A group of ecologists from Imperial College London is taking a rather unusual stance towards logging: "This is going to happen whether we like it or not, so we might as well understand the impacts a little bit better." The group is working with a logging company on the island of Borneo to study how habitat fragmentation plays out when companies cut down rainforest.
At the researchers’ request, the loggers are leaving some patches of rainforest standing, of various sizes and at different distances from each other. At the end of the study, the ecologists could have a better idea of just how much damage different degrees of deforestation do to the environment. At the very least, perhaps that information will help environmentalists pinpoint the bare minimum amount of forest that loggers must leave behind to avoid decimating an ecosystem.
