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The Edge Effect on the Herb–Dwarf Shrub Layer of Suburban Anthropogenically Fragmented Southern Taiga Pine Forests

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Abstract—

Changes in the state of herb–dwarf shrub layer near forest boundaries (the edge effect) were evaluated in anthropogenically fragmented southern taiga pine forests of the Middle Urals. Studies were performed in suburban forests of the Yekaterinburg urban agglomeration on 14 transects perpendicular to the forest edge that extended from it to the inner forest. The transects were 110–260 m long, each consisting of a series of six to nine 400-m2 plots. An increase of species richness in the edge zones of suburban forests was observed for almost all plant groups of the herb–dwarf shrub layer, except for spore plants. The edge effect was expressed most strongly in nonforest, alien, and annual or biennial species. The total projective cover of the herb–dwarf shrub layer increased from the edge to the inner forest zone, while species diversity estimated by the Shannon index remained unchanged. A nonthreshold edge effect was observed for some parameters; i.e., their values monotonically increased or decreased over the entire transect length. In parameters where the depth of edge effect was possible to estimate, it varied from 13 to 64 m, averaging 41 m. In general, the edge effect on the herb–dwarf shrub layer in suburban forests was expressed to the same extent as in urbanized forests.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to D.I. Dubrovin (Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences) and E.N. Kokshina (Ural Federal University) for their help in field research and to N.V. Zolotareva (Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences) for her help in identification of plant species.

Funding

Field measurements were made under state contract with Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (no. AAAA-A19-119031890084-6); data analysis was supported by the joint project of the Russian foundation for Basic Research and Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research (no. 20-54-00024 Bel_a).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 620144, Yekaterinburg, Russia

    D. V. Veselkin, A. A. Korzhinevskaya & E. N. Podgaevskaya

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  1. D. V. Veselkin
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  2. A. A. Korzhinevskaya
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  3. E. N. Podgaevskaya
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Correspondence to D. V. Veselkin.

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Translated by N. Gorgolyuk

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Veselkin, D.V., Korzhinevskaya, A.A. & Podgaevskaya, E.N. The Edge Effect on the Herb–Dwarf Shrub Layer of Suburban Anthropogenically Fragmented Southern Taiga Pine Forests. Russ J Ecol 52, 446–454 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S106741362106014X

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