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The suggestion that landscapes should contain 40% of forest cover lacks evidence and is problematic
  • +2
  • Cristina Banks-Leite,
  • Cecilia Larrosa,
  • Luis Roman Currasco,
  • Leandro Tambosi,
  • E.J. Milner-Gulland
Cristina Banks-Leite
Imperial College London

Corresponding Author:c.banks@imperial.ac.uk

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Cecilia Larrosa
Oxford University
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Luis Roman Currasco
National University of Singapore
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Leandro Tambosi
Universidade Federal do ABC
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E.J. Milner-Gulland
University of Oxford
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Abstract

A recent review on optimal strategies for preserving biodiversity within human-modified landscapes suggests that that forest cover needs to be restored or maintained to at least 40%. While we agree that it is paramount to protect and increase cover in forested biomes, no evidence is presented to support this 40% threshold. Furthermore, there are several issues regarding implementation of such policy or social-economic constraints that makes this suggestion unhelpful and potentially dangerous.
09 Oct 2020Submitted to Ecology Letters
20 Oct 2020Submission Checks Completed
20 Oct 2020Assigned to Editor
30 Oct 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
02 Nov 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
30 Nov 20201st Revision Received
01 Dec 2020Submission Checks Completed
01 Dec 2020Assigned to Editor
01 Dec 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
02 Dec 2020Editorial Decision: Accept
May 2021Published in Ecology Letters volume 24 issue 5 on pages 1112-1113. 10.1111/ele.13668