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How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?
Emily B Fitzherbert1, Matthew J Struebig, Alexandra Morel
1Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|September 9, 2008
Summary
Oil palm expansion drives tropical deforestation and biodiversity loss. Sustainable management is crucial to prevent further habitat destruction and species decline.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Conservation Biology
- Agricultural Science
Background:
- Oil palm is a rapidly expanding global crop, particularly in Southeast Asia.
- Assessing its precise contribution to tropical deforestation and its impact on biodiversity is critical.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the role of oil palm cultivation in tropical deforestation.
- To review the biodiversity value of oil palm plantations compared to natural forests and other tree crops.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of land-cover change statistics in relation to oil palm expansion.
- Review of existing literature on the biodiversity supported by oil palm plantations.
Main Results:
- Oil palm has replaced significant forest areas, but direct causality for deforestation is complex to ascertain from land-cover data alone.
- Oil palm plantations support substantially fewer species than forests and often fewer than other tree crops.
- Negative impacts include habitat fragmentation, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Conclusions:
- Future oil palm expansion must be managed to avoid deforestation to mitigate substantial biodiversity losses.
- There is a significant overlap between areas suitable for oil palm cultivation and critical biodiversity hotspots.
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