3. Duurzaam bosbeheer (in het Engels)
Ecotone Changes
Ecotones are transitional zones between two habitats or ecosystems. For example, the change from land to sea or river, or the change from forest to grassland is an ecotone. These zones can shift over time, as one species expands and the other contracts. Ecotones do not only depend on the area occupied by individual species, but the changes in the area covered by a habitat is driven by the presence or absence of particular vegetation species.
An area of mountain ecotone showing the transitions from forest to scrub to grass and finally to bare ground with increasing elevation.
Source: GEOLAND project
Source: GEOLAND project
As the elevation increases the types of vegetation change, as it can be seen on the image above. Why do you think that is?
Answer
A map of ecotone transition in an Austrian alpine treeline, produced from SPOT satellite data.
Source: GEOLAND project
Source: GEOLAND project
