FSC-certified forest management benefits large mammals compared to non-FSC.

ABSTRACT: More than a quarter of the world's tropical forests are exploited for timber¹. Logging impacts biodiversity in these ecosystems, primarily through the creation of forest roads that facilitate hunting for wildlife over extensive areas. Forest management certification schemes such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) are expected to mitigate impacts on biodiversity, but so far very little is known about the effectiveness of FSC certification because of research design challenges, predominantly limited sample sizes^2,3. Here we provide this evidence by using 1.3 million camera-trap photos of 55 mammal species in 14 logging concessions in western equatorial Africa. We observed higher mammal encounter rates in FSC-certified than in non-FSC logging concessions. The effect

SUBMITTER: Zwerts JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11023928 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature