Biodiversity State and Trends in Southeast Asia

Koh, Lian Pin; Kettle, Chris J.; Sheil, Douglas; Lee, Tien M.; Giam, Xingli; Gibson, Luke; Clements, Gopalasamy Reuben

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-384719-5.00357-9

Cited by 33 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 182 publications

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“…Land use change and land use intensification are mainly driven by a rising global demand for agricultural products (Foley, ) and are particularly pronounced in Southeast Asia where forests are cleared for agricultural cash crops and industrial tree plantations at massive extents. At the same time, tropical lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia are among the most diverse ecoregions of the world (Brooks et al., ; Koh et al., ; Sodhi, Koh, et al., ) and harbour a high number of endemic species (Sodhi, Posa, et al., ). Four out of the 25 biodiversity hotspots worldwide are located in Southeast Asia, where high numbers of endemic species and high rates of habitat loss coincide (Myers et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical rainforest conversion and land use intensification reduce understorey plant phylogenetic diversity

Kusuma

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Tjitrosoedirdjo³

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Conversion of rainforest into agricultural land affects multiple facets of tropical plant diversity. While the effects of tropical land use change and intensification on species diversity are comparatively well studied, the effects on phylogenetic diversity (PD) and structure of plant communities are largely unknown. Furthermore, it is not clear how the loss of native species and addition of alien species collectively affect PD and structure. We investigated the PD and structure of understorey plants; a diverse and ecologically important, yet poorly studied group. We studied four prominent land use systems (tropical lowland rainforest, jungle rubber agroforest, rubber plantations, and oil palm plantations) in the lowlands of Sumatra (Indonesia), a region experiencing dramatic land use changes. Across the four systems, we investigated differences in four metrics of phylogenetic community structure (PD, mean pairwise distance, mean nearest taxon distance, and their abundance‐weighted variants). Our analyses were based on a comprehensive vegetation survey consisting of 32 plots, 1,197 species of vascular plants, and 146,599 plant individuals. Our results showed that forest conversion into agricultural systems leads to a pronounced loss of PD. Furthermore, the standardized effect size of mean pairwise distance indicated a gradual change from clustered to overdispersed phylogenetic community structure with increasing land use intensity from forest over jungle rubber to the monoculture plantations. In most land use systems, the presence or absence of alien plant species did not affect phylogenetic structure. Only in oil palm plantations, removing alien species from the data led to a more overdispersed structure. In conclusion, conserving the PD and structure requires efficient protection of the last remaining rainforests. Synthesis and applications. Forest conversion into agricultural areas negatively affects phylogenetic understorey plant diversity and leads to a shift from clustered to overdispersed phylogenetic community structure. These trends are partly driven by alien species particularly in oil palm plantations. Protecting the remaining rainforests and considering multispecies agroforestry systems in favour of intensive monoculture plantations are thus imperative to conserve phylogenetic plant diversity and community structure.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical rainforest conversion and land use intensification reduce understorey plant phylogenetic diversity

Kusuma

Rembold

Tjitrosoedirdjo³

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…The demand for wildlife parts and derivatives for use as traditional medicines or tonics, exotic food and luxury goods has increased in South East Asia with the growing affluence of urban populations, and has led to the overharvesting and decline of many of the region's most iconic species, including Tigers Panthera tigris, Asian elephant Elephas maximus, Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus and Siamese crocodile Crocodylus siamensis (World Bank, 2005;Choudhury et al, 2008;van Strien et al, 2008;TRAFFIC, 2008;Nijman, 2010;Chundawat et al, 2011;Bezuijen et al, 2012;Koh et al, 2013). So insa-tiable is this demand that it has remained profitable for poachers to pursue the last remaining individuals of a species, resulting in local extirpations and extinctions across the region (Courchamp et al, 2006).…”

Section: Demand-driven Declinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Groundwork for effective conservation education: an example of in situ and ex situ collaboration in South East Asia

Crudge¹,

O'Connor

Hunt³

et al. 2016

International Zoo Yearbook

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Zoos and aquariums can play an important role in raising awareness of biodiversity and conservation. By collaborating with field‐based organizations, zoos and aquariums can more effectively implement conservation interventions to secure populations of species in natural ecosystems and habitats over the long term. Here, we present the collaborative efforts of San Diego Zoo Global, USA, and Free the Bears to design innovative surveys aimed at improving our understanding of public knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards bears and bear‐part consumption in South East Asia. Over 1500 surveys were completed in Cambodia and Lao PDR. Preliminary analysis of the Lao PDR surveys shows that there are significant differences between Lao and Western responses across most questions, indicating differing world views in terms of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards wildlife and wildlife trade. The results of these surveys will be used to identify key messages that should be delivered and key groups that should be targeted, in order to promote sustainable behaviours effectively and ensure stable wild populations of bears in South East Asia.

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“…However, the ecology of forests growing on limestone hills in Thailand remains poorly understood, despite great scientific interest (Koh and Kettle 2010;Sodhi et al 2010). Thus, we investigated environmental factors and tree species characteristics that are important for colonization in the different forest types on the limestone hills in Phrae Province, northern Thailand; our objective was to improve karst ecosystem management.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Factors Influencing Tree Species Regeneration in Different Forest Stands Growing on a Limestone Hill in Phrae Province, Northern Thailand

Asanok¹,

Marod²

2016

Journal of Forest and Environmental Science

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Improved knowledge of the environmental factors affecting the natural regeneration of tree species in limestone forest is urgently required for species conservation. We examined the environmental factors and tree species characteristics that are important for colonization in diverse forest stands growing on a limestone hill in northern Thailand. Our analysis estimated the relative influence of forest structure and environmental factors on the regeneration traits of tree species. We established sixty-four 100-m 2 plots in four forest stands on the limestone hill. We determined the species composition of canopy trees, regenerating seedlings, and saplings in relation to the physical environment. The relationships between environmental variables and tree species abundance were assessed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), and we used generalized linear mixed models to examine data on seedling/sapling abundances. The CCA ordination indicated that the abundance of tree species within the mixed deciduous forest was closely related to soil depth. The abundances of tree species growing within the sink-hole and hill-slope stands were positively related to the extent of rocky outcropping; light and soil moisture positively influenced the abundance of tree species in the hill-cliff stand. Physical factors had a greater effect on tree regeneration than did factors related to forest structure.Tree species, such as Ficus macleilandii, Dracaena cochinchinensis, and Phyllanthus mirabilis within the hill-cliff or sink-hole stand, colonized well on large rocky outcroppings that were well illuminated and had soft soils. These species regenerated well under conditions prevailing on the limestone hill. The colonization of several species in other stands was negatively influenced by environmental conditions at these sites. We found that natural regeneration of tree species on the limestone hill was difficult because of the prevailing combination of physical and biological factors. The influence of these factors was species dependent, and the magnitude of effects varied across forest stands.

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Biodiversity State and Trends in Southeast Asia

Cited by 33 publications

References 182 publications

Tropical rainforest conversion and land use intensification reduce understorey plant phylogenetic diversity

Tropical rainforest conversion and land use intensification reduce understorey plant phylogenetic diversity

Groundwork for effective conservation education: an example of in situ and ex situ collaboration in South East Asia

Environmental Factors Influencing Tree Species Regeneration in Different Forest Stands Growing on a Limestone Hill in Phrae Province, Northern Thailand

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