Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Living on the edge: quantifying the structure of a fragmented forest landscape in England

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Landscape Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Forest ecosystems have been widely fragmented by human land use, inducing significant microclimatic and biological changes at the forest edge. If we are to rigorously assess the ecological impacts of habitat fragmentation, there is a need to effectively quantify the amount of edge habitat within a landscape, and to allow this to be modelled for individual species and processes. Edge effect may extend only a few metres or as far as several kilometres, depending on the species or process in question. Therefore, rather than attempting to quantify the amount of edge habitat by using a fixed, case-specific distance to distinguish between edge and core, the area of habitat within continuously-varying distances from the forest edge is of greater utility. We quantified the degree of fragmentation of forests in England, where forests cover 10 % of the land area. We calculated the distance from within the forest patches to the nearest edge (forest vs. non-forest) and other landscape indices, such as mean patch size, edge density and distance to the nearest neighbour. Of the total forest area, 37 % was within 30 m and 74 % within 100 m of the nearest edge. This highlights that, in fragmented landscapes, the habitats close to the edge form a considerable proportion of the total habitat area. We then show how these edge estimates can be combined with ecological response functions, to allow us to generate biologically meaningful estimates of the impacts of fragmentation at a landscape scale.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Banks-Leite C, Ewers RM, Metzger J-P (2010) Edge effects as the principal cause of area effects on birds in fragmented secondary forest. Oikos 119:918–926

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry PM, Dawson TP, Harrison PA, Pearson RG (2002) Modelling potential impacts of climate change on the bioclimatic envelope of species in Britain and Ireland. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 11:453–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowers MA, Matter SF, Dooley JL Jr, Dauten JL, Simkins JA (1996) Controlled experiments of habitat fragmentation: a simple computer simulation and a test using small mammals. Oecologia 108:182–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butt N, Campbell G, Malhi Y, Morecroft M, Fenn K, Thomas M (2009) Initial results from establishment of a long-term broadleaf monitoring plot at Wytham Woods, Oxford, UK. University of Oxford report. University of Oxford, Oxford. http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/publications/downloads/butt09-wythamwoods.pdf

  • Cardinale BJ, Duffy JE, Gonzalez A, Hooper DU, Perrings C, Venail P, Narwani A, Mace GM, Tilman D, Wardle DA, Kinzig AP, Daily GC, Loreau M, Grace JB, Larigauderie A, Srivastava DS, Naeem S (2012) Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature 486:59–67

  • Chen JQ, Franklin JF, Spies TA (1993) Contrasting microclimates among clear-cut, edge, and interior of old-growth douglas-fir forest. Agric For Meteorol 63:219–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cushman SA, McGarigal K, Neel MC (2008) Parsimony in landscape metrics: strength, universality, and consistency. Ecol Indic 8:691–703

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies-Colley RJ, Payne GW, van Elswijk M (2000) Microclimate gradients across a forest edge. N Z J Ecol 24:111–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Defra (2011) Biodiversity 2020: a strategy of England’s wildlife and ecosystem services. Policy paper. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69446/pb13583-biodiversity-strategy-2020-111111.pdf

  • Defra (2013) Govenrment forestry and woodland policy statement. Incorporating the Government’s response to the Independent Panel on Foresty’s final report. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/221023/pb13871-forestry-policy-statement.pdf

  • 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 

  • Ewers RM, Didham RK (2006a) Confounding factors in the detection of species responses to habitat fragmentation. Biol Rev 81:117–142

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ewers RM, Didham RK (2006b) Continuous response functions for quantifying the strength of edge effects. J Appl Ecol 43:527–536

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ewers RM, Didham RK (2007) The effect of fragment shape and species’ sensitivity to habitat edges on animal population size. Conserv Biol 21:926–936

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ewers RM, Didham RK (2008) Pervasive impact of large-scale edge effects on a beetle community. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:5426–5429

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ewers RM, Thorpe S, Didham RK (2007) Synergistic interactions between edge and area effects in a heavily fragmented landscape. Ecology 88:96–106

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ewers RM, Marsh CJ, Wearn OR (2010) Making statistics biologically relevant in fragmented landscapes. Trends Ecol Evol 25:699–704

