Trade-offs of biodiversity and ecosystem services in European forest edges vs interiors

Abstract Forest biodiversity and ecosystem services have been predominantly quantified in forest interiors, well away from edge influences. However, edges represent a significant portion of the forest cover in many regions world-wide. We quantified a broad set of plant biodiversity and ecosystem service indicators in 225 plots along forest edge-to-interior transects across Europe. We found strong trade-offs: while phylogenetic diversity (evolutionary measure of biodiversity), the proportion of forest specialists, nutrient cycling and heatwave buffering increased towards the forest interior, species richness (taxonomic measure of biodiversity), nectar production potential, stemwood biomass and overall tree regeneration were promoted towards the forest edge. These trade-offs were mainly driven by forest structural complexity differences from edge to interior. As fragmentation continues, forest edges increasingly reshape biodiversity and ecosystem service provisioning, which is yet to be integrated in forest management and policy to ensure sustainability in ecosystem services delivery.