Selective logging in tropical forests decreases the robustness of liana–tree interaction networks to the loss of host tree species

Selective logging is one of the major drivers of tropical forest degradation, causing important shifts in species composition. Whether such changes modify interactions between species and the networks in which they are embedded remain fundamental questions to assess the ‘health’ and ecosystem functionality of logged forests. We focus on interactions between lianas and their tree hosts within primary and selectively logged forests in the biodiversity hotspot of Malaysian Borneo. We found that lianas were more abundant, had higher species richness, and different species compositions in logged than in primary forests. Logged forests showed heavier liana loads disparately affecting slow-growing tree species, which could exacerbate the loss of timber value and carbon storage already associated with logging. Moreover, simulation scenarios of host tree local species loss indicated that logging might decrease the robustness of liana–tree interaction networks if heavily infested trees (i.e. the most connected ones) were more likely to disappear. This effect is partially mitigated in the short term by the colonization of host trees by a greater diversity of liana species within logged forests, yet this might not compensate for the loss of preferred tree hosts in the long term. As a consequence, species interaction networks may show a lagged response to disturbance, which may trigger sudden collapses in species richness and ecosystem function in response to additional disturbances, representing a new type of ‘extinction debt’.     

Degraded lands worth protecting: the biological importance of Southeast Asia's repeatedly logged forests

Southeast Asia is a hotspot of imperilled biodiversity, owing to extensive logging and forest conversion to oil palm agriculture. The degraded forests that remain after multiple rounds of intensive logging are often assumed to be of little conservation value; consequently, there has been no concerted effort to prevent them from being converted to oil palm. However, no study has quantified the biodiversity of repeatedly logged forests. We compare the species richness and composition of birds and dung beetles within unlogged (primary), once-logged and twice-logged forests in Sabah, Borneo. Logging had little effect on the overall richness of birds. Dung beetle richness declined following once-logging but did not decline further after twice-logging. The species composition of bird and dung beetle communities was altered, particularly after the second logging rotation, but globally imperilled bird species (IUCN Red List) did not decline further after twice-logging. Remarkably, over 75 per cent of bird and dung beetle species found in unlogged forest persisted within twice-logged forest. Although twice-logged forests have less biological value than primary and once-logged forests, they clearly provide important habitat for numerous bird and dung beetle species. Preventing these degraded forests from being converted to oil palm should be a priority of policy-makers and conservationists.     

Rehabilitation of Logged Rain Forests: Avifaunal Composition,Habitat Structure,and Implications for Biodiversity‐Friendly REDD+

The inclusion of carbon stock enhancements under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) framework will likely drive a rapid increase in biosequestration projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere through rehabilitation of degraded primary rain forests. Such projects could also present an important opportunity to reverse losses of biodiversity from degraded rain forests, but concern has recently been expressed that management interventions to increase carbon stocks may conflict with biodiversity conservation. Focusing on a large‐scale rain forest rehabilitation project in northern Borneo, we examine: (i) how intensive rehabilitation of selectively logged forests affected patterns of bird community composition and (ii) whether changes in vegetation structure explain observed shifts in avian guild structure and species composition. Bird composition differed between unlogged, naturally regenerating logged, and rehabilitated logged habitats, with the avifauna of rehabilitated forest more similar to that of naturally regenerating forest. Crucially, rehabilitation did not adversely affect either those species that declined after logging or those species that are IUCN Red Listed. Rehabilitation reduced the prevalence of vines and shrubs within regenerating forest, and across all habitats, the abundance and species richness of all birds and of obligate frugivores were positively related to vine prevalence. In contrast, the abundance and richness of frugivore–insectivore generalists and of salliers were negatively related to vines, suggesting that avifaunal responses to forest rehabilitation were attributable to liberation cutting of vines. Management intervention to increase carbon stocks had little adverse effect on avian biodiversity and we therefore argue that rain forest rehabilitation should play a strong role in future REDD+ agreements.     

