Disadvantages
The narrow borders act as travel lanes for predators and increase predation along the edges. Species can be restricted to one area if the border is too wide or overgrown. Edge effect can cause changes in abiotic and biotic conditions which can cause the natural variation to be lost and make the habitat unsuitable for the original ecosystem. Edge effect can also affect the physical and chemical conditions of the species on the borders. For example, fertilizer from an agricultural field can run off into a bordering forest and contaminate that habitat. The three factors affecting edges can be summarized:
- Abiotic effect – involving changes in the environmental conditions that result from the proximity to a structurally dissimilar matrix
- Direct biological effects – involves changes in the abundance and distribution of species caused directly by the physical conditions near the edge
- Indirect biological effects which involve changes in species interactions such as predation, brood parasitism, competition, herbivory, and biotic pollination and seed dispersal
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