Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3043, USA.
Conserv Biol. 2009 Dec;23(6):1406-17. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01338.x.
In the wake of widespread loss of old-growth forests throughout the tropics, secondary forests will likely play a growing role in the conservation of forest biodiversity. We considered a complex hierarchy of factors that interact in space and time to determine the conservation potential of tropical secondary forests. Beyond the characteristics of local forest patches, spatial and temporal landscape dynamics influence the establishment, species composition, and persistence of secondary forests. Prospects for conservation of old-growth species in secondary forests are maximized in regions where the ratio of secondary to old-growth forest area is relatively low, older secondary forests have persisted, anthropogenic disturbance after abandonment is relatively low, seed-dispersing fauna are present, and old-growth forests are close to abandoned sites. The conservation value of a secondary forest is expected to increase over time, as species arriving from remaining old-growth forest patches accumulate. Many studies are poorly replicated, which limits robust assessments of the number and abundance of old-growth species present in secondary forests. Older secondary forests are not often studied and few long-term studies are conducted in secondary forests. Available data indicate that both old-growth and second-growth forests are important to the persistence of forest species in tropical, human-modified landscapes.
在热带地区广泛丧失原始森林之后，次生林可能在保护森林生物多样性方面发挥越来越大的作用。我们考虑了一系列复杂的因素，这些因素在空间和时间上相互作用，决定了热带次生林的保护潜力。除了当地森林斑块的特征外，空间和时间上的景观动态也会影响次生林的建立、物种组成和持续存在。在次生林与原始林面积比相对较低、较老的次生林持续存在、废弃后人为干扰相对较低、有传播种子的动物存在且原始林靠近废弃地的地区，次生林中古老物种的保护前景最大。随着从剩余原始林斑块中积累而来的物种的出现，次生林的保护价值预计会随着时间的推移而增加。但是，许多研究的复制程度较差，这限制了对次生林中存在的古老物种的数量和丰富度进行稳健评估。较老的次生林往往未被研究，而且在次生林中进行的长期研究很少。现有数据表明，原始林和次生林对于热带人类改造景观中森林物种的持续存在都很重要。