Effects of Logging and Oil Palm Expansion on Stream Frog Communities on Borneo,Southeast Asia

The conversion of tropical rain forests to oil palm plantations is a major threat to Southeast Asia's rich biodiversity. Fostering forest species communities in secondary forests, agroforestry systems, and plantations is therefore increasingly becoming a conservation focus. This study uses standardized transect‐based sampling to compare species richness, density and community composition of stream anuran assemblages among primary forests, repeatedly logged forests and oil palm plantations in northern Borneo. In primary forest streams, we recorded an average of 19 frog species, compared to 15 species in logged forests and 11 species in oil palm plantation streams. However, the high percentage of canopy cover above the plantation streams mitigated this loss to some extent. This study corroborates numerous studies that oil palm plantations have mainly negative effects on the region's biodiversity. However, our results also demonstrate the high conservation value of logged forests for Bornean stream‐dependent anurans. We conclude that palm plantations have a largely unused potential to promote regional anuran biodiversity.     

The conservation value of South East Asia's highly degraded forests: evidence from leaf-litter ants

South East Asia is widely regarded as a centre of threatened biodiversity owing to extensive logging and forest conversion to agriculture. In particular, forests degraded by repeated rounds of intensive logging are viewed as having little conservation value and are afforded meagre protection from conversion to oil palm. Here, we determine the biological value of such heavily degraded forests by comparing leaf-litter ant communities in unlogged (natural) and twice-logged forests in Sabah, Borneo. We accounted for impacts of logging on habitat heterogeneity by comparing species richness and composition at four nested spatial scales, and examining how species richness was partitioned across the landscape in each habitat. We found that twice-logged forest had fewer species occurrences, lower species richness at small spatial scales and altered species composition compared with natural forests. However, over 80 per cent of species found in unlogged forest were detected within twice-logged forest. Moreover, greater species turnover among sites in twice-logged forest resulted in identical species richness between habitats at the largest spatial scale. While two intensive logging cycles have negative impacts on ant communities, these degraded forests clearly provide important habitat for numerous species and preventing their conversion to oil palm and other crops should be a conservation priority.     

Tropical forests are thermally buffered despite intensive selective logging

Tropical rainforests are subject to extensive degradation by commercial selective logging. Despite pervasive changes to forest structure, selectively logged forests represent vital refugia for global biodiversity. The ability of these forests to buffer temperature‐sensitive species from climate warming will be an important determinant of their future conservation value, although this topic remains largely unexplored. Thermal buffering potential is broadly determined by: (i) the difference between the “macroclimate” (climate at a local scale, m to ha) and the “microclimate” (climate at a fine‐scale, mm to m, that is distinct from the macroclimate); (ii) thermal stability of microclimates (e.g. variation in daily temperatures); and (iii) the availability of microclimates to organisms. We compared these metrics in undisturbed primary forest and intensively logged forest on Borneo, using thermal images to capture cool microclimates on the surface of the forest floor, and information from dataloggers placed inside deadwood, tree holes and leaf litter. Although major differences in forest structure remained 9–12 years after repeated selective logging, we found that logging activity had very little effect on thermal buffering, in terms of macroclimate and microclimate temperatures, and the overall availability of microclimates. For 1°C warming in the macroclimate, temperature inside deadwood, tree holes and leaf litter warmed slightly more in primary forest than in logged forest, but the effect amounted to <0.1°C difference between forest types. We therefore conclude that selectively logged forests are similar to primary forests in their potential for thermal buffering, and subsequent ability to retain temperature‐sensitive species under climate change. Selectively logged forests can play a crucial role in the long‐term maintenance of global biodiversity.     

Four Decades of Forest Persistence,Clearance and Logging on Borneo

The native forests of Borneo have been impacted by selective logging, fire, and conversion to plantations at unprecedented scales since industrial-scale extractive industries began in the early 1970s. There is no island-wide documentation of forest clearance or logging since the 1970s. This creates an information gap for conservation planning, especially with regard to selectively logged forests that maintain high conservation potential. Analysing LANDSAT images, we estimate that 75.7% (558,060 km²) of Borneo''s area (737,188 km²) was forested around 1973. Based upon a forest cover map for 2010 derived using ALOS-PALSAR and visually reviewing LANDSAT images, we estimate that the 1973 forest area had declined by 168,493 km² (30.2%) in 2010. The highest losses were recorded in Sabah and Kalimantan with 39.5% and 30.7% of their total forest area in 1973 becoming non-forest in 2010, and the lowest in Brunei and Sarawak (8.4%, and 23.1%). We estimate that the combined area planted in industrial oil palm and timber plantations in 2010 was 75,480 km², representing 10% of Borneo. We mapped 271,819 km of primary logging roads that were created between 1973 and 2010. The greatest density of logging roads was found in Sarawak, at 0.89 km km⁻², and the lowest density in Brunei, at 0.18 km km⁻². Analyzing MODIS-based tree cover maps, we estimate that logging operated within 700 m of primary logging roads. Using this distance, we estimate that 266,257 km² of 1973 forest cover has been logged. With 389,566 km² (52.8%) of the island remaining forested, of which 209,649 km² remains intact. There is still hope for biodiversity conservation in Borneo. Protecting logged forests from fire and conversion to plantations is an urgent priority for reducing rates of deforestation in Borneo.     

