Habitat loss and degradation from deforestation is one of the primary causes of biodiversity loss and species extinction. Global rates of deforestation are increasing, and the conversion of primary forest to secondary forest is of special concern (WRI 1997). Deforestation is particularly high in the developing countries, which lost 200 million hectares of forest cover between 1980 and 1995. According to FAO estimates, annual deforestation rates in the developing countries was 13.7 million hectares (WRI 2000).
The objectives of this site are to give a brief overview of the effects of one type of deforestation--selective logging--on biodiversity. This is a form of conversion from primary forest to secondary forest cover. The World Resources Institute (1997) classifies this type of conversion as the change from "frontier" forests to "non-frontier" forests (see above map). Frontier forests are defined as "large, intact natural forest ecosystems that are relatively undisturbed and large enough to maintain all of their biodiversity" (WRI 1997). Non-frontier forests are defined as "secondary forest, plantations, degraded forest, and patches of primary forest" that do not meet the definition of frontier forest. Specifically, this review will focus on selective logging in the tropics, where most of the world's biodiversity is found, and is under the greatest threat of extinction.
Physical Effects of Selective Logging
Biotic Effects of Selective Logging
Reducing the Impacts of Logging
Literature
Cited and Links to Other Sites