Banks‐Leite et al . (2021) claim that our suggestion of preserving ≥ 40% forest cover lacks evidence and can be problematic. We find these claims unfounded, and discuss why conservation planning urgently requires valuable, well‐supported and feasible general guidelines like the 40% criterion. Using region‐specific thresholds worldwide is unfeasible and potentially harmful.

Agriculture and development transform forest ecosystems to human‐modified landscapes. Decades of research in ecology have generated myriad concepts for the appropriate management of these landscapes. Yet, these concepts are often contradictory and apply at different spatial scales, making the design of biodiversity‐friendly landscapes challenging. Here, we combine concepts with empirical support to design optimal landscape sce...

The deep sea plays a critical role in global climate regulation through uptake and storage of heat and carbon dioxide. However, this regulating service causes warming, acidification and deoxygenation of deep waters, leading to decreased food availability at the seafloor. These changes and their projections are likely to affect productivity, biodiversity and distributions of deep‐sea fauna, thereby compromising key ecosystem se...