The role of tree plantations on biodiversity conservation: the case of the southern Atlantic forest

ZURITA, G.A.; BELLOCQ, M.I.

Baltimore

Congreso; International Congress for Conservation Biology; 2013

The capacity of tree plantations to preserve native biodiversity became an important topic of discussion at both the academic and management levels, particularly on tropical and subtropical ecosystems. Here, we summarize a series of recent studies in the southern Atlantic forest evaluating the use of tree plantations by native species (birds and dung beetles) at different spatial (local and landscape) and temporal (trough plantation cycles) scales. At the local scale, the use of tree plantations by native forest species (both birds and dung beetles) increased with plantation age and decrease with the distance to native forest (source of individuals). The exotic Pinus taeda and the native Araucaria angustifolia plantations supported similar communities whereas Eucalyptus spp. plantations were less used by native species. Although response patterns were similar between birds and dung beetles, mature plantations supported proportionally more forest dung beetles than forest birds (70-90% of the forest community for dung beetles and 30-40% of species for birds).  At the landscape scale, native bird community exhibited a drastic decline on areas with less than 40% of forest cover. The potential of tree plantations to preserve native biodiversity depends on the interaction between factors acting at different spatial and temporal scales and the taxa considered. Mature plantations (native and exotic) located on landscapes with more than 40% of remnant forest and close to the source of individuals (less than 300 m from the native forest) supported the highest levels of native biodiversity. Forest certification protocols (such as FSC and PEFC) should be reviewed and updated to incorporate recent empirical advances.