Carbon-focused conservation may fail to protect the most biodiverse tropical forests

Author(s):Show less -

Ferreira, Joice ^[1] ; Lennox, Gareth D. ^[2] ; Gardner, Toby A. ^{[3, 4]} ; Thomson, James R. ^{[5, 6]} ; Berenguer, Erika ^{[2, 7]} ; Lees, Alexander C. ^{[8, 9]} ; Mac Nally, Ralph ^{[5, 10]} ; Aragao, Luiz E. O. C. ^{[11, 12]} ; Ferraz, Silvio F. B. ^[13] ; Louzada, Julio ^[14] ; Moura, Nargila G. ^[15] ; Oliveira, Victor H. F. ^[14] ; Pardini, Renata ^[16] ; Solar, Ricardo R. C. ^[17] ; Vieira, Ima C. G. ^[15] ; Barlow, Jos ^{[2, 14, 15]}

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] Embrapa Amazonia Oriental, Belem, Para - Brazil

^[2] Univ Lancaster, Lancaster Environm Ctr, Lancaster - England

^[3] Int Inst Sustainabil, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[4] Stockholm Environm Inst, Stockholm - Sweden

^[5] Univ Canberra, Inst Appl Ecol, Canberra, ACT - Australia

^[6] Arthur Rylah Inst Environm Res, Dept Environm Land Water & Planning, Melbourne, Vic - Australia

^[7] Univ Oxford, Environm Change Inst, Oxford - England

^[8] Cornell Univ, Cornell Lab Ornithol, Ithaca, NY - USA

^[9] Manchester Metropolitan Univ, Sch Sci & Environm, Div Biol & Conservat Ecol, Manchester, Lancs - England

^[10] Sunrise Ecol Res Inst, Ocean Grove, Vic - Australia

^[11] Univ Exeter, Coll Life & Environm Sci, Exeter, Devon - England

^[12] Natl Inst Space Res, Remote Sensing Div, Trop Ecosyst & Environm Sci Grp, Sao Jose Dos Campos - Brazil

^[13] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Super Agr Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba - Brazil

^[14] Univ Fed Lavras, Setor Ecol & Conservacao, Lavras - Brazil

^[15] MCTI Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belem, Para - Brazil

^[16] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[17] Univ Fed Minas Gerais, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Biol Geral, Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE; v. 8, n. 8, p. 744+, AUG 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 12

Abstract

As one of Earth's most carbon-dense regions, tropical forests are central to climate change mitigation efforts. Their unparalleled species richness also makes them vital for safeguarding biodiversity. However, because research has not been conducted at management-relevant scales and has often not accounted for forest disturbance, the biodiversity implications of carbon conservation strategies remain poorly understood. We investigated tropical carbon-biodiversity relationships and trade-offs along a forest-disturbance gradient, using detailed and extensive carbon and biodiversity datasets. Biodiversity was positively associated with carbon in secondary and highly disturbed primary forests. Positive carbon-biodiversity relationships dissipated at around 100 MgC ha(-1), meaning that in less disturbed forests more carbon did not equal more biodiversity. Simulated carbon conservation schemes therefore failed to protect many species in the most species-rich forests. These biodiversity shortfalls were sensitive to opportunity costs and could be decreased for small carbon penalties. To ensure that the most ecologically valuable forests are protected, biodiversity needs to be incorporated into carbon conservation planning. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/51872-5 - ECOFOR: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in degraded and recovering Amazonian and Atlantic Forests
• Grantee: Carlos Alfredo Joly
• Support type: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants