Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Year of Publication: | 2007 |
Authors: | W. F. Laurance |
Journal: | Trends Ecol EvolTrends Ecol EvolTrends in Ecology & Evolution |
Volume: | 22 |
Pagination: | 65-70 |
Date Published: | Feb |
ISBN Number: | 0169-5347 (Print)0169-5347 (Linking) |
Accession Number: | 17011069 |
Keywords: | *Biodiversity, *Ecosystem, *Trees, *Tropical Climate, Animals, Conservation of Natural Resources, Environment, Extinction, Biological, Forestry, Human Activities, Humans, Population Density, Social Planning |
Abstract: | Tropical forests are the most biologically diverse and ecologically complex of terrestrial ecosystems, and are disappearing at alarming rates. It has long been suggested that rapid forest loss and degradation in the tropics, if unabated, could ultimately precipitate a wave of species extinctions, perhaps comparable to mass extinction events in the geological history of the Earth. However, a vigorous debate has erupted following a study by Wright and Muller-Landau that challenges the notion of large-scale tropical extinctions, at least over the next century. Here, I summarize this controversy and describe how the debate is stimulating a serious examination of the causes and biological consequences of future tropical deforestation. |
Alternate Journal: | Trends in ecology & evolution |
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