Abstract

PENA-BECERRIL, Juan Carlos; MONROY-ATA, Arcadio; ALVAREZ-SANCHEZ, Francisco Javier  and  OROZCO-ALMANZA, Ma. Socorro. Use of the vegetation edge effect for ecological restoration of tropical forest. TIP [online]. 2005, vol.8, n.2, pp.91-98. ISSN 1405-888X.

The habitat fragmentation originated by deforestation causes profound changes in ecological processes. one of these changes is the so called edge effect, which consists of the generation of a changing microclimate and dynamic edaphic conditions, both determinated by the transition between the native forest and the adjacent induced plant community. The objective of this work was to analyze the ecotone (which often occurs abruptly) between two community types in order to understand the main factors involved in the process of the edge effect and the causal relations. This is aimed to make the seedling establishment easy, to increase the area of vegetation fragments, to join the forest remains and to favor the conservation of tropical ecosystems. The width of the edge effect varies according to several factors such as native plant community type, dominant species in the edge, fragment area, edge orientation, topographic position, disturbance degree, altitude, precipitation and soil fertility. The main edge effect consists of the conformation of microsites for the establishment of shade-tolerant plant species near the edge and microsites for shade-intolerant species in the open area, beyond the direct edge influence. It was concluded that the edge effect is a condition which facilitates the expansion of forest fragments and it it could be a tool to restore of deteriorated tropical ecosystems.

Keywords : Tropical forest; edge effect; microsite; ecological restoration.