title: Establishing the evidence base for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function in the oil palm landscapes of South East Asia.
abstract: The conversion of natural forest to oil palm plantation is a major current threat to the conservation of biodiversity in South East Asia. Most animal taxa decrease in both species richness and abundance on conversion of forest to oil palm, and there is usually a severe loss of forest species. The extent of loss varies significantly across both different taxa and different microhabitats within the oil palm habitat. The principal driver of this loss in diversity is probably the biological and physical simplification of the habitat, but there is little direct evidence for this. The conservation of forest species requires the preservation of large reserves of intact forest, but we must not lose sight of the importance of conserving biodiversity and ecosystem processes within the oil palm habitat itself. We urgently need to carry out research that will establish whether maintaining diversity supports economically and ecologically important processes. There is some evidence that both landscape and local complexity can have positive impacts on biodiversity in the oil palm habitat. By intelligent manipulation of habitat complexity, it could be possible to enhance not only the number of species that can live in oil palm plantations but also their contribution to the healthy functioning of this exceptionally important and widespread landscape.
authors: Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. waf1@cam.ac.uk
authors: William A
authors: WA
authors: Foster
authors: Jake L
authors: JL
authors: Snaddon
authors: Edgar C
authors: EC
authors: Turner
authors: Tom M
authors: TM
authors: Fayle
authors: Timothy D
authors: TD
authors: Cockerill
authors: M D Farnon
authors: MD
authors: Ellwood
authors: Gavin R
authors: GR
authors: Broad
authors: Arthur Y C
authors: AY
authors: Chung
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Eggleton
authors: Chey Vun
authors: CV
authors: Khen
authors: Kalsum M
authors: KM
authors: Yusah
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D028023:Arecaceae / Q000502:physiology*; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D017753:Ecosystem; D060434:Herbivory / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta / Q000502:physiology; D008296:Malaysia; D008834:Microclimate; D054817:Pollination; D011156:Population Density; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D014197:Trees / Q000502:physiology; D014329:Tropical Climate
chemical_list: D012987:Soil