Predicting Losses of Bird Species from Deforestation in Central Sulawesi
Tropical deforestation and forest fragmentation are probably the most serious threats to biodiversity (see Turner 1996) and it has been theoretically stated that even the largest protected areas in the tropics might be too small to sustain populations of
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1 Introduction Tropical deforestation and forest fragmentation are probably the most serious threats to biodiversity (see Turner 1996) and it has been theoretically stated that even the largest protected areas in the tropics might be too small to sustain populations of all species of the original system (Terborgh 1999). But species loss in forest fragments is a complex process and appears often only after considerable time lags, especially in vertebrates (Brooks et al. 1999b ). Therefore, empirical evidence for such extinctions can only be obtained from areas with a long deforestation history and long-known faunal composition (e.g. van Balen 1999). Such empirical data are scarce but are essential in order to convince land use managers of the long-term effects of forest loss on biodiversity. Species area models, however, are a valuable tool in the prediction of tropical vertebrate species loss (van Balen 1999; Brooks et al. 1997, 1999a, c, 2002; Cowlishaw 1999). The Sulawesi region (Sulawesi plus its satellite islands) in Indonesia is regarded as one of the most important centres of endemism in the world. It supports 97 endemic bird species of which 16 belong to distinctive endemic genera, most of which are found in rainforest (Coates et al. 1997). Due to past deforestation the extent of lowland forest below the footlhill boundary in Sulawesi is already insignificant (FWIIGWF 2002). Yet our observations in Central Sulawesi indicate even more recent deforestation of remaining hill forest. Much has been converted to intensively used agricultural land which supports very few indigenous bird species (see Coates et al. 1997; Waltert et al. 2003). Forest gardens and secondary forest habitats could potentially playa major role for the conservation of the island's birds, since many species can frequently be found in such habitats (see Schulze et al. 2003 and this volume; Waltert et al. 2003). However, these secondary habitat types are also subject to land conversion and their definitive value for bird conservation has still to be investigated (Pangau et al. 2003). In this paper we analyse the extent of lowlandlhill forest cover in the Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi and compile information on breeding status, endemism and altitudinal ranges of its bird species. Using this data and the species-area relationship we predict bird species losses from the present deforestation regime. The intention of this paper is to add information to the discussion on land use management in the study area.
G. Gerold et al. (eds.), Land Use, Nature Conservation and the Stability of Rainforest Margins in Southeast Asia © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004
328 Matthias Waltert, Maike Langkau, Miet Maertens, Michael Hartel, Stefan Erasmi & Michael Muhlenberg
2 Study Area The Lore Lindu National Park was created in 1993 (see TNCIBTNLL 2002). It is 2,180 km2 in size and ranges from c. 200 to 2,610 m above sea level. It is largely mountainous with c.70 % of its area between 1,000 and 1,500 m (Watling 1983). Annual precipitation l
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