ecotone
Americannoun
noun
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A transitional zone between two ecological communities, as between a forest and grassland or a river and its estuary. An ecotone has its own characteristics in addition to sharing certain characteristics of the two communities.
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See also edge effect
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ecotone
1900–05; eco- + tone < Greek tónos tension
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The trail seems to transverse through an ecotone, a transitional zone between plant communities, switching between high desert and pine forest ecosystems.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2025
“It’s the terrain where two different ecosystems meet. In an ecotone, the landscape will contain elements of the two different ecosystems. It’s like a natural borderlands.”
From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz
“Ari, do you know what an ecotone is?”
From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Most collections are from the forest-savanna ecotone, 8 kilometers southwest of town.
From A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico by William E. Duellman
Both House and Quarry Fields were on the ecotone between forest and meadow and a mixture of mammals from both types of habitat occurred.
From A Population Study of the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster) in Northeastern Kansas by Edwin P. Martin
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