Abstract
Given that ecological effects of disturbance have been extensively studied in many ecosystems, it is surprising that few quantitative syntheses across diverse ecosystems have been conducted. Multi-system studies tend to be qualitative because they focus on disturbance types that are difficult to measure in an ecologically relevant way. In addition, synthesis of existing studies across systems or disturbance types is challenging because sufficient information needed for analysis is not easily available. Theoretical advances and improved predictions can be advanced by generalizations obtained from synthesis activities that include multiple sites, ecosystems, and disturbance events. Building on existing research, we present a conceptual framework and an operational analog to integrate this rich body of knowledge and to promote quantitative comparisons of disturbance effects across different types of ecosystems and disturbances. This framework recognizes individual disturbance events that consist of three quantifiable components: (1) environmental drivers, (2) initial system properties, and (3) physical and biological mechanisms of effect, such as deposition, compaction, and combustion. These components result in biotic and abiotic legacies that can interact with subsequent drivers and successional processes to influence system response. Through time, a coarse-scale quasi-equilibrial state can be reached where variation in drivers interacting with biotic processes and feedbacks internal to the system results in variability in dynamics. At any time, a driver of sufficient magnitude can push the system beyond its realm of natural variability to initiate a new kind of event. We use long-term data from diverse terrestrial ecosystems to illustrate how our approach can facilitate cross-system comparisons, and provide new insights to the role of disturbance in ecological systems. We also provide key disturbance characteristics and measurements needed to promote future quantitative comparisons across ecosystems.
Highlights
Disturbance is a ubiquitous force in ecological systems that shapes patterns and dynamics across a range of spatial and temporal scales (White and Pickett 1985)
A related paradigm shift moved from viewing disturbance as a broad-scale impact (e.g., Albertson and Weaver 1946) to the recognition that a disturbance regime consists of many events, each with its own characteristics that interact with system properties to influence recovery dynamics (Sousa 1984)
Attention has shifted to changes in disturbance regimes under the umbrella of ‘‘global change’’ that may result in novel ecosystems with consequences to ecosystem services (Hobbs et al 2006, Williams and Jackson 2007, Raffa et al 2008, Seastedt et al 2008)
Summary
Disturbance is a ubiquitous force in ecological systems that shapes patterns and dynamics across a range of spatial and temporal scales (White and Pickett 1985). Disturbance types are often compared using characteristics such as size, frequency of occurrence, and intensity of effect (e.g., Pickett and White 1985, Turner et al 1993, 1997b, Reich et al 2001) These characteristics can be insufficient to explain variation in ecological response that may be related to weather or environmental conditions at the time of the event (e.g., Coffin et al 1996, Turner et al 1997b). A recent attempt to quantitatively compare disturbance types and effects across ecosystems in the US or funded by US agencies (forests, grasslands, desert, streams, lakes marine, urban, polar) demonstrated ambiguity in the ways that disturbance types are conceptualized and studied such that only general comparisons were possible (Table 1, Fig. 1) (Peters et al 2011). Our goals were to: (1) provide a framework to organize and integrate the large amount of existing knowledge
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