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'' (1951–19 ...

''. An "empty forest" refers to an ecosystem that is void of large

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s. 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 Human Impact are an American noise rock supergroup made up of members from Unsane, Swans, and Cop Shoot Cop. Chris Spencer announced the band while also confirming that he will no longer be playing with Unsane. The band released their self title ...

. 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 tapirs, 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 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 mouthpart ...

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. 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 biogeo ...

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 e ...

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 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 Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

and smoke, or even noise pollution. 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 Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

. 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