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How are soil carbon and tropical biodiversity related?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2016

DOUGLAS SHEIL*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003 NO-1432 Ås, Norway
BRENTON LADD
Affiliation:
Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima 33, Perú
LUCAS C. R. SILVA
Affiliation:
Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California Davis, USA
SHAWN W. LAFFAN
Affiliation:
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
MIRIAM VAN HEIST
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003 NO-1432 Ås, Norway
*
*Correspondence: Professor Douglas Sheil Tel: +47 67231783 e-mail: douglas.sheil@nmbu.no

Summary

This article discusses how biological conservation can benefit from an understanding of soil carbon. Protecting natural areas not only safeguards the biota but also curtails atmospheric carbon emissions. Opportunities for funding biological conservation could potentially be greater if soil carbon content is considered. In this article current knowledge concerning the magnitude and vulnerability of soil carbon stocks is reviewed and the relationship of these stocks to biological conservation values is explored. Looking at two relatively well-studied tropical regions we find that 15 of 21 animal species of conservation concern in the Virunga Landscape (Central Africa), and nine of ten such species in the Federal District of Brazil (Central Brazil), rely on carbon-rich habitats (alluvial and/or wetlands). At national scales, densities of species, endemics and threatened taxa (plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish) show positive and significant relations with mean soil carbon content in all but two cases (threatened amphibians and threatened fish). Of more than 1000 threatened species in 37 selected tropical nations, 85% rely on carbon-rich habitats. This tendency is observed in plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and crustaceans, while birds appear more evenly distributed. Research to clarify and explore these relationships is needed. Soil carbon offers major opportunities for conservation.

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Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2016 

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