Designing optimal human‐modified landscapes for forest biodiversity conservation

Agriculture and development transform forest ecosystems to human-modified landscapes. Decades of research in ecology have generated myriad concepts for the appropriate management of these landscapes. Yet, these concepts are often contradictory and apply at different spatial scales, making the design of biodiversity-friendly landscapes challenging. Here, we combine concepts with empirical support to design optimal landscape scenarios for forest-dwelling species. The supported concepts indicate that appropriately sized landscapes should contain ≥ 40% forest cover, although higher percentages are likely needed in the tropics. Forest cover should be configured with c. 10% in a very large forest patch, and the…

• CU
  Carleton University

  Awards: 2015‐253946, 310340, 2016‐0
• CN
  Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología

  Award: project 2015‐253946
• CN
  Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico

  Award: 310340/2016‐0
• UN
  Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
• UF
  Universidade Federal de Pernambuco