Quantifying carbon and amphibian co-benefits from secondary forest regeneration in the Tropical Andes

Tropical land‐use change is a key driver of global declines in biodiversity and a major source of anthropogenic carbon emissions, yet there is a substantial shortfall in the funding available to tackle these issues. We urgently need mechanisms that can simultaneously tackle both biodiversity and carbon losses, with carbon‐based payments for ecosystem services (e.g. REDD+) of particular interest. A critical question is whether such payments offer strong carbon–biodiversity co‐benefits via the regrowth of forests on abandoned farmlands (carbon enhancements) for amphibians, which are the most threatened vertebrate group and reach the greatest richness of threatened and small‐ranged species in the montane tropics (>1000 m a.s.l.). Here, we study changes in amphibian communities across a typical Andean habitat transition from cattle pasture through secondary forests (8–35 years) to primary forest. As secondary forests mature, they recovered the abundance, species richness, species composition and Red‐listed (near threatened and threatened) species typically found in primary forest. By contrast, cattle pasture contained much lower richness of Red‐listed species and a different species composition compared to forest. We then reveal positive relationships between carbon stocks and amphibian species richness and abundance, Red‐listed species richness and abundance and the similarity of communities to primary forests, confirming significant carbon–biodiversity co‐benefits. Our results underscore the high conservation value of secondary forests and the strong potential for carbon and biodiversity recovery. Using carbon‐based funding initiatives to support the regrowth of forests on marginal agricultural land is therefore likely to conserve threatened biodiversity in the Tropical Andes. Tropical land‐use change is a key driver of global biodiversity losses and emissions of carbon dioxide, and a critical question is whether carbon‐based payments for ecosystem services can offer strong carbon–biodiversity co‐benefits via the regrowth of forests on abandoned farmlands (carbon enhancements) for amphibians in the Tropical Andes. We find that secondary forests recover amphibian abundance, species richness, Red‐listed species richness and composition towards levels found in primary forest, especially as secondary forests mature, yielding positive carbon and amphibian co‐benefits. Our results underscore the high conservation value of secondary forests in the Tropical Andes an