Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) cultivation has expanded dramatically in
recent decades and is frequently cited as a major threat to tropical
biodiversity. This is because oil palm is grown in lowland tropical
regions and so impacts on the most biodiverse terrestrial habitats:
tropical rainforests.
Analysis of the published literature by scientists led by Edgar
Turner at the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge has revealed
significant changes in the focus of oil palm research over the last 30
years.
Recent years have seen a broadening in the scope of the research
with a slight increase in research focusing on the environment and a
dramatic increase in research focusing on biofuel. Despite this, hardly
any oil palm publications focused on biodiversity and species
conservation.
Of these publications, the majority were related to mammals and
birds. Although these larger animals are important flagships for the
state of the tropical environment, they are not good indicators of oil
palm biodiversity. The vast majority of the species worldwide are
insects and it is they that carry out the lion’s share of the ecosystem
function.
Head of the Insect Ecology Research Group, Dr William Foster said:
"Much more research must be carried out to determine the impacts of
habitat conversion on insect biodiversity. We need to move on from
merely cataloguing biodiversity impacts, to understanding how all
aspects of ecosystem services are affected by agricultural expansion."
Journal citation: Turner EC, Snaddon JL, Fayle TM, Foster WA (2008)
Oil Palm Research in Context: Identifying the Need for Biodiversity
Assessment. PLoS One 3(2): e1572. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001572 http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0001572
Public Library of Science. February 2008.