Basic Info on Fragmentation:

Habit fragmentation is defined as "the simultaneous reduction of the area of the focal habitat and increased isolation of the remaining habitat patches" (Ranta et al. 1998). In short, fragments are areas of forest surrounded by deforested area.

Many species are lost during and immediately following fragmentation, but there are also many long-term effects which can be caused by changes in processes such as pollination, predation, territorial behavior and feeding habits, in addition to changes in microclimate affecting solar radiation, humidity and wind pattern. In general, fragments have a much greater proportion of edge zone (in comparison to closed forest), which is physically different from interior forest, thus changing ecological properties of the fragment. Fragments usually can not support many species assemblages that exist in closed forest, and smaller fragments suffer more loss in biodiversity.

Effect of fragmentation on Epiphytes:

Survival of epiphytes subsequent to fragmentation is largely dependent on the size of the tree in which a species resides, the size of the fragment and also the relation of the fragment to closed forest (distance). In fragmented forest, there is a much greater loss in biodiversity of epiphytes than loss of presence in the fragment (thus we could not monitor the health of epiphytes in fragmented forest merely by measuring chemical output; we would have to determine species richness). The size and shape of a fragment will determine how the exchange of diasporas and pollen is carried out within and between fragments, and can lead to isolation of subpopulations.

Although the slow growth and long cycles of epiphytes make them more vulnerable to high rates of disturbance, it allows them to survive better in the mid-term if they can get past initial conditions. This increases their chance of success for colonization of second-forest in deforested areas as long as these reforested patches are not to far from larger fragments. In addition, their sensitivity makes them "suitable indicators of changes in local climate, forest structure and ecosystem health" (Hietz  1998).