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生物多样性灭绝危机的核心驱动因素之一。核心问题在于，能否通过将未来农业扩张限制在低产农田范围内并保留森林片段，来最大限度降低生物多样性损失——这一点在快速变化的新热带区（Neotropical）景观中尤为关键。本研究以鸟类系统发育多样性（avian phylogenetic diversity）为研究对象，该指标可表征群落中保存的演化历史总和。已有研究表明，系统发育多样性对维持核心生态系统功能具有重要作用。本研究针对哥伦比亚洛斯亚诺斯平原（Colombian Llanos）收集了鸟类群落数据，该区域被视为油棕（oil palm）扩张的理想区域，其扩张往往以残存林、改良牛牧场等现有栖息地为代价。系统发育丰富度（PD, phylogenetic richness）与群落内个体间深层演化时间尺度上的系统发育距离（MPD, phylogenetic distance），在森林生境中的数值显著高于油棕种植园与牧场，但油棕种植园与牧场之间的这两项指标并无显著差异。MNTD（表征科内与属内水平的群落个体间距离）在油棕种植园与牧场中的数值显著高于森林生境。不过，演化独特性（ED, evolutionary distinctiveness）的中位数在牧场中最高，这部分归因于牧场内独特水鸟的丰度较高，但油棕种植园与森林之间的ED中位数并无显著差异。油棕种植园与牧场内的PD值随残存森林覆盖范围的扩大而升高。研究总结与应用启示：本区域鸟类群落的系统发育丰富度（PD）与深层演化时间尺度的系统发育距离（MPD），最佳保护策略为确保新增油棕种植园以牧场而非森林为替代对象。保留森林的额外益处在于，可提升周边农业景观内的PD值。该策略需配套相关措施，例如降低牧场需求或强化现有肉牛养殖集约化水平，以确保其他区域的森林不会被牧场侵占。