Global rarity of high-integrity tropical rainforests for threatened and declining terrestrial vertebrates.

ABSTRACT: Structurally intact native forests free from major human pressures are vitally important habitats for the persistence of forest biodiversity. However, the extent of such high-integrity forest habitats remaining for biodiversity is unknown. Here, we quantify the amount of high-integrity tropical rainforests, as a fraction of total forest cover, within the geographic ranges of 16,396 species of terrestrial vertebrates worldwide. We found up to 90% of the humid tropical ranges of forest-dependent vertebrates was encompassed by forest cover. Concerningly, however, merely 25% of these remaining rainforests are of high integrity. Forest-dependent species that are threatened and declining and species with small geographic ranges have disproportionately low proportions of high-integrity forest hab

SUBMITTER: Pillay R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11665883 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature