Riparian reserves protect butterfly communities in selectively logged tropical forest

Abstract

1. Selective logging is the most widespread habitat disturbance in tropical forests.Primary forest set-asides along riparian zones are mandated in many countries and a key question is whether these riparian reserves provide biodiversity conservation benefits.2. We characterise butterfly communities in fixed-width riparian reserves of 30 m on each bank along narrow streams (<10 m) paired with interior logged forest transects, and in primary forests within a selective logging concession in the south-western Brazilian Amazon.3. We found that primary forest species richness was more similar to riparian reserves than to paired interior logged forest points, whereas abundance remained higher in both riparian reserves and interior logged points, likely due to the intrusion of canopy-dwelling species in disturbed habitats, as previously reported in the literature. Butterfly assemblages within riparian reserves were more similar to unlogged primary forests than interior logged points, and canopy height in riparian reserves was associated with increased assemblage similarity to primary forest points. 4. Changes in abundance relative to primary forest were of a larger magnitude in interior logged points than in riparian reserves within logged forests, highlighting the role of riparian reserves in maintaining primary forest-like communities.We found no particular primary forest butterfly clades to be more sensitive to changes in abundance than other clades. Synthesis and applications. Mandatory conservation set-asides around streamsor rivers (riparian buffers) have an important role in protecting the abundance and composition of primary forest butterfly assemblages within selective logging concessions in tropical rainforests. This study highlights the need to assess the conservation value of protecting unlogged riparian forest strips in other taxa to inform policy.

Native forest conversion alters soil macroinvertebrate diversity and soil quality in tropical mountain landscapes of northern Ecuador

“…Veldkamp et al (2020) suggest that deforestation leads to drastic changes in inputs of litter organic residues, which may modify the soil microclimate, its biological activity, and decomposition rates. Differences in microclimates between native forests and other land uses were recorded by Guamán Trávez and Guarderas (In press), which may affect ecological processes taking place in topsoils (Gehlhausen et al, 2000;Montejo-Kovacevich et al, 2022). However, further integrated approaches that incorporate climate variations and other environmental parameters are needed to understand the cascading relationship among biodiversity, ecological functions, and the provision of soil ecosystem services (Leibensperger, 2016).…”

Importance of habitat heterogeneity in tidal flats to the conservation of migratory shorebirds

“…Consequently, conservation planning that focuses on preserving a given amount or extent of habitat runs the risk of oversimplifying species’ habitat requirements or underestimating the impact of habitat loss on target species, thereby rendering habitat conservation practices less effective. In particular, if habitat loss or degradation occurs disproportionately in portions of habitat that are of higher‐than‐average quality, the result could be declines in species abundance that are disproportionate to the amount of habitat affected (Montejo‐Kovacevich et al., 2022; Mu & Wilcove, 2020; Yin et al., 2021). It is thus important to understand how key biotic (e.g., food, predators) and abiotic (e.g., temperature, topography) factors in a given habitat vary spatially and temporally and how that variation drives overall patterns of habitat quality.…”