In the plight of global environmental change, the study of ecotones is gaining traction in the scientific community.
Ecotones are spatially complex transition zones that occur between distinct plant communities. Here, plant species are at their ecophysiological limits due to changes in suitable environmental conditions such as climate and soil. Because of this heightened sensitivity, researchers are increasingly recognising the role ecotones could play in biodiversity conservation, potentially, acting as indicators of global environmental change.
Historically, studying ecotones presented scientific challenges due to their inherent dynamic spatial structure, data and methodological limitations. Notably, advances in spatial tools and techniques including GIS and remote sensing and spatial statistics, have afforded researchers the opportunity to locate and quantify ecotones across landscapes globally. However, these techniques typically neglect quantifying other defining characteristics, such as the spatial structure of ecotones, which notably shapes their adjacent plant communities.
Since ecotones are seldomly linear in structure, in our newly released study led by Dr Thina Ncube (On the Fractal Dimension of Ecotones Among African Vascular Plants) – a collaboration between the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, the University of Lincoln in New Zealand and the School of Geography at the University of Leeds combined two key techniques, the first being the application of a fractal dimension and second, statistical analyses.
There are several reasons for taking this approach, we wanted to find out if a fractal dimension (a measure of structural complexity in irregularly shaped features) could be of use in characterising the shape of ecotones. Through our statistical analyses, we intended to explore the relationships between the resulting fractal dimensions of the ecotones and a suite of environmental factors. Our findings revealed the overall usefulness of this approach and suggest its use in initiatives aimed at tracking shifts in plant biodiversity in Africa, and beyond.
A related version of this article is available on (Exploring fractal patterns in African ecotones), where we explore the topic from a broader perspective.
