AI Article Synopsis
- Logging and plantation agriculture in tropical countries like Papua New Guinea contribute to local economies but lead to significant environmental degradation by replacing diverse habitats with monoculture crops.
- Case studies from Kimbe Bay and Mullins Harbour reveal that logging and oil palm expansion destabilize soils and harm nearby coral reefs due to increased silt levels and other stressors like coral bleaching and predation.
- Effective catchment management strategies, such as avoiding steep land use, expanding buffer zones, and reducing chemical inputs, can mitigate the negative impacts on coral reefs and improve their health.
Article Abstract
Logging and plantation agriculture are vital to economies and livelihoods in tropical nations, including Papua New Guinea. To meet global demand, hundreds of thousands of ha of diverse natural habitat have been logged, cleared and replaced with monoculture crops. Resulting hydrological changes have increased sediment, nutrient and pesticide runoff, impacting down-stream habitats. Here, case studies from Kimbe Bay (New Britain) and Mullins Harbour (Milne Bay), examine effects on nearshore coral reefs. In both places, logging and oil palm development had destabilized soils and removed or degraded riparian vegetation. Downstream, nearshore reefs had high silt levels, which, coincident with minor coral bleaching and predation by crown-of-thorns starfish, were correlated with high levels of coral mortality and low coral species richness. Sediment and related impacts can be reduced by effective catchment management, such as avoiding steep slopes, expanding stream and coastal buffer zones, minimizing fertilizer and pesticide use, monitoring and reactive management.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112445 | DOI Listing |
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