Extreme Differences in Forest Degradation in Borneo: Comparing Practices in Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei

Bryan, Jane E.; Shearman, Philip; Asner, Gregory P.; Knapp, David; Aoro, Geraldine; Lokes, Barbara

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069679

Cited by 216 publications

(186 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Oil palm plantations and regenerating forests now represent some of the major terrestrial ecosystems in the Southeast Asian tropics [60], and our study demonstrates that these land-use conversions can cause compositional shifts in soil fungal communities that likely have functional consequences for nutrient cycling. Our results also imply that fungi may be more sensitive to logging than soil bacterial communities, as a recent study found that bacterial communities were compositionally distinct in oil palm soils, but were not different between primary and logged forests [44].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Responses of Soil Fungi to Logging and Oil Palm Agriculture in Southeast Asian Tropical Forests

et al. 2014

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Human land use alters soil microbial composition and function in a variety of systems, although few comparable studies have been done in tropical forests and tropical agricultural production areas. Logging and the expansion of oil palm agriculture are two of the most significant drivers of tropical deforestation, and the latter is most prevalent in Southeast Asia. The aim of this study was to compare soil fungal communities from three sites in Malaysia that represent three of the most dominant land-use types in the Southeast Asia tropics: a primary forest, a regenerating forest that had been selectively logged 50 years previously, and a 25-year-old oil palm plantation. Soil cores were collected from three replicate plots at each site, and fungal communities were sequenced using the Illumina platform. Extracellular enzyme assays were assessed as a proxy for soil microbial function. We found that fungal communities were distinct across all sites, although fungal composition in the regenerating forest was more similar to the primary forest than either forest community was to the oil palm site. Ectomycorrhizal fungi, which are important associates of the dominant Dipterocarpaceae tree family in this region, were compositionally distinct across forests, but were nearly absent from oil palm soils. Extracellular enzyme assays indicated that the soil ecosystem in oil palm plantations experienced altered nutrient cycling dynamics, but there were few differences between regenerating and primary forest soils. Together, these results show that logging and the replacement of primary forest with oil palm plantations alter fungal community and function, although forests regenerating from logging had more similarities with primary forests in terms of fungal composition and nutrient cycling potential. Since oil palm agriculture is currently the mostly rapidly expanding equatorial crop and logging is pervasive across tropical ecosystems, these findings may have broad applicability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Responses of Soil Fungi to Logging and Oil Palm Agriculture in Southeast Asian Tropical Forests

et al. 2014

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“…The next three most significant factors, including the fractional cover of nonwoody plants and bare substrate as well as relative elevation above nearest water body, accounted for an additional 32% of the ACD variation throughout the country. Within forest ecosystems, nonwoody canopy and bare substrate cover are well-known metrics of deforestation and degradation via logging and fire that removes woody plants (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22). Relative elevation above the nearest water is highly indicative of a water deficit in deserts and grasslands or of a water surplus (which can cause anoxia) in rainforests, both of which reduce vegetation carbon storage.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Targeted carbon conservation at national scales with high-resolution monitoring

Asner

Knapp

Martin

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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107

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Terrestrial carbon conservation can provide critical environmental, social, and climate benefits. Yet, the geographically complex mosaic of threats to, and opportunities for, conserving carbon in landscapes remain largely unresolved at national scales. Using a new high-resolution carbon mapping approach applied to Perú, a megadiverse country undergoing rapid land use change, we found that at least 0.8 Pg of aboveground carbon stocks are at imminent risk of emission from land use activities. Map-based information on the natural controls over carbon density, as well as current ecosystem threats and protections, revealed three biogeographically explicit strategies that fully offset forthcoming land-use emissions. High-resolution carbon mapping affords targeted interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rapidly developing tropical nations.carbon sequestration | forest degradation | deforestation | light detection and ranging | REDD+

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“…Global demands for timber and palm oil (e.g. Fitzherbert et al 2008, Danielsen et al 2009, Sodhi et al 2009) mean that increasing areas of habitat are being converted-nearly 80 % of Malaysian Borneo was affected by logging and clearing operations between 1990 and 2009 (Bryan et al 2013), with areas typically following a succession from old growth to logged forest, through to oil palm plantation (McMorrow and Talip 2001;Koh and Wilcove 2008;Bryan et al 2013). Logged forest and oil palm plantations now dominate the landscape of Malaysian Borneo (Bryan et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional structure of ant and termite assemblages in old growth forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation in Malaysian Borneo

et al. 2014

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Forested tropical landscapes around the world are being extensively logged and converted to agriculture, with serious consequences for biodiversity and potentially ecosystem functioning. Here we investigate associations between habitat disturbance and functional diversity of ants and termites-two numerically dominant and functionally important taxa in tropical rain forests that perform key roles in predation, decomposition, nutrient cycling and seed dispersal. We compared ant and termite occurrence and composition within standardised volumes of soil and dead wood in old growth forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Termites occurred substantially less frequently in converted habitats than in old growth forest, whereas ant occurrences were highest in logged forest and lowest in old growth forest. All termite feeding groups had low occurrence in disturbed habitats, with soil feeders occurring even less frequently 123Biodivers Conserv (2014) 23:2817-2832 DOI 10.1007/s10531-014-0750-2 than wood feeders. Ant functional groups showed more variable associations, with some opportunist and behaviourally dominant groups being more abundant in degraded habitats. The importance of ants and termites in tropical ecosystems and such differing patterns of assemblage variation suggest that ecosystem functioning may be significantly altered in converted habitats.

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Extreme Differences in Forest Degradation in Borneo: Comparing Practices in Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei

Cited by 216 publications

References 33 publications

Responses of Soil Fungi to Logging and Oil Palm Agriculture in Southeast Asian Tropical Forests

Responses of Soil Fungi to Logging and Oil Palm Agriculture in Southeast Asian Tropical Forests

Targeted carbon conservation at national scales with high-resolution monitoring

Functional structure of ant and termite assemblages in old growth forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation in Malaysian Borneo

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