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

Marsh, Charles J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0281-3115; Turner, Edgar C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2715-2234; Blonder, Benjamin Wong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5061-2385; Bongalov, Boris; Both, Sabine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4437-5106; Cruz, Rudi S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1463-8278; Elias, Dafydd M.O. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2674-9285; Hemprich-Bennett, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3555-4295; Jotan, Palasiah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4973-9407; Kemp, Victoria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3620-3478; Kritzler, Ully H.; Milne, Sol ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3005-9631; Milodowski, David T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8419-8506; Mitchell, Simon L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8826-4868; Pillco, Milenka Montoya ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5235-6899; Nunes, Matheus Henrique ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9979-6456; Riutta, Terhi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8308-5307; Robinson, Samuel J.B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0011-7407; Slade, Eleanor M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6108-1196; Bernard, Henry; Burslem, David F.R.P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6033-0990; Chung, Arthur Y.C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9529-4114; Clare, Elizabeth L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6563-3365; Coomes, David A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8261-2582; Davies, Zoe G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0767-1467; Edwards, David P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8562-3853; Johnson, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2299-2525; Kratina, Pavel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9144-7937; Malhi, Yadvinder ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3503-4783; Majalap, Noreen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6328-8529; Nilus, Reuben; Ostle, Nicholas J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3263-3702; Rossiter, Stephen J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3881-4515; Struebig, Matthew J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2058-8502; Tobias, Joseph A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2429-6179; Williams, Mathew; Ewers, Robert M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9001-0610; Lewis, Owen T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7935-6111; Reynolds, Glen; Teh, Yit Arn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7976-6794; Hector, Andy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1309-7716. 2025 Tropical forest clearance impacts biodiversity and function, whereas logging changes structure. Science, 387 (6730). 171-175. 10.1126/science.adf9856

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Abstract/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.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1126/science.adf9856
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Surface Atmosphere Interactions and Effects (2025-)
ISSN:	0036-8075
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Related URLs:	Dataset
Date made live:	14 Jan 2025 11:41 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/538714

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