Fragmented tropical forests can maintain tree diversity and function, but not under high deforestation
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: Habitat loss threatens biodiversity, yet the independent effects of habitat fragmentation remain debated. Resolving this debate is critical for managing biodiversity in tropical forests undergoing rapid land-use change, but it requires a sampling design difficult to implement empirically. We developed a virtual framework by extending a spatially explicit, trait- and individual-based model to simulate tropical forest landscapes and disentangle the impacts of forest loss, fragmentation, and patch size on tree diversity and function. Deforestation reduced species richness, evenness, and biomass at patch and landscape scales. Smaller patch size and fragmentation further exacerbated these declines—except for neutral to positive fragmentation effects on landscape-scale species richness—but only in landscapes with less than 30% forest cover. Trait-mediated species turnover underpinned these changes, leading to increased dominance by fast-growing, high-dispersal species. These results suggest that conservation efforts should prevent further fragmentation and prioritize the restoration of large patches in highly deforested regions.
Institutions: University of Bern, Wageningen University & Research, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, University of Bristol, Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement, Université de Toulouse
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: gold
Funder: Agence Nationale de la Recherche
Awards: MUSE, G294214751, G311888100, G7240651115
OpenAlex ID: W4413813453