Biodiversity
Even when loggers do not clearcut entire forests, only isolated patches of woodland are left. Animals and plants that were once found throughout the forest continue to live and breed in these forest islands. Often, however, the patches are too small and too far apart for wildlife to breed healthily, and species die out. A number of Australian birds, for example, now risk extinction.
Selective logging creates different problems. Loggers have taken much of the best mahogany from Central America, rejecting feeble and stunted trees. This means that there is a shortage of healthy parent trees, and that future generations may be small and misshapen.
Replacing natural forests with plantations has a serious impact on wildlife. In Sweden, no less than 40 birds and animals and 50 species of fungi, lichens, and flowering plants are on the danger list.
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