Abstract: Edge effect is an important concept in ecology and biological conservation, playing an important role in the study of ecological processes such as energy and material flow at ecosystem scale and landscape scale. This paper expatiated the connotation, features, quantitative evaluation (basis of quantitative analysis, strength, impact zone, and models, etc.), and applied aspects of edge effect, summarized the impacts of edge effect on forest ecosystem, analyzed the deficiencies in the study of edge effect, and prospected related research directions, aimed to provide references for forest and protected area management.

Key words: forest ecosystem, edge effect, forest edge