Vermio (north-central Greece), by using quadrates of different size (multi-scale sampling), to test the effect of scale at the investigation of ecotoneвЂ™s location and the diversity patterns. This study aims at the investigation of diversity (compositional and functional) patterns and plant species distribution along transitions of two different pairs of homogenous forest ecosystems (beech forests вЂ“ broadleaved forests and beech forests вЂ“ black pine forests). changes of location and species composition), make them effective indicators of environmental or global climate changes. Thus, maintenance of environmental heterogeneity among grassland-forest edges in agricultural ecosystems should be prioritized for local biodiversity conservation.Д®cotones are areas of sharp changes between biological communities and comprise a basic unit for landscape ecology studies, while their dynamic character (e.g.

This alpha-diversity pattern was suggested to be attributable to resource gradients created by the forest edges.Д¬onclusions: Although plant alpha-diversity may not be consistently high in the vicinity of edges, beta-diversity in the communities bordering grassland-forest edges will generally be high in the traditional agricultural landscape. Alpha-diversity tended to be lower within grassland plots located around edges than in grassland interiors, while the richness of the forest community increased toward the edge. However, the high beta-diversity of forest floor communities in the proximity of edges cannot be explained by this mechanism. Our results suggest that among-edge variations in light conditions, which likely depend on edge aspect and forest type, promote high grassland plant beta-diversity in the vicinity of edges. Results: We quantitatively demonstrated common positive edge effects on beta-diversity in both grasslands and forests. Spatial variations in plant beta- and alpha-diversity and environmental variables and their relationships were examined. Methods: Vegetation survey and environmental (soil water content and sunlight) measurements were conducted on 11 transects passing through grassland-forest ecosystems. Questions: Are there positive edge effects on beta- and alpha-diversity of plant species across semi-natural grassland-secondary forest gradients located within a traditional agricultural landscape? Is beta-diversity (dissimilarity in plant species composition between two given plots) well explained by environmental differences for both grasslands and forests? Do gradients of environmental factors created by forest edges influence spatial variation in alpha-diversity from edges to grasslands and forests?LocationSemi-natural grasslands and secondary forests (or conifer plantation) around paddy fields in a traditional agricultural landscape, western Japan. We conclude that all three features we examined depend on the particular ecological conditions and the ecology of the species present they are not intrinsic properties of ecotones. Contrary to theory, the proportion of exotic species in the second ecotone was significantly lower than in either adjacent community. There were appreciable numbers of exotic species in the two ecotones with anthropogenic influence, one of which had a proportion of exotic species intermediate between the two adjacent communities. In the environmental/anthropogenic ecotone, species richness was higher than in adjacent communities, but not significantly so. Species richness was intermediate between that of the two adjacent communities in three of the ecotones. The switch ecotone and the purely anthropogenic ecotone also contained native species that were significantly more frequent in the ecotone than in either adjacent community. All but one of the ecotonal species were native. Ecotonal species, in the sense of species mainly restricted to the ecotone at the site, were present in all four ecotones. The exact position of each ecotone was established from the spatial change in ordination scores. Four contrasting ecotones were sampled to address three questions: (1) Are there вЂecotonalвЂ™ species, (2) Do ecotones possess higher (or lower) species richness than the adjacent communities? and (3) Are exotic species more likely to occur in ecotones? One ecotone was edaphic, one was apparently caused by a positive-feedback switch, one was environmental/anthropogenic and one was entirely anthropogenic.

Ecotone vs continuum