Dissimilarity, nestedness, and turnover patterns in vegetation at the edge and in the core of lowland forest habitats

Abstract Human-induced fragmentation has serious consequences on forest species composition. Reduced patch size, increased isolation, and raising human impact along forest patch edges trigger long-term changes in the composition of remaining fragments. Effective management requires understanding how fragmentation influences vegetation composition in different forest habitats. We assessed species composition dissimilarity between plots 10 m from the forest edge and plots in the middle of forest patches in 49 deciduous forest habitats (turkey oak, oak-hornbeam, hardwood floodplain, and alder) in Slovakia. Our study examined the influence of edge on spatial characteristics, life history components of vegetation (alien, forest, red list, and apophytes, i.e. native plant species mostly occurring in secondary habitats, usually man-made), and climatic conditions. This study highlights that spatial community dissimilarity, species turnover, and nestedness vary significantly between forest core and edge areas across different habitat types. Forest habitats react uniquely to fragmentation and are influenced by habitat type, forest edge length within a 1 km buffer, and mean annual temperature. Therefore, it is necessary to suggest appropriate forest management to minimize edges’ length. We recommend maintaining a low perimeter-to-area ratio of forest patches. This can be achieved by managing edges to be straight, avoiding complex shapes, and merging forest islands through afforestation, considering the spatial configuration of patches.