Feb 27, 2015 04:50 PM EST By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

The modern logging technique greatly benefits rainforest wildlife for maintaining biodiversity in tropical forests that are used for timber production, according to a recent study.

Researchers at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent say that with over 4 million km2 of tropical forests harvested for timber worldwide, improving the way logging impacts on wildlife is essential for global biodiversity conservation.

Members of DICE conducted the most comprehensive study of Reduced-Impact Logging (RIL) to date, surveying wildlife communities over a five-year period before and after timber harvesting.

They discovered that RIL had very little effect on the birds, bats and large mammals in the rainforests of Central Guyana. In fact, they found that the natural rates of change in the wildlife communities were greater than those resulting from this type of modern, best-practice logging technique.

Now the researchers hope the new evidence, showing the benefits of adopting RIL over conventional logging, will encourage governments and timber companies to make the switch in their timber industry practices.

Researcher Jake Bicknell said the study demonstrated that RIL is a "cost-effective option" that will ensure the long-term sustainability of biodiversity-rich tropical forests around the world. It is better for wildlife because it "minimizes collateral damage to unlogged trees in the forest, and reduces gaps in the forest canopy which are associated with conventional logging."

The findings are detailed in the Journal of Applied Ecology. 

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