Riparian buffers can help mitigate biodiversity declines in oil palm agriculture

Agricultural expansion drives biodiversity decline in forested tropical regions. Consequently, it is important to understand the conservation value of remnant forest in production landscapes. In a tropical landscape dominated by oil palm we characterized faunal communities across eight taxa occurring within riparian forest buffers, which are legally protected alongside rivers, and compared them to nearby recovering logged forest. Buffer width was the main predictor of species richness and abundance, with widths of 40-100 m on each side of the river supporting broadly equivalent levels of biodiversity to logged forest. However, width responses varied markedly among taxa, and buffers often lacked forest-dependent species. Much wider buffers than are currently mandated are needed to safeguard most species. The largest biodiversity gains are achieved by increasing relatively narrow buffers. To provide optimal conservation outcomes in tropical production landscapes we encourage policymakers to prescribe width requirements for key taxa and different landscape contexts.Newton-Ungku Omar Fund (grants 216433953, 537134717) – delivered by the British Council and funded by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology – as well as the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NE/K016407/1, NE/K016261/1; https://lombok.nerc-hmtf.info/). MJS was supported by a Research Leadership Award from the Leverhulme Trust

The value of riparian reserves for non­volant small mammal conservation in disturbed and converted forest landscapes in Sabah, Malaysia

Logging and forest conversion to oil palm plantations are two of the main factors affecting South-East Asia's rich tropical rainforests biodiversity. Retaining forest fragments flanking streams, i.e. the riparian reserves, within disturbed and converted habitat matrix is generally recognized to be useful practice for enhancing biodiversity or mitigating biodiversity loss, although the usefulness of such forest fragments for the conservation of non-volant small mammals is still poorly known. A study was conducted at the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystem project area (SAFE) located in and around Kalabakan Forest Reserve, in south central part of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, by using live-cage traps arranged in a grid, to study the non-volant small mammal communities in riparian reserves located within unlogged forests, repeatedly logged forests and in oil palm plantations. To compare the effects of retaining riparian reserves within oil palm plantations, the small mammals were also sampled in the oil palm plantations without any riparian reserves. In this study, the species richness, diversity, abundance and community composition of the small mammals were compared between the different riparian reserve treatments. A total of 1,446 individuals of small mammals were captured over 13,440 trap-nights, represented by 23 species from 3 orders and 5 families at all of the sampling sites combined. The riparian reserves within the logged forest sites (6 sites) recorded an average of 12.33 ± 2.42 (s.d.) species of small mammals, compared to an average of 11.50 ± 0.71 species in the unlogged forest sites (2 sites) and 12.33 ±1.15 species in oil palm plantation sites (3 sites). Sites in oil palm plantation without riparian reserves (3 sites) recorded an average of 7.67 ±1.15 species. Small mammals in unlogged forest sites showed the highest species similarity with the logged forest sites (50rensen similarity coefficient= 45%), while the lowest species similarity was recorded between unlogged forest sites and oil palm plantation without riparian reserve (37%). Although, species richness was higher in logged forest than in unlogged forest, the species diversity (based on Simpson's inverse diversity index) was recorded to be higher in the unlogged forest than in the logged forest. The small mammal species richness and abundance were lower in the oil palm without riparian reserves compared with oil palm with riparian vegetation; and the commensal species, i.e., rats (Rattus exulans and R. rattus), dominated (67% of total individuals caught) the habitat in the oil palm without riparian vegetation. Increase in the understory vegetation appeared to significantly increase the presence of small mammals. Conversely, increase in the bare ground cover decreases the presence of the small mammals. As coverage of understorey vegetation is generally positively associated with foraging and nesting sites for small mammals, as well as refuge sites from predators, the findings of this study generally suggest that retaining riparian reserves in oil palm plantations can help in the conservation of the non-volant small mammal community. This finding may have important implications for future riparian reserves management particularly in oil palm plantation with a view to increase the biodiversity within this converted landscape

