Andrew N. Gillison, David E. Bignell, Kenneth R.W. Brewer, Erick C.M. Fernandes, David T. Jones, Douglas Sheil, Peter H. May, Allan D. Watt, Reginaldo Constantino, Eduardo G. Couto, Kurniatun Hairiah, Paul Jepson, Agus P. Kartono, Ibnu Maryanto, Germano G. Neto, Meine van Noordwijk, Elton A. Silveira, Francis-Xavier Susilo, Stephen A. Vosti, Paulo C. Nunes
Multi-taxon surveys were conducted in species-rich, lowland palaeotropical and neotropical forested landscapes in Sumatra, Indonesia and Mato Grosso, Brazil. Gradient-directed transects (gradsects) were sampled across a range of forested land use mosaics, using a uniform protocol to simultaneously record vegetation (vascular plant species, plant functional types (PFTs) and vegetation structure), vertebrates (birds, mammals) and invertebrates (termites), in addition to measuring site and soil properties, including carbon stocks. At both sites similar correlations were detected between major components of structure (mean canopy height, woody basal area and litter depth) and the diversities of plant species and PFTs. A plant species to PFT ratio [spp.:PFTs] was the best overall predictor of animal diversity, especially termite species richness in Sumatra. To a notable extent vegetation structure also correlated with animal diversity. These surrogates demonstrate generic links between habitat structural elements, carbon stocks and biodiversity. They may also offer practical low-cost indicators for rapid assessment in tropical forest landscapes. © 2013 The Author(s).
Center for Biodiversity Management, Yungaburra, QLD, 4884, P.O. Box 120, Australia; Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia; School of Finance and Applied Statistics, Australian National University, ACT, ACT, 0200, Australia; The World Bank, WA, DC, 20433, I6-603, 1818 H Street, United States; Soil Biodiversity Group, Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, Cromwell Road, United Kingdom; School of Environmental Sciences and Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, 2480, P.O. Box 157, Australia; Depto de Desenvolvimento, Agricultura e Sociedade, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20072-030, Av. Presidente Vargas, 417-9 andar, Brazil; Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Midlothian, EH26 0QB Scotland, Bush Estate, Penicuik, United Kingdom; Departamento de Zoologia, Universidada de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70.910.900, Brazil; Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, 78.060.090, Boa Esperança, Brazil; Faculty of Agriculture, Brawijaya University, Malang, 65145, Jl. Veteran, Indonesia; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TB, United Kingdom; Department of Forest Resources, Conservation and Ecotourism, Faculty of Forestry, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, 16680, Darmaga, Indonesia; Zoology Museum, Research and Development Center for Biology (LIPI), Bogor, 16122, Jl. Juanda 22, Indonesia; Depto Zoológico, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, 78.060.900, Av. Fernado Correa da Costa, Coxipó da Ponte, Brazil; World Agroforestry Centre, Bogor, 16001, P.O. Box 161, Indonesia; Secretaria de Estado de Meio Ambiente do Estado de Mato Grosso, Cuiabà, MT, 78.050.970, Palacio Paiaguas Rua C, Brazil; Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Lampung University, Bandar Lampung, Jl. Prof. Dr. Sumantri Bojonegoro No. 1, Indonesia; Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, One Shields Avenue, United States; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom; Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (ITFC) at Ruhija, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, P.O. Box 44 Kabale, Uganda; Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, 16000, Sindangbarang, Indonesia; School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, South Parks Road, United Kingdom; ADERJUR, Mato Grosso, CEP, 78.340.000, Juruena, Brazil
