Abstract
Tropical plantations are rapidly expanding as a source of industrial wood. In Indonesia, such large-scale industrial plantations are generally made of large mono-specific blocks interspersed with natural forest remnants. The extent and biodiversity value of these remnants vary as laws and regulations on their design and management are either unclear, without solid scientific basis or left to the interpretation of private companies responsible for the plantations. Our study area comprises of three Acacia mangium plantations, which have on average 18% of their total area set aside from production and conserved as natural forests. These remnant natural forests may, if appropriately designed and managed, be used to mitigate the negative impact of plantations on biodiversity by providing some degree of connectivity with and between remaining natural forest patches (such as the Tesso Nilo conservation area). We sampled natural vegetation in one and primate diversity in all three plantation sector and examined patterns of primate species richness and abundance with relation to spatial arrangement and dimensions of conservation area, which has been set aside from plantation production. We demonstrate unambiguously the critical importance of a well-connected network of natural forest corridors in the plantation landscape to maintain primates and discuss the potential biodiversity value of natural forest remnants in broad-scale industrial landscapes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baranga D (2004) Forest fragmentation and primates’ survival status in non-reserved forests of the ‘Kampala area’, Uganda. Afr J Ecol 42:70–77
Barr C (2001) Political economy of fiber & finance in Indonesia’s pulp & paper industries—banking on sustainability: structural adjustment and forestry reform in post-suharto Indonesia. CIFOR and WWF’s Macroecnomics Program office, Washington DC
Beier P, Noss RF (1998) Do habitat corridors provide connectivity. Conserv biol 12:1241–1252
Bennet AF, Radford JQ, Haslem A (2006) Properties of land mosaics: implications for nature conservation in agricultural environments. Biol Conserv 133:250–264
Buechner HK, Dawkins HC (1961) Vegetation change induced by elephants and fire in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. Ecology 42:752–766
Chapman CA, Onderdonk DA (1998) Forests without primates: primate/plant codependency. Am J Primatol 45:127–141
Chapman CA, Speirs ML, Gillespie TR et al (2006) Life on the edge: gastrointestinal parasites from the forest edge and interior primate groups. Am J Primatol 68:397–409
Cossalter C, Pye-Smith C (2003) Fast-wood forestry, myths and realities. CIFOR, Bogor
Costa LP, Leite YLR, Mendes SL et al (2005) Mammal conservation in Brazil. Conserv Biol 19:672–679
Forman RTT (1995) Land mosaics. The ecology of landscapes and regions. Cambridge University press, Cambridge
FWI/GFW (2002) The state of the forest: Indonesia. Forest Watch Indonesia and Washington DC, Global Forest Watch, Bogor, Indonesia
Gascon C, Williamson GB, da Fonseca GAB (2000) Receding forest edges and vanishing reserves. Science 288:1356–1358
Gillison AN (2001) Vegetation survey and habitat assessment of the Tesso Nilo forest complex; Pekanbaru, Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. WWF-US, pp 1–68
Gonzalez-Solis J, Guix JC, Mateos E et al (2001) Population density of primates in a large fragment of the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. Biodivers Conserv 10:1267–1282
Gunarso G, Davie J (2000) Biodiversity conservation in Indonesia: policy and politics. In: Tacconi L (ed) Biodiversity and ecological economics. Participation, values and resource management. Earthscan, London, 254 pp
Hartley MJ (2002) Rationale and methods for conserving biodiversity in plantation forests. For Ecol Manage 155:81–95
Holmes D (2002) Where have all the forests gone? Environment and social development East Asia and pacific region discussion paper, vol 24462. World Bank, 38 pp
Johns AD (1986) Effects of selective logging on the behavioral ecology of West Malaysian primates. Ecology 67:684–694
Johns AD, Skorupa JP (1987) Responses of rain-forest primates to habitat disturbanceÖ a review. Int J Primatol 8:157–191
Laidlaw RK (2000) Effects of habitat disturbance and protected areas on mammals of peninsular malaysia. Conserv biol 14:1639–1648
Laurance WF, Laurance SG, Ferreira LV et al (1997) Biomass collapse in Amazonian forest fragments. Science 278:1117–1118
Laurance WF, Williamson B (2001) Positive feedbacks among forest fragmentation, drought and climate change in the amazon. Conserv biol 15:1539–1535
Lindenmayer DB, Franklin JF (2002) Conserving forest biodiversity: a comprehensive multiscaled approach. Island press, Washington
MacDonald MA (2003) The role of corridors in biodiversity conservation in production forest landscapes: a literature review. Tasforests 14:41–50
Marjokorpi A, Salo J (2006) Operational standards and guidelines for biodiversity management in tropical and subtropical forest plantations—how widely do they cover the ecological framework? Biodiversity management in fast-growing tree plantations: a case study from West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Ph.D. Thesis. Painosalama Oy, pp 45–68
Marsh CW, Wilson WL (1981) A survey of primates in Peninsular Malaysian forests. Final report for the Malaysian primates research programme. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and University of Cambridge, UK
Maturana J, Hosgood N, Suhartanto AA (2005) Moving towards company-community partnerships elements to take into account for fast-wood plantation companies in Indonesia CIFOR. Working paper no. 29, CIFOR, Bogor, 49 pp
Mbora DNM, Meikle DB (2004) Forest fragmentation and the distribution, abundance and conservation of the Tana River red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus). Biol Conserv 118:67–77
Meijaard E, Sheil D, Nasi R et al (2005) Life after logging: reconciling wildlife conservation and production forestry in Indonesian Borneo. CIFOR, Bogor
Mitchell ND, Craig JL (2000) Managing the matrix: realigning paradigms toward sustainability. In: Craig JL, Mitchell N, Saunders DA (eds) Conservation in production environments, managing the matrix. Surrey Beaty & Sons Pty limited, Chipping Norton, pp 26–34
Mueller-Dombois D, Ellenberg H (1974) Aims and methods of vegetation ecology. John Wiley and Sons, New York
Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG et al (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858
Nason JD, Hamrick JL (1997) Reproductive and genetic consequences of forest fragmentation: two case studies of Neotropical canopy trees. J Hered 88:264–276
Nawir AA, Santoso L, Mudhofar I (2003) Towards mutually-beneficial company-community partnerships in timber plantation: lessons learnt from Indonesia, 1st edn, vol 26. CIFOR, Bogor
Nepstad DC, Verssimo A, Alencar A et al (1999) Large-scale impoverishment of Amazonian forests by logging and fire. Nature 398:505–508
Newmark WD (1991) Tropical forest fragmentation and the local extinction of understory birds in the Eastern Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Conserv Biol 5:67–78
Noordwijk MV, Tomich TP, Foresta HD et al (1997) To segregate—or to integrate? Agroforest Today 9(1):6–9
Onderdonk DA, Chapman CA (2000) Coping with forest fragmentation: the primates of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Int J Primatol 21:587–611
Pfund J-L, O´Connor T, Koponen P et al (2006) Transdisciplinary research to promote biodiversity conservation and enhanced management of tropical landscape mosaics Patterns and processes in forest landscapes, consequences of human management. IUFRO Landscape ecology working party, Locorotondo, Bari, Italy
Poulsen J, Applegate G, Raymond D (2001) Linking criteria and indicators to a code of practice for industrial tropical tree plantations. CIFOR, Bogor
Ranta E, Rita H, Kouki J (1989) Biometria, tilastotiedettä ekologeille. Yliopistopaino, University press, Helsinki
Sunderlin W (1999) Development of the forestry sector in Indonesia. In: Palo M, Uusivuori J (eds) World forests, society and environment. Kluwer academic publishers, London, pp 214–221
Suyanto A, Sinaga MH, Saim A (2003) Biodiversitas mammalia di Tesso Nilo. Bidang zoologi, Pusat Penelitian Biologi—LIPI, WWF, Bogor, 12 pp
Turner IM, Corlett R.T. (1996) The conservation value of small, isolated fragments of lowland tropical rain forest. Tree II:330–333
Tutin CEG, White LJT, Mackanga MA (1997) The use by rain forest mammals of natural forest fragments in an equatorial African savanna. Conserv Biol 11:1190–1203
Whitmore TC (ed) (1972) Tree flora of Malaya, a manual for foresters, vol 1–4. Longman Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
Whitten T, Damanik SJ, Anwar J et al (2000) The ecology of Sumatra, vol 1. Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., Singapore
Acknowledgements
We express our gratitude to the reviewers for their insightful comments that have greatly improved the manuscript. We are grateful to RAPP for permitting access to their lands, and for providing skilled field assistants and extensive logistical support. John Bathgate and Jean-Laurent Pfund provided critical comments on earlier drafts and Trudy O’Connor greatly helped to improve the language. We also wish to acknowledge European Union and Finland, Ministry of Foreign Affairs for funding part of this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nasi, R., Koponen, P., Poulsen, J.G. et al. Impact of landscape and corridor design on primates in a large-scale industrial tropical plantation landscape. Biodivers Conserv 17, 1105–1126 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-007-9237-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-007-9237-8