Journal Title
Title of Journal: Plant Ecol
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Abbravation: Plant Ecology
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Publisher
Springer Netherlands
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Authors: Luciana Oliveira dos Santos Leiliane Oliveira dos Santos Moirah Paula Machado de Menezes Colin Robert Beasley Ulf Mehlig
Publish Date: 2014/09/06
Volume: 215, Issue: 12, Pages: 1469-1481
Abstract
Manmade forest edges affect tree community composition and structure but there is little information on the effects of natural edges To detect tree community changes related to natural edges we investigated a terrestrial forest island bordered by grassland and mangrove landscapes on the Brazilian Amazon coast Forest structure and tree species composition were examined in 10mwide and 100mlong plots from the forest edge to the interior in relation to both landscapes 8 grassland and 4 mangrove plots Elevation and soil quality did not reveal strong spatial variability tidal inundation established a boundary for forest expansion without influencing the forest interior The tree community consisted of 82 species No distinct changes in vegetation structure and composition with distance from the border were detected Ordination procedures gave weak indications for shifts in community composition with distance from the edge and in respect to edge type Single species occurred more frequently either close to or more distant from the grasslandforest interface No such tendencies were detected at the mangroveterrestrial forest interface probably because the lack of structural differences between terrestrial forest and mangrove canopies did not permit the establishment of edgerelated microclimatic gradients Due to the isolation of the forest island and the harsh coastal environment the tree community was dominated by generalist species which are well adapted to the conditions at the grassland–forest edge Furthermore the patchy distribution of frequent species and the high number of rare species made it difficult to detect spatial patterns related to the forest edgeThe first author received a scholarship provided by the Support Program for Restructuring and Expansion of the Federal Universities Restruturação e Expansão das Universidades Federais REUNI of the Brazilian Ministry of Education MEC The Chico Mendes Biodiversity Conservation Institute ICMBIO and the Council of the CaetéTaperaçu Extractive Reserve provided the necessary permits for our work The authors wish to thank editor Karen Harper and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments We are grateful to Vitor A N Bragança for his support during field work
Keywords:
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- Regional and local variation in seedling emergence, mortality and recruitment of a perennial herb in Mediterranean mountain habitats
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