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Aboveground biomass removal and canopy opening by selective logging modifies soil moisture in the main root zone, impacting soil aeration and various biogeochemical processes in tropical production forests. This study investigated the relationship between canopy damage and topsoil (10 cm) moisture in two logged forests in Malaysian Borneo, while simultaneously controlling for logging intensity, time elapsed since historical logging, and spatial autocorrelation. Volumetric soil water content (VSWC), canopy height model (CHM), leaf area index (LAI), and historical logging data were collected from 84 transects placed subjectively in 15 sites exhibiting varying canopies. We generated an index (PC1) quantifying the magnitude of canopy structural degradation from canopy structure metrics (CSM) combining CHM and LAI data within a 20-meter buffer for each transect. PC1 was analyzed for its impact on VSWC across logging periods, and contrasted with topography. Spatial autocorrelation of VSWC was examined regarding to canopy conditions. VSWC was significantly higher in all logged forests (over 0.4 m3 m−3) comparing to non-disturbed forests (0.27 m3 m−3). The immediate wetting could be a result of extracting mature individuals of late-successional species holding large biomass, while the persistent wet condition may be due to retarded canopy and biomass recovery. In the study area, canopy structure was a stronger predictor of soil moisture than topography. The high soil moisture underneath the most degraded canopies presented the largest spatial extent of autocorrelation. This study revealed soil wetting after selective logging in humid tropical forests, driven by reduced transpiration from biomass loss rather than increased evaporative demand resulting from canopy opening. The elevation in soil moisture could have disrupted biogeochemical processes in the below-ground system, which in turn impede forest succession and put stress on the overall vulnerability of disturbed tropical rainforests. • Soil moisture increased in logged forests, irrespective of logging intensity and time elapsed from logging. • Soil wetting is driven by weakened transpiration, which offsets the effect from enhanced soil evaporation. • The expansion of soil wetting potentially affects below-ground biogeochemical processes in surrounding remnant forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective logging in the Amazon Biome holds significant importance economically and environmentally. Due to its potential for forest degradation, monitoring these areas is of utmost importance. We assessed canopy openness in sustainably logged forest areas in Eastern Amazonia using hemispherical photos taken in areas that were logged in different years (2004, 2007, 2017, 2019, and 2021), along with one unlogged control area to evaluate the time period over which the effects of logging remained detectable. Timeframes of detectability varied across logging features considered (e.g. log landings, logging roads and skid trails). Canopy openness of log landings used to store logs was still greater than that of unlogged forests controls >17 years after logging had ceased while the impacts of logging roads and skid trails were still detectable at least 5 years after cessation of logging. The detection of the impacts of selective tree harvesting on the forest several years after the end of operations provides confidence for larger-scale quantification of historical low-intensity logging over Amazonia through high-resolution imagery. More generally, the study also highlighted the importance of monitoring selective tree extraction areas to understand their influence on forest disturbance and the occurrence of regeneration processes. • The selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon is a significant economic activity. • The selective logging on Fazenda Rio Capim significantly impacted the forest canopy. • Following canopy opening the logged area becomes viable for forest regeneration. • The effects of selective logging over the years are still detectable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birds are crucial in maintaining the balance of many ecosystems and provide various ecological services. Understanding their sensitivity to human disturbances should be prioritized in understudy areas for effective conservation practices. Using mist nets, this study characterized mostly understory bird communities (insectivorous, frugivorous, granivorous, and nectarivorous birds) in three habitat types (pristine forest, selectively logged forest, and young oil palm plantation) in the Talangaye rainforest, Southwest Cameroon. A total of 845 birds belonging to 27 families and 85 species were recorded in the three habitats after 294 h of mist netting. Overall, the mist-netted community was largely dominated by insectivores, followed by frugivores, nectarivores, granivores, and carnivores. Although mean species richness, abundance, and Simpson diversity index did not vary significantly among habitat types, mean species abundance and diversity index decreased in selectively logged forest and young oil palm plantation and species richness increased in both habitats. The species richness, abundance, and diversity index for insectivorous and frugivorous birds were lowest in the young oil palm plantations. For granivores, species richness and abundance increased following selective logging and the establishment of oil palm plantation. The highest mean species richness and diversity index in nectarivores were recorded in the young oil palm plantations. The study showed that selective logging and establishment of oil palm plantation had variable effects on the bird communities in the Talangaye rainforest. Also, the frugivorous birds appeared to be more sensitive to both types of disturbances, while the insectivores were more sensitive to habitat loss/conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birds are crucial in maintaining the balance of many ecosystems and provide various ecological services. Understanding their sensitivity to human disturbances should be prioritized in understudy areas for effective conservation practices. Using mist nets, this study characterized mostly understory bird communities (insectivorous, frugivorous, granivorous, and nectarivorous birds) in three habitat types (pristine forest, selectively logged forest, and young oil palm plantation) in the Talangaye rainforest, Southwest Cameroon. A total of 845 birds belonging to 27 families and 85 species were recorded in the three habitats after 294 h of mist netting. Overall, the mist-netted community was largely dominated by insectivores, followed by frugivores, nectarivores, granivores, and carnivores. Although mean species richness, abundance, and Simpson diversity index did not vary significantly among habitat types, mean species abundance and diversity index decreased in selectively logged forest and young oil palm plantation and species richness increased in both habitats. The species richness, abundance, and diversity index for insectivorous and frugivorous birds were lowest in the young oil palm plantations. For granivores, species richness and abundance increased following selective logging and the establishment of oil palm plantation. The highest mean species richness and diversity index in nectarivores were recorded in the young oil palm plantations. The study showed that selective logging and establishment of oil palm plantation had variable effects on the bird communities in the Talangaye rainforest. Also, the frugivorous birds appeared to be more sensitive to both types of disturbances, while the insectivores were more sensitive to habitat loss/conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Above- and below-ground carbon and short-range-ordered Fe stocks are lower in forests experienced intense selective logging after decades. • In-situ measurement reveals that top-30 cm soils drop to a reductive regime after a removal of more than half of the pristine-level AGB. • Degradation in lowland rainforests may reduce the protected soil carbon pool via reductive dissolution of short-range-ordered Fe minerals. Soil organic C (SOC) stock in tropical forests can be reduced significantly after logging, not only due to lowered above ground biomass (AGB) and consequentially reduced organic matter (OM) input, but also consumption on sequestrated soil C protected by OM-mineral association. In this study, we studied the loss of mineral-associated OM after logging in the main rooting zone (e.g., 0–30 cm), and examined a hypothetical twofold underlying mechanism of SOC reduction: first, decrease in AGB limiting OM input; second, decrease in soil redox potential (Eh) leading to the reductive dissolution of short-range-ordered iron (SRO Fe) minerals that destabilize some mineral-associated OM. Thirty-five plots at different degradation levels were investigated for both above- and belowground properties. AGB and tree community composition were employed as indicators of forest degradation gradient; multiple physicochemical properties in top-30 cm soils were measured every 10 cm depth. We analysed the relationship between AGB and soil C with the mediator SRO Fe, and investigated the role of soil Eh in linking the changes in AGB and SRO Fe. Our results revealed simultaneous decreases in AGB, SRO Fe and soil C in top-30 cm soils, and SRO Fe mediated 43 % of the hypothetical causal effect of AGB on soil C in deeper (20–30 cm) soil. Soil Eh decreased with decreasing AGB in a logistic pattern, dropping to a reductive regime (Eh7 ≤ 0.05 V) when more than half of the AGB was removed from the pristine level. Mean SRO Fe stock in the reductive soils was significantly lower than that in the oxic soils (Eh7 > 0.05 V), and the loss of SRO Fe correspond to the decomposition of OM in 10–30 cm soils. We suggest that the reductive shift in soil is caused by the weakened evapotranspiration as destructive selective logging inflicts canopy openness and succession failure. This study presents the possibility that forest degradation may reduce the size of protected soil C pool resulting from the loss of soil SRO Fe minerals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Forest structure recovered within 25 years after selective logging. • Fungi were found to be more susceptible than bacteria to forest conversion. • Fungi affected C-, N- and P-cycling, but bacteria only affected C-cycling. • Fungi may play a more important role in aboveground-belowground linkages during forest conversion compared with bacteria. Forest conversion can affect the diversity and community structure of soil bacteria and fungi. However, little is known about the impact of forest conversion on aboveground-belowground linkages and associated nutrient cycling. To address this research gap, we investigated the aboveground and belowground recovery, the specific responses of bacterial and fungal communities and the associated nutrient cycling in the conversion from artificial Chinese fir forests to broad-leaved conifer-mixed forests at 5-yr-, 10-yr- and 25-yr-old stands after selective logging. Bacterial and fungal community structures were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA and ITS genes. Six microbial enzyme activities involved in the cycling of C, N and P were studied. Our results showed that the aboveground forest structure was recovering towards native evergreen broad-leaved forest after selective logging. The alpha-diversity of fungal community was significantly increased across the chronosequence of logging, but the alpha-diversity of bacterial community was not. Fungal community composition and structure changed during forest conversion, whereas the bacterial community showed slight changes