Land-use change, particularly rainforest conversion to plantations, significantly impacts terrestrial animal biodiversity. This study investigates the energetic consequences of such transformations on aboveground ('green') and belowground ('brown') food webs in Sumatran rainforests and plantations. Results reveal that rainforests channel most energy belowground, while plantations, though exhibiting similar or higher total energy fluxes, redistribute energy, favoring earthworms over arthropods. Land-use change consistently decreases aboveground energy flux and dramatically reduces belowground energy flux to higher trophic levels, shifting energy channels from fungal to bacterial pathways and altering resource consumption patterns. This energetic restructuring is linked to documented biodiversity declines and soil carbon depletion, highlighting the profound functional consequences of rainforest transformation.

Anton M. Potapov, Jochen Drescher, Kevin Darras, Arne Wenzel, Noah Janotta, Rizky Nazarreta, Kasmiatun, Valentine Laurent, Amanda Mawan, Endah H. Utari, Melanie M. Pollierer, Katja Rembold, Rahayu Widyastuti, Damayanti Buchori, Purnama Hidayat, Edgar Turner, Ingo Grass, Catrin Westphal, Teja Tscharntke, Stefan Scheu