Does biodiversity really matter to benefit from the ecosystem services provided by Central African forests?

Deforestation and degradation constitute the main threats to biodiversity in tropical forest ecosystems. Understanding the impacts of these changes on the services provided to human populations is essential to implement a sustainable management of tropical forest resources. The objective of this PhD thesis is to analyze the interactions between biodiversity and ecosystem services of tropical moist forests for three contrasted land allocation types. The study area is located in South-East Cameroon, and is divided into three zones: a protected area (the Dja Wildlife Reserve), a FSC-certified logging concession (Pallisco) and community forests managed by local communities. The impacts of the three land allocation types are quantified according to several state (biodiversity) and impact (ecosystem services) indicators. The integrated analysis of the relations between biodiversity and ecosystem services allow to identify the synergies and trade-offs between them, while identifying the adequacy of management practices implemented in the way to chase their main aim.