Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded and depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they are dynamic ecosystems1 that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity2,3, so we cannot afford to underestimate their conservation value4. Here we present empirically defined thresholds for categorizing the conservation value of logged forests, using one of the most comprehensive assessments of taxon responses to habitat degradation in any tropical forest environment. We analysed the impact of logging intensity on the individual occurrence patterns of 1,681 taxa belonging to 86 taxonomic orders and 126 functional groups in Sabah, Malaysia. Our results demonstrate the existence of two conservation-relevant thresholds. First, lightly logged forests (<29% biomass removal) retain high conservation value and a largely intact functional composition, and are therefore likely to recover their pre-logging values if allowed to undergo natural regeneration. Second, the most extreme impacts occur in heavily degraded forests with more than two-thirds (>68%) of their biomass removed, and these are likely to require more expensive measures to recover their biodiversity value. Overall, our data confirm that primary forests are irreplaceable5, but they also reinforce the message that logged forests retain considerable conservation value that should not be overlooked.

Asian School of the Environment Nanyang Technological University Singapore Singapore

Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Entomology České Budějovice Czech Republic

Borneo Futures Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei

BSG Ecology Witney UK

Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World Department of Biology Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark

Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere Department of Biology Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark

Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research Department of Genetics Evolution and Environment University College London London UK

Centre for Ecology and Conservation School of Biosciences University of Exeter Penryn UK

Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security Griffith University Brisbane Queensland Australia

Conservation and Fisheries Directorate Ascension Island Government Georgetown St Helena Island

CSIRO Health and Biosecurity Centre for Environment and Life Sciences Floreat Western Australia Australia

Danau Girang Field Centre Kinabatangan Malaysia

Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology Biocenter University of Wuerzburg Am Hubland Würzburg Germany

Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore

Department of Biology University of Oxford Oxford UK

Department of Biology Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussels Belgium

Department of Biology York University Toronto Ontario Canada

Department of Botany Faculty of Science Palacký University Olomouc Czech Republic

Department of Botany University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand

Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science Palacký University Olomouc Czech Republic

Department of Forest Botany Dendrology and Geobiocoenology Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology Mendel University in Brno Brno Czech Republic

Department of Forest Ecology Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech Republic

Department of Geography University of Exeter Exeter UK

Department of Life Sciences School of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Lincoln Lincoln UK

Department of Life Sciences The Natural History Museum London London UK

Department of Mathematics Imperial College London London UK

Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Cambridge UK

Department of Soil and Crop Sciences Colorado State University Fort Collins CO USA

Department of Sustainable Land Management School of Agriculture Policy and Development University of Reading Reading UK

Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville FL USA

Department of Wood and Forest Science Laval University Quebec Quebec Canada

Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa

Department of Zoology The David Attenborough Building University of Cambridge Cambridge UK

Division of Biological Sciences University of Montana Missoula MT USA

Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury UK

Dyson School of Design Engineering Imperial College London London UK

EcoHealth Alliance New York NY USA

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology School of Biosciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK

Environmental Change Institute School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK

Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań Poland

Faculty of Forestry and Environment Universiti Putra Malaysia Seri Kembangan Malaysia

Faculty of Health Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK

Faculty of Science University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada

Fauna and Flora International Hanoi Vietnam

Field Programmes Department Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust La Profonde Rue Jersey

Forest Research Centre Sabah Forestry Department Sandakan Malaysia

Forest Research Institute University of the Sunshine Coast Sippy Downs Queensland Australia

Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Ascot UK

Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation Universiti Malaysia Sabah Kota Kinabalu Malaysia

Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Kota Samarahan Malaysia

Institute of Microbiology Department of Biology ETH Zürich Zurich Switzerland

Institute of Zoology Zoological Society of London London UK

Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Programme Kota Kinabalu Malaysia

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore

Malaysian Nature Society Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Marine Resources Unit Department of Environment Grand Cayman Cayman Islands

Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute University of Northern British Columbia Prince George British Columbia Canada

Naturalis Biodiversity Centre Leiden The Netherlands

New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Department of Natural Resources Cornell University Ithaca NY USA

Okala London UK

Oxitec Abingdon UK

Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh Edinburgh UK

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Richmond London UK

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Wakehurst Haywards Heath UK

Sabah State Museum Kota Kinabalu Malaysia

School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences Queen Mary University of London London UK

School of Biological Sciences The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong

School of Biological Sciences The University of Western Australia Crawley Western Australia Australia

School of Biological Sciences University of Aberdeen Aberdeen UK

School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK

School of Biological Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich UK

School of Biosciences Cardiff University Cardiff UK

School of Biosciences The University of Sheffield Sheffield UK

School of Biosciences University of Nottingham Loughborough UK

School of Environmental and Natural Sciences Griffith University Brisbane Queensland Australia

School of Environmental and Rural Science Faculty of Science Agriculture Business and Law University of New England Armidale New South Wales Australia

School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich UK

School of Geosciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK

School of Natural and Environmental Sciences Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne UK

School of Physiology Pharmacology and Neuroscience University of Bristol Bristol UK

School of Science Monash University Subang Jaya Malaysia

South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership Danum Valley Field Centre Lahad Datu Malaysia

The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin Madison Madison WI USA

WWF Malaysia Kota Kinabalu Malaysia

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