Artigo

Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments

Edge structure is one of the principal determinants of the extent and magnitude of edge effects in forest fragments. In central Amazonia, natural succession at forest edges typically produces a dense wall of vegetation dominated by Cecropia spp. that buffers the forest interior. Fire encroachment in...

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Autor principal: Didham, Raphael K.
Outros Autores: Lawton, John Hartley
Grau: Artigo
Idioma: English
Publicado em: Biotropica 2020
Assuntos:
Forest
Forest Edge
Microclimate
Vegetation Structure
Amazonia
Brasil
Cecropia
Cecropia
Vismia
Vismia
Acesso em linha: https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/19258
id oai:repositorio:1-19258
recordtype dspace
spelling oai:repositorio:1-19258 Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments Didham, Raphael K. Lawton, John Hartley Forest Forest Edge Microclimate Vegetation Structure Amazonia Brasil Cecropia Cecropia Vismia Vismia Edge structure is one of the principal determinants of the extent and magnitude of edge effects in forest fragments. In central Amazonia, natural succession at forest edges typically produces a dense wall of vegetation dominated by Cecropia spp. that buffers the forest interior. Fire encroachment into forest edges, however, eliminates the soil seed bank, enhances plant mortality, and promotes succession to an open, Vismia-dominated edge that does not buffer the forest interior. Contrasting open, fire-encroached forest edges and closed, non-fire-encroached edges were examined in central Amazonia to assess the effects of edge structure on microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments. Edge penetration distances for most microclimate and vegetation structure variables were as much as two to five times greater at open edges than at closed edges. The magnitude of these differences suggests that edge structure is one of the main determinants of microclimate and vegetation structure within tropical forest fragments. Edge effects also varied systematically with fragment area. For a given edge type, 100-ha fragments had consistently lower canopy height, higher foliage density, higher temperature, a higher rate of evaporative drying, lower leaf litter moisture content, and lower litter depth than continuous forest, at all distances from the forest edge. These differences, however, were relatively minor compared to the striking differences in edge penetration between open and closed forest edges. For organisms in small fragments, the difference between open and closed edges may be the difference between total edge encroachment on one hand and an effective nature reserve on the other, relatively independent of absolute fragment area. 2020-06-15T22:06:46Z 2020-06-15T22:06:46Z 1999 Artigo https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/19258 en Volume 31, Número 1, Pags. 17-30 Restrito Biotropica
institution Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - Repositório Institucional
collection INPA-RI
language English
topic Forest
Forest Edge
Microclimate
Vegetation Structure
Amazonia
Brasil
Cecropia
Cecropia
Vismia
Vismia
spellingShingle Forest
Forest Edge
Microclimate
Vegetation Structure
Amazonia
Brasil
Cecropia
Cecropia
Vismia
Vismia
Didham, Raphael K.
Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments
topic_facet Forest
Forest Edge
Microclimate
Vegetation Structure
Amazonia
Brasil
Cecropia
Cecropia
Vismia
Vismia
description Edge structure is one of the principal determinants of the extent and magnitude of edge effects in forest fragments. In central Amazonia, natural succession at forest edges typically produces a dense wall of vegetation dominated by Cecropia spp. that buffers the forest interior. Fire encroachment into forest edges, however, eliminates the soil seed bank, enhances plant mortality, and promotes succession to an open, Vismia-dominated edge that does not buffer the forest interior. Contrasting open, fire-encroached forest edges and closed, non-fire-encroached edges were examined in central Amazonia to assess the effects of edge structure on microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments. Edge penetration distances for most microclimate and vegetation structure variables were as much as two to five times greater at open edges than at closed edges. The magnitude of these differences suggests that edge structure is one of the main determinants of microclimate and vegetation structure within tropical forest fragments. Edge effects also varied systematically with fragment area. For a given edge type, 100-ha fragments had consistently lower canopy height, higher foliage density, higher temperature, a higher rate of evaporative drying, lower leaf litter moisture content, and lower litter depth than continuous forest, at all distances from the forest edge. These differences, however, were relatively minor compared to the striking differences in edge penetration between open and closed forest edges. For organisms in small fragments, the difference between open and closed edges may be the difference between total edge encroachment on one hand and an effective nature reserve on the other, relatively independent of absolute fragment area.
format Artigo
author Didham, Raphael K.
author2 Lawton, John Hartley
author2Str Lawton, John Hartley
title Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments
title_short Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments
title_full Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments
title_fullStr Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments
title_full_unstemmed Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments
title_sort edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments
publisher Biotropica
publishDate 2020
url https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/19258
_version_ 1787144559517499392
score 11.675608

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