The impact of forest conversion to oil palm on arthropod abundance and biomass in Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract

Deforestation rates in South-East Asia are among the highest of any tropical region, with expansion of oil palm being one important factor. Despite this, few studies have investigated the impact of oil palm expansion on the arthropod fauna. We report here the first study on the impact of forest conversion to oil palm on overall arthropod abundance, biomass and composition. We compared arthropod abundance and biomass, collected from epiphytic bird's nest ferns, the canopy, and leaf litter between primary forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation. Epiphytes, canopy and litter all contained a lower abundance (epiphytes: 67.2%, canopy: 2.3% and litter: 77.1% reduction) and biomass (epiphytes: 87.5%, canopy: 37.9% and litter: 72.4% reduction) of arthropods in oil palm compared with primary forest. However, not all orders of arthropods showed the same level of decline, with some groups having higher abundance and biomass in oil palm, resulting in an altered community composition in the epiphytes and canopy in oil palm compared with forest. Our results show that forest conversion to oil palm impacts detrimentally on invertebrates in all compartments of the forest ecosystem.

Establishing the evidence base for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function in the oil palm landscapes of South East Asia

“…Such epiphytes can act as an important habitat for invertebrates [15,26], probably owing in part to their more favourable microclimatic conditions [64]. It is likely that epiphytes in oil palm plantations also act as an important foraging site for birds.…”

“…Species diversity also provides temporal resilience for ecosystem processes and the possibility for the system to adapt to future changes [72]. We here discuss what is known about the ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services within oil palm landscapes that are potentially Measured in n ¼ 6 (temperature) and n ¼ 5 (relative humidity) in 14-18-year-old oil palm trees over 24 h periods at plantation sites in Sabah (see [26] for full site details of the study site). (a) Biocontrol Oil palm pests tend to be native species that have transferred to the introduced oil palm monocultures [73].…”

“…2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 (c) Decomposition/soil fertility Forest conversion to oil palm leads to considerable changes in the soil, for example, extensive damage to the top soil, and soil compaction and erosion [89]. These changes are associated with reductions in the biodiversity and abundance of the litter itself and of the decomposer communities (tables 1 and 2; [15,18,21,26]), but there are no reliable data on how these changes in diversity might affect decomposition and soil fertility. Litter decomposition provides another example of the potential importance of disturbance-tolerant species in providing ecosystem functions in oil palm.…”

The Impact of Oil Palm Expansion on Environmental Change: Putting Conservation Research in Context

“…The majority of taxa also show a reduction in overall abundance in plantations compared to forest habitats, although this effect is more variable (Table 1). For example, in one study comparing arthropod abundance and biomass between forest habitats and oil palm plantations, some arthropod taxa showed the same levels of abundance and biomass in plantations, and others actually increased (despite arthropod numbers being reduced overall) (Turner & Foster, 2009). Similarly, in other studies, the total number of bats (Danielsen & Heegaard, 1995), dung beetles (Davis & Philips, 2005), woodlice (Hassall et al, 2006), and lizards (Glor et al, 2001) all increased in abundance as a result of habitat conversion.…”

Abundância e diversidade de palmeiras no Distrito Florestal Sustentável da rodovia BR-163, Pará, Brasil

“…Este fenômeno é especialmente evidente no Sudeste Asiático, onde a demanda global por óleo do dendê (Elaeis guineensis), para a indústria de biocombustíveis e alimentação, tem gerado um crescimento explosivo no cultivo destas palmeiras (Koh & Wilcove 2007). Esta expansão é grave sob o ponto de vista da biodiversidade uma vez que a utilização dos palmeirais cultivados por diversas espécies que variam de aves a artrópodes tem se revelado limitada (Turner & Foster 2009, Koh 2008.…”