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Secondary forest should become new conservation initiative

Everything you need to know:

The article discusses why it is important to conserve secondary growth forests and agroforestry areas in addition to primary forests. These areas are important for biodiversity and support a variety of bird populations and other animals. This is a summary of a symposium given by Robin Chazdon, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut.

Monday, January 19 2009
Source: Mongabay.com

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Comments

Kaitlyn Van Arsdell Jan. 24, 2009
I just read a story very similar to this!

I appreciate that this story acknowledges trends for "charismatic" animals like birds, etc. Many recent studies/stories have emphasized the resilience of rainforest species and their ability to repopulate secondary forest, but these often refer mainly to insects. This presents a falsely rosy picture, because the megafauna (what the vast majority of people care about saving in the first place) remains threatened.

Interesting point made: pasture land in Brazil is more supportive of biodiversity than soy field is. I'm increasingly convinced that meat itself is not the problem, factory farming is. Yet factory farming in the US is majorly supported by the subsidies that keep feed (and therefore meat) prices falsely low...