Ants show that the conservation potential of afforestation efforts in Chinese valley-type savanna is dependent upon the afforestation method

• Published in: Journal of insect conservation Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 621 - 631
• Main Authors: Li, Qiao, Hoffmann, B. D., Lu, Zhi-xing, Chen, You-qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.08.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abundance; Afforestation; Animal behavior; Animal Ecology; Ants; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; China; Conservation; Conservation Biology/Ecology; Deforestation; Ecosystems; Entomology; fauna; Formicidae; habitats; Indigenous species; Introduced species; Leucaena leucocephala; Life Sciences; Monoculture; Mountains; Multivariate analysis; natural regeneration; Original Paper; Plant species; Plantations; Regeneration; Savannahs; savannas; species diversity; Species richness; Valleys; Vegetation; Wildlife conservation; China; Ant communities; Rehabilitation; Bioindicator; Off-reserve conservation
• ISSN: 1366-638X; 1572-9753
• DOI: 10.1007/s10841-017-0005-0

China has the largest afforestation effort in the world, which was implemented in response to large-scale deforestation that has occurred over centuries. Although the outcomes for vegetation coverage are clear, it remains unclear if these efforts also translate into broader conservation outcomes for fauna. Here we use ant communities to assess the conservation potential of vegetation undergoing natural regeneration and subject to afforestation plantings in valley-type savanna in the Hengduan Mountains of southwest China. Species richness was almost always highest in the oldest (30 year) sites irrespective of habitat type. The two sites that were monocultures of Leucaena leucocephala had notably low species richness (1 and 6 species respectively). Plant species richness had a significant positive relationship with total ant abundance and richness. The number of exotic ant species present had a negative relationship with total species richness. Multivariate analysis of species presence/absence data found no distinction between ant communities of plantation and rehabilitating sites, except for the two Leucaena plantation sites. PCA analysis of abundance data found that the separation of the sites was dependent upon the analyses conducted. We conclude that afforestation efforts are a useful conservation tool, regardless of whether these are of regenerating purely native vegetation or the creation of novel ecosystems using non-native species. However, for plantations the conservation benefits are dependent upon the species that are planted.