Tropical and subtropical Asia’s valued tree species under threat

Hannes Gaisberger and Tobias Fremout and Chris J. Kettle and Barbara Vinceti and Della Kemalasari and Tania Kanchanarak and Evert Thomas and Josep M. Serra-Diaz and Jens-Christian Svenning and Ferry Slik and Wichan Eiadthong and Kandasamy Palanisamy and Gudasalamani Ravikanth and Vilma Bodos and Julia Sang and Rekha R. Warrier and AlisonK.S.Wee and Christian Elloran and Lawrence Tolentino Ramos and Matieu Henry and Md. Akhter Hossain and Ida Theilade and Simon Laegaard and K. M. A. Bandara and Dimantha Panduka Weerasinghe and Suchitra Changtragoon and Vivi Yuskianti and Peter Wilkie and Nguyen Hoang Nghia and Stephen Elliott and Greuk Pakkad and Pimonrat Tiansawat and Colin Ruzelion Maycock and Chaloun Bounithiphonh and Rozi Mohamed and M. Nazre and Baktiar Nur Siddiqui and Soon-Leong Lee and Chai-Ting Lee and Nurul Farhanah Zakaria and Ida Hartvig and Lutz Lehmann and Zheng Yongqi and Huang Ping and Hugo A. Volkaert and Lars Graudal and Arief Hamidi and So Thea and Sineath Sreng and David Boshier and Enrique Tolentino Jr. and Wickneswari Ratnam and Mu Mu Aung and Michael Galante and Siti Fatimah Md Isa and Nguyen Quoc Dung and Tran Thi Hoa and Tran Chan Le and Md. Danesh Miah and Abdul Lateef Mohd Zuhry and Deepani Alawathugoda and Amelia Azman and Gamini Pushpakumara and Nur Sumedi and Iskandar Z. Siregar and Hong Kyung Nak and Jean Linsky and Megan Barstow and Lian Pin Koh and Riina Jalonen (2021) Tropical and subtropical Asia’s valued tree species under threat. Conservation Biology, 36. pp. 1-15. ISSN 1523-1739

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Abstract

Tree diversity in Asia’s tropical and subtropical forests is central to nature-based solutions. Species vulnerability to multiple threats, which affect provision of ecosystem services, is poorly understood. We conducted a region-wide, spatially explicit assessment of the vulnerability of 63 socioeconomically important tree species to overexploitation, fire, overgrazing, habitat conversion, and climate change. Trees were selected for assessment from national priority lists, and selections were validated by an expert network representing 20 countries. We used Maxent suitability modeling to predict species distribution ranges, freely accessible spatial data sets to map threat exposures, and functional traits to estimate threat sensitivities. Species-specific vulnerability maps were created as the product of exposure maps and sensitivity estimates. Based on vulnerability to current threats and climate change, we identified priority areas for conservation and restoration. Overall, 74% of the most important areas for conservation of these trees fell outside protected areas, and all species were severely threatened across an average of 47% of their native ranges. The most imminent threats were overexploitation and habitat conversion; populations were severely threatened by these factors in an average of 24% and 16% of their ranges, respectively. Our model predicted limited overall climate change impacts, although some study species were likely to lose over 15% of their habitat by 2050 due to climate change. We pinpointed specific natural areas in Borneo rain forests as hotspots for in situ conservation of forest genetic resources, more than 82% of which fell outside designated protected areas. We also identified degraded areas in Western Ghats, Indochina dry forests, and Sumatran rain forests as hotspots for restoration, where planting or assisted natural regeneration will help conserve these species, and croplands in southern India and Thailand as potentially important agroforestry options. Our results highlight the need for regionally coordinated action for effective conservation and restoration.

Item Type:	Article
Keyword:	Climate change analysis , Conservation hotspots , Conservation priorities , Restoration hotspots , Restoration priorities , Spatially explicit threat assessment , Species distribution modeling , Tree species, vulnerability mapping
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SD Forestry > SD1-669.5 Forestry
Department:	FACULTY > Faculty of Tropical Forestry
Depositing User:	DG MASNIAH AHMAD -
Date Deposited:	21 Jun 2022 10:30
Last Modified:	21 Jun 2022 10:30
URI:	https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/32909

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