Does selective logging change ground‐dwelling beetle assemblages in a subtropical broad‐leafed forest of China?

Selective logging with natural regeneration is advocated as a near‐to‐nature strategy and has been implemented in many forested systems during the last decades. However, the efficiency of such practices for the maintenance of forest species are poorly understood. We compared the species richness, abundance and composition of ground‐dwelling beetles between selectively logged and unlogged forests to evaluate the possible effects of selective logging in a subtropical broad‐leafed forest in southeastern China. Using pitfall traps, beetles were sampled in two naturally regenerating stands after clearcuts (ca. 50 years old, stem‐exclusion stage: selectively logged 20 years ago) and two mature stands (> 80 years old, understory re‐initiation stage: selectively logged 50 years ago) during 2009 and 2010. Overall, selective logging had no significant effects on total beetle richness and abundance, but saproxylic species group and some abundant forest species significantly decreased in abundance in selectively logged plots compared with unlogged plots in mature stands. Beetle assemblages showed significant differences between selectively logged and unlogged plots in mature stands. Some environmental characteristics associated with selective logging (e.g., logging strategy, stand age, and cover of shrub and moss layers) were the most important variables explaining beetle assemblage structure. Our results conclude that selective logging has no significant impacts on overall richness and abundance of ground‐dwelling beetles. However, the negative effects of selective logging on saproxylic species group and some unlogged forest specialists highlight the need for large intact forested areas for sustaining the existence of forest specialist beetles.     

Co-Benefits of Sustainable Forest Management in Biodiversity Conservation and Carbon Sequestration

Background

Sustainable forest management (SFM), which has been recently introduced to tropical natural production forests, is beneficial in maintaining timber resources, but information about the co-benefits for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration is currently lacking.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We estimated the diversity of medium to large-bodied forest-dwelling vertebrates using a heat-sensor camera trapping system and the amount of above-ground, fine-roots, and soil organic carbon by a combination of ground surveys and aerial-imagery interpretations. This research was undertaken both in SFM applied as well as conventionally logged production forests in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Our carbon estimation revealed that the application of SFM resulted in a net gain of 54 Mg C ha^-1 on a landscape scale. Overall vertebrate diversity was greater in the SFM applied forest than in the conventionally logged forest. Specifically, several vertebrate species (6 out of recorded 36 species) showed higher frequency in the SFM applied forest than in the conventionally logged forest.

Conclusions/Significance

The application of SFM to degraded natural production forests could result in greater diversity and abundance of vertebrate species as well as increasing carbon storage in the tropical rain forest ecosystems.     

Differential diameter-size effects of forest management on tree species richness and community structure: implications for conservation

In this paper we tested the hypothesis that logging effects in the adult tree community reverberate upon the regeneration contingent. We examined the differences on the tree community between forest reserves and 10 year-old logged areas in the Yucatan Peninsula. We used a paired design in three independent sites to estimate the effects of logging on tree species richness, diversity, composition and structure. Analyses were conducted differentiating individuals of four diameter-size classes: 1–5, 5–10, 10–25, and >25 cm DBH. We found out that there were differential effects by size. Species richness in the smaller and larger diameter-size classes was significantly lower in logged areas. Floristic composition was also different between logged and unlogged areas, with a trend towards more secondary forest associated species and less primary forest associated species in logged areas, and a higher density of species represented by a single individual in unlogged reserves. In terms of structure, trees DBH <10 cm, lianas, and re-sprouting stumps were more abundant in logged areas. Our findings suggest that 10 years after logging, harvested areas show alterations in structure, and potentially a reduction in species richness. We suggest that to make timber extraction and forest conservation compatible at this site, it is necessary to gain a better understanding of the ecology and regeneration requirements of the less abundant species, and to assess whether current logging practices might hinder their permanence in the study area.     

