Information about Edge Effect
An edge effect is the effect of the juxtaposition of contrasting environments on an ecosystem. This term is commonly used in conjunction with the boundary between natural habitats, especially forests, and disturbed or developed land. Edge effects are especially pronounced in small habitat fragments where they may extend throughout the patch.
When an edge is created to any natural ecosystem, and the area outside the boundary is a disturbed or unnatural system, the natural ecosystem is seriously affected for some distance in from the edge. In the case of a forest where the adjacent land has been cut, creating an open/forest boundary, sunlight and wind penetrate to a much greater extent, drying out the interior of the forest close to the edge and encouraging growth of opportunistic species at the edge. Air temperature, vapour pressure deficit, soil moisture, light intensity and levels of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) all change at edges.
It has been estimated that the amount of Amazonian area modified by edge effects exceeded the area that had been cleared.[1] Forest fires are more common close to edges as a consequence of increased desiccation at edges and increased understory growth present due to increased light availability. Increased understory biomass provides fuel that allows pasture fires to spread into the forests. Increased fire frequency since the 1990s are among the edge effects which are slowly transforming Amazonian forests. The amount of forest edge is also orders of magnitude greater now in the United States than when the Europeans first began settling North America. Some species have benefited from this fact, for example the Brown-headed Cowbird, which is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of songbirds nesting in forest near the forest boundary. Thus, the more edge in relation to the forest interior, the more cowbirds and the fewer songbirds as a result. Another example of a species benefiting from the proliferation of forest edge is the poison ivy. Grasses, huckleberries, flowering currents and shade intolerant trees such as the Douglas Fir all do well on the edge.
In the case of developed lands juxtaposed to wild lands, problems with invasive exotics often result. Species such as Kudzu, Japanese Honeysuckle, and Multiflora Rose have done damage to natural ecosystems, though these species are localized to just some areas and do not invade throughout the world. Beneficially, the open spots and edges provide places for species that thrive where there is more light and vegetation that is close to the ground. Deer and Elk are particularly benefited as their principal diet is that of grass and shrubs which are only found on the edges of forested areas.
Edge effects also apply to succession, that is where vegetation is spreading outwards rather than being encroached upon. Here different species will be more suited to the edges or central sections of the vegetation, resulting in a varied distribution. Edges themselves also vary with orientation - for example edges on the north or south will receive less or more sun than the opposite side (depending on hemisphere), resulting in differing vegetation patterns.
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North America is a continent [1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
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When an edge is created to any natural ecosystem, and the area outside the boundary is a disturbed or unnatural system, the natural ecosystem is seriously affected for some distance in from the edge. In the case of a forest where the adjacent land has been cut, creating an open/forest boundary, sunlight and wind penetrate to a much greater extent, drying out the interior of the forest close to the edge and encouraging growth of opportunistic species at the edge. Air temperature, vapour pressure deficit, soil moisture, light intensity and levels of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) all change at edges.
It has been estimated that the amount of Amazonian area modified by edge effects exceeded the area that had been cleared.[1] Forest fires are more common close to edges as a consequence of increased desiccation at edges and increased understory growth present due to increased light availability. Increased understory biomass provides fuel that allows pasture fires to spread into the forests. Increased fire frequency since the 1990s are among the edge effects which are slowly transforming Amazonian forests. The amount of forest edge is also orders of magnitude greater now in the United States than when the Europeans first began settling North America. Some species have benefited from this fact, for example the Brown-headed Cowbird, which is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of songbirds nesting in forest near the forest boundary. Thus, the more edge in relation to the forest interior, the more cowbirds and the fewer songbirds as a result. Another example of a species benefiting from the proliferation of forest edge is the poison ivy. Grasses, huckleberries, flowering currents and shade intolerant trees such as the Douglas Fir all do well on the edge.
In the case of developed lands juxtaposed to wild lands, problems with invasive exotics often result. Species such as Kudzu, Japanese Honeysuckle, and Multiflora Rose have done damage to natural ecosystems, though these species are localized to just some areas and do not invade throughout the world. Beneficially, the open spots and edges provide places for species that thrive where there is more light and vegetation that is close to the ground. Deer and Elk are particularly benefited as their principal diet is that of grass and shrubs which are only found on the edges of forested areas.
Edge effects also apply to succession, that is where vegetation is spreading outwards rather than being encroached upon. Here different species will be more suited to the edges or central sections of the vegetation, resulting in a varied distribution. Edges themselves also vary with orientation - for example edges on the north or south will receive less or more sun than the opposite side (depending on hemisphere), resulting in differing vegetation patterns.
See also
References
Juxtaposition may refer to:
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- Random juxtaposition, two random objects moving in parallel, a technique intended to stimulate creativity
- Juxtaposition Arts, a youth oriented visual art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
- Juxtaposition
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natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that comprises all living and non-living things that occur naturally on Earth or some part of it (e.g. the natural environment in a country).
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ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all the non-living physical factors of the environment.
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Habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits") is the area where a particular species lives. It is essentially the natural environment in which an organism lives—at least the physical environment—that surrounds (influences and is utilized by) a species population.
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Habitat fragmentation is a process of environmental change important in evolution and conservation biology. As the name implies, it describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat).
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Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general.
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Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total spectrum of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the atmosphere, and the solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.
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WIND (SOLARWIND) was a NASA spacecraft launched on November 1, 1994. It was deployed to study radio and plasma that occur in solar wind, in the Earth's magnetosphere. The spacecraft's original mission was to orbit the Sun at the L1
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FOREST (an acronym for "Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco") is a United Kingdom political pressure group that campaigns for the right of people to smoke tobacco and opposes attempts to ban or reduce tobacco consumption.
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species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
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Vapour Pressure Deficit, or VPD, is the difference (deficit) between the amount of moisture in the air and how much moisture the air can hold when it is saturated. Once air becomes saturated water will condense out to form clouds, dew or films of water over leaves.
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The expression Photosynthetically Active Radiation, often abbreviated PAR, designates the spectral range of solar light from 400 to 700 nanometers that is useful to terrestrial plants in the process of photosynthesis.
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Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries.
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Geographic studies
The Amazon river basin is located mainly (50%) in Brazil, but also stretches into Peru and several other countries...... Click the link for more information.
Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a forest which grows in the shade of the emergent or canopy forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and sapplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs.
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For the use of the term in ecology, see .
Biomass refers to living and recently dead biological material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production...... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"In God We Trust" (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum" ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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"In God We Trust" (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum" ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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European peoples are the various nations and ethnic groups of Europe.
European Ethnology is the field of cultural anthropology focusing on Europe.
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European Ethnology is the field of cultural anthropology focusing on Europe.
Ethnic groups of Europe
- see
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North America is a continent [1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
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Molothrus
Species: M. ater
Binomial name
Molothrus ater
(Boddaert, 1783)
The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater
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Species: M. ater
Binomial name
Molothrus ater
(Boddaert, 1783)
The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater
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Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood-parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same (intraspecific brood-parasitism) or different species
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In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo.
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NEST is an abbreviation for one of the following:
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- The Nuclear Emergency Support Team, a team "prepared to respond immediately to any type of radiological accident or incident anywhere in the world".
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SongBird is a Dutch record label owned by Tijs Verwest and Arny Bink. It is a sublabel of Black Hole Recordings, established in 1997, and is most well known as the label on which Tiësto's popular trance series In Search of Sunrise was released.
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T. radicans
Binomial name
Toxicodendron radicans
(L.) Kuntze
Toxicodendron radicans (syn.
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Binomial name
Toxicodendron radicans
(L.) Kuntze
Toxicodendron radicans (syn.
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Invasive species is a phrase with many definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species (e.g. plants or animals) that adversely effect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically.
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P. lobata
Binomial name
Pueraria lobata
(Willd.) Ohwi
Kudzu (クズ or 葛
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Binomial name
Pueraria lobata
(Willd.) Ohwi
Kudzu (クズ or 葛
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L. japonica
Binomial name
Lonicera japonica
Thunb.
The Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica; Suikazura
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Binomial name
Lonicera japonica
Thunb.
The Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica; Suikazura
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R. multiflora
Binomial name
Rosa multiflora
Thunb.
Rosa multiflora (Multiflora Rose, Baby Rose, Rambler Rose
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Binomial name
Rosa multiflora
Thunb.
Rosa multiflora (Multiflora Rose, Baby Rose, Rambler Rose
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Ecological succession, a fundamental concept in ecology, refers to more-or-less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community. Succession may be initiated either by formation of new, unoccupied habitat (e.g.
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Southern Hemisphere or southern hemisphere[1] is the half of a planet that is south of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere south of the celestial equator.
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