Abstract Offset schemes help avoid or revert habitat loss through protection of existing habitat (avoided deforestation), through the restoration of degraded areas (natural regrowth), or both. The spatial scale of an offset scheme may influence which of these 2 outcomes is favored and is an important aspect of the scheme's design. However, how spatial scale influences the trade‐offs between the preservation of existing habitat and restoration of degraded areas is poorly understood. We used the largest forest offset scheme in the world, which is part of the Brazilian Forest Code, to explore how implementation at different spatial scales may affect the outcome in terms of the area of avoided deforestation and area of regrowth. We employed a numerical simulation of trade between buyers (i.e., those who need to offset past deforestation) and sellers (i.e., landowners with exceeding native vegetation) in the Brazilian Amazon to estimate potential avoided deforestation and regrowth at different spatial scales of implementation. Allowing offsets over large spatial scales led to an area of avoided deforestation 12 times greater than regrowth, whereas restricting offsets to small spatial scales led to an area of regrowth twice as large as avoided deforestation. The greatest total area (avoided deforestation and regrowth combined) was conserved when the spatial scale of the scheme was small, especially in locations that were highly deforested. To maximize conservation gains from avoided deforestation and regrowth, the design of the Brazilian forest‐offset scheme should focus on restricting the spatial scale in which offsets occur. Such a strategy could help ensure conservation benefits are localized and promote the recovery of degraded areas in the most threatened forest landscapes.

中文翻译：

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森林补偿计划中保护成果的规模依赖性

摘要 抵消计划通过保护现有栖息地（避免森林砍伐）、恢复退化地区（自然再生）或两者兼而有之，有助于避免或恢复栖息地丧失。抵消方案的空间规模可能会影响这两个结果中哪一个更受青睐，并且是方案设计的一个重要方面。然而，人们对空间尺度如何影响现有栖息地的保护和退化地区的恢复之间的权衡却知之甚少。我们利用世界上最大的森林补偿计划（《巴西森林法》的一部分）来探讨不同空间尺度的实施如何影响避免砍伐森林面积和再生面积方面的结果。我们对巴西亚马逊地区的买家（即那些需要抵消过去森林砍伐的人）和卖家（即拥有超过原生植被的土地所有者）之间的贸易进行了数值模拟，以估计在不同实施空间尺度下潜在避免的森林砍伐和再生。允许大空间尺度的补偿导致避免砍伐森林的面积比再生森林面积大12倍，而将补偿限制在小空间尺度则导致再生面积是避免砍伐森林的面积的两倍。当该方案的空间规模较小时，特别是在森林砍伐严重的地区，可以保留最大的总面积（避免砍伐和再生长的总面积）。为了最大限度地避免森林砍伐和再生带来的保护收益，巴西森林补偿计划的设计应侧重于限制补偿发生的空间规模。这样的战略有助于确保保护效益本地化，并促进受威胁最严重的森林景观中退化地区的恢复。