Assessing the effectiveness of protected areas for conserving range-restricted rain forest butterflies in Sabah,Borneo

Rain forests on Borneo support exceptional concentrations of endemic insect biodiversity, but many of these forest-dependent species are threatened by land-use change. Totally protected areas (TPAs) of forest are key for conserving biodiversity, and we examined the effectiveness of the current TPA network for conserving range-restricted butterflies in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo). We found that mean diurnal temperature range and precipitation of the wettest quarter of the year were the most important predictors of butterfly distributions (N = 77 range-restricted species), and that species richness increased with elevation and aboveground forest carbon. On average across all species, TPAs were effective at conserving ~43% of species’ ranges, but encompassed only ~40% of areas with high species richness (i.e., containing at least 50% of our study species). The TPA network also included only 33%–40% of areas identified as high priority for conserving range-restricted species, as determined by a systematic conservation prioritization analysis. Hence, the current TPA network is reasonably effective at conserving range-restricted butterflies, although considerable areas of high species richness (6,565 km²) and high conservation priority (11,152–12,531 km²) are not currently protected. Sabah's remaining forests, and the range-restricted species they support, are under continued threat from agricultural expansion and urban development, and our study highlights important areas of rain forest that require enhanced protection.     

Do riparian reserves support dung beetle biodiversity and ecosystem services in oil palm-dominated tropical landscapes?

Agricultural expansion and intensification are major threats to global biodiversity, ecological functions, and ecosystem services. The rapid expansion of oil palm in forested tropical landscapes is of particular concern given their high biodiversity. Identifying management approaches that maintain native species and associated ecological processes within oil palm plantations is therefore a priority. Riparian reserves are strips of forest retained alongside rivers in cultivated areas, primarily for their positive hydrological impact. However, they can also support a range of forest‐dependent species or ecosystem services. We surveyed communities of dung beetles and measured dung removal activity in an oil palm‐dominated landscape in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The species richness, diversity, and functional group richness of dung beetles in riparian reserves were significantly higher than in oil palm, but lower than in adjacent logged forests. The community composition of the riparian reserves was more similar to logged forest than oil palm. Despite the pronounced differences in biodiversity, we did not find significant differences in dung removal rates among land uses. We also found no evidence that riparian reserves enhance dung removal rates within surrounding oil palm. These results contrast previous studies showing positive relationships between dung beetle species richness and dung removal in tropical forests. We found weak but significant positive relationships between riparian reserve width and dung beetle diversity, and between reserve vegetation complexity and dung beetle abundance, suggesting that these features may increase the conservation value of riparian reserves. Synthesis and applications: The similarity between riparian reserves and logged forest demonstrates that retaining riparian reserves increases biodiversity within oil palm landscapes. However, the lack of correlation between dung beetle community characteristics and dung removal highlights the need for further research into spatial variation in biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships and how the results of such studies are affected by methodological choices.     

Effects of selective logging on tree species diversity and composition of Bornean tropical rain forests at different spatial scales

Reduced-impact logging (RIL) is known to be beneficial in biodiversity conservation, but its effects on tree diversity remain unknown. Pattern of tree diversity following disturbance usually varies with spatial scale of sampling (i.e., plot size). We examined the impacts of RIL on species richness and community composition of tree species at different spatial scales, and the scale (plot size) dependency of the two metrics; species richness versus community similarity. One 2-ha and three to four 0.2-ha plots were established in each of primary, RIL, and conventionally logged (CL) forest in Sabah, Malaysia. Species richness (the number of species per unit number of stems) was higher in the RIL than in the CL forest at both scales. The relationship between species richness and logging intensity varied with plot size. Species richness was greater in the RIL than in the primary forest at the 2-ha scale, while it was similar between the two forests at 0.2-ha scale. Similarly, species richness in the CL forest demonstrated a greater value at the 2-ha scale than at the 0.2-ha scale. Greater species richness in the two logged forests at the 2-ha scale is attributable to a greater probability of encountering the species-rich, small patches that are distributed heterogeneously. Community composition of the RIL forest more resembled that of the primary forest than that of the CL forest, regardless of plot size. Accordingly, species richness is a scale-dependent metric, while community similarity is a more robust metric to indicate the response of tree assemblage to anthropogenic disturbance.     

Can Joint Carbon and Biodiversity Management in Tropical Agroforestry Landscapes Be Optimized?

Managing ecosystems for carbon storage may also benefit biodiversity conservation, but such a potential ‘win-win’ scenario has not yet been assessed for tropical agroforestry landscapes. We measured above- and below-ground carbon stocks as well as the species richness of four groups of plants and eight of animals on 14 representative plots in Sulawesi, Indonesia, ranging from natural rainforest to cacao agroforests that have replaced former natural forest. The conversion of natural forests with carbon stocks of 227–362 Mg C ha⁻¹ to agroforests with 82–211 Mg C ha⁻¹ showed no relationships to overall biodiversity but led to a significant loss of forest-related species richness. We conclude that the conservation of the forest-related biodiversity, and to a lesser degree of carbon stocks, mainly depends on the preservation of natural forest habitats. In the three most carbon-rich agroforestry systems, carbon stocks were about 60% of those of natural forest, suggesting that 1.6 ha of optimally managed agroforest can contribute to the conservation of carbon stocks as much as 1 ha of natural forest. However, agroforestry systems had comparatively low biodiversity, and we found no evidence for a tight link between carbon storage and biodiversity. Yet, potential win-win agroforestry management solutions include combining high shade-tree quality which favours biodiversity with cacao-yield adapted shade levels.     

Changes in liana community structure and functional traits along a chronosequence of selective logging in a moist semi-deciduous forest in Ghana

ABSTRACT

Background: Lianas are an important component of tropical forests that respond to logging disturbance. Determining liana response to selective logging chronosequence is important for understanding long-term logging effects on lianas and tropical forests.

Aims: Our objective was to quantify the response of liana communities to selective logging chronosequence in a moist semi-deciduous forest in Ghana.

Methods: Liana community characteristics were determined in ten 40 m × 40 m plots randomly and homogenously distributed in each of four selectively logged forest stands that had been logged 2, 14, 40 and 68 years before the surveys and in an old-growth forest stand (ca. >200 years).

Results: Liana species composition differed significantly among the forest stands, as a function of logging time span, while species richness fluctuated along the chronosequence. The abundance of liana communities and of reproductive and climbing guilds was lower in the logged forests than in the old-growth forest. The ratio of liana abundance and basal area to those of trees was similar in the logged forests, but significantly lower than those in the old-growth forest.

Conclusions: Logging impacts on liana community structure and functional traits were largely evident, though no clear chronosequence trends were recorded, except for species composition.     

Effects of Historical Selective Logging on Anuran Communities in a Wet Evergreen Forest,South India

Vast areas of tropical evergreen forests have been selectively logged in the past, and many areas continue to be logged. The impacts of such logging on amphibians are poorly understood. I examined the response of anuran communities to historical selective logging in a wet evergreen forest in south India. Anuran assemblages in unlogged forest were compared with assemblages in selectively logged forest. Forty 10 m × 10 m quadrats in forest, riparian zones, and streams of unlogged and selectively logged forests were searched at night for anurans. Species richness did not appear to be affected by logging. However, anuran density varied significantly and was 42 percent lower in selectively logged forests compared to unlogged forests. Anuran densities also varied significantly across microhabitats, with highest densities in streams of both selectively logged and unlogged forests. Patterns of niche overlap varied with selective logging as niche breadth either expanded, contracted, or remained neutral for different species. Ordination analysis explained 95 percent of the variation in species assemblage across selectively logged and unlogged forests. The assemblage in selectively logged forest was nested within unlogged forest. Among the habitat characteristics, litter thickness and water depth had the highest influence on the assemblage. This was followed by litter/water temperature, air temperature, and lastly relative humidity. It appears that species richness and composition of anurans in selectively logged forests is converging with unlogged forests, but the effects of historical logging seem to persist on anuran densities and their niche characteristics even ca 40 yr since logging ceased.     

