Tropical forest clearance impacts biodiversity and function, whereas logging changes structure

The impacts of degradation and deforestation on tropical forests are poorly understood, particularly at landscape scales. We present an extensive ecosystem analysis of the impacts of logging and conversion of tropical forest to oil palm from a large-scale study in Borneo, synthesizing responses from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2025-01, Vol.387 (6730), p.171-175
Main Authors: Marsh, Charles J, Turner, Edgar C, Blonder, Benjamin Wong, Bongalov, Boris, Both, Sabine, Cruz, Rudi S, Elias, Dafydd M O, Hemprich-Bennett, David, Jotan, Palasiah, Kemp, Victoria, Kritzler, Ully H, Milne, Sol, Milodowski, David T, Mitchell, Simon L, Pillco, Milenka Montoya, Nunes, Matheus Henrique, Riutta, Terhi, Robinson, Samuel J B, Slade, Eleanor M, Bernard, Henry, Burslem, David F R P, Chung, Arthur Y C, Clare, Elizabeth L, Coomes, David A, Davies, Zoe G, Edwards, David P, Johnson, David, Kratina, Pavel, Malhi, Yadvinder, Majalap, Noreen, Nilus, Reuben, Ostle, Nicholas J, Rossiter, Stephen J, Struebig, Matthew J, Tobias, Joseph A, Williams, Mathew, Ewers, Robert M, Lewis, Owen T, Reynolds, Glen, Teh, Yit Arn, Hector, Andy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arecaceae
Biodiversity
Borneo
Conservation of Natural Resources
Design standards
Ecological function
Ecosystems
Environmental changes
Environmental impact
Forestry
Functionals
Harvesting
Land use
Logging
Oil palm trees
Old growth
Plantations
Rainforest
Soil - chemistry
Stand structure
Structure-function relationships
Trees
Tropical Climate
Tropical forests
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Summary:The impacts of degradation and deforestation on tropical forests are poorly understood, particularly at landscape scales. We present an extensive ecosystem analysis of the impacts of logging and conversion of tropical forest to oil palm from a large-scale study in Borneo, synthesizing responses from 82 variables categorized into four ecological levels spanning a broad suite of ecosystem properties: (i) structure and environment, (ii) species traits, (iii) biodiversity, and (iv) ecosystem functions. Responses were highly heterogeneous and often complex and nonlinear. Variables that were directly impacted by the physical process of timber extraction, such as soil structure, were sensitive to even moderate amounts of logging, whereas measures of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning were generally resilient to logging but more affected by conversion to oil palm plantation.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.adf9856