in unique taxa. Neither bacterial nor fungal community structures changed towards the similar pattern as native evergreen broad-leaved forest across 25 years. These results indicated that fungi were more susceptible to forest conversion than bacteria. Furthermore, compared with bacteria, fungi were more strongly affected by soil properties, such as NH 4 +-N, pH, AK and TOC. Structural equation modeling indicated that fungi had strong impacts on C-, N- and P-cycling but that bacteria only affected C-cycling. Overall, the fungal community may play a more important role in the aboveground-belowground linkages and C-, N-, and P-cycling compared with the bacterial community during forest conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Dendrochronological studies allow predicting sustainable forest management criteria. • Tree-ring analysis can estimate FC and MLD for commercial tree species in the Amazon. • The application of current forest legislation results in unsustainable practices. • There is an urgency to improve the current timber resource management in the Amazon. Abstract Despite all efforts to promote sustainable use of timber resources in tropical forests, the current management criteria still require adjustments at a species level, considering specific growth patterns and ecological features. Forest management in upland forests (terra firme) of the Brazilian Amazon region generally applies for all commercial tree species a common minimum logging diameter (MLD) of 50 cm and a felling cycle (FC) varying according to the harvest intensity between 25 and 35 years.. In this study, we define species-specific FCs and MLDs for the two commercial tree species Hymenaea courbaril L. (Fabaceae) and Handroanthus serratifolius (Vahl) S.O. Grose (Bignoniaceae) from the terra firme of the Southern Brazilian Amazon, applying growth models based on the relationships between estimated tree age, diameter, height and volume. A total of 37 transversal cross-sections (20 stem discs from Hymenaea and 17 from Handroanthus) were obtained at a height of 20–60 cm above soil level in a private forest concession close to the municipality of Novo Aripuanã in the southern region of the Amazonas state. The two species are common in terra firme forests and have high wood densities of 0.76–0.96 g cm−3 (H. courbaril) and 0.85–1.08 g cm−3 (H. serratifolius). The mean age of H. courbaril and H. serratifolius , estimated by ring counting, varied from 104 to 241 years and both species had similar mean diameter increments of 3.9 ± 0.5 mm year−1 and 4.1 ± 0.6 mm year−1, respectively. Both species present similar tree growth in diameter, height and volume resulting in a FC of 24.2 years and a MLD of 64.9 cm for H. courbaril , and a FC of 26.0 years and a MLD of 69.5 cm for H. serratifolius. These results demonstrate the need to adjust the selective logging systems practiced in the Brazilian Amazon region towards a species-specific management of timber species to increase the sustainability of selective logging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Reduced Impact Logging lowers carbon emissions from selective logging. • Forest certification was not related to reduced carbon emissions. • Modified agricultural tractors for skidding significantly reduces emissions. Abstract On the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, communities (ejidos) that selectively log their forests help reduce deforestation and are an important source of timber for national and international markets. If carried out without proper planning and reduced-impact logging (RIL) practices, forest disturbances and carbon emissions from these harvests can be substantial. To assess variation in logging-induced emissions and to estimate potential reductions in those emissions, we estimated carbon impacts from damage to trees > 5 cm DBH in the annual cutting areas of ten forest-managing ejidos. Baselines were developed for emissions from felling, skidding and transport of timber and then ejidos were compared with respect to whether they were Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, size of annual cutting area, logging intensity, and implementation of RIL practices, particularly directional felling, skid trail planning, and the use of small modified agricultural tractors instead of large forestry skidders. The carbon impacts of enrichment planting in multiple-tree felling gaps (400–1800 m2) were also evaluated. Carbon emissions from selective logging averaged 1.52 Mg m−3 but ranged 1.19–2.55 Mg m−3 among the 10 ejidos. Most emissions were from the remnants of trees felled for their timber (73%), followed by skidding (11%), transport infrastructure (i.e. logging roads and landings; 8%), and collateral damage from felling (7%). Our analyses indicate that FSC certification was not associated with any difference in carbon emissions from selective logging but that employment of RIL practices resulted in fewer damaged trees and lower carbon emissions even in ejidos with high logging intensities. Use of modified agricultural tractors for log yarding (i.e., skidding) reduced C emissions by 0.15 Mg m−3 or 5 Mg km−1 of skid trail. Greater collateral damage was found in multiple felling gaps but the increased emissions were offset by reductions in the remnants of harvest trees. Adoption of RIL-C practices by all community forestry ejidos in the region would contribute substantially to the Mexican forest sector's efforts to mitigate climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Logging of humid tropical forests affects seed dispersal, wood and carbon stocks. • Logging impacts decreased seed size and biomass but not species richness. • 30 years after logging, forest composition still differs from initial state. Abstract Tropical forests harbor the greatest terrestrial biodiversity and provide various ecosystem services. The increase of human activities on these forests, among which logging, makes the conservation of biodiversity and associated services strongly dependent on the sustainability of these activities. However the indicators commonly used to assess the impact of forest exploitation, namely species richness and biomass, provide a limited understanding of their sustainability. Here, we assessed the sustainability of common forest exploitation in the Guiana Shield studying the recovery of two ecosystem services i.e. carbon storage and wood stock, and an ecosystem function i.e. seed dispersal by animals. Specifically, we compared total and commercial biomass, as well as functional composition in seed size of animal-dispersed species in replicated forest plots before and 27 years after exploitation. Species richness is also studied to allow comparison. While species richness was not affected by forest exploitation, total and commercial biomass as well as seed size of animal-dispersed species decreased 27 years after exploitation, similarly to forests affected by hunting. These results show that ecosystem services and function likely did not recover even at the lowest intensity of forest exploitation studied, questioning the sustainability of the most common rotation-cycle duration applied in the tropics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Monitoring selective logging is difficult because only a few trees are felled. • We investigated the potential of a lightweight UAV to detect selective logging. • Repeatedly acquired digital aerial photographs capture selective logging accurately. • A lightweight UAV is a cost-effective approach to quantify selective logging. Abstract Selective logging is one of the factors contributing to deforestation and forest degradation in tropical forests. A low-cost methodology to monitor selective logging is clearly required. However, this poses a challenge because only a few trees are felled at a given time. Here, we investigate the potential of using repeatedly acquired digital aerial photographs (DAPs) from a lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to detect selective logging in tropical forests in Myanmar. Selective logging was conducted within two 9-ha plots. DAPs were acquired immediately before and after selective logging using a lightweight UAV in this case study. The aboveground biomass (AGB) change related to selective logging was regressed against metrics expressing forest changes calculated at a 0.25-ha resolution from a photogrammetric point cloud created using the DAPs before and after selective logging. The root-mean-square error and coefficient of determination were 0.77 and 9.32 Mg/ha, respectively. This study demonstrates that repeated DAPs taken from a lightweight UAV can be used to estimate changes in the AGB linked to selective logging. This method could be used to quantify the impacts of both legal selective logging and illegal logging in tropical forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Logging had no detectable effect on an understory palm 30 years post logging. • The size structure changed over in logged and control plots independent of logging. • This and indicates that some biodiversity can be conserved logging concessions. Abstract We studied the long-term effects of different selective-logging intensities on the stem-less palm Astrocaryum sociale in a central Amazonian forest 90 km north of Manaus. The experiment consisted of three blocks of 24 ha, each divided into six 4 ha plots in which the treatments were allocated randomly. Each block had a control plot. Within each block, commercial timber was logged with intensities of 44%, 50% and 67% of basal area in 1987, 1988 and 1993 respectively. Stem-less palms in each plot were measured in 1996 and 2016. The number of individuals decreased slightly from 3229 in 1996 to 2997 in 2016, and there was an increase in the proportion of large palms. The degree of change in size structure was related to time since logging (p = 0.012), which also affected the total number of leaves (p = 0.0001), the sum of all leaf lengths (p = 0.01) and the number of adults (p = 0.056). The volume of timber extracted and in standing dead trees was not related to size-structure change. In the control block, the number of individuals changed slightly during the study period. As the different cutting intensities had little, if any, effect of the size-structure of this understory palm up to 30 years after logging, management concessions can contribute to the conservation of some elements of palm biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective logging remains a widespread practice in tropical forests, yet the long‐term effects of timber harvest on juvenile tree (i.e., sapling) recruitment across the hundreds of species occurring in most tropical forests remain difficult to predict. This uncertainty could potentially exacerbate threats to some of the thousands of timber‐valuable tree species in the Amazon. Our objective was to determine to what extent long‐term responses of tree species regeneration in logged forests can be explained by their functional traits. We integrate functional trait data for 13 leaf, stem, and seed traits from 25 canopy tree species with a range of life histories, such as the pioneer Goupia glabra and the shade‐tolerant Iryanthera hostmannii, together with over 30 yr of sapling monitoring in permanent plots spanning a gradient of harvest intensity at the Paracou Forest Disturbance Experiment (PFDE), French Guiana. We anticipated that more intensive logging would increase recruitment of pioneer species with higher specific leaf area, lower wood densities, and smaller seeds, due to the removal of canopy trees. We define a recruitment response metric to compare sapling regeneration to timber harvest intensity across species. Although not statistically significant, sapling recruitment decreased with logging intensity for eight of 