Bridging the Gap: Exploring the Landscape Effects of Plantation Forestry on Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract

The interplay between ecological balance and anthropogenic alterations in the modern, ever-changing natural and human landscapes has resulted in significant impacts on biodiversity, while revealing a series of pressing research gaps. While existing studies have revealed some direct effects of tree plantations on biodiversity, in-depth analyses of how plantations indirectly affect biodiversity through the configuration and complexity of surrounding landscapes are insufficient. Specifically, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the size and connectivity of forest fragments, the presence of natural vegetation corridors, the percentage of surrounding natural or secondary forests, and the overall landscape mosaic combine to affect species richness and abundance in plantation ecosystems. In addition, interactions between plantations and neighboring ecosystems, whether they facilitate species migration or create barriers are poorly understood. These research gaps limit our ability to comprehensively assess the ecological impacts of plantations and optimize their contribution to biodiversity conservation. This study aims to fill these gaps by exploring how plantations contribute to biodiversity restoration and what role landscape complexity plays in this process. Specifically, this study investigated whether plantation forests can restore biodiversity to near-natural forest levels, and how factors such as habitat connectivity, forest fragment size, and landscape heterogeneity influence the success of this restoration through meta-analysis . By focusing on landscape-level impacts, the research will provide valuable insights into how plantation management can be designed to support biodiversity restoration, not just within plantations, but across the landscape. This approach will contribute to the development of conservation practices that integrate biodiversity restoration with sustainable plantation forestry, ultimately promoting greater ecosystem resilience.