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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotone
This is for an assignment for my ecology class
Formation[edit source] Changes in the physical environment may produce a sharp boundary, as in the example of the interface between areas of forest and cleared land. Elsewhere, a more gradually blended interface area will be found, where species from each community will be found together as well as unique local species. Mountain ranges often create such ecotones, due to the wide variety of climatic conditions experienced on their slopes. They may also provide a boundary between species due to the obstructive nature of their terrain. Mont Ventoux in France is a good example, marking the boundary between the flora and fauna of northern and southern France.[1] Most wetlands are ecotones. The spatial variation of ecotones often form due to disturbances, creating patches that separate patches of vegetation. Different intensity of disturbances can cause landslides, land shifts, or movement of sediment that can create these vegetation patches and ecotones.[2]
Added citation to information pertaining to Mount Ventoux as an example of an ecotone. Reference is a scientific journal about how vegetation creates this ecotone.
Plants in competition extend themselves on one side of the ecotone as far as their ability to maintain themselves allows. Beyond this competitor of the adjacent community take over. As a result, the ecotone represents a shift in dominance. Ecotones are particularly significant for mobile animals, as they can exploit more than one set of habitats within a short distance. The ecotone contains not only species common to the communities on both sides; it may also include a number of highly adaptable species that tend to colonize such transitional areas.[3] The phenomenon of increased variety of plants as well as animals at the community junction is called the edge effect and is essentially due to a locally broader range of suitable environmental conditions or ecological niches.