Where Tree Planting and Forest Expansion are Bad for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Abstract
Misperceptions about the world's grassy biomes contribute to their alarming rates of loss due to conversion for agriculture and tree plantations, as well as to forest encroachment. To illustrate the causes and consequences of these misperceptions, we show that the World Resources Institute and the International Union for Conservation of Nature misidentified 9 million square kilometers of ancient grassy biomes as providing “opportunities” for forest restoration. Establishment of forests in these grasslands, savannas, and open-canopy woodlands would devastate biodiversity and ecosystem services. Such undesired outcomes are avoidable if the distinct ecologies and conservation needs of forest and grassy biomes become better integrated into science and policy. To start with, scientists should create maps that accurately depict grassy biomes at global and landscape scales. It is also crucial that international environmental agreements (e.g., the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) formally recognize grassy biomes and their environmental values.
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Forests planted in savannahs or other ecosystems with low tree cover will critically damage these often highly species-diverse and carbon-rich ecosystems.
“Forests planted in savannahs or other ecosystems with low tree cover will critically damage these often highly species-diverse and carbon-rich ecosystems (113, 114).”
From Restoring Degraded Lands (2021) · cites this paper as [113]
Cites
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Self-citationRecent land use change in the Western Corn Belt threatens grasslands and wetlands
Wright, C. K., & Wimberly, M. C. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1215404110 · Cited by 860 · see citing works
Tropical grassy biomes: misunderstood, neglected, and under threat
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Self-citation
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Global priority areas for ecosystem restoration
Strassburg, B. B. N., Iribarrem, A., Beyer, H. L., Cordeiro, C. L., Crouzeilles, R., Jakovac, C. C., Braga Junqueira, A., Lacerda, E., Latawiec, A. E., Balmford, A., et al. (2020) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2784-9 · Cited by 1,175 · see citing works
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Self-citationGlobal restoration opportunities in tropical rainforest landscapes
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The biodiversity cost of carbon sequestration in tropical savanna
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Self-citationSmith, P., Adams, J., Beerling, D. J., Beringer, T., Calvin, K. V., Fuss, S., Griscom, B., Hagemann, N., Kammann, C., Kraxner, F., et al. (2019) · Annual Review of Environment and Resources · doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-101718-033129 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
Temperton, V. M., Buchmann, N., Buisson, E., Durigan, G., Kazmierczak, Ł., Perring, M. P., de Sá Dechoum, M., Veldman, J. W., & Overbeck, G. E. (2019) · Restoration Ecology · doi:10.1111/rec.12989 · Cited by 179 · see citing works
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“5 Mkm2 of forested landscapes by 2030, have also been criticized for potentially leading to wasteful usage of planted forests as sources of bioenergy, further biodiversity loss, being detrimental to existing systems’ carbon storage, and challenging food production if local environmental constraints or societal concern…”
BackgroundCook-Patton, S. C., Gopalakrishna, T., Daigneault, A., Leavitt, S. M., Platt, J., Scull, S. M., Amarjargal, O., Ellis, P. W., Griscom, B. W., McGuire, J. L., et al. (2020) · One Earth · doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2020.11.013 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
(2022) · Climate Change and Land · doi:10.1017/9781009157988.003 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Carbon opportunity cost increases carbon footprint advantage of grain-finished beef
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- Authors
- Veldman, J. W., Overbeck, G. E., Negreiros, D., Mahy, G., Le Stradic, S., Fernandes, G. W., Durigan, G., Buisson, E., Putz, F. E., & Bond, W. J.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR)
- ORCID
- Venue
- BioScience
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2015-09-09
- Volume
- 65
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1011-1018
- ISSN
- 0006-3568 (ISSN-L)
- 1525-3244
- OpenAlex
- W2254581607
- Cited by
- 531
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 66 · 2025: 65 · 2024: 61 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 67 · 2021: 58 · 2020: 57 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 27
- FWCI
- 18.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- BioScience (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Open Repository and Bibliography (University of Liège) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Keywords
- savanna, tree planting, forest restoration, forest encroachment, biodiversity loss, ecosystem services, international environmental agreements, UNFCCC, conservation policy
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