Restoring degraded tropical forests for carbon and biodiversity
The extensive deforestation and degradation of tropical forests is a significant contributor to the loss of biodiversity and to global warming. Restoration could potentially mitigate the impacts of deforestation, yet knowledge on how to efficiently allocate funding for restoration is still in its in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2014-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/11/114020 |
| _version_ | 1797747980354191360 |
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| author | Sugeng Budiharta Erik Meijaard Peter D Erskine Carlo Rondinini Michela Pacifici Kerrie A Wilson |
| author_facet | Sugeng Budiharta Erik Meijaard Peter D Erskine Carlo Rondinini Michela Pacifici Kerrie A Wilson |
| author_sort | Sugeng Budiharta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The extensive deforestation and degradation of tropical forests is a significant contributor to the loss of biodiversity and to global warming. Restoration could potentially mitigate the impacts of deforestation, yet knowledge on how to efficiently allocate funding for restoration is still in its infancy. We systematically prioritize investments in restoration in the tropical landscape of East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and through this application demonstrate the capacity to account for a diverse suite of restoration techniques and forests of varying condition. To achieve this we develop a map of forest degradation for the region, characterized on the basis of aboveground biomass and differentiated by broad forest types. We estimate the costs of restoration as well as the benefits in terms of carbon sequestration and improving the suitability of habitat for threatened mammals through time. When the objective is solely to enhance carbon stocks, then restoration of highly degraded lowland forest is the most cost-effective activity. However, if the objective is to improve the habitat of threatened species, multiple forest types should be restored and this reduces the accumulated carbon by up to 24%. Our analysis framework provides a transparent method for prioritizing where and how restoration should occur in heterogeneous landscapes in order to maximize the benefits for carbon and biodiversity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:59:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c01ce02af2d4a7181f200c87d23af23 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:59:22Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c01ce02af2d4a7181f200c87d23af232023-08-09T14:42:23ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262014-01-0191111402010.1088/1748-9326/9/11/114020Restoring degraded tropical forests for carbon and biodiversitySugeng Budiharta0Erik Meijaard1Peter D Erskine2Carlo Rondinini3Michela Pacifici4Kerrie A Wilson5The University of Queensland , School of Biological Sciences and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Purwodadi Botanic Garden, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Pasuruan, IndonesiaThe University of Queensland , School of Biological Sciences and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Borneo Futures Project, People and Nature Consulting International, Jakarta, Indonesia; Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, IndonesiaCentre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, The University of Queensland , Brisbane, AustraliaGlobal Mammal Assessment program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza Università di Roma , Viale dell’Università 32, I-00185, Rome, ItalyGlobal Mammal Assessment program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza Università di Roma , Viale dell’Università 32, I-00185, Rome, ItalyThe University of Queensland , School of Biological Sciences and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaThe extensive deforestation and degradation of tropical forests is a significant contributor to the loss of biodiversity and to global warming. Restoration could potentially mitigate the impacts of deforestation, yet knowledge on how to efficiently allocate funding for restoration is still in its infancy. We systematically prioritize investments in restoration in the tropical landscape of East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and through this application demonstrate the capacity to account for a diverse suite of restoration techniques and forests of varying condition. To achieve this we develop a map of forest degradation for the region, characterized on the basis of aboveground biomass and differentiated by broad forest types. We estimate the costs of restoration as well as the benefits in terms of carbon sequestration and improving the suitability of habitat for threatened mammals through time. When the objective is solely to enhance carbon stocks, then restoration of highly degraded lowland forest is the most cost-effective activity. However, if the objective is to improve the habitat of threatened species, multiple forest types should be restored and this reduces the accumulated carbon by up to 24%. Our analysis framework provides a transparent method for prioritizing where and how restoration should occur in heterogeneous landscapes in order to maximize the benefits for carbon and biodiversity.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/11/114020forest landscape restorationrestoration prioritizationdegraded tropical forestthreatened speciescarbon sequestrationtrade-offs |
| spellingShingle | Sugeng Budiharta Erik Meijaard Peter D Erskine Carlo Rondinini Michela Pacifici Kerrie A Wilson Restoring degraded tropical forests for carbon and biodiversity Environmental Research Letters forest landscape restoration restoration prioritization degraded tropical forest threatened species carbon sequestration trade-offs |
| title | Restoring degraded tropical forests for carbon and biodiversity |
| title_full | Restoring degraded tropical forests for carbon and biodiversity |
| title_fullStr | Restoring degraded tropical forests for carbon and biodiversity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Restoring degraded tropical forests for carbon and biodiversity |
| title_short | Restoring degraded tropical forests for carbon and biodiversity |
| title_sort | restoring degraded tropical forests for carbon and biodiversity |
| topic | forest landscape restoration restoration prioritization degraded tropical forest threatened species carbon sequestration trade-offs |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/11/114020 |
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