Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Limited influence from edges and topography on vegetation structure and diversity in Atlantic Forest

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although Atlantic Forest is diverse and heavily fragmented, little is known about the impact of edges created from fragmentation on forest structure and plant diversity. Our investigation of vegetation at agricultural edges aimed to determine edge width, to compare effects of edge influence and topography and to assess patterns of diversity. We collected data on forest structure, plant groups, plant families, and vertical vegetation structure in 2 × 2 m contiguous plots along 250 m transects across the edges of 24 fragments approx. 70 km west of São Paulo, Brazil. We used randomization tests to estimate the magnitude and distance of edge influence, generalized linear mixed models to assess the effect of topography, and wavelet analysis to evaluate spatial patterns. Although there was evidence of edge degradation (lower diversity and cover of most plant groups compared to interior forest) and edge sealing (abrupt changes at the edge particularly for leafy vertical diversity), edge influence did not extend very far with a distance of edge influence of 20 m or less for most variables. Less extensive edge influence compared to other tropical forests was not explained by topography (slope) but could be due to more extensive fragmentation and land use history. The use of multiple approaches to studying forest edges provided complementary information to improve our understanding of the structure of anthropogenic edges in Atlantic Forest. Signs of edge degradation suggest that edge influence should be considered in conservation planning even though edges are narrow.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Data are available on the Borealis repository (Harper 2022) at the following https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/YO7LE9 as part of a data paper (Harper et al. 2023).

References

  • Allie E, Pélissier R, Engel J, Petronelli P, Freycon V, Deblauwe V, Soucémarianadin L, Weigel J, Baraloto C (2015) Pervasive local-scale tree-soil habitat association in a tropical forest community. PLoS ONE 10:e0141488

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Barros FM, Martello F, Peres CA, Pizo MA, Ribeiro MC (2019) Matrix type and landscape attributes modulate avian taxonomic and functional spillover across habitat boundaries in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Oikos 128:1600–1612

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benitez-Malvido J (1998) Impact of forest fragmentation on seedling abundance in a tropical rain forest. Conserv Biol 12:380–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brownstein G, Dobert TF, Dobbie LR, Hashim NH, Wilson JB (2013) Functional traits shed new light on the nature of ecotones: a study across a bog-to-forest sequence. Community Ecol 14:31–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camargo JLC, Kapos V (1995) Complex edge effects on soil moisture and microclimate in central Amazonian forest. J Trop Ecol 11:205–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman JI, McEwan RW (2013) Spatiotemporal dynamics of alpha- and beta-diversity across topographic gradients in the herbaceous layer of an old-growth deciduous forest. Oikos 122:1679–1686

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen J, Franklin JF, Spies TA (1995) Growing-season microclimatic gradients from clearcut edges into old-growth Douglas fir forests. Ecol Appl 5:74–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dale MRT, Mah M (1998) The use of wavelets for spatial pattern analysis in ecology. J Veg Sci 9:805–814

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Detto M, Muller-Landau HC, Mascaro J, Asner GP (2013) Hydrological networks and associated topographic variation as templates for the spatial organization of tropical forest vegetation. PLoS ONE 8:e76296

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dial RJ, Nadkarni NM, Jewell CD (2011) Canopy structure in a 650-year Douglas-fir chronosequence in western Washington: distribution of canopy elements and open space. For Sci 57:309–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Didham RK, Lawton JH (1999) Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments. Biotropica 31:17–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Dormann CF, McPherson JM, Araujo MB, Bivand R, Bolliger J, Car G, Davies RG, Hirzel A, Jets W, Kissling WD, Kuhn I, Ohlemuller R, Peres-Neto PR, Reineking B, Schroder B, Schurr FM, Wilson R (2007) Methods to account for spatial autocorrelation in the analysis of species distributional data: a review. Ecography 30:609–628. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2007.0906-7590.05171.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ediriweera S, Singhakumara BMP, Ashton MS (2008) Variation in canopy structure, light and soil nutrition across elevation of a Sri Lankan tropical rain forest. For Ecol Manag 256:1339–1349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farah FT, Muylaert RD, Ribeiro MC, Ribeiro JW, Mangueira J, Souza VC, Rodrigues RR (2017) Integrating plant richness in forest patches can rescue overall biodiversity in human-modified landscapes. For Ecol Manage 397:78–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fortunel C, Lasky JR, Uriarte M, Valencia R, Wright SJ, Garwood NC, Kraft NJB (2018) Topography and neighborhood crowding can interact to shape species growth and distribution in a diverse Amazonian forest. Ecology 99:2272–2283

