Logged tropical forests have amplified and diverse ecosystem energetics

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 612; no. 7941; pp. 707 - 713
• Main Authors: Malhi, Yadvinder, Riutta, Terhi, Wearn, Oliver R., Deere, Nicolas J., Mitchell, Simon L., Bernard, Henry, Majalap, Noreen, Nilus, Reuben, Davies, Zoe G., Ewers, Robert M., Struebig, Matthew J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 22.12.2022; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 704/158/2445; 704/158/2450; 704/158/2454; Animals; Biodiversity; Biomass; Birds; Birds - physiology; Borneo; Community structure; Ecological function; Ecology; Ecosystem degradation; Ecosystems; Energy Metabolism; Food Chain; Forest ecosystems; Forest management; Forestry; Forests; Habitats; Humanities and Social Sciences; Logging; Mammals; Mammals - physiology; multidisciplinary; Palatability; Palm Oil; Plantations; Redundancy; Resilience; Resource consumption; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Species diversity; Trees - growth & development; Tropical Climate; Tropical forests; Vegetation; Borneo
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05523-1

Old-growth tropical forests are widely recognized as being immensely important for their biodiversity and high biomass 1 . Conversely, logged tropical forests are usually characterized as degraded ecosystems 2 . However, whether logging results in a degradation in ecosystem functions is less clear: shifts in the strength and resilience of key ecosystem processes in large suites of species have rarely been assessed in an ecologically integrated and quantitative framework. Here we adopt an ecosystem energetics lens to gain new insight into the impacts of tropical forest disturbance on a key integrative aspect of ecological function: food pathways and community structure of birds and mammals. We focus on a gradient spanning old-growth and logged forests and oil palm plantations in Borneo. In logged forest there is a 2.5-fold increase in total resource consumption by both birds and mammals compared to that in old-growth forests, probably driven by greater resource accessibility and vegetation palatability. Most principal energetic pathways maintain high species diversity and redundancy, implying maintained resilience. Conversion of logged forest into oil palm plantation results in the collapse of most energetic pathways. Far from being degraded ecosystems, even heavily logged forests can be vibrant and diverse ecosystems with enhanced levels of ecological function. Logged forests in Borneo have higher energy flow from vegetation to and broad range of bird and mammal species relative to old-growth forests and oil palm plantations, showing that they can be diverse and ecologically vibrant ecosystems.