Primary forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity

Luke Gibson (), Tien Ming Lee (), Lian Pin Koh, Barry W. Brook, Toby A. Gardner, Jos Barlow, Carlos A. Peres, Corey J. A. Bradshaw, William F. Laurance, Thomas E. Lovejoy and Navjot S. Sodhi
Additional contact information
Luke Gibson: National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore
Tien Ming Lee: Ecology, Behavior and Evolution Section, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0116, USA
Lian Pin Koh: National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore
Barry W. Brook: The Environment Institute and School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide
Toby A. Gardner: University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
Jos Barlow: Lancaster Environmental Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
Carlos A. Peres: School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
Corey J. A. Bradshaw: The Environment Institute and School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide
William F. Laurance: Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University
Thomas E. Lovejoy: Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), CP 478, Manaus, AM 69011–970, Brazil
Navjot S. Sodhi: National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore

Nature, 2011, vol. 478, issue 7369, 378-381

Abstract: Pristine forests preserve variety Primary tropical forests sustain the majority of Earth's terrestrial biodiversity, but they have faced considerable degradation, and in many locations have been replaced by agriculture, plantations and secondary forests. A meta-analysis of the biodiversity consequences of such changes in land use suggests that with the possible exception of selective logging, all changes from primary forest cause substantial falls in biodiversity, and secondary forests are poor substitutes for primary forest.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10425

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