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

Charles J. Marsh, Edgar C. Turner, Benjamin Wong Blonder, Boris Bongalov, Sabine Both, Rudi S. Cruz, Dafydd M.O. Elias, David Hemprich-Bennett, Palasiah Jotan, Victoria Kemp, Ully H. Kritzler, Sol Milne, David T. Milodowski, Simon L. Mitchell, Milenka Montoya Pillco, Matheus Henrique Nunes, Terhi Riutta, Samuel J.B. Robinson, Eleanor M. Slade, Henry BernardDavid F.R.P. Burslem, Arthur Y.C. Chung, Elizabeth L. Clare, David A. Coomes, Zoe G. Davies, David P. Edwards, David Johnson, Pavel Kratina, Yadvinder Malhi, Noreen Majalap, Reuben Nilus, Nicholas J. Ostle, Stephen J. Rossiter, Matthew J. Struebig, Joseph A. Tobias, Mathew Williams, Robert M. Ewers, Owen T. Lewis, Glen Reynolds, Yit Arn Teh, Andy Hector

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Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)171-175
Number of pages5
JournalScience (New York, N.Y.)
Volume387
Issue number6730
Early online date10 Jan 2025
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 10 Jan 2025

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