23 species and these species tended to have large seeds and dense wood. A generalized linear mixed model fit using specific leaf area, seed mass, and twig density data explained about 45% of the variability in sapling dynamics. Effects of specific leaf area outweighed those of seed mass and wood density in explaining recruitment dynamics of the sapling community in response to increasing logging intensity. The most intense treatment at the PFDE, which includes stand thinning of non‐timber‐valuable adult trees and poison‐girdling for competitive release, showed evidence of shifting community composition in sapling regeneration at the 30‐yr mark, toward species with less dense wood, lighter seeds, and higher specific leaf area. Our results indicate that high‐intensity logging can have lasting effects on stand regeneration dynamics and that functional traits can help simplify general trends of sapling recruitment for highly diverse logged tropical forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In the Pinus yunnanensis forest, there existed synergistic pairs of plant functional traits, such as those between LNC and LPC, LNC and SLA, LPC and SLA, as well as N:P and LDMC. • Trade-offs were identified between LNC and LDMC, between LPC and N:P, and between LPC and LDMC. • The intensity of soil factors affected by selective logging was stronger than that of plant functional traits. • The impact of selective logging on plant functional traits was primarily observed through direct effects on soil enzyme activities and nutrient cycles, although the mechanisms of influence varied among different functional traits. • To gain a better understanding of the relationship between soil factors and plant functional traits, future research should adopt a network approach. Selective logging has a wide impact on the remaining trees and soils which in turn influences total ecosystem function. Lots of studies focus on effects of selective logging on changing of plant functional traits, but the mechanism underlying these effects is still unclear. Thus, we studied 6 plant functional traits including leaf N concentration (LNC), leaf P concentration (LPC), leaf N:P ratio (N:P), wood density (WD), specific leaf area (SLA), and leaf dry mass content (LDMC) typically associated with resource acquisition and allocation. We measured these traits across 13 tree species in 52 plots under 5 selective logging intensities in a Pinus yunnanensis forest and aimed to test how selective logging and soil factors affect community weighted mean (CWM) of plant functional traits. The results revealed significant positive correlations between LNC and LPC, LNC and SLA, LPC and SLA, N:P and LDMC. Significant negative correlations were found between LNC and LDMC, LPC and N:P, LPC and LDMC. Only soil β-glucosidase activity (SGA), soil phosphatase activity (SPA), soil total nitrogen (STN), soil total phosphorus (STP) and soil hydrolysable nitrogen (SHN) had a significant relationship with one or several of the 6 plant functional traits. Compared with the control group, there was little significant difference in all plant functional traits across the different selective logging intensities. However, for plant functional traits, selective logging significantly increased the LNC, LPC and SLA. For soil factors, selective logging significantly increased the SGA, soil urease activity (SUA), SPA, soil moisture (SM), STN, STP and SHN. Based on structural equation models, we found that although selective logging has no direct effect on plant functional traits, it can indirectly affect plant functional traits through soil factors, mainly soil enzyme activity and nutrient cycling. Meanwhile, the mechanism of selective logging affecting different functional traits may be varied. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for the scientific management of P. yunnanensis forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the persistence and influence of Rubus spp. on tree regeneration in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This genus has been linked with delayed recruitment of trees following overstory removal in some regions but not others. Specifically, we examined the role of opening size and advance regeneration on subsequent regeneration dynamics 13 years post-harvest in 44 group-selection openings and at 15 reference sites, which had been treated with single-tree selection. We found that patches of Rubus were still a common feature in large group-selection openings 13 growing seasons post-harvest. Most of the patches observed appeared to have persisted since our initial survey (second growing season post-harvest), with approximately half of the plots containing Rubus in 2005 still containing it in 2016. Rubus cover was significantly associated with increasing opening size ( P  < 0.001). Successful recruitment of saplings (i.e. sapling abundance in 2016) was not negatively impacted by Rubus cover shortly after opening creation, but displayed a significantly positive relationship with the initial abundance seedlings ( P  < 0.001) suggesting that a lack of advance regeneration may be a stronger driver of regeneration failure or delay than competition from Rubus . Once established, Rubus patches may persist and resist re-invasion by trees for upwards of a decade, as evidenced by a negative relationship between 2016 seedling abundances and 2005 Rubus cover ( P  = 0.007). Consequently, while Rubus may delay subsequent re-colonization of trees, persistent patches of Rubus may be better conceptualized as a symptom rather than a driver of inadequate regeneration during the early stages of stand development. This differentiation may help reconcile regional differences in persistence of Rubus following overstory removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout history, man has strongly utilized and affected forest genetic resources in Europe. From an evolutionary perspective deforestation/fragmentation (→genetic drift), transfer of seeds and plants to new environments (→mainly gene flow) and selective logging (→selection) are most relevant and have been particularly addressed in this review. In contrast to most conifers, broadleaved tree populations have been especially reduced by historic fragmentation, and consequently, the related genetic effects have been possibly more pronounced. Widespread wind-pollinated species with wind/animal dispersed seeds appear to be more resilient to fragmentation than species with e.g. small geographic ranges and gravity dispersed seeds. In addition, naturally fragmented populations in the range margins may be more vulnerable than central populations as conditions for gene flow are generally impaired in peripheral areas. Traits important for adaptation (e.g. bud burst, bud set) are controlled by many genes, and as a corollary of fragmentation such genes are lost at a low rate. Large scale commercial translocation of seeds and plants for forestry purposes applies mostly to conifers and dates back about two centuries. Although many translocations have been successful in a forestry perspective, exposure to new selective regimes has sometimes challenged the adaptive limits of populations and caused setbacks or even diebacks of populations, as well as influencing neighbouring populations with maladapted genes (e.g . Scots pine, maritime pine, larch). Many tree species have substantial plasticity in fitness-related traits, which is vital for survival and viability following translocations. Selective logging has been practiced in Europe over the last two centuries and implies removal of superior trees with respect to growth and quality. Such traits are partly under genetic control. Consequent removal of superior trees may therefore have negative effects on the remaining gene pool, but this effect will also be counteracted by extensive gene flow. Although humans have strongly affected European forest trees over the last millennia, we argue that they are still resilient from an evolutionary perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information related to the ecology and environment. Topics include a study from researchers of various countries regarding the negative effect of tropical rainforests' selective logging on freshwater biodiversity, a research which suggests the effect of rewilding through land abandonment on species in Europe such as cinereous vulture, and the development of Oil Spill Wand technique to clean oiled creatures.

Logging and fires represent the major disturbance regimes in Eucalyptus forests and these can have varying effects on populations of forest fauna depending on their intensity and/ or frequency. Knowledge of the effects of fires on arboreal marsupials is limited and to the best of our knowledge no previous research has considered the effect of fire frequency on populations of these species. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of fire frequency (canopy-consuming wildfires) and logging intensity on the Greater Glider, Petauroides volans , a species of hollow dependent gliding possum that has recently been listed as vulnerable to extinction under Australian biodiversity law. Surveys were completed across a selective logging intensity and fire frequency gradient in tall wet (WSF) and tall dry sclerophyll forests (DSF) in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Generally, P. volans was restricted to WSF, where even a single fire, 10 years prior, significantly reduced the density of P. volans in comparison to unburnt areas. Significant negative impacts from intensive logging were also detected. These effects may explain observed declines in the abundance of P. volans over much of its range as well as its scarcity in the more fire prone DSF. To counteract these effects, we recommend not implementing prescribed fire under high or greater fire weather danger conditions near high-density populations of this species, along with increased retention of hollow-bearing trees during timber harvesting and/ or wider riparian buffers in areas where high density populations of P. volans occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defaunation, invasive species and forest fragmentation are considered to be the major drivers for the disruption of key ecological processes, particularly those related to plant animal-interactions such as seed dispersal and predation. The disruption of critical phases in the plant life cycle may ultimately have negative impacts on plant recruitment and the survival of plant populations. Here, for the first time we compared the seed removal and recruitment of Araucaria angustifolia , a critically endangered and relictual gymnosperm species, in multiple sites, including continuous and fragmented forest areas in the Brazilian Atlantic subtropical forest. Our sampling included seed removal experiment monitored by camera traps and surveys of A. angustifolia recruitment. We found that seed survival and recruitment were related to the density of adult A. angustifolia . Therefore the formation of large and dense groves, which is a characteristic of pristine Araucaria moist forests endangered by forest fragmentation and selective logging, may be an attempt to satiate seed predator communities. Additionally, forest fragmentation and the introduction of wild boar decreased seed survival to very low, and forest fragmentation decreased recruitment by fourfold on average. Increase protection and recuperation of Araucaria moist forests and the eradication of the invasive wild boar where possible are necessary measures for increasing seed survival rates and the recruitment of this relictual conifer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally accepted that selective logging significantly influences the vegetation coverage and habitat structures, but little is known about whether and how low intensity selective logging affects seed dispersal mediated by small rodents. In this study, we compared the differences in seed disperser composition and abundance as well as primary and secondary seed dispersal and predation of Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata by scatter-hoarding rodents in different aged forest (i.e., unlogged stands, stands in the second and fifth year after low intensity logging 150 stems per ha) in Huoditang Forest in the Qinling Mountains, China. We found that the rodent composition of stands in the second year after logging (large-bodied disperser Sciurotamias davidianus was absent) differed conspicuously from that of the other two stands. Selective logging reduced the abundance of rodents, seed removal rate, scatter–hoarded proportion, and seed dispersal distance during the second year after selective logging. However, no significant differences were found in the composition and abundance of rodents as well as their seed dispersal services between the unlogged stands and in stands during the fifth year after logging. In addition, the proportions of initially buried acorns were significantly lower in stands in the second year after logging compared with the other two types of stands, but after seed caching, the seed revisiting rates were lower in stands in the second year after logging compared with the other two types of stands. Rodent–mediated seed dispersal was lower in the second year after selective logging but it recovered to its initial level within five years. The dispersal distance was significantly lower in stands in the second year after logging compared with the distances (3.12 ± 0.23 m) in the unlogged forest stands (5.75 ± 0.41 m) and in stands in the fifth year after logging (4.44 ± 0.36 m). Therefore, selective logging in forests is likely to temporarily alter the composition of rodent communities, change seed dispersal services, and the capacity for plant movements. Number of years after selective logging is important for determining whether seeds are removed rapidly by potential dispersers, which can lead to different rates of seed removal, seed predation, scatter–hoarding, and survival, and eventually influence forest recovery after selective logging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the research was to determine the scale and forms of logging road impacts on the natural environment and residual cultural heritage of Ruthenian Highlanders that characterise the Polish part of the north-eastern Carpathians. To this end, we used LiDAR-derived DEM to detect and map forest roads and skid trails, and to estimate road density, in 60 forest divisions sampled at random from among the 2639 km 2 of forest managed in the above region by the State Forests National Forest Holding. The determined road network was then validated by GPS ground control. Supplementary, detailed LiDAR data were used to detect features of the past cultural landscape, and to determine the interference in that due to contemporary logging roads. Overall skidder traffic was estimated on the basis of a thorough analysis of State Forests documents, including legal acts, guidelines, management plans, detailed databases and maps of planned cuts. LiDAR data proved to be an adequate tool in the mapping of the network of logging roads present under the tree canopy, although it slightly underestimates road density in a densely vegetated, post-landslide topography. Our LiDAR-assessed density of Carpathian logging roads (at 108.5–140.7 m ha −1 , including skid trails) is nevertheless among the highest reported in the literature, and one that far exceeds recommended values. Spatial pattern analysis further revealed the unfavourable phenomenon of multiple parallel roads forming contiguous areas of disturbed soil and constituting dispersal paths for invasive plants. Many examples of cultural remains being run over and destroyed by skidders could also be reported. The observed process of log extraction is one of the least sustainable aspects to forest management in the Carpathians, and our results emphasise very clearly the need for rules to support the preservation of cultural heritage in forested areas, as well as improved tools by which skidding practices can be monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mammal richness and assemblage composition were similar across sites in Suriname. • Selective logging did not alter species richness and assemblage composition. • For most mammals, detection and habitat use probabilities increased in logged areas. • Certified selective logging, to the extent practiced, can be a sustainable activity. Increasing knowledge of species occurrence and assemblage composition is crucial to uncover the impacts of human activities on biodiversity. Here we investigate the effects of certified selective logging on assemblages of medium- and large-sized mammals in central Suriname. Using camera traps set in logged and unlogged parts of two logging concessions, we estimated mammal richness and assemblage composition within them and compared the results to other sites across Suriname obtained from a literature search. Then, using Bayesian multi-species occupancy models, we investigated if selective logging affects the richness, composition, and probabilities of habitat use and detection of mammals in the study sites. We recorded 27 mammal species in total, of which four are threatened globally. The study areas were amongst the richest concerning mammalian diversity throughout Suriname in response to the larger sampling effort employed. However, assemblage composition was overall similar to other sites previously sampled in the country, with variation in species richness mainly driven by sampling effort. Species richness and assemblage composition were similar concerning logged and unlogged parts of the concessions. At the species level, only a minor influence was observed in the probabilities of detection and habitat use of mammals. Most species presented positive responses to logging status, i.e., increasing their detection and habitat use probabilities in logged sites. Therefore, we conclude that selective logging to the extent practiced in the managed sites may fulfill the criteria of sustainability. Due to the continuous nature of Suriname's landscape, which allows for a constant flow of species from managed to unmanaged sites, it may act as a buffer to hamper the secondary and indirect impacts of selective logging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reduced forest conservation status drives niche packaging in bird communities. • Bird communities in less conserved vegetation tend to be less stable. • The status of forest conservation drives the composition of bird community traits. Although selectively logged tropical forests have high bird species richness, it is known that their species composition is substantially changed when compared with intact forests. Thus, we need to improve the understanding on how functional trait diversity of birds is affected in this habitat type in order to support the development of more effective conservation actions to maintain functional roles and community stability. Here, we evaluate traits responses to variations in forest vegetation integrity and how the pattern of niche occupancy is affected by this increase in species richness. We then evaluated the effects of vegetation integrity in the Atlantic rainforest on range of trait space occupied, niche packing, and trait composition in local bird communities. We also evaluate the mechanisms driving niche expansion and packing using null models. Our results show that trait composition changes in communities: (1) lower vegetation integrity increases foraging in understory and consumption of grains and ectothermic vertebrates by birds; (2) higher vegetation integrity drives higher and wider beaks and increase foraging for invertebrates in canopy. We also found that lower vegetation integrity not only is associated with the increase of species richness, but also with both expansion and packing of niche space occupied by the community. However, only niche packing had predominantly smaller values than expected by chance, indicating a strong effect of environmental filters on niche occupancy density. Although bird assemblages in more intact vegetations have lower species richness, they have greater functional distance between bird species suggesting greater stability, with a low probability of local extinctions due to a lower intensity of interspecific competition. This demonstrates that isolated assessments of species richness are potentially illusory and can lead to unsuccessful conservation measures, such as proposing selective logging in primary forests based on the supposed benefit of increased bird species richness in vegetations less intact. Furthermore, the functional composition tends to change with changes in vegetation integrity degree, thus altering the functional role provided by communities. Consequently, forests with high vegetation integrity status should be maintained, despite the lower species richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disturbances such as selective logging in a forest may lead to a degradation process, where new species become dominant and replace the original vegetation. This is the case of the Semi-deciduous Atlantic Forest, where bamboos replace trees and palms, affecting the forest structure and dynamics. As bamboos show plant traits that contrast those of trees and palms, we hypothesize that forest degradation affects ecosystem properties, generating changes in litterfall and litter decay rates, which transfer from plants to soil. We tested this hypothesis in twelve 0.36 ha plots along a forest degradation gradient in the subtropical forest of Northeastern Argentina. Total litterfall did not change along forest degradation, but litter layer necromass decreased more than 60% and litter thickness doubled in highly degraded sites. Litter layer thickness was associated with bamboo necromass present in the litterfall. Forest degradation also caused a deceleration in decomposition of the two most contrasting litter types under study, while the soil organic carbon content in the top 5 cm suffered a 50% decrease, from 21.5 to 10.9 Mg ha −1 . Forest degradation has a cascade effect on carbon storage and on its cycling from vegetation to soil by means of changes in different ecosystem processes mediated by plants. In the end, these changes affect soil organic carbon. This study provides a better understanding on the mechanisms behind carbon losses in relation to forest degradation, one of the greatest uncertainties in the carbon budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective logging is the most prevalent land-use change in the tropics. Despite the resulting degradation of forest structure, selectively logged forests still harbor a substantial amount of biodiversity leading to suggestions that their protection is the next best alternative to conserving primary, old-growth forests. Restoring carbon stocks under Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation ( REDD+) schemes is a potential method for obtaining funding to protect logged forests, via enrichment planting and liberation cutting of vines. This study investigates the impacts of restoring logged forests in Borneo on avian phylogenetic diversity, the total evolutionary history shared across all species within a community, and on functional diversity, with important implications for the protection of evolutionarily unique species and the provision of many ecosystem services. Overall and understorey avifaunal communities were studied using point count and mist netting surveys, respectively. Restoration caused a significant loss in phylogenetic diversity and MPD (mean pairwise distance) leaving an overall bird community of less total evolutionary history and more closely related species compared to unlogged forests, while the understorey bird community had MNTD (mean nearest taxon distance) that returned toward the lower levels found in a primary forest, indicating more closely related species pairs. The overall bird community experienced a significant loss of functional strategies and species with more specialized traits in restored forests compared to that of unlogged forests, which led to functional clustering in the community. Restoration also led to a reduction in functional richness and thus niches occupied in the understorey bird community compared to unlogged forests. While there are additional benefits of restoration for forest regeneration, carbon sequestration, future timber harvests, and potentially reduced threat of forest conversion, this must be weighed against the apparent loss of phylogenetic and functional diversity from unlogged forest levels, making the biodiversity-friendliness of carbon sequestration schemes questionable under future REDD+ agreements. To reduce perverse biodiversity outcomes, it is important to focus restoration only on the most degraded areas or at reduced intensity where breaks between regimes are incorporated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest cover disturbances due to processes such as logging and forest fires are a widespread issue especially in the tropics, and have heavily affected forest biomass and functioning in the Brazilian Amazon in the past decades. Satellite remote sensing has played a key role for assessing logging activities in this region; however, there are still remaining challenges regarding the quantification and monitoring of these processes affecting forested lands. In this study, we propose a new method for monitoring areas affected by selective logging in one of the hotspots of Mato Grosso state in the Brazilian Amazon, based on a combination of object-based and pixel-based classification approaches applied on remote sensing data. Logging intensity and changes over time are assessed within grid cells of 300 m × 300 m spatial resolution. Our method encompassed three main steps: (1) mapping forest/non-forest areas through an object-based classification approach applied to a temporal series of Landsat images during the period 2000–2015, (2) mapping yearly logging activities from soil fraction images on the same Landsat data series, and (3) integrating information from previous steps within a regular grid-cell of 300 m × 300 m in order to monitor disturbance intensities over this 15-years period. The overall accuracy of the baseline forest/non-forest mask (year 2000) and of the undisturbed vs disturbed forest (for selected years) were 93% and 84% respectively. Our results indicate that annual forest disturbance rates, mainly due to logging activities, were higher than annual deforestation rates during the whole period of study. The deforested areas correspond to circa 25% of the areas affected by forest disturbances. Deforestation rates were highest from 2001 to 2005 and then decreased considerably after 2006. In contrast, the annual forest disturbance rates show high temporal variability with a slow decrease over the 15-year period, resulting in a significant increase of the ratio between disturbed and deforested areas. Although the majority of the areas, which have been affected by selective logging during the period 2000–2014, were not deforested by 2015, more than 70% of the deforested areas in 2015 had been at least once identified as disturbed forest during that period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest management of tropical lowland and hill wet evergreen forests traditionally assumes that succession, species composition, and forest structure are largely driven by small, frequent disturbances. More recent ecological studies, archaeological findings, palynology and climate records demonstrate that tropical rainforests in general are not only subject to treefall disturbances but also to large-scale, infrequent disturbances driven by both past ancient and more recent human land use, and by natural forces of climate and geology. This paper reviews the case for the presence and extent of large-scale infrequent disturbances in Mesoamerica. We then use this knowledge to understand effects shaping species composition and structure. We evaluate current silvicultural regeneration systems for forest management based on the gap dynamics paradigm and propose potential alternative and complementary regeneration methods for forests and tree species that are driven by large-scale disturbances. We propose that the shade-intolerant timber species observed today are in large part a reflection of legacies of human land use and historical large-scale disturbances. Such species require larger, more dramatic disturbance regimes to regenerate and to attain the canopy in future managed forests. We suggest that such conditions are not provided for by current silvicultural systems within the region that require multiple entries to the stand every 15–30 years and should be coupled with liberation thinnings to promote shade-tolerant, commercially valuable timber species. Alternative silvicultural systems, such as shelterwoods and seed-tree methods of regeneration and management, purposefully promote the regeneration of valuable, shade-intolerant timber species. We propose applications for reserve design, and the management of non-timber forest products in conjunction with timber products to compliment such activities. These systems differ in their goals, species promoted (shade-tolerant vs. –intolerant) and the ecological assumptions driving their operations. We conclude that shelterwoods and seed-tree systems are more appropriate to manage forests rich in shade-intolerant timber species. Such methods need to be included in the suite of silvicultural options available to managers of tropical wet evergreen forests in Mesoamerica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest disturbances diminish ecosystem services and boost disservices. Because post-disturbance management intends to recover the greatest possible value, selling timber often prevails over other considerations. Ecological research has shown diverse effects of salvage logging, yet such research has focused on the biophysical component of post-disturbance ecosystems and lacks the link with human well-being. Here we bridge that gap under the ecosystem services framework by assessing the impact of post-fire management on a non-timber value. By employing the replacement cost method, we calculated the value of the post-fire natural regeneration of Holm oaks in southern Spain under three post-fire management options by considering the cost of planting instead. The value of this ecosystem service in non-intervention areas doubled that of salvage-logged stands due to the preference for standing dead trees by the main seed disperser. Still, most of the value resulted from the resprouting capacity of oaks. The value of this and other ecosystem services should be added to traditional cost/benefit analyses of post-disturbance management. We thus call for a more holistic approach to salvage logging research, one that explicitly links ecological processes with human well-being through ecosystem services, to better inform decision-makers on the outcomes of post-disturbance management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature conservation through sustainable forest management is challenged in the tropics by unnecessarily destructive but selective logging and diminishing timber yields. Silvicultural treatments beyond reduced-impact logging are often recommended to increase timber stocking, tree growth, and profits. Despite lack of large-scale and long-term scientific support, Indonesia has embarked on large-scale silvicultural intensification. To fill this information gap, we assessed the timber, carbon, and tree species composition consequences of different silvicultural practices in dipterocarp forests in Kalimantan, Indonesia. With data from 30 1-ha sample plots monitored for up to 20 years after silvicultural intervention coupled with a new forest growth and yield model simulation (SILFOR), we evaluated the long–term consequences of the following silvicultural practices: once logged with a minimum cutting diameter (MCD) of 60 cm (L60); once logged followed by under-planting with seedlings of commercial timber species (L60UP); twice logged with MCDs of 60 cm and then 40 cm (L60L40); and, twice logged followed by strip planting along cleared lines (L60L40SP). The results indicate that timber yields will not be sustained by L60 or L60L40 even if cutting cycles are extended from the current minimum of 30 years to 60 years. In contrast, yields from enrichment planted logged-over forests will recover to levels higher than the first cut if cutting cycles are extended to 50 years for L60UP and to 40 years for L60L40SP. Under these intensive silvicultural regimes, biomass carbon stocks also recover to primary forests levels, but with increased representation of commercial species. Although silviculturally successful, the financial consequences of these approaches to management intensification remain to be scrutinized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human hunting is widespread in tropical forests and can substantially alter the plant-animal interactions that drive tree recruitment. Seed predation is a strong determinant of plant reproductive success, but it remains unclear how defaunation modifies this process. We examined the effects of hunting-induced defaunation on seed predation and seedling establishment, using replicated exclosure treatments at six sites across a defaunation gradient in northeastern Gabon. We monitored 5580 seeds of eight commercially important tree species that varied in seed traits such as size and dispersal mode. Rodents caused the greatest seed mortality for all species, removing ∼60% of accessible seeds. In comparison, invertebrates and fungi together caused just 6% of seed mortality. With protection from rodents, more than twice as many seeds established as seedlings, demonstrating that vertebrate seed predation was a strong filter on recruitment. With increasing defaunation, the proportion of seeds removed by rodents increased significantly, and seedling establishment decreased significantly, for most species. In heavily defaunated sites, with the lowest abundances of large mammals, seed removal by rodents increased by 63% and seedling establishment decreased by 42% compared to sites with intact fauna. Diminished seedling establishment is likely to reduce the regeneration of many tree species – including some with commercial importance – in hunted forests, with detrimental economic consequences. In turn, declines in timber regeneration may increase the likelihood that selectively logged forests are converted to non-forest land uses with little conservation value. Appropriate management could preclude these outcomes, to the benefit of both wildlife and natural timber regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed 18 years of post-logging data from Sabah, Borneo to evaluate the impact of two selective logging methods – Supervised logging (SL) including pre-aligned skid trails and directional felling, and conventional logging (CL), where trees were felled before the crawler tractor was called in for skidding and the fellers had no formal training in felling techniques – on net standing volume recovery, survivor growth, ingrowth and mortality of trees (⩾10 cm DBH). The logging treatments were either combined with- (CC) or without (NCC) pre-harvest climber cutting in a randomized 2 × 2 factorial design