Fragmentation and wildlife in montane evergreen forests, northern Thailand Original Research Article

Montane evergreen forests in northern Thailand are high in biodiversity and becoming increasingly fragmented. We studied fragmentation and wildlife response in two contiguous wildlife sanctuaries. Om Koi still maintained relatively large patches (>400 ha) with some connectivity while Mae Tuen was comprised mainly of small and isolated patches (<100 ha). Mae Tuen lost 2640 ha of montane evergreen forest between 1954 and 1996 compared to a loss of 888 ha in Om Koi. We compared the wildlife between four forest patches in Mae Tuen, with four in Om Koi finding nine mammals and 89 birds in Mae Tuen and 19 mammals and 119 birds in Om Koi. Om Koi still supports populations of large mammals and frugivorous birds extirpated in Mae Tuen. The results document the high rate of fragmentation in protected areas that often interact synergistically with other pressures to reduce biodiversity.