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Library When edges meet: interacting edge effects in an African savanna

When edges meet: interacting edge effects in an African savanna

When edges meet: interacting edge effects in an African savanna

Resource information

Date of publication
December 2011
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
AGRIS:US201400002706
Pages
923-934

1. Ecological edges (zones separating ecosystems or land cover types) can function as active boundaries, unique habitats and dynamic transition zones. Abiotic factors, species and species interactions exhibit strong responses to edges, and these responses - edge effects - can profoundly impact ecosystem structure and function. 2. Edge effects may be altered by the presence or proximity of other nearby edges. This phenomenon - edge interaction - is poorly understood, though its importance is increasingly recognized. Edge interactions are likely in fragmented or patchy landscapes that contain many edges. In such landscapes, understanding how nearby edges interact may be critical for effective conservation and management. 3. I examined edge interactions in an East African savanna. In this landscape, abandoned cattle corrals develop into treeless, nutrient-rich ‘glades' that persist as preferentially grazed areas for decades to centuries. Glades represent important sources of structural and functional landscape heterogeneity and have major impacts on distributional patterns of plant and animals. 4. I used existing variation in inter-glade distance to investigate the importance and strength of glade edge interactions for plants, Acacia ants and large herbivores. Specifically, I compared response patterns obtained from transects that extended outward from isolated glades (>250 m from another glade) and non-isolated glades (

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Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Porensky, Lauren McGeoch

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