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Biodiversity loss along a gradient of deforestation in Amazonian agricultural landscapes
Author(s) -
Decaëns Thibaud,
Martins Marlúcia B.,
Feijoo Alexander,
Oszwald Johan,
Dolédec Sylvain,
Mathieu Jérôme,
Arnaud de Sartre Xavier,
Bonilla Diego,
Brown George G.,
Cuellar Criollo Yeimmy Andrea,
Dubs Florence,
Furtado Ivaneide S.,
Gond Valérie,
Gordillo Erika,
Le Clec'h Solen,
Marichal Raphaël,
Mitja Danielle,
Souza Izildinha Miranda,
Praxedes Catarina,
Rougerie Rodolphe,
Ruiz Darío H.,
Otero Joel Tupac,
Sanabria Catalina,
Velasquez Alex,
Zararte Luz Elena M.,
Lavelle Patrick
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/cobi.13206
Subject(s) - biodiversity , species richness , amazon rainforest , deforestation (computer science) , geography , agroforestry , land use , ecology , agriculture , agricultural land , environmental science , biology , programming language , archaeology , computer science
Abstract Assessing how much management of agricultural landscapes, in addition to protected areas, can offset biodiversity erosion in the tropics is a central issue for conservation that still requires cross‐taxonomic and landscape‐scale studies. We measured the effects of Amazonia deforestation and subsequent land‐use intensification in 6 agricultural areas (landscape scale), where we sampled plants and 4 animal groups (birds, earthworms, fruit flies, and moths). We assessed land‐use intensification with a synthetic index based on landscape metrics (total area and relative percentages of land uses, edge density, mean patch density and diversity, and fractal structures at 5 dates from 1990 to 2007). Species richness decreased consistently as agricultural intensification increased despite slight differences in the responses of sampled groups. Globally, in moderately deforested landscapes species richness was relatively stable, and there was a clear threshold in biodiversity loss midway along the intensification gradient, mainly linked to a drop in forest cover and quality. Our results suggest anthropogenic landscapes with high‐quality forest covering >40 % of the surface area may prevent biodiversity loss in Amazonia.