Kajian rintangan lipas terhadap umpan gel di Rizab Hidupan Liar Tabin

Upas domisil merupakan serangga perosak yang harus diberi perhatian dalam program pengawalan serangga perosak manakala lipas hutan adalah antara serangga yang menyumbang dalam perkhidmatan ekosistem hutan. Asid borik adalah antara racun serangga bukan organik yang sering digunakan dalam pengawalan populasi lipas. Kaedah manual dan balang berumpan telah digunakan untuk persampelan lipas hutan dan lipas domisil. Ujian korelasi telah dijalankan untuk melihat korelasi antara spesies Periplaneta americana dan Rhabdoblatta sp. dengan kadar kematian, dan korelasi antara kepekatan asid borik 0.5%, 1.0% dan 2.0%, dengan kadar kematian. Perbezaan kesan asid borik terhadap lipas jantan dan betina bagi spesies Periplaneta americana dan Rhabdoblatta sp. telah dianalisa dengan mengira peratus pengurangan untuk kedua-dua jantina. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan tiada perbezaan kesan asid borik terhadap spesies Periplaneta americana dan Rhabdob/atta sp. Selain itu, terdapat korelasi positif antara pembolehubah kepekatan asid borik dan kadar kematian lipas. Tambahan lagi, tiada perbezaan kesan asid borik yang signifikan antara lipas jantan dan lipas betina untuk spesies Periplaneta americana dan Rhabdoblatta sp. Kesimpulannya, kematian lipas oleh asid borik bergantung kepada kepekatan asid borik dan asid borik sangat sesuai digunakan dalam pengawalan lipas perosak kerana tidak memudaratkan. kesihatan manusia, mesra alam dan kos efisien

Animal use of rehabilitated formerly fire damaged peat-swamp forest in western Sabah, Malaysia

Peat-swamp forests harbour diverse animal communities, but they are also highly prone to forest fires. Between January 2017–February 2018, we carried out a camera trapping survey of animals in a mixed peatswamp forest partly affected by El Niño driven forest fires in 1998. This survey was conducted in the Klias Forest Reserve (KFR), of western Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. In addition to natural regeneration, the burnt areas in this peat forest have undergone active forest rehabilitation since 2006, including enrichment planting with indigenous tree species. We identified 22 animal species (16 mammals and six birds) in the surveyed areas including common and rarer species of high conservation value. The richness of animal species detected in the rehabilitated (formerly burnt forest) and the nearby intact (unburnt) forest areas was generally comparable. The similarity of detected animal species composition in each forest condition was also high (74% for all animal species combined; 86% for mammal species). Additionally, six of the seven most frequently photographed species did not show any significant difference in daytime and nighttime activity patterns in the rehabilitated as compared to intact forest. Interestingly, mousedeer species (Tragulus napu and T. kanchil) were found to be significantly more active during the daytime in intact (unburnt) forest compared to the rehabilitated. However, we suspect higher daytime mousedeer activity in intact areas is a behavioural adaptation to increased hunting pressure at night in this forest rather than a result of the local habitat conditions. Overall, our findings suggest that the rehabilitated mixed peat-swamp forest burnt 20 years ago, acts as an important functional extension to the intact forest of the KFR ecosystem and provides useful additional habitat for animal conservation

Animal use of rehabilitated formerly fire damaged peat-swamp forest in western Sabah, Malaysia

Peat-swamp forests harbour diverse animal communities, but they are also highly prone to forest fires. Between January 2017–February 2018, we carried out a camera trapping survey of animals in a mixed peatswamp forest partly affected by El Niño driven forest fires in 1998. This survey was conducted in the Klias Forest Reserve (KFR), of western Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. In addition to natural regeneration, the burnt areas in this peat forest have undergone active forest rehabilitation since 2006, including enrichment planting with indigenous tree species. We identified 22 animal species (16 mammals and six birds) in the surveyed areas including common and rarer species of high conservation value. The richness of animal species detected in the rehabilitated (formerly burnt forest) and the nearby intact (unburnt) forest areas was generally comparable. The similarity of detected animal species composition in each forest condition was also high (74% for all animal species combined; 86% for mammal species). Additionally, six of the seven most frequently photographed species did not show any significant difference in daytime and nighttime activity patterns in the rehabilitated as compared to intact forest. Interestingly, mousedeer species (Tragulus napu and T. kanchil) were found to be significantly more active during the daytime in intact (unburnt) forest compared to the rehabilitated. However, we suspect higher daytime mousedeer activity in intact areas is a behavioural adaptation to increased hunting pressure at night in this forest rather than a result of the local habitat conditions. Overall, our findings suggest that the rehabilitated mixed peat-swamp forest burnt 20 years ago, acts as an important functional extension to the intact forest of the KFR ecosystem and provides useful additional habitat for animal conservatio