Effects of rain forest logging on species richness and assemblage composition of small mammals in Southeast Asia

Aim The effects of logging and habitat degradation on the richness and abundance of small mammals in Asian rain forests are largely unknown. This work compares the species richness, dominance and evenness of small non‐volant mammals between logged and unlogged forests, and assesses whether assemblage variability (β‐diversity) is similar between forest types. Location Southeast Asia, northern Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia), Sunda‐shelf. Methods We surveyed species‐rich assemblages of small non‐volant mammals in three unlogged and three logged forests for 2 years. At each forest site, we sampled a permanently marked transect and two additional sites in three trapping sessions. All analyses were performed at both levels to include the effects of local abundances and point estimates, separately from the relative abundances of species on a more regional scale. Results We trapped a total of 1218 individuals of 28 species. Eleven common species accounted for 95% of all captures. Species richness and diversity were significantly higher in unlogged forest (27 species) than in logged forest (17 species). This was mainly attributable to the smaller number of rarely recorded species in logged forest (five compared with 16 in unlogged forest, with a total of fewer than 10 captures). However, all common species were present in both logged and unlogged forests, and our analyses revealed similar patterns of dominance, evenness and fluctuations in abundance. Hence overall assemblage composition in multivariate space did not differ greatly between forest types. Assemblages of Muridae and Tupaiidae showed similar population fluctuations in space and time, indicating that the ecology of these taxa may be partially driven by the same environmental factors. Main conclusions Although species were distributed patchily within sites, analyses at local and regional scales revealed similar patterns in diversity and assemblage variability, suggesting that effects of forest modification did not differ extensively locally and regionally, but had a profound effect on rare species. Our results emphasize the importance and conservation value of logged forest stands that are able to hold a large proportion of the small mammals also found in unlogged forests. Rare and more specialized species are more vulnerable to forest degradation than commonly caught species, resulting in the complete loss, or a decrease in numbers, of certain groups, such as arboreal small mammals and Viverridae.     

Effects of Selection Logging on Birds in Northern Belize1

We compared bird diversity and frequency in selection logged and unlogged forest to determine the effects of recent selection logging on avian biodiversity in a subtropical, moist evergreen forest. We used a combination of mist netting and fixed-radius point counts to assess bird communities in February and March 1993 in northwestern Belize. Vegetation structure and composition was similar in logged and unlogged forest. The 66 most common species occurred with statistically similar frequency in logged and unlogged forest although 13 species were two times more frequent in intact forest. Numbers of total bird species were similar between logging gaps and the logged forest matrix, and between the logged forest matrix and unlogged forests. A comparison of numbers of species in 26 guilds based on migration strategy, diet, foraging substrate, and height strata also showed them to be similar regardless of logging history. Our results differed from previous studies that reported lower bird species richness and abundance of individual species in logged tropical forests than in unlogged forest. The differences might be explained by the lower logging intensity and/or greater levels of natural disturbance in our study area compared to previous studies.     

The legacy of forest logging on organic matter inputs and storage in tropical streams

Riparian forests play an important role in stream ecosystems, as they support biodiversity, reduce water erosion, and provide litter that fuels aquatic biota. However, they are affected by great array of anthropogenic threats (e.g., fire, logging, and organic pollution), which alter species composition and their physical structure. Although forest recovery after disturbance such as logging can take decades, the legacy of forest clear-cut logging on key processes in tropical riparian ecosystems is mostly unknown. Here, we investigated how litter inputs (leaves, twigs, and reproductive parts) and storage, key processes for carbon and nutrient recycling and for forest and stream biota, are influenced by riparian vegetation undergoing succession (after 28 years from logging) through the comparison of reference and logged forest sites in the Cerrado biome. Litterfall was overall similar between forest types, but litterfall of twigs was twofold higher at logged than reference sites. Similarly, litter inputs from the bank to the stream (i.e., lateral inputs) and streambed storage were 50–60% higher at logged than reference sites. The higher litterfall observed in logged forests could be related to higher proportion of tree species that are characteristic of primary and secondary successional stages, including fast-growing and liana species, which often are more productive and common in anthropogenic areas. Our results showed that the legacy impact of clear-cut logging, even if residual woody vegetation is maintained in riparian buffers, can shift the type, quantity, and seasonality of litter subsidies to tropical streams. This knowledge should be considered within the context of management and conservation of communities and ecosystem processes in the forest-stream interfaces.