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Forzza RC, Baumgratz JFA, Bicudo CEM, Canhos DAL, Carvalho AA, Coelho MAN, Costa AF, Costa DP, Hopkins MG, Leitman PM, Lohmann LG, Lughadha EN, Maia LC, Martinelli G, Menezes M, Morim MP, Peixoto AL, Pirani JR, Prado J, Queiroz LP, Souza S, Souza VC, Stehmann JR, Sylvestre LS, Walter BMT, Zappi DC (2012) New Brazilian floristic list highlights conservation challenges. Bioscience 62:39–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin CMA, Harper KA (2016) Moose browsing, understorey structure and plant species composition across spruce budworm-induced forest edges. J Veg Sci 27:524–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin CMA, Harper KA, Clarke MJ (2021) Trends in studies of edge influence on vegetation at human-created and natural forest edges across time and space. Can J for Res 51:274–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Getzin S, Wiegand K (2007) Asymmetric tree growth at the stand level: random crown patterns and the response to slope. For Ecol Manag 242:165–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guerra TNF, Rodal MJN, Lins e Silva ACB, Alves M, Silva MAM, de Araújo Mendes PG (2013) Influence of edge and topography on the vegetation in an Atlantic Forest remnant in northeastern Brazil. J for Res 18:200–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper KA (2022) Forest edge research network. https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/YO7LE9,Borealis,V4,UNF:6:C9gF9XVlvrB682VxPWCNng==[fileUNF]

  • Harper KA, Macdonald SE (2011) Quantifying distance of edge influence: a comparison of methods and a new randomization method. Ecosphere 2:art94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper KA, Macdonald SE, Burton PJ, Chen JQ, Brosofske KD, Saunders SC, Euskirchen ES, Roberts D, Jaiteh MS, Esseen PA (2005) Edge influence on forest structure and composition in fragmented landscapes. Conserv Biol 19:768–782

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper KA, Gray L, Querry ND (2021) Spatial patterns of vegetation structure and structural diversity across edges between forested wetlands and upland forest in Atlantic Canada. Can J for Res 51:1189–1198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper KA, Gray L, Macdonald SE, Lesieur D, DeFields D, Dodonov P et al (2023) Data on vegetation across forest edges from the FERN (Forest Edge Research Network). Ecology 104:e4098

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Homeier J, Breckle SW, Günter S, Rollenbeck RT, Leuschner C (2010) Tree diversity, forest structure and productivity along altitudinal and topographical gradients in a species-rich Ecuadorian montane rain forest. Biotropica 42:140–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janišová M, Mucina L, Júnior MCDS, Durigan G, Pavan G, Sabino JP, Acosta ATR, Hédl R, Peet RK, Guarino R (2016) Cerrado, Caatinga, Gran Chaco and Mata Atlântica: South American flagships of biodiversity. Int Assoc Veg Sci Bull 4:8–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Joly CA, Metzger JP, Tabarelli M (2014) Experiences from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: ecological findings and conservation initiatives. New Phytol 204:450–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jucker T, Bongalov B, Burslem D, Nilus R, Dalponte M, Lewis SL, Phillips OL, Qie L, Coomes DA (2018) Topography shapes the structure, composition and function of tropical forest landscapes. Ecol Lett 21:989–1000

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kapos V, Wandelli E, Camargo JL, Ganade G, Laurance WF, Bierregaard ROJ (1997) Edge-related changes in environment and plant responses due to forest fragmentation in central Amazonia. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 33–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Kembel SW, Dale MRT (2006) Within-stand spatial structure and relation of boreal canopy and understorey vegetation. J Veg Sci 17:783–790

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Laurance SG, Ferreira LV, Rankin-de Merona JM, Gascon C, Lovejoy TE (1997) Biomass collapse in Amazonian forest fragments. Science 278:1117–1118

