Tree plantations and biodiversity conservation in the Atlantic forest: Allies or enemies?

Abstract

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations (FAO), in the last decades tree plantations expanded worldwide(40% between 1990 and 2005), because of an increase in the demand ofwood and fiber (Keenan et al., 2015). Moreover, the Forest StewardshipCouncil (FSC) predicts an increase in the surface of tree plantationsfrom 51 million ha in 2012 to 91 million ha in 2050 to supply thisdemand (Indufor, 2012). In South America, tree plantations occupy asurface of more than 12 million ha, mostly in Chile, Brazil and Argentina (83%) (Indufor, 2012). The predicted global increase in thesurface of tree plantations will occur mainly in Asia and South America.Associated to this expansion, in recent years the role of tree plantations as a threat to biodiversity has been in the center of the debate.At one extreme, tree plantations are considered ?green deserts? forbiodiversity while at the other extreme, tree plantations can fully ?replace? native forests. In the middle of this debate, a growing number ofscientific studies conducted in all continents showed that the potentialof tree plantations to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem processesdepends on factors acting at different scales. At a local scale, theidentity, age and plantation density, harvest cycle, agrochemicals,among others; influence habitat quality for native species. At a landscape scale, the amount and configuration of natural habitats (andothers land uses) surrounding plantations determine the probability ofcolonization by native species. Finally, at a regional scale, the contrastin the availability of resources and conditions between tree plantationsand the natural habitats influence the capacity of species to inhabitplantations.The Atlantic forest of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay is one the mostdiverse and threatened ecosystems worldwide; less than 9% of theoriginal cover remains in highly fragmented landscapes (Ribeiro et al.,2009). Tree plantations occupy large portions of the Atlantic forest inBrazil (19% of the original forest cover) and Argentina (15%) (CNA,2008; SNIF, 2018). Considering the current condition of the remainingAtlantic forest, sustainable management of tree plantations (compatiblewith biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services)is one of the central challenges for the wood industry and local andnational governments. This special issue contains ten high quality research papers from Argentina and Brazil to contribute to the body ofknowledge in forest management impacts on biodiversity in this threated ecosystem. These papers encompass a wide range of animal andvegetal taxa (from butterflies to large predators), ecosystems processesand scales. The results show that tree plantations, correctly managed,can be an important component in the efforts to preserve Atlantic forestbiodiversity; either as a secondary habitat for native species and/orallowing the movement of individuals among forest remnants.