Landscape Boundaries: Consequences for Biotic Diversity and Ecological Flows

This volume examines the effect of ecotone patterning on community diversity and landscape functioning. Ecotones (transition zones between ecosystems) define ecosystem boundaries and may control the flow of energy, material, and organisms between ecosystems. This book explores the role of ecotones in controlling these flows thereby influencing landscape functioning. It synthesizes existing theory, evaluates central hypotheses relative to empirical and simulation data, and puts forth new hypotheses. This volume will help to stimulate the thinking and research that is necessary to build a satisfactory theory of landscape dynamics. Written for scientists, students, and policy analysts interested in landscape ecology, conservation biology, or sustainable land use practices, this book is among the first to integrate the ecotone concept into modern ecological theory and to examine implications for management.