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Ferreira LV, Rankin-de Merona JM, Laurance SG (1998a) Rain forest fragmentation and the dynamics of Amazonian tree communities. Ecology 79:2032–2040

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Ferreira LV, Rankin-de Merona JM, Laurance SG, Hutchings RW, Lovejoy TE (1998b) Effects of forest fragmentation on recruitment patterns in Amazonian tree communities. Conserv Biol 12:460–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippok D, Beck SG, Renison D, Hensen I, Apaza AE, Schleuning M (2014) Topography and edge effects are more important than elevation as drivers of vegetation patterns in a neotropical montane forest. J Veg Sci 25:724–733

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mapbiomas (n.d.) Collection 6.0 of the Annual Series of Land Use and Coverage Maps of Brazil. Available at: https://mapbiomas.org/colecoes-mapbiomas-1?cama_set_language=pt-BR

  • Marques JT, Ramos Pereira MJ, Palmeirim JM (2015) Patterns in the use of rainforest vertical space by Neotropical aerial insectivorous bats: all the action is up in the canopy. Ecography 39:476–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martello F, Andriolli F, de Souza TB, Dodonov P, Ribeiro MC (2016) Edge and land use effects on dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in Brazilian cerrado vegetation. J Insect Conserv 20:957–970

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martello F, Andriolli FS, Medeiros HR, Barão T, Ribeiro MC (2022) Edge contrast modulates ant community responses to edge distance in agricultural landscapes. Agric for Entomol 24:289–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matlack GR (1993) Microenvironment variation within and among forest edge sites in the eastern United States. Biol Cons 66:185–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medeiros HR, Martello F, Metzger JP, Harper KA, Mengual X, Righi CA, Ribeiro MC (2022) Landscape composition regulates the spillover of beneficial insects between forest remnants and adjacent coffee plantations. Perspect Ecol Conserv 20:111–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendes CP, Ribeiro MC, Galetti M (2016) Patch size, shape and edge distance influence seed predation on a palm species in the Atlantic forest. Ecography 39:465–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mendonca AH, Russo C, Melo ACG, Durigan G (2015) Edge effects in savanna fragments: a case study in the cerrado. Plant Ecol Divers 8:493–503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muscarella R, Kolyaie S, Morton DC, Zimmerman JK, Uriarte M (2020) Effects of topography on tropical forest structure depend on climate context. J Ecol 108:145–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira-Filho AT, Curi N, Vilela EA, Carvalho DA (1998) Effects of canopy gaps, topography, and soils on the distribution of woody species in a Central Brazilian deciduous dry forest. Biotropica 30:362–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olupot W (2009) A variable edge effect on trees of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, and its bearing on measurement parameters. Biol Cons 142:789–797

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oosterhoorn M, Kappelle M (2000) Vegetation structure and composition along an interior-edge-exterior gradient in a Costan Rican montane cloud forest. For Ecol Manage 126:291–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira JAA, Oliveira-Filho AT, Lemos-Filho JP (2007) Environmental heterogeneity and disturbance by humans control much of the tree species diversity of Atlantic montane forest fragments in SE Brazil. Biodivers Conserv 16:1761–1784

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro J, Bates D, DebRoy S, Sarkar D, R Core Team (2015) nlme: Linear and Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models. R package version 3.1–121. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=nlme. Accessed Apr 2015

  • Proulx R, Parrott L (2008) Measures of structural complexity in digital images for monitoring the ecological signature of an old-growth forest ecosystem. Ecol Ind 8:270–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2015) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/. Accessed April 2015.

  • Ribeiro MC, Metzger JP, Martensen AC, Ponzoni FJ, Hirota MM (2009) The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: how much is left, and how is the remaining forest distributed? Implications for conservation. Biol Cons 142:1141–1153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riutta T, Slade EM, Morecroft MD, Bebber DP, Malhi Y (2014) Living on the edge: quantifying the structure of a fragmented forest landscape in England. Landsc Ecol 29:949–961

