Effects of logging on tropical riverine ecosystems
ABSTRACT: Logging threatens tropical rivers through:(1) the destruction
and/or fragmentation of critical riverine habitat including upstream floodplains
and estuarine mangroves; (2) alteration of stream sediment loads, turbidity,
and solute chemistry; (3) changes in hydrology and fluvial geomorphology;
and (4) shifts in incident light and temperature regimes. Physical and
chemical alterations have ecological consequences including loss of 'in-
stream' and riparian zone biodiversity, decreases in the abundance of aquatic
organisms, shifts in the ratio of photosynthesis to respiration, shifts
in the relative importance of different feeding guilds along stream continua,
and facilitation of invasion by exotic species. Two case studies are explored:
effects of logging on rivers of the Pantanal, Brazil; and the facilitation
of invasion by exotic fish species through removal of riparian forests
in Madagascar. Research, management, and policy recommendations include:
*Application of integrated watershed management (i.e. manage- ment efforts
that observe watershed boundaries and consider the entire river basin)
when planning and implementing logging operations; *Determination of 'effective'
sizes of riparian buffer zones in different types of tropical systems and
restriction of logging in these areas to minimize impacts on riparian and
floodplain zone functions;* Establishment of tropical floodplain parks
and reserves in which logging is prohibited;* Identification and protection
of aquatic systems that exhibit high biodiversity/endemism;* Restoration
of degraded floodplain and riparian zones and/or replanting potentially
valuable floodplain timber species.
Pringle, C. M. and J. P. Benstead. 2001. Effects of logging on tropical riverine ecosystems, pp. 305-325. In: R. Fimbel, A, Grajal, and J. Robinson (eds.). Conserving wildlife in managed tropical forests. Columbia University Press.
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