Figure 6. The effect of patch shape on the amount of edge and interior habitat

Patch A and Patch B have roughly the same area, however, the more a forested patch tends to be circular, the greater the proportion of interior habitat and the less edge (Patch A).

Patch B has an irregular shape with much less interior habitat and more edge than Patch A.

Note: Interpretation of interior habitat in these examples is dependent on the overall size of the patch (e.g., number of tree heights in width).

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