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg MS, Anderson CD (2011) PASSaGE: pattern analysis, spatial statistics and geographic exegesis. Version 2. Methods Ecol Evol 2:229–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silveira dos Santos J, Silva-Neto CM, Castro Silva T, Nascimento Siqueira K, Ribeiro MC, Garcia Collevatti R (2022) Landscape structure and local variables affect plant community diversity and structure in a Brazilian agricultural landscape. Biotropica 54:239–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sizer N, Tanner EVJ (1999) Responses of woody plant seedlings to edge formation in a lowland tropical rainforest, Amazonia. Biol Cons 91:135–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torres CMME, Medina-Vega JA, da Rocha SJSS, da Silva CW, Soares CPB, de Souza AL, Jacovine LAG, de Lana JM, Peña-Claros M (2023) Drivers of tree demographic processes in forest fragments of the Brazilian Atlantic forest. For Ecol Manage 534:120893

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turton SM, Freiburger HJ, Laurance WF, Bierregaard ROJ (1997) Edge and aspect effects on the microclimate of a small tropical forest remnant on the Atherton Tableland, northeastern Australia. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 45–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Venables WN, Ripley BD (2002) Modern applied statistics with R, 4th edn. Springer, New York (0-387-95457-0)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Viana VM, Tabanez AAJ, Batista JLF, Laurance WF, Bierregaard ROJ (1997) Dynamics and restoration of forest fragments in the Brazilian Atlantic Moist Forest. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 351–365

    Google Scholar 

  • Werner FA, Homeier J (2015) Is tropical montane forest heterogeneity promoted by a resource-driven feedback cycle? Evidence from nutrient relations, herbivory and litter decomposition along a topographical gradient. Funct Ecol 29:430–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner FA, Homeier J, Oesker M, Boy J (2012) Epiphytic biomass of a tropical montane forest varies with topography. J Trop Ecol 28:23–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams-Linera G (1990) Vegetation structure and environmental conditions of forest edges in Panama. J Ecol 78:356–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams-Linera G, Dominguez-Gastelu V, Garcia-Zurita ME (1998) Microenvironment and floristics of different edges in a fragmented tropical rainforest. Conserv Biol 12:1091–1102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willmer JNG, Puettker T, Prevedello JA (2022) Global impacts of edge effects on species richness. Biol Conserv 272:109654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young TP, Partridge N, Macrae A (1995) Long-term glades in acacia bushland and their edge effects in Laikipia, Kenya. Ecol Appl 5:97–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zellweger F, Braunisch V, Baltensweiler A, Bollmann K (2013) Remotely sensed forest structural complexity predicts multi species occurrence at the landscape scale. For Ecol Manage 307:303–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

In addition to our funding sources, we also thank Kalinka Kawamichi and João Godinho for their assistance in the field.

Funding

Funding was provided by Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grant to KAH), Mitacs (Globalink Research Award to JD), and the Dalhousie University Biology Department in Canada (Sarah Lawson Research Scholarship to JRY). MCR thanks FAPESP (processes #2013/50421-2; #2020/01779-5; #2021/08534-0; #2021/10195-0; #2021/10639-5; #2022/10760-1) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—CNPq (processes #442147/2020-1; #440145/2022-8; #402765/2021-4; #313016/2021-6; #440145/2022-8) for their financial support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Saint Mary’s University, 923 Robie St., Halifax, NS, B3H 3C3, Canada

    Karen Amanda Harper & Natasha Dazé Querry

  2. Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada

    Jacqueline Renée Yang & Julie Dyer

  3. São Paulo State University-UNESP, Av. 24A, 1515-Bela Vista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, 13506-900, Brazil

    Rafael Souza Cruz Alves & Milton Cezar Ribeiro

Authors
  1. Karen Amanda Harper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jacqueline Renée Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Natasha Dazé Querry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Julie Dyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rafael Souza Cruz Alves
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Milton Cezar Ribeiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

JD, RSCA and JRY collected the data. KAH and NDQ analyzed the data. KAH and MCR set up and supervised the project. KAH wrote the manuscript with feedback from other authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen Amanda Harper.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interests

The authors have no competing interest to disclose.

Additional information

Communicated by Javad Eshaghi Rad.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Harper, K.A., Yang, J.R., Dazé Querry, N. et al. Limited influence from edges and topography on vegetation structure and diversity in Atlantic Forest. Plant Ecol 225, 361–371 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01353-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01353-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation