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Targeted habitat restoration can reduce extinction rates in fragmented forests.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Newmark, WD; Jenkins, CN; Pimm, SL; McNeally, PB; Halley, JM
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
September 2017

The Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and the Atlantic Forest of Brazil are two of the most fragmented biodiversity hotspots. Species-area relationships predict that their habitat fragments will experience a substantial loss of species. Most of these extinctions will occur over an extended time, and therefore, reconnecting fragments could prevent species losses and allow locally extinct species to recolonize former habitats. An empirical relaxation half-life vs. area relationship for tropical bird communities estimates the time that it takes to lose one-half of all species that will be eventually lost. We use it to estimate the increase in species persistence by regenerating a forest connection 1 km in width among the largest and closest fragments at 11 locations. In the Eastern Arc Mountains, regenerating 8,134 ha of forest would create >316,000 ha in total of restored contiguous forest. More importantly, it would increase the persistence time for species by a factor of 6.8 per location or ∼2,272 years, on average, relative to individual fragments. In the Atlantic Forest, regenerating 6,452 ha of forest would create >251,000 ha in total of restored contiguous forest and enhance species persistence by a factor of 13.0 per location or ∼5,102 years, on average, relative to individual fragments. Rapidly regenerating forest among fragments is important, because mean time to the first determined extinction across all fragments is 7 years. We estimate the cost of forest regeneration at $21-$49 million dollars. It could provide one of the highest returns on investment for biodiversity conservation worldwide.

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Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

September 2017

Volume

114

Issue

36

Start / End Page

9635 / 9640

Related Subject Headings

  • Tropical Climate
  • Trees
  • Time Factors
  • Tanzania
  • Forests
  • Extinction, Biological
  • Ecosystem
  • Conservation of Natural Resources
  • Brazil
  • Birds
 

Citation

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Newmark, W. D., Jenkins, C. N., Pimm, S. L., McNeally, P. B., & Halley, J. M. (2017). Targeted habitat restoration can reduce extinction rates in fragmented forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(36), 9635–9640. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1705834114
Newmark, William D., Clinton N. Jenkins, Stuart L. Pimm, Phoebe B. McNeally, and John M. Halley. “Targeted habitat restoration can reduce extinction rates in fragmented forests.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114, no. 36 (September 2017): 9635–40. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1705834114.
Newmark WD, Jenkins CN, Pimm SL, McNeally PB, Halley JM. Targeted habitat restoration can reduce extinction rates in fragmented forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2017 Sep;114(36):9635–40.
Newmark, William D., et al. “Targeted habitat restoration can reduce extinction rates in fragmented forests.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 114, no. 36, Sept. 2017, pp. 9635–40. Epmc, doi:10.1073/pnas.1705834114.
Newmark WD, Jenkins CN, Pimm SL, McNeally PB, Halley JM. Targeted habitat restoration can reduce extinction rates in fragmented forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2017 Sep;114(36):9635–9640.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

September 2017

Volume

114

Issue

36

Start / End Page

9635 / 9640

Related Subject Headings

  • Tropical Climate
  • Trees
  • Time Factors
  • Tanzania
  • Forests
  • Extinction, Biological
  • Ecosystem
  • Conservation of Natural Resources
  • Brazil
  • Birds