Oil palm expansion into rain forest greatly reduces ant biodiversity in canopy, epiphytes and leaf-litter

Fayle, Tom M.; Turner, Edgar C.; Snaddon, Jake L.; Khen, Chey Vun; Chung, Arthur Y. C.; Eggleton, Paul; Foster, William A.

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2009.12.009

Cited by 180 publications

(156 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…This depends on whether plantation species are a subset of the forest species found locally, or mainly composed of widespread tramp species. So far it appears that they are a mixture of both [15,49]. The manner in which succession of species occurs on oil palm plantations also remains to be discovered.…”

Section: Biodiversity Loss On the Conversion Of Forest To Oil Palmmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the common insectivorous oil palm birds are not forest specialists [4,77,78]. Non-native species, even those that have negative impacts in some situations, for example, the yellow crazy ant Anoplolepis gracilipes, which is common in oil palm [15], have been used to control herbivore populations in cocoa and coconut plantations [80].…”

Section: Consequences Of Biodiversity Loss For Ecosystem Functioning mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2400 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 (c) Decomposition/soil fertility Forest conversion to oil palm leads to considerable changes in the soil, for example, extensive damage to the top soil, and soil compaction and erosion [89]. These changes are associated with reductions in the biodiversity and abundance of the litter itself and of the decomposer communities (tables 1 and 2; [15,18,21,26]), but there are no reliable data on how these changes in diversity might affect decomposition and soil fertility. Litter decomposition provides another example of the potential importance of disturbance-tolerant species in providing ecosystem functions in oil palm.…”

Section: Consequences Of Biodiversity Loss For Ecosystem Functioning mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Establishing the evidence base for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function in the oil palm landscapes of South East Asia

Foster

Snaddon

Turner

et al. 2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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251

261

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The conversion of natural forest to oil palm plantation is a major current threat to the conservation of biodiversity in South East Asia. Most animal taxa decrease in both species richness and abundance on conversion of forest to oil palm, and there is usually a severe loss of forest species. The extent of loss varies significantly across both different taxa and different microhabitats within the oil palm habitat. The principal driver of this loss in diversity is probably the biological and physical simplification of the habitat, but there is little direct evidence for this. The conservation of forest species requires the preservation of large reserves of intact forest, but we must not lose sight of the importance of conserving biodiversity and ecosystem processes within the oil palm habitat itself. We urgently need to carry out research that will establish whether maintaining diversity supports economically and ecologically important processes. There is some evidence that both landscape and local complexity can have positive impacts on biodiversity in the oil palm habitat. By intelligent manipulation of habitat complexity, it could be possible to enhance not only the number of species that can live in oil palm plantations but also their contribution to the healthy functioning of this exceptionally important and widespread landscape.

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Section: Biodiversity Loss On the Conversion Of Forest To Oil Palmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consequences Of Biodiversity Loss For Ecosystem Functioning mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consequences Of Biodiversity Loss For Ecosystem Functioning mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Establishing the evidence base for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function in the oil palm landscapes of South East Asia

Foster

Snaddon

Turner

et al. 2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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251

261

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“…Ant species richness is also reduced by logging, although to a lesser extent, with 31 % of species being lost (Brühl 2001). Conversion to oil palm plantation has a more extreme effect, with ant species richness being reduced by 64-80 % (Brühl and Eltz 2009;Fayle et al 2010). Termites and ants also show shifts in assemblage structure with habitat disturbance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil feeding termites are vulnerable to loss of old growth forest, although wood feeders may have more species in mature regenerating forest (Eggleton et al 1997). Invasive and generalist species dominate ant assemblages in oil palm plantation (Brühl et al 2003;Fayle et al 2010). We know of no studies that have either, (a) sampled ants and termites simultaneously across a forest disturbance gradient or, (b) considered termite community composition in oil palm plantation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional structure of ant and termite assemblages in old growth forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation in Malaysian Borneo

et al. 2014

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Forested tropical landscapes around the world are being extensively logged and converted to agriculture, with serious consequences for biodiversity and potentially ecosystem functioning. Here we investigate associations between habitat disturbance and functional diversity of ants and termites-two numerically dominant and functionally important taxa in tropical rain forests that perform key roles in predation, decomposition, nutrient cycling and seed dispersal. We compared ant and termite occurrence and composition within standardised volumes of soil and dead wood in old growth forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Termites occurred substantially less frequently in converted habitats than in old growth forest, whereas ant occurrences were highest in logged forest and lowest in old growth forest. All termite feeding groups had low occurrence in disturbed habitats, with soil feeders occurring even less frequently 123Biodivers Conserv (2014) 23:2817-2832 DOI 10.1007/s10531-014-0750-2 than wood feeders. Ant functional groups showed more variable associations, with some opportunist and behaviourally dominant groups being more abundant in degraded habitats. The importance of ants and termites in tropical ecosystems and such differing patterns of assemblage variation suggest that ecosystem functioning may be significantly altered in converted habitats.

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Corley¹,

Tinker²

2015

The Oil Palm

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Oil palm expansion into rain forest greatly reduces ant biodiversity in canopy, epiphytes and leaf-litter

Cited by 180 publications

References 29 publications

Establishing the evidence base for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function in the oil palm landscapes of South East Asia

Establishing the evidence base for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function in the oil palm landscapes of South East Asia

Functional structure of ant and termite assemblages in old growth forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation in Malaysian Borneo

Reference list and index of citations

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