Impacts of salvage logging on biodiversity: A meta-analysis

Logging to "salvage" economic returns from forests affected by natural disturbances has become increasingly prevalent globally. Despite potential negative effects on biodiversity, salvage logging is often conducted, even in areas otherwise excluded from logging and reserved for nature conservation, inter alia because strategic priorities for post-disturbance management are widely lacking. A review of the existing literature revealed that most studies investigating the effects of salvage logging on biodiversity have been conducted less than 5 years following natural disturbances, and focused on non-saproxylic organisms. A meta-analysis across 24 species groups revealed that salvage logging significantly decreases numbers of species of eight taxonomic groups. Richness of dead wood dependent taxa (i.e. saproxylic organisms) decreased more strongly than richness of non-saproxylic taxa. In contrast, taxonomic groups typically associated with open habitats increased in the number of species after salvage logging. By analysing 134 original species abundance matrices, we demonstrate that salvage logging significantly alters community composition in 7 of 17 species groups, particularly affecting saproxylic assemblages. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that salvage logging is not consistent with the management objectives of protected areas. Substantial changes, such as the retention of dead wood in naturally disturbed forests, are needed to support biodiversity. Future research should investigate the amount and spatio-temporal distribution of retained dead wood needed to maintain all components of biodiversity

7th Drug hypersensitivity meeting: part two

No abstract availabl

Resilience impacts of a secondary disturbance: Meta-analysis of salvage logging effects on tree regeneration

Intense controversy surrounds the compounded disturbance of salvage logging, which superimposes an anthropogenic disturbance on already disturbed ecosystems and thereby provides a litmus test of forest regeneration and resilience. We conducted meta-analysis to assess whether salvage logging affects tree regeneration, and whether potential effect moderators (disturbance type and severity, logging intensity, time elapsed between disturbance and logging or since logging, forest type and age, regeneration syndrome and aridity) modify this overall effect. Thirty-seven publications yielded 305 effect sizes for tree density and 135 for height. We found no significant effect of salvage logging on tree density or height. Also, most effect moderators were not significant. The effect size of salvage logging on tree density increased over time after logging, potentially indicating resilience to initial salvage logging impacts. Tree density in old (>100 years) disturbed forests was less negatively affected by salvage logging than in young (<50 years) and intermediate-aged forests. Study site and phylogenetic relatedness improved model fit, indicating modulation by local ecological factors and tree species characteristics. Synthesis. Salvage logging does not produce generalised detrimental effects on tree regeneration. Potential impacts and their mitigation should be assessed upon knowledge of local conditions and species.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Estimating retention benchmarks for salvage logging to protect biodiversity

Forests are increasingly affected by natural disturbances. Subsequent salvage logging, a widespread management practice conducted predominantly to recover economic capital, produces further disturbance and impacts biodiversity worldwide. Hence, naturally disturbed forests are among the most threatened habitats in the world, with consequences for their associated biodiversity. However, there are no evidence-based benchmarks for the proportion of area of naturally disturbed forests to be excluded from salvage logging to conserve biodiversity. We apply a mixed rarefaction/extrapolation approach to a global multi-taxa dataset from disturbed forests, including birds, plants, insects and fungi, to close this gap. We find that 75 ± 7% (mean ± SD) of a naturally disturbed area of a forest needs to be left unlogged to maintain 90% richness of its unique species, whereas retaining 50% of a naturally disturbed forest unlogged maintains 73 ± 12% of its unique species richness. These values do not change with the time elapsed since disturbance but vary considerably among taxonomic groups