Conserving Tropical Tree Diversity and Forest Structure: The Value of Small Rainforest Patches in Moderately-Managed Landscapes

Conserving Tropical Tree Diversity and Forest Structure: The Value of Small Rainforest Patches in Moderately-Managed Landscapes

Background

Due to deforestation and degradation in rainforests, there has been an increase in small forest patches yet there is limited understanding of this structures contribution to biodiversity and ecosystem services. The authors of this study attempt to answer this question through studying a a moderately managed landscape in the tropics of Mexic

Conclusions & Takeaways

The authors found that patch size was not a significant indicator of basal area, stem density, species richness, or species evenness. This contrasts with similar studies conducted in highly deforested areas with a longer history of human activity. This suggests that the higher diversity the authors found in small patches of rainforest is unlikely to be maintained in the long-run assuming human use of surrounding land remains high. The authors state that the faunal activity in the landscape was relatively unchanged which could have contributed to the high diversity in the patches. If the fauna were removed or migrated due to habitat loss, the patches would lose necessary seed dispersers and diversity would likely be lost.

Reference: 

Hernández-Ruedas MA, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Meave JA, et al. Conserving Tropical Tree Diversity and Forest Structure: The Value of Small Rainforest Patches in Moderately-Managed Landscapes. Mason NWH, ed. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e98931. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098931.

Affiliation: 

  • Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
  • Departamento de Botanica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
  • Departamento de Sistematica e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraıba