#ECOTONE EDGE EFFECTS LANDSCAPE DRIVERS#

Future research is needed to understand fire as an agent of edge creation the spatio‐temporal flux of fire edges across landscapes and the effect of fire edges on faunal movement, resource selection, and biotic interactions.

#ECOTONE EDGE EFFECTS LANDSCAPE DRIVERS#

Our conceptual model combines several drivers of faunal fire responses (biophysical properties, regime attributes, species traits) and will therefore lead to improved predictions. Predicting the effect of fire edges on fauna is challenging, but important for biodiversity conservation in flammable landscapes. Edge architecture and species traits influence edge permeability, which is linked to important processes such as movement, resource selection, and species interactions.

In our conceptual model, biophysical properties interact with the fire regime (e.g., patchiness, frequency) to influence edge architecture. However, data are limited and the influence of fire edges on both local abundance and regional distributions of fauna is largely unknown. Responses are also influenced by edge architecture (e.g., size and shape), site and landscape context, and spatial scale. Faunal abundance at fire edges changes over time, but patterns depend on species traits and resource availability. We then develop a conceptual model to predict faunal responses to fire edges and present an agenda for future research. We review the literature on fire, fauna, and edge effects to summarize current knowledge of faunal responses to fire edges and identify knowledge gaps. However, little work has been conducted in flammable ecosystems where spatially and temporally dynamic fire edges are expected to influence important processes such as recolonization of burnt areas and landscape connectivity. Edges are ecologically important environmental features and have been well researched in agricultural and urban landscapes.

Ecotone edge effects landscape