Data from: Managing Neotropical oil palm expansion to retain phylogenetic diversity

The expansion of tropical agriculture is a major driver of the extinction crisis. A key question is whether biodiversity losses can be minimized by restricting future expansion to low-productivity farmland and retaining forest fragments, especially in rapidly changing Neotropical landscapes. We investigated these methods in the context of avian phylogenetic diversity, which summarizes the evolutionary history preserved within communities. Evidence suggests that phylogenetic diversity plays an important role in maintaining key ecosystem functions. We collected data on avian communities in the Colombian Llanos, a region highlighted as being optimal for the expansion of oil palm, at the expense of existing habitats including forest remnants and improved cattle pastures. PD, a measure of phylogenetic richness, and MPD, a measure of the phylogenetic distance between individuals in a community in deep evolutionary time, were significantly higher in forest than in oil palm or pasture, but did not differ significantly between oil palm and pasture. MNTD, a measure of distance between individuals in a community at the intra-familial and intra-generic level, was significantly higher in oil palm and pasture than in forest. However, median evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) was highest in pasture, partly due to the abundance of distinct waterbirds, but did not differ between oil palm and forest. PD in oil palm and pasture increased with the extent of remnant forest cover. Synthesis and applications. The PD (a measure of phylogenetic richness) and MPD (a measure of the phylogenetic distance) of bird communities in this region can best be conserved by ensuring that new oil palm plantations replace pasturelands rather than forest. A secondary benefit of preserving forest would be the enhancement of PD in the surrounding agricultural landscape. This strategy will need to be coupled with measures to either reduce pasture demand or to intensify existing cattle production to ensure that forest is not replaced by pasture elsewhere.

热带农业扩张是引发物种灭绝危机的主要驱动因素之一。一个核心问题是，能否通过将未来农业扩张限制在低产能农田，并保留森林片段，从而将生物多样性损失降至最低——在快速变化的新热带区（Neotropical）景观中，这一问题尤为关键。
我们以鸟类系统发育多样性（avian phylogenetic diversity）为研究对象，该指标可概括群落所保存的进化历史。已有研究表明，系统发育多样性在维持关键生态系统功能方面具有重要作用。
我们在哥伦比亚洛斯亚诺斯（Colombian Llanos）区域收集了鸟类群落数据，该区域被视作油棕榈种植扩张的理想区域，其扩张将以牺牲包括剩余森林与改良肉牛牧场在内的现有栖息地为代价。
系统发育丰富度（phylogenetic richness, PD）以及平均成对系统发育距离（mean pairwise phylogenetic distance, MPD，用于衡量群落内个体在深层进化时间尺度上的系统发育距离），在森林生境中的数值均显著高于油棕榈种植园与牧场，但油棕榈种植园与牧场之间的PD与MPD并无显著差异。
平均最近分类单元距离（mean nearest taxon distance, MNTD，用于衡量群落内个体在科内与属内水平的演化距离），在油棕榈种植园和牧场中的数值显著高于森林生境。
不过，中位进化独特性（evolutionary distinctiveness, ED）在牧场生境中最高，这在一定程度上源于独特水鸟类群的丰度较高，但油棕榈种植园与森林生境的ED并无显著差异。
油棕榈种植园与牧场中的PD随剩余森林覆盖范围的扩大而升高。
研究总结与应用启示：该区域鸟类群落的PD（系统发育丰富度指标）与MPD（系统发育距离衡量指标）可通过以下方式得到最优保护：确保新建油棕榈种植园取代牧场，而非森林。
保护森林的另一项额外益处，是能够提升周边农业景观中的PD水平。
该策略需配套相关措施，要么降低牧场需求，要么强化现有肉牛养殖生产，以确保其他区域的森林不会被牧场取代。