Protected areas alone are not enough to conserve biodiversity, so forestry and agriculture must play a role.

Science Daily reports on a paper recently published in Nature Conservation which looks at how agroforestry and retention forestry can balance production and conservation. Retention forestry involves retaining some local forest amid the harvesting of trees in order to preserve biodiversity.

Both agroforestry and retention forestry “provide an intermediary between unlogged forest and intensively managed land,” says the article. They provide ecological benefits, habitat for tree-dependent species outside forests and increase connectivity between forest species across landscapes.

The similarities between agroforestry and retention forestry mean both would benefit from collaboration between researchers and practitioners across the two fields.

The authors of the paper suggest additional research into the cost effectiveness of different retention and agroforestry systems in relation to biodiversity conservation.

Read the full story: Suggestions for a Middle Ground Between Unlogged Forest and Intensively Managed Lands