. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9354-5090 Svátek, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2328-4627 Struebig, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2058-8502 Stork, N. Sleutel, J. Slade, E.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6108-1196 Sharp, A. https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8484-4536 Shabrani, A. Sethi, S.S. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5939-0432 Seaman, D.J.I. Sawang, A. Roxby, G.B. https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3274-169X Rowcliffe, J.M. Rossiter, S.J. Riutta, T. Rahman, H. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1618-388X Qie, L. Psomas, E. Prairie, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-9329 Poznansky, F. Pillay, R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7116-6855 Picinali, L. Pianzin, A. Pfeifer, M. Parrett, J.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9141-1371 Noble, C.D. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3003-2789 Nilus, R. Mustaffa, N. Mullin, K.E. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7816-3083 Mitchell, S. Mckinlay, A.R. Maunsell, S. Matula, R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7460-0100 Massam, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4591-0369 Martin, S. Malhi, Y. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3503-4783 Majalap, N. Maclean, C.S. Mackintosh, E. https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9367-7164 Luke, S.H. Lewis, O.T. Layfield, H.J. https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7680-8076 Lane-Shaw, I. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7241-4216 Kueh, B.H. Kratina, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9144-7937 Konopik, O. Kitching, R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6798-6041 Kinneen, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5502-8113 Kemp, V.A. Jotan, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4973-9407 Jones, N. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4083-972X Jebrail, E.W. Hroneš, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0380-929X Heon, S.P. Hemprich-Bennett, D.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3555-4295 Haysom, J.K. Harianja, M.F. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9607-6151 Hardwick, J. Gregory, N. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0872-9950 Gray, R. Gray, R.E.J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1029-9021 Granville, N. Gill, R. Fraser, A. Foster, W.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2535-8012 Folkard-Tapp, H. Fletcher, R.J. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1717-5707 Fikri, A.H. Fayle, T.M. Faruk, A. Eggleton, P. Edwards, D.P. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8562-3853 Drinkwater, R. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6892-1664 Dow, R.A. Döbert, T.F. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1601-8665 Didham, R.K. Dickinson, K.J.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6769-552X Deere, N.J. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1299-2126 de Lorm, T. Dawood, M.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7438-5906 Davison, C.W. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9709-0951 Davies, Z.G. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0767-1467 Davies, R.G. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0145-0818 Dančák, M. Cusack, J. Clare, E.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6563-3365 Chung, A. Chey, V.K. Chapman, P.M. Cator, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6627-1490 Carpenter, D. Carbone, C. Calloway, K. Bush, E.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-125X Burslem, D.F.R.P. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6033-0990 Brown, K.D. https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4860-5547 Brooks, S.J. Brasington, E. Brant, H. Boyle, M.J.W. Both, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4437-5106 Blackman, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5260-3677 Bishop, T.R. Bicknell, J.E. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6831-627X Bernard, H. Basrur, S. Barclay, M.V.L. Barclay, H. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0027-2570 Atton, G. Ancrenaz, M. Aldridge, D.C. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9067-8592 Daniel, O.Z. Reynolds, G. Banks-Leite, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0091-2857
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© The Author(s) 2024. s 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/.
Keywords:	Conservation biology; Forest ecology; Tropical ecology
Dates:	Published: 25 July 2024 Published (online): 17 July 2024 Accepted: 4 June 2024 Submitted: 31 May 2023
Institution:	The University of Sheffield
Academic Units:	The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Sheffield
Date Deposited:	06 Aug 2024 07:41
Last Modified:	06 Aug 2024 07:41
Status:	Published
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1038/s41586-024-07657-w
Related URLs:	PubMed URL Dataset Dataset Dataset Dataset Dataset Dataset Dataset Dataset
Sustainable Development Goals:
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:215458

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Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate

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Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate

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