Recovering forests important to conservation, study finds
https://www.stir.ac.uk/news/2019/02/recovering-forests-important-to-conservation-study-finds/Recovering forests important to conservation, study finds
26 February 2019
Tropical forests recovering from disturbance could be much more important to the conservation of forest bird species than first thought, according to a new study.
The research, led by the University of Stirling, indicates that species extinctions caused by the destruction and degradation of tropical primary forests could be avoided if sufficient areas of secondary forest those regenerating following logging or clearance can be conserved.
The findings published in
Biotropica challenge previous assertions suggesting that young secondary forests have low conservation potential.
After only two decades of growth, secondary forests connected to extensive primary forest can host diverse bird communities. Importantly, the overall pattern was similar with forest specialist birds. These birds are restricted to high-quality forest habitat, and are often used as an indicator of forest conservation value.
https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/btp.12629