Riparian buffers can help mitigate biodiversity declines in oil palm agriculture

Agricultural expansion is a primary driver of biodiversity decline in forested regions the tropics. Consequently, it important to understand conservation value remnant forests production landscapes. In tropical landscape dominated by oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), we characterized faunal communities across eight taxa occurring within riparian forest buffers, which are legally protected alongside rivers, and compared them nearby recovering logged forest. Buffer width was main predictor species richness abundance, with widths 40–100 m on each side river supporting broadly equivalent levels as However, responses varied markedly among taxa, buffers often lacked forest-dependent species. Much wider than currently mandated needed safeguard most The largest gains achieved increasing relatively narrow buffers. To provide optimal outcomes landscapes, encourage policy makers prescribe requirements for key different contexts.