Biodiversity loss from land use changes in Southeast Asia is a global concern. In Borneo, slash and burn shifting cultivation has led to complex mosaics of fallow land at various stages of regeneration being maintained, whereas oil palm and other tree plantations have more recently replaced large areas of primary forest. Biodiversity loss from deforestation may be partly offset by the expansion of secondary forests and plantation forestry. The purpose of this study was to estimate the extent of biodiversity loss caused by alternative land uses compared to that of protected primary forests.

We conducted light trap samplings from August to October 2003. These datasets were sampled from different combinations of forest types, comprising protected primary forest, fragmented primary forest, old secondary forest (> 20 years after abandonment of fields following shifting cultivation), young secondary forest (< 10 years), new fallow land (< 2 years), and rubber gardens.

In the present study, we analyzed beetles that use wood-decay, including the families Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Elateridae, Lucanidae, and Passalidae. Species richness, community structure and other diversity indices were compared among different land use types. Characteristic features of diversity of beetles that use wood-decay in response to land use changes are discussed.