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fahrig L (2003) Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 34:487–515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fenn KM, Malhi Y, Morecroft MD (2010) Soil CO2 efflux in a temperate deciduous forest: environmental drivers and component contributions. Soil Biol Biochem 42:1685–1693

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher RJ, Ries L, Battin J, Chalfoun AD (2007) The role of habitat area and edge in fragmented landscapes: definitively distinct or inevitably intertwined? Can J For Res 85:1017–1030

    Google Scholar 

  • Forestry Commission (2012) Woodland area, planting and restocking, 2012 edn. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/area2012.pdf/$FILE/area2012.pdf

  • Hall J, Kirby K (1998) The relationship between Biodiversity Action Plan Priority and Broad Habitat Types, and other woodland classifications. JNCC report, pp. 1–37

  • Hambler C, Henderson PA, Speight MR (2011) Extinction rates, extinction-prone habitats, and indicator groups in Britain and at larger scales. Biol Conserv 144:713–721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hargis C, Bissonette J, David J (1998) The behavior of landscape metrics commonly used in the study of habitat fragmentation. Landscape Ecol 13:167–186

    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

  • Harrison S, Bruna E (1999) Habitat fragmentation and large-scale conservation: what do we know for sure? Ecography 22:225–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinemeyer A, Hartley IP, Evans SP, De la Fuente JAC, Ineson P (2007) Forest soil CO2 flux: uncovering the contribution and environmental responses of ectomycorrhizas. Glob Chang Biol 13:1786–1797

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herbst M, Roberts JM, Rosier PTW, Taylor ME, Gowing DJ (2007) Edge effects and forest water use: a field study in a mixed deciduous woodland. For Ecol Manag 250:176–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HMSO (1995) Biodiversity: the UK Steering Group report, vol 1–2. HMSO, London

  • Independent Panel on Forestry (2012) Final report. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/183095/Independent-Panel-on-Forestry-Final-Report1.pdf

  • JNCC and Defra (on behalf of the Four Countries Biodiversity Group) (2012) UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework, July 2012. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/UK_Post2010_Bio-Fwork.pdf

  • Kapos V (1989) Effects of isolation on the water status of forest patches in the Brazilian Amazon. J Trop Ecol 5:173–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lafortezza R, Coomes DA, Kapos V, Ewers RM (2010) Assessing the impacts of fragmentation on plant communities in New Zealand: scaling from survey plots to landscapes. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 19:741–754

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF (2000) Do edge effects occur over large spatial scales? Trends Ecol Evol 15:134–135

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Yensen E (1991) Predicting the impacts of edge effects in fragmented habitats. Biol Conserv 55:77–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF, Lovejoy TE, Vasconcelos HL, Bruna EM, Didham RK, Stouffer PC, Gascon C, Bierregaard RO, Laurance SG, Sampaio E (2002) Ecosystem decay of Amazonian forest fragments: a 22-year investigation. Conserv Biol 16:605–618

  • Laurance WF, Nascimento HEM, Laurance SG, Andrade A, Ewers RM, Harms KE, Luizao RCC, Ribeiro JE (2007) Habitat fragmentation, variable edge effects, and the landscape–divergence hypothesis. PLoS ONE 2:e1017

  • Lawton J, Brotherton P, Brown V, Elphick C, Fitter A, Forshaw J, Haddow R, Hilborne S, Leafe R, Mace G, Southgate M, Sutherland W, Tew T, Varley J, Wynne G (2010) Making space of nature: a review of England’s wildlife sites and ecological network. Report to Defra

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGarigal K, Cushman SA (2002) Comparative evaluation of experimental approaches to the study of habitat fragmentation effects. Ecol Appl 12:335–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murcia C (1995) Edge effects in fragmented forests: implications for conservation. Trends Ecol Evol 10:58–62

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Opdam P, Wascher D (2004) Climate change meets habitat fragmentation: linking landscape and biogeographical scale levels in research and conservation. Biol Conserv 117:285–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterken GF (1993) Woodland conservation and management. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Rackham O (2008) Ancient woodlands: modern threats. New Phytol 180:571–586

