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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Mountain forests are being lost at an accelerating rate, putting   
   biodiversity at risk    
      
     Date:   
         March 17, 2023   
     Source:   
         Cell Press   
     Summary:   
         More than 85% of the world's bird, mammal, and amphibian species   
         live in mountains, particularly in forest habitats, but researchers   
         report that these forests are disappearing at an accelerating   
         rate. Globally, we have lost 78.1 million hectares (7.1%) of   
         mountain forest since 2000 -- an area larger than the size of   
         Texas. Much of the loss occurred in tropical biodiversity hotspots,   
         putting increasing pressure on threatened species.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   More than 85% of the world's bird, mammal, and amphibian species live in   
   mountains, particularly in forest habitats, but researchers report in   
   the journal One Earth on March 17 that these forests are disappearing   
   at an accelerating rate. Globally, we have lost 78.1 million hectares   
   (7.1%) of mountain forest since 2000 -- an area larger than the size   
   of Texas. Much of the loss occurred in tropical biodiversity hotspots,   
   putting increasing pressure on threatened species.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Though their rugged location once protected mountain forests from   
   deforestation, they have been increasingly exploited since the turn of the   
   21st century as lowland areas become depleted or subject to protection. A   
   team of scientists led by Xinyue He (@xinyue_he), Dominick Spracklen and   
   Joseph Holden at Leeds University in the United Kingdom, and Zhenzhong   
   Zeng at the Southern University of Science and Technology in China wanted   
   to investigate the extent and global distribution of mountain forest loss.   
      
   To do this, the team tracked changes in mountain forests on a yearly   
   basis from 2001 to 2018. They quantified both losses and gains in tree   
   cover, estimated the rate at which change is occurring, compared different   
   elevations and types of mountain forests -- boreal, temperate, tropical --   
   and explored the impacts of this forest loss on biodiversity.   
      
   "Knowledge of the dynamics of forest loss along elevation gradients   
   worldwide is crucial for understanding how and where the amount of   
   forested area available for forest species will change as they shift in   
   response to warming," the authors write.   
      
   Logging was the biggest driver of mountain forest loss overall   
   (42%), followed by wildfires (29%), shifting or "slash-and-burn"   
   cultivation (15%), and permanent or semi-permanent agriculture (10%),   
   though the importance of these different factors varied from region   
   to region. Significant loss occurred in Asia, South America, Africa,   
   Europe, and Australia, but not in North America and Oceania.   
      
   Worryingly, the rate of mountain forest loss seems to be accelerating: the   
   annual rate of loss increased by 50% from 2001-2009 to 2010-2018, when we   
   lost approximately 5.2 million hectares of mountain forests per year. The   
   authors write that this acceleration is probably largely due to rapid   
   agricultural expansion into highland areas in mainland Southeast Asia,   
   as well as increased logging of mountain forests due to either depletion   
   of lowland forests or because these lowland forests became protected.   
      
   Tropical mountain forests experienced the most loss -- 42% of the   
   global total -- and the fastest acceleration rate, but also had a faster   
   rate of regrowth compared to mountain forests in temperate and boreal   
   regions. Overall, the researchers observed some signs of tree cover   
   regrowth in 23% of the areas that lost forest.   
      
   Protected areas experienced less forest loss than unprotected areas,   
   but the researchers caution that this might not be enough to preserve   
   threatened species. "Regarding sensitive species in biodiversity   
   hotspots, the critical issue extends beyond simply preventing forest   
   loss," the authors write. "We must also maintain the integrity of   
   forests in large enough zones to allow natural movements and sufficient   
   space for ranging species."  The authors also emphasize the importance   
   of considering human livelihoods and wellbeing when developing forest   
   protection strategies and interventions. "Any new measures to protect   
   mountain forests should be adapted to local conditions and contexts and   
   need to reconcile the need for enhanced forest protection with ensuring   
   food production and human wellbeing."  This research was supported by the   
   Southern University of Science and Technology, the University of Leeds,   
   and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Extinction # Nature # Ecology_Research # Trees   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Forest # Rainforests # Ecology # Biodiversity   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Biodiversity_hotspot o Old_growth_forest o Deforestation   
             o Salamander o Forest o Mountain o Endangered_species o   
             Biodiversity   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Cell_Press. Note: Content may be   
   edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Xinyue He, Alan D. Ziegler, Paul R. Elsen, Yu Feng, Jessica   
      C.A. Baker,   
         Shijing Liang, Joseph Holden, Dominick V. Spracklen, Zhenzhong Zeng.   
      
         Accelerating global mountain forest loss threatens biodiversity   
         hotspots.   
      
         One Earth, 2023; 6 (3): 303 DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2023.02.005   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230317145011.htm   
      
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