Empty forest is a term coined by Kent H. Redford's article "The Empty Forest" (1992), which was published in ''

BioScience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–1 ...

''. An "empty forest" refers to an ecosystem that is void of large mammals. Empty forests are characterized by an otherwise excellent habitat, and often have large, fully grown trees, although they lack large mammals as a result of human impact. Empty forests show that human impact can destroy an ecosystem from within as well as from without. Many of the large mammals that are disappearing, such as deers and

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inh ...

s, are important for seed dispersion. Many tree species that are very localized in their dispersion rely on mammals rather than the wind to disperse their seeds. Furthermore, when seed predation is down, trees with large seeds begin to completely dominate those with small seeds, changing the balance of plant life in an area. Predatory large mammals are important for increasing overall

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') le ...

by making sure that smaller predators and

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthp ...

s do not become overabundant and dominate. An absence of large predators seems to result in uneven densities of prey species. Even though certain animals may not have become completely extinct, they may have lowered in numbers to the point that they have suffered an

ecological extinction Ecological extinction is "the reduction of a species to such low abundance that, although it is still present in the community, it no longer interacts significantly with other species". Ecological extinction stands out because it is the interacti ...

. The animals that have most likely suffered an ecological extinction in

neotropical forest The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

s are the ones who are the most important predators, large seed dispersers, and seed predators. The

defaunation Defaunation is the global, local or functional extinction of animal populations or species from ecological communities. The growth of the human population, combined with advances in harvesting technologies, has led to more intense and efficient ...

of large mammals can be done by direct or indirect means. Any type of human activity not aimed at the animals in question that results in the defaunation of those animals is indirect. The most common means of indirect defaunation is habitat destruction. However, other examples of indirect means of defaunation of large mammals would be the over-collection of fruits and nuts or

over-hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

of prey that large mammals need for food. Another example of an indirect means of the defaunation of large mammals is through the by-products of modern human activities such as mercury and smoke, or even

noise pollution Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mai ...

. There are two categories of direct defaunation. They include subsistence hunting and commercial hunting. The most common species of animals hunted are typically the largest species in their area. The large mammals in an area are often represented by only a few species, but make up a major part of the overall biomass. In areas with only moderate hunting, the biomass of mammalian game species decreases by 80.7%. In areas with heavy hunting, the biomass of mammalian game species can decrease by 93.7%.Redford, K. H., C. Murcia, B. Klein. 1992
Incorporation of game animals into small-scale agroforestry systems in the neotropics
Conservation of Neotropical Forests: Working from Traditional Resource Use, 333-358.

References

{{Reflist Ecology

See also

References