Deforestation is widely recognized as a critical impact of ongoing anthropogenic land use change. One result of deforestation that is increasingly gaining attention is the proliferation of forest edges across the globe. Forest edges experience altered microclimate and biogeochemical inputs and, consequently, exhibit distinct vegetation structure and composition from the forest interior. Edges are also highly variable, ranging from naturally-existing ecotones to urban forests surrounded by skyscrapers to woody encroachment in abandoned fields. Despite their global presence, edges remain relatively understudied relative to the interior of forest ecosystems. With over 70% of the world’s forests < 1 km from an edge, understanding edge ecosystems is imperative for predicting how forests will respond to ongoing global change. To help meet this pressing need, the research presented in this session addresses recent advances in our understanding of vegetation dynamics in forest edges. Presenters will report their findings on a variety of topics from studies that span ecosystems around the world including temperate forests in eastern North America and Europe, and tropical forests and savannas in Brazil and Iran. All talks in this session either focus on an under-represented region in the study of vegetation at edges or a relatively novel topic. Presentations will be framed to focus on how the research informs our understanding of edge ecosystems in a changing world. The ultimate goal of this session is to bring together researchers from multiple career stages and diverse backgrounds to create collaborations, look for commonalities in edge dynamics across ecosystems, and to better understand the role of edges in conservation. We hope that the conversations and ideas generated from this session will ensure that ‘a change is gonna come’ in edge research by encouraging future studies to fill in gaps in geography and topics in studying vegetation at edges.