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ries L, Fletcher RJ, Battin J, Sisk TD (2004) Ecological responses to habitat edges: mechanisms, models, and variability explained. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 35:491–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riitters KH, O’Neill RV, Hunsaker CT, Wickham JD, Yankee DH, Timmins SP, Jones KB, Jackson BL (1995) A factor analysis of landscape pattern and structure metrics. Landscape Ecol 10:23–39

  • Riutta T, Slade EM, Bebber DP, Taylor ME, Malhi Y, Riordan P, Macdonald DW, Morecroft MD (2012) Experimental evidence for the interacting effects of forest edge, moisture and soil macrofauna on leaf litter decomposition. Soil Biol Biochem 49:124–131

  • Robinson DT, Brown DG, Currie WS (2009) Modelling carbon storage in highly fragmented and human-dominated landscapes: linking land-cover patterns and ecosystem models. Ecol Model 220:1325–1338

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rybicki J, Hanski I (2013) Species–area relationships and extinctions caused by habitat loss and fragmentation. Ecol Lett 16:27–38

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders DA, Hobbs RJ, Margules CR (1991) Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review. Conserv Biol 5:18–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savill PS, Perrins CM, Kirby KJ, Fisher N (eds) (2010) Wytham Woods: Oxford’s ecological laboratory. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson JE, Slade E, Riutta T, Taylor ME (2012) Factors affecting soil fauna feeding activity in a fragmented lowland temperate deciduous woodland. PLoS ONE 7:e29616

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sisk TD, Haddad NM, Ehrlich PR (1997) Bird assemblages in patchy woodlands: modeling the effects of edge and matrix habitats. Ecol Appl 7:1170–1180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slade EM, Merckx T, Riutta T, Bebber DP, Redhead D, Riordan P, Macdonald DW (2013) Life-history traits and landscape characteristics predict macro-moth responses to forest fragmentation. Ecology 94:1519–1530

  • Spencer JW, Kirby KJ (1992) An inventory of ancient woodland for England and Wales. Biol Conserv 62:77–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UK National Ecosystem Assessment (2011) The UK National Ecosystem Assessment: synthesis of the key findings. Cambridge

  • Wade TG, Riitters KH, Wickham JD, Jones KB (2003) Distribution and causes of global forest fragmentation. Conserv Ecol 7:16

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts K (2006) British forest landscapes: the legacy of woodland fragmentation. Q J For 100:273–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Young A, Mitchell N (1994) Microclimate and vegetation edge effects in a fragmented podocarp-broadleaf forest in New Zealand. Biol Conserv 67:63–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

The study was funded by the HSBC Climate Partnership Programme through the Earthwatch Institute.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK

    Terhi Riutta & Yadvinder Malhi

  2. Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon, OX13 5QL, UK

    Eleanor M. Slade

  3. Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Department of Applied Biology, University of Helsinki, Latokartanonkaari 5, PO Box 27, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Eleanor M. Slade

  4. Natural England, Cromwell House, 15 Andover Road, Winchester, SO23 7BT, UK

    Michael D. Morecroft

  5. Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK

    Daniel P. Bebber

Authors
  1. Terhi Riutta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eleanor M. Slade
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michael D. Morecroft
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Daniel P. Bebber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yadvinder Malhi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Terhi Riutta.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

10980_2014_25_MOESM1_ESM.eps

Figure S1. Density histograms of (a) forest patch size, (b) patch shape index, (c) average distance to the nearest open edge from within the patch, (d) maximum distance to the nearest open edge from within the patch and (e) distance to the nearest patch of the same type. Left column: all forests, right column: ancient woodlands. (EPS 28 kb)

10980_2014_25_MOESM2_ESM.eps

Figure S2. Regional (see Fig. 1 for map) cumulative proportion of forest area (patches <2 ha excluded) as a function of the distance to the nearest open edge from within the forest patch. The parameters a and b of the hyperbolic curve (Eq. 1) and the mean forest patch size (mps) are shown in each panel (EPS 4.10 mb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Riutta, T., Slade, E.M., Morecroft, M.D. et al. Living on the edge: quantifying the structure of a fragmented forest landscape in England. Landscape Ecol 29, 949–961 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-014-0025-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-014-0025-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation