How much biodiversity do we lose in planted forests? A case study with dung beetles in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.

In the Amazon rainforest, the replacement of native vegetation by agricultural landscapes is one of the major threats to biodiversity. Peach palm "pupunha" (Bactris gasipaes – Amazonian native) and teak (Tectona grandis – exotic tree species) plantations are currently being implemented replacing Amazon rainforest areas, but there is scarce information regarding the impact of these planted forests on Amazonian biodiversity. In this study, we used dung beetles, a recognized bioindicator group, to evaluate how these planted forests impact the biodiversity in this biome. To assess the impacts of plantation types on dung beetle assemblages, we analyzed their diversity, assemblage structure, and the potential of each species as indicators of the different habitat types (native forest, peach palm and teak plantation) in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. There was a higher diversity of dung beetles in the Amazon native forest when compared to plantations, with teak plantation being the least diverse habitat. Telecoprid dung beetles were more negatively affected by planted forests. Furthermore, the assemblage structure differed among each of the habitats, where 12 species were considered indicators of native forest, and only one species was an indicator of peach palm and teak plantations. This study provided evidence that dung beetle diversity is negatively affected by the implantation of planted forests in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. Our findings highlight the importance of conserving native forest, a source of dung beetle species for planted forests, which may help maintain viable dung beetle populations and provide vital ecosystem functions and services to these plantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]