The ultimate measure of the success or failure of conservation initiatives in an area will be the ecological health of that area and the sustainability of institutions which support that ecological health. Heretofore, no comprehensive data has been presented about the current conservation state of the area known as the Heart of Borneo (HoB), a mostly intact subset of the island of Borneo, which is an international conservation priority. This paper identifies a set of indicators representative of the biodiversity status of the HoB; collecting and analysing data concerning these indicators and combining these data with supplemental conservation information should provide an accurate assessment of the overall conservation state of the HoB. Based on the indicators identified in this study, the general biodiversity status of the HoB is rated as good, or viable, although there are specific elements of concern. Using the threat indicators identified in this study, the overall threat level is medium. Major threats from industrial forest conversion and mining currently exist mainly on the edges of the HoB, but are likely to expand further inland without any intervention simply based on proximity. Though most habitats within (but not outside) the HoB are generally intact, the current protected area system is insufficiently representative of the natural ecosystems of the HoB area and its management effectiveness is as yet unknown.

The mainstream forestry policy in many European countries is to convert coniferous plantations into (semi-natural) deciduous woodlands. However, woodlands are the main habitat for Ixodes ricinus ticks. Therefore, assessing to what extent tick abundance and infection with Borrelia spirochetes are affected by forest composition and structure is a prerequisite for effective prevention of Lyme borreliosis. We selected a total of 25 pine and oak stands, both with and without an abundant shrub layer, in northern Belgium and estimated tick abundance between April and October 2008–2010. Additionally, the presence of deer beds was used as an indicator of relative deer habitat use. Borrelia infections in questing nymphs were determined by polymerase chain reactions. The abundance of larvae, nymphs, and adults was higher in oak stands compared to pine stands and increased with increasing shrub cover, most likely due to differences in habitat use by the ticks' main hosts. Whereas tick abundance was markedly higher in structure-rich oak stands compared to homogeneous pine stands, the Borrelia infection rates in nymphs did not differ significantly. Our results indicate that conversion towards structure-rich deciduous forests might create more suitable tick habitats, but we were unable to detect an effect on the infection rate.

Arrested succession is conspicuous in the abandoned pastures of the Andean piedmont that have encroached upon the tropical montane forests toward higher limits and steeper slopes. Habitat 'shredding' is analysed to depict the current spatial configuration of tropical Andean landscapes, based on fragmentation patterns prompted by seed dispersal ecology and pasture encroachment.

Seed dispersal was studied to address the hypo-thesis that seed input constrains the recruitment of montane forest seedlings, thus impeding pasture conversion to forest. It turns out that a better competitor, the tussock grass Setaria sphacelata, is limiting dispersal success due to its bioarchitecture and planting patterns. Because of the variegation of fragments, the area is in danger of landscape homogeneity within a matrix of degraded pasture. Currently, protection of fragmented remnants and restoration of original landscape structure and function are urgent needs for land-use planning toward sustainable development in the region.

Restoration ecology is plausible as a means of conservation for degraded Tropandean forests, since human impacts have shredded landscapes entirely. Dispersal ecology may be used to facilitate pasture conversion to forest in equatorial landscapes, but the proactive approach of pasture removal or planting strategy should differ from that for lowland Amazonia, where abandoned pastures are different from those of montane environs. However, the region may be proactively managed only if political decisions include conservation as a goal of development.