consisting 16 one-hectare treatment plots. We investigated the effect on the complete stand including all trees (⩾10 cm DBH) regardless of species, but also distinguished between the effects on the commercially interesting species of dipterocarps ( Dipterocarpaceae family) and pioneer species (mainly Macaranga species). Supervised logging in combination with climber cutting was in many ways beneficial to stand development and these effects were mainly expressed at higher harvest intensities. For example, supervised logging reduced the ingrowth and survivor growth of pioneer Macaranga spp.; at high harvest intensities approximately 50% fewer pioneers grew in when SL was used in comparision to CL. In addition, climber cutting increased the ingrowth as well as decreased the mortality of highly valuable dipterocarp species with increasing harvest intensity. These effects appeared also to have stand level consequences as forests treated with the combination of supervised logging and climber cutting also exhibited faster recovery in standing volume of high value dipterocarps compared to any other combination of treatments. We conclude that, with improved ingrowth of dipterocarps, reduced overall mortality and generally better stand volume recovery; supervised logging (SL) in combination with climber cutting (CC) could be an attractive forest management system in mixed dipterocarp forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest fires coupled with logging have now become one of the most extensive causes of forest degradation, affecting the balance between carbon emissions and sequestration in lowland tropical forests in Southeast Asia. Being transient pools of disturbance-killed trees, coarse woody debris (CWD) stocks play a key role in the carbon budget of such disturbed forests. Here, we investigated for the first time how logging affects the CWD input during and following a fire and, consequently, post-fire CWD stocks. Measurements were made at a permanent site in Bukit Soeharto Education Forest (BSEF) in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. This site consisted of plots that had been subjected to three different logging intensities (HF: heavily felled, trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) ⩾30 cm were felled; LF: lightly felled, trees with DBH ⩾50 cm were felled; UF: unfelled), all of which were burned by a fire that occurred during a drought associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation in 1998, shortly after logging. CWD mass were measured in 2012, following 14 years of monitoring the CWD inputs. The average CWD mass across the three logging treatments was 89 Mg ha −1 , which is higher than the reported values for undisturbed forests but within the recorded range for recently disturbed forests. The amount of CWD inputs due to tree death during the fire was similar among the three treatments. However, there was a large difference in the CWD input in the post-fire period. In UF plots, large CWD inputs lasted for 2 years following the fire due to delayed tree death, whereas in HF and LF plots, where the above-ground biomass had greatly reduced by selective logging, no further large CWD inputs occurred after the fire. Consequently, the CWD stocks in the HF and LF plots were 50–60% lower than those in the UF plots. A simulation predicted that these CWD inputs during and shortly after the fire still constitute a large proportion of the CWD stocks in 2012, suggesting that the CWD pool is a rather durable carbon store in BSEF. In the HF and LF plots, there was few large diameter CWD pieces, reflecting the selective logging of large diameter trees, whereas, in the UF plots, there were large standing dead and uprooted trees. Since the larger diameter CWD pieces are persist in the forest for a longer time continuing to store carbon and to provide habitats for diverse wild life, selective logging could have large impacts on forest ecology and function not only by decreasing the total CWD inputs and stocks but also by decreasing the large diameter CWD pieces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversity responses to land-use change are poorly understood at local scales, hindering our ability to make forecasts and management recommendations at scales which are of practical relevance. A key barrier in this has been the underappreciation of grain-dependent diversity responses and the role that β-diversity (variation in community composition across space) plays in this. Decisions about the most effective spatial arrangement of conservation set-aside, for example high conservation value areas, have also neglected β-diversity, despite its role in determining the complementarity of sites. We examined local-scale mammalian species richness and β-diversity across old-growth forest, logged forest, and oil palm plantations in Borneo, using intensive camera- and live-trapping. For the first time, we were able to investigate diversity responses, as well as β-diversity, at multiple spatial grains, and across the whole terrestrial mammal community (large and small mammals); β-diversity was quantified by comparing observed β-diversity with that obtained under a null model, in order to control for sampling effects, and we refer to this as the β-diversity signal. Community responses to land use were grain dependent, with large mammals showing reduced richness in logged forest compared to old-growth forest at the grain of individual sampling points, but no change at the overall land-use level. Responses varied with species group, however, with small mammals increasing in richness at all grains in logged forest compared to old-growth forest. Both species groups were significantly depauperate in oil palm. Large mammal communities in old-growth forest became more heterogeneous at coarser spatial grains and small mammal communities became more homogeneous, while this pattern was reversed in logged forest. Both groups, however, showed a significant β-diversity signal at the finest grain in logged forest, likely due to logging-induced environmental heterogeneity. The β-diversity signal in oil palm was weak, but heterogeneity at the coarsest spatial grain was still evident, likely due to variation in landscape forest cover. Our findings suggest that the most effective spatial arrangement of set-aside will involve trade-offs between conserving large and small mammals. Greater consideration in the conservation and management of tropical landscapes needs to be given to β-diversity at a range of spatial grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Structural traits derived from the Terrestrial Laser Scanning data were used to characterize disturbances caused by selective logging. • Machine learning models were successfully trained to quantify forest structural changes arising from selective logging. • TLS derived structural traits can provide a valuable benchmark for regional assessments of forest disturbances. • Both understory and upper canopy structural traits were essential for distinguishing different levels of disturbances in tropical forests. Forest disturbances can reduce the potential of ecosystems to provide resources and services. Despite the urgent need to understand the effects of logging on tropical ecosystems, the quantification of disturbances arising from selective logging remains a challenge. Here, we used canopy-three-dimensional information retrieved from Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) measurements to investigate the impacts of logging on key structural traits relevant to forest functioning. We addressed the following questions: 1) Which canopy structural traits were mostly affected by logging? 2) Can remotely-sensed canopy structural traits be used to quantify forest disturbances? Fourteen canopy structural traits were applied as input to machine learning models, which were trained to quantify the intensity of logging disturbance. The plots were located in Malaysian Borneo, over a gradient of logging intensity, ranging from forest not recently disturbed by logging, to forest at the early stage of recovery following logging. Our results showed that using the Random Forest regression approach, the Plant Area Index (PAI) between 0 m − 5 m aboveground, Relative Height at 50 %, and metrics describing plant allocation in the middle-higher canopy layer were the strongest predictors of disturbance. In particular, PAI between 35 m and 40 m explained 12 % to 19 % of the structural variability between plots, followed by the relative height at 50 %, (10.5 % − 18.6 %), and the foliage height diversity (7.5 % − 16.9 %). The approach presented in this study allowed a spatially explicitly characterization of disturbances, providing a novel approach for quantifying and monitoring the integrity of tropical forests. Our results indicate that canopy structural traits can provide a robust indication of disturbances, with strong potential to be applied at regional or global scales. The data used in this study are openly available and we encourage other researchers to use them as a benchmark data set to test larger scale approaches based on satellite and airborne platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Habitat degradation is among the main drivers of biotic and functional homogenization. • Valdivian rainforests are experiencing high fragmentation and degradation rates. • Species traits determine their functional responses to changes in habitat structure. • Vegetation on old-growth forests favors trophic and nesting differentiation. • Secondary forests present more contrasting functional diversity with brood parasitism. Deforestation and forest degradation are among the main biodiversity loss drivers worldwide. The expansion of productive activities, such as forest plantations, often results in the loss and degradation of native forests, affecting native species in many ways. While many studies have assessed the effects of habitat degradation on taxonomic diversity, the effects on functional diversity have been little explored. Functional diversity provides a robust framework for understanding how anthropogenic disturbance changes biodiversity. We assessed how bird functional diversity changes along a habitat degradation gradient in the Valdivian rainforests (southern Chile). We used four functional diversity indices and compared four habitat types (old-growth, secondary, and logged native forests and exotic plantations) to assess how functional diversity changes depending on habitat structure and bird life history, and behavioral traits. We found that most functional diversity differences occur between old growth and secondary native forests, being the latter the less functionally diverse habitat. Further, secondary forests lack natural tree cavities, and birds nesting there are more prone to be affected by brood parasitism. Changes in habitat structure seem to be determinant for bird functional diversity along a habitat degradation gradient. Therefore, habitat degradation can lead to functional homogenization beyond changes in species richness or abundance, with less evident ecological consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Infestation patterns of red turpentine beetle were studied at the incipient population levels. • In undisturbed stands, the main driving factors of red turpentine beetle infestations were stand aspect and canopy cover. • In disturbed stands, red turpentine beetle infestations were related to fire and logging intensity, stand mean diameter at breast height and host connectivity. • The preference discrepancies of red turpentine beetle in different stands require timely targeted management measures to control beetle populations. The red turpentine beetle (RTB) Dendroctonus valens is an alien invasive bark beetle that has become one of