Disturbance: Introduction, with a terrestrial bias Peter White,
Biology/Ecology 255, Sept 9, 2005 Slide 2 Outline A personal
history Definition and significance Importance Search for
generality Discussion Slide 3 Outline A personal history Definition
and significance Importance Search for generality Discussion IDH,
niche and neutrality; Large scale behavior: Criticality, HRV,
Resilience; Legacy and History matters; Top-down and bottom-up
control and the Healthy Forest Initiative; Restoration Slide 4
Dartmouth, 1970s Slide 5 William S. Cooper ESAs Cooper Award
Cooper, W.S. 1926. The fundamentals of vegetation change. Ecology
7:391-413. Slide 6 Cowles Slide 7 CowlesCooper Slide 8
CowlesCooperBuell Slide 9 CowlesCooperBuellReiners Slide 10
CowlesCooperBuellReinersME! Slide 11 CowlesCooperBuellReinersME!
W.A.R. Slide 12 Watt, A.S. 1947. Pattern and process in the plant
community. Journal of Ecology 35:1-22. Slide 13 Pattern and process
in a forested ecosystem Pattern and process in cliff ecosystems
Pattern and process in mangrove ecosystems Pattern and process in
neotropical secondary rain forests Pattern and process in the
dynamics of seed banks Pattern, process, and prediction in aquatic
ecology. Spatial pattern and process in plant-pathogen interactions
Pattern, process, and predictability: the use of neutral models for
landscape analysis Landscape ecology: the effect of pattern on
process. Slide 14 Watt, A.S. 1923. On the ecology of British
beechwoods with special reference to their regeneration. Journal of
Ecology 11:1-48. Slide 15 The Leopold Report, 1963 Slide 16
Excitements! Succession did not start from equally blank
slatesSuccession did not start from equally blank slates Slide 17
Excitements! Disturbance was inevitableDisturbance was inevitable
Slide 18 27 Cove Trees of Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest Ma Mt MfLt
Ar As Th Ap Qr Cd Cg Fa Af Ns Io Fg Ba Bl Cf Ps Al Im Ca Hv Tc Hc
Dv +10 more Slide 19 Excitements! Succession did not start from
equally blank slatesSuccession did not start from equally blank
slates Disturbance was inevitableDisturbance was inevitable
Diversity dependent on recurrent disturbanceDiversity dependent on
recurrent disturbance Slide 20 Excitements! Succession did not
start from equally blank slatesSuccession did not start from
equally blank slates Disturbance was inevitableDisturbance was
inevitable Diversity dependent on recurrent disturbanceDiversity
dependent on recurrent disturbance Chance and transient
dynamicsChance and transient dynamics Slide 21 Shakespeare, hes in
the alley --Bob Dylan, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis
Blues Again, Blonde on Blonde Slide 22 Slide 23 Death of The Climax
Missouri Botanical Garden, 1978 Slide 24 Henry Cowles 1899 Lake
Michigan Sand Dunes Slide 25 Death of The Climax Missouri Botanical
Garden, 1978 b. Chicago, Illinois, 1899 d. St.Louis, Missouri, 1978
Climax Slide 26 Slide 27 Changes Academic lineage questionAcademic
lineage question Language requirementsLanguage requirements Slide
28 Changes Academic lineage questionAcademic lineage question
Language requirementsLanguage requirements Reprint request
cardsReprint request cards Slide 29 Changes Academic lineage
questionAcademic lineage question Language requirementsLanguage
requirements Reprint request cardsReprint request cards Nature of
the thesisNature of the thesis New journalsNew journals Slide 30
Subscriptions to journals and journal loyalty -- we read more now
but less in any one journal, and typically in digital format. And,
our method of discovery is altogether different Bob Peet
www.unc.edu/scholcomdig/whitepapers/peet.pdf
www.unc.edu/scholcomdig/whitepapers/peet.pdf Slide 31 Species
response to disturbance (from Vogl 1974) IncreasersIncreasers
DecreasersDecreasers InvadersInvaders RetreatersRetreaters
IntegratorsIntegrators Neutral speciesNeutral species Slide 32
Questions for the Semester What