Forest Plantations and Biodiversity: A Fresh Perspective

Abstract

Abstract We examined the worldwide literature on biodiversity in forest plantations for the indicator organism assessed, species composition (native versus exotic), tree species diversity, and appropriateness of the comparisons made. Fifty percent of the studies used invertebrates, 36% birds, 6% mammals, and 6% vascular plants as bioindicators. We found that 76% of the existing literature compares exotic plantation forests to native/natural forests, 9% of studies compare native plantations to native/natural forests, and 3% examine plantations to plantations. Lower biodiversity in plantation forest compared to other forests was reported by 94% of the reviewed studies. However, some studies indicate higher biodiversity in plantation forests compared to other land uses such as agriculture. We argue that much of the literature reporting lower biodiversity in plantation forests is based on inappropriate comparisons. We suggest more appropriate approaches to assessing the effects of plantation forests on biodiversity.