the most important pests of pine forests in China. In recent years, RTB has spread to the Heilihe area of northern China, where, within a short period of time, its population density has reached an incipient level. Understanding the attack behavior of RTB in the early stages of an infestation can help contain its population and avoid the transition from incipient to outbreak levels. In addition, numerous wildfires and illegal selective logging events in the Heilihe area give us the opportunity to study the attack behavior of RTB in forest stands with different disturbances. In the present study, we explored the infestation pattern of RTB in 20 wildfire-disturbed forests, 19 selectively logged forests and 42 undisturbed forests at the incipient population level. We measured stand and landscape-level variables, including stand mean diameter at breast height (DBH), canopy cover, aspect, elevation, slope and host connectivity. The landscape-level variable of host connectivity was extracted from a Sentinel-2 image through graph theory. In disturbed stands, we also measured bole scorch height and the number of stumps as proxies for fire and logging intensity. Generalized linear models were used to determine the relative importance of these explanatory variables in RTB infestations. Our results showed that wildfire-disturbed and logged stands had higher RTB infestation levels than undisturbed stands and disturbance intensity was the most important predicting variable across all factors. Furthermore, stand mean DBH had a positive relationship with RTB attacks in disturbed stands. In undisturbed stands, stand-level factors such aspect and canopy cover were the main driving factors of RTB attacks rather than host connectivity. However, the role of host connectivity shifted in wildfire-disturbed stands with high fire intensity, where interconnected stands promoted RTB infestations at the 500 m and 700 m scales. Our findings are valuable for identifying stands that are more vulnerable to RTB attacks and prioritizing management interventions aimed at controlling beetle populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Anthropogenic disturbance alters forest structure and composition. • Forest animals may respond to local- and landscape-scale attributes. • We surveyed forest animal abundances in four forest disturbance conditions. • Canopy cover and fallen logs were the most relevant attributes at the local scale. • Forest cover and heterogeneity were the most relevant landscape attributes. Anthropogenic disturbance has dramatically degraded and reduced the extension of the temperate rainforests of southern South America, negatively affecting forest animals that depend on habitat attributes at local and landscape scales. We conducted a multi-scale assessment (from 1 to 4000 m) to understand better how local and landscape attributes influence forest animal abundance in an anthropogenic disturbance gradient. We selected five forest-dependent animal species to assess the effects of habitat alteration: an arboreal marsupial (Dromiciops gliroides) and four forest birds (Pteroptochos tarnii , Scytalopus magellanicus , Scelorchilus rubecula , and Sylviorthorhynchus desmursii). We recorded forest animal abundances in four different habitat types (old-growth native, secondary, and logged native forests and forestry plantations). We measured local attributes in the field and characterized landscape attributes remotely. We evaluated marsupial abundance using camera traps and forest bird abundance using point counts, which were analyzed with Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Locally, canopy cover positively predicted marsupial abundance, while the number of fallen logs positively predicted bird abundance. At the landscape scale, native forest cover positively affected marsupial abundance, with significant effects at all levels. Conversely, plantation cover negatively affected forest bird abundance, while landscape heterogeneity negatively affected both groups. Our results showed that the abundance of the forest animals assessed here depends on multi-scale determinants. At the local scale, we advise greater canopy cover and maintaining woody debris. On the landscape scale, maintaining native forest cover should prioritize biodiversity management in the southern South America temperate forests. It is also crucial to control the expansion of forest plantations and reduce forest fragmentation to guarantee the persistence of forest-dependent species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 400 million hectares of tropical forest are currently designated as logging concessions. This practice is an important source of timber, but there are concerns about its long-term sustainability and impacts on biodiversity and carbon storage. However, logging impacts vary widely, making generalisation and, consequently, policy implementation, difficult. Recent syntheses of animal biodiversity have indicated that differences in logging intensity – the volume of wood removed ha − 1 – might help to explain some of these disparities. In addition, it has widely been assumed that reduced impact logging (RIL) might minimise some of the negative effects of logging; though in practice, this has rarely been tested. To test the hypothesis that RIL reduces negative impacts of selective logging once intensity is controlled for, we used meta-analyses of selective logging impact studies, focusing specifically on (1) residual tree damage, (2) aboveground biomass and (3) tree species richness. Our results indicate that RIL appears to reduce residual tree damage when compared to conventional methods. However, changes in aboveground biomass were negatively related to logging intensity. Any effect of RIL, independent of logging intensity, was difficult to discern since it was carried out at relatively low intensities. Tree richness appeared to increase at low intensities but decreased at higher intensities and any effect of RIL was difficult to detect. Our results tentatively support the hypothesis that RIL reduces the negative impacts of logging on tree damage, but do not support suggestions that RIL reduces loss of aboveground biomass or tree species richness. However, this lack of support may be a result of the relative paucity of data on the topic. Based on our results, we suggest that better evidence is needed to assess the differences between the impacts of RIL and conventional logging. Studies that consider plot-level differences in logging intensity are required to fill this knowledge gap. In addition, there must be clarification of whether RIL is an inherently low intensity practice so that this can be factored into management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests of Asia-Pacific islands have undergone degradation by some of the worst-known selective logging practices in the tropics. It is unclear whether severely damaged forests can return to a pre-logging state via natural regeneration, or whether active restoration is required. In this review, we highlight how the socioeconomic dynamics in the Solomon Islands promote excessive logging, resulting in highly degraded forests. We detail seven key elements currently promoting excessive logging in this region: (i) economic interests, (ii) corruption, (iii) poor employment conditions in the logging sector, (iv) high forest accessibility, (v) resource limitations for forest monitoring, (vi) contention over logging benefits, and (vii) a paucity of information for policy development. Though research on the regeneration capacity of logged forests in the Solomon Islands remains extremely limited, we suggest that some logged forests in the country may require active restoration--especially those that have been most heavily damaged. Our argument is based on previous tree planting initiatives in logged forest in the 1970s and 1980s. We propose three broad restoration techniques--enrichment planting, direct seeding, and the use of artificial perches--as viable options to help restore logged forests in the Solomon Islands. Lastly, we recommend the conservation-concession model to aid forest restoration, given its recent success in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective logging gives currently a major contribution to ongoing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazonia. On satellite images, log-landing sites (LLS) are well visible, and they serve as a proxy to selective logging activities. In this study we analysed the spatial patterns of the LLS collected during the years 2000–2009 in a part of the Brazilian Amazonia, using spatial statistical methods. The purpose was to reveal important spatial and temporal characteristics of selective logging. After the spatial analysis, the patterns formed by the LLS were modelled using the higher-order Gibbs interaction models due to their suitability to model clustered patterns. The area-interaction model and Geyer’s saturation model proved effective in modelling the clustered patterns in the absence of information about covariates. Results of both models conform closely to each other. We conclude that spatial statistical methods are powerful tools for analysing and interpreting the spatial patterns formed by selective logging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statutes, regulations, and forest restoration represent measures aimed at promoting the conservation of threatened species. We analyzed the abundance of red-listed tree species within three conservation zones with differing levels of protection in the Ta Xua Nature Reserve in north-western Vietnam, a rarely studied region within a biodiversity hotspot. The study area included: (1) the undisturbed core zone; (2) the low intensity traditional forest use buffer zone; and (3) the forest restoration zone. Red-listed tree species richness (IUCN and Vietnamese Red Lists combined) amounted to 16 in the core zone, 10 in the buffer zone, and five in the restoration zone; a similar declining trend was found for all tree species at 193, 173 and 135 for each respective zone. Differences between zones were even more pronounced when species richness was predicted using the Chao2 estimator. Most red-listed species, such as Fujian Cypress (Fokienia hodginsii), reached their highest densities in the core zone, but one species (Quercus platycalyx) was quite abundant in the restoration zone. For some red-listed tree species, canonical correspondence analysis suggested relationships among the presence of footpaths, canopy closure and basal area, suggesting reduced abundance caused by human activities. Our data indicate that conservation effectiveness is related to the level of statutory protection afforded to a particular area, with full protection ensuring more robust conservation outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective logging gives currently a major contribution to ongoing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazonia. The spatial distribution of log landing sites (LLS), i.e. the sites where logged trees are collected, serves as a proxy to the intensity of selective logging activities. In this study we analysed the LLS pattern in a study area that has a rapid deforestation. Actual LLS locations were extracted from a Landsat image of 2000 that covers a large part of the study area. We first used the inhomogeneous J -function. A kernel bandwidth of 20 km best modelled the non-stationarity, showing a strongly clustered LLS distribution. Second, the Area-interaction point process model incorporating information about distance of LLS to roads and to clear-cut deforested areas was applied. The model well explained the clustered LLS pattern and showed a significant effect of distance to roads. We concluded that this spatial statistical study helped to quantify and better understand the LLS pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brown oak ( Quercus semecarpifolia, a.k.a. Kharsu, bji shing ) is a biologically and economically important evergreen broadleaved tree that dominates moist temperate and lower-montane forests throughout the mid-elevation Himalaya. We demarcated two paired spatially explicit one-hectare plots in an experimentally harvested area and an unharvested old growth reserve of Q. semecarpifolia dominated forest in the Bhutan Himalaya. We compared the structure, species composition and diversity, and spatial relationships between the two plots. To test whether harvesting had been successful in establishing a new cohort of oak we compared regeneration in plots established in 1999, to data gathered over ten years after. Regeneration plots showed a paucity of Quercus regeneration in both stands. Logging did not reduce tree species richness; however, Shannon diversity, Simpson diversity, and evenness were all lower in the logged stand. We used univariate and bivariate Ripley’s-K functions to assess the spatial distribution of trees in both stands and test whether single tree felling had altered the spatial relationships among and between species. Understory species were clumped at scales >30 m in canopy gaps in the old-growth reserve, whereas distribution in the logged plot was more random. Relationships between species show similar patterns with more than 80% of species showing significant clumping at scales from 12 m to 30 m, while ∼70% of relationships in the logged plot showed complete spatial randomness. In the old-growth reserve several species showed significant dispersion away from canopy dominant oaks. Scarce regeneration and significant changes in spatial pattern development in the harvested stand suggest changes to current silvicultural practice are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong global demand for tropical timber and agricultural products has driven large-scale logging and subsequent conversion of tropical forests. Given that the majority of tropical landscapes have been or will likely be logged, the protection of biodiversity within tropical forests thus depends on whether species can persist in these economically exploited lands, and if species cannot persist, whether we can protect enough primary forest from logging and conversion. However, our knowledge of the impact of logging and conversion on biodiversity is limited to a few taxa, often sampled in different locations with complex land-use histories, hampering attempts to plan cost-effective conservation strategies and to draw conclusions across taxa. Spanning a land-use gradient of primary forest, once- and twice-logged forests, and oil palm plantations, we used traditional sampling and DNA metabarcoding to compile an extensive data set in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo for nine vertebrate and invertebrate taxa to quantify the biological impacts of logging and oil palm, develop cost-effective methods of protecting biodiversity, and examine whether there is congruence in response among taxa. Logged forests retained high species richness, including, on average, 10% of species found in primary forest. In contrast, conversion to oil palm dramatically reduces species richness, with significantly fewer primary-forest species than found on logged forest transects for seven taxa. Using a systematic conservation planning analysis, we show that efficient protection of primary-forest species is achieved with land portfolios that include a large proportion of logged-forest plots. Protecting logged forests is thus a cost-effective method of protecting an ecologically and taxonomically diverse range of species, particularly when conservation budgets are limited. Six indicator groups (birds, leaf-litter ants, beetles, aerial hymenopterans, flies, and true bugs) proved to be consistently good predictors of the response of the other taxa to logging and oil palm. our results confidently establish the high conservation value of logged forests and the low value of oil palm. Cross-taxon congruence in responses to disturbance also suggests that the practice of focusing on key indicator taxa yields important information of general biodiversity in studies of logging and oil palm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tension between the large global demand for tropical timber, and ecological sustainability and local socioeconomic development in the fragile natural ecosystems of the Amazon region has challenged many generations. In this case study, carried out in an ecotone forest in the northern Brazilian Amazon, we seek to demonstrate how forest management can became more sustainable through silvicultural prescriptions that reduce forest degradation and soil erosion. We evaluated the effects of the sustainable forest management (SFM) on tree diversity, timber volumes, and carbon stocks. A continuous forest inventory was carried out in nine 1-ha permanent plots (900 subplots of 100 m²), distributed in three treatments with three repetitions: T1 = control without selective logging, T2 = SFM, and T3 = SFM + silvicultural treatment of thinning release by tree girdling and poisoning. SFM was carried out with an average of three commercial timber trees harvested per hectare with DBH (diameter at breast height) ≥ 50 cm, corresponding to a timber volume of 20 ± 6 m3 ha-1, equivalent to the removal of 7 ± 2 Mg C ha-1 (5% of the original C). The formation of clearings (gaps) arising from the falling of exploited trees (0.12 ± 0.09 ha) resulted in greater impacts on the forest structure than the construction of 4 m skidder trails (0.06 ± 0.04 ha), with an average of 7 ± 4 damaged trees ha-1 and 5 ± 3 dead trees ha-1. Although six trees species became locally extinct, tree diversity was little altered, and timber volumes and forest carbon volume stocks remained essentially constant at this average logging intensity. Based on our results, sustainable forest management can become an efficient model for land use in the Amazon when harvesting is carried out using this average logging intensity. However, long-term monitoring studies using permanent plots in ecotone forests in the Brazilian Amazon will still be necessary. Quantifying, evaluating, and reporting impacts related to forest management will enable the formation of an empirical basis to support sustanaible forestry practices and for updating environmental legislation, contributing to local socioeconomic development, and maintaining the environmental services provided globally by tropical forests. • We evaluated the effects of selective logging and silvicultural treatments. • The mean intensity of logging (20 ± 6 m3 ha-1) did not alter tree diversity. • The greatest impact came from clearings created by falling commercial timber trees. • Forest carbon stock may alter depending on the selective logging intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Low-intensity selective logging had negligible effects on basal area. • Recently logged (one year since logging) forests had more heterogeneous canopy openness. • Older logged (ten years since logging) forests had slightly higher sapling diversity. • Older logged forests had higher relative liana abundances. • Liana removal techniques may be the most effective option for management improvement. Tropical forests are under threat of increasing pressure from income-generating land uses. Selective logging is a compromise that allows use of the land while leaving much of the forest canopy intact across a landscape. However, the ecological impacts of selective logging are unclear, with evidence of positive, negative, and negligible effects on forest structure and diversity. We examined the impact of selective logging on the structure and diversity of evergreen tropical forest in the Monts de Cristal region, a chain of mid-elevation hills in northwestern Gabon. For three size classes (seedling, sapling, and adult) of woody plant species, we tested whether forest structure (canopy openness, stem density, basal area, and relative liana abundances) and diversity were altered in forests that had been logged one year and ten years prior, compared to unlogged forest. In general, we found no large impact of selective logging treatment on the structure and diversity of adult woody plant communities, but the seedling and sapling communities were affected. Compared to unlogged forest, one-year post-logging forest had greater variation in canopy openness and lower sapling stem density. Ten-year post-logging forest had higher seedling and sapling species evenness, higher sapling species diversity, and higher relative abundance of sapling-sized lianas compared to unlogged forest. Our results show that key differences between intact and selectively logged forests persist in the understory at least a decade after logging. Overall, these results contribute an additional data point in the literature on selective logging, specifically representing the impacts of very low impact selective logging in Central African forests. Our study highlights the value of exploring selective logging impacts at multiple time periods of recovery, and makes an important contribution to the knowledge Central African managed forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the framework of the current REDD + initiative, Reduced Emissions due to Deforestation and Forest Degradation and the role of sustainable management, conservation, and the enhancement of carbon stocks.¹ there is an urgent need for information to guide the development and implementation of strategies for the reduction of GHG Greenhouse gas.² emissions from developing countries. Selective logging is one of the main sources of GHG emissions; but few studies in Cameroon have analyzed the impact of selective logging activities on above-ground biomass (AGB). This has resulted in a gap in essential information needed for the design of suitable forest management policies that can guarantee reductions in GHG emissions. In this study, we assessed the impact of selective logging on AGB in a forest concession in South-East Cameroon by quantifying AGB logged and AGB damaged by logging. We equally investigated through linear regression modeling whether the density of logging roads and NDVI Normalized difference vegetation index.³ values (from MODIS 250 m) can be used to predict the quantity of AGB logged. Allometric equations were used to estimate AGB of trees, while the surface area of logging infrastructures and the unit area value (ha-¹) of AGB for the forest zone of Cameroon permitted the calculation of AGB damaged by logging. The study reveals that 0.78 trees ha-¹; an equivalence of 6.97 Mg ha -¹ of AGB was logged. Logging affected a surface area of 85.04 ha; approximately 2% of the study area. This is equivalent to 0.02 ha ha-¹ and 5.65 Mg ha-¹ of AGB damaged. The density of the logging roads explained 66% of the variation in AGB logged, while the density of the logging roads and NDVI values together explained 73% of the variation. This study concludes as follows: (i) selective logging reduces AGB stock of the forest and the magnitude of the impact varies with the different activities of selective logging, (ii) ground-based measurements facilitated by GIS permitted to quantify the impact of selective logging on AGB, (iii) logging roads and NDVI (which can either be field measured or captured remotely) can be used to indirectly determine AGB logged, hence can contribute in the measurement and monitoring of forest degradation caused by selective logging, and (iv) the findings from this study can usefully support the design of sustainable forest management policies, which are beneficiary to the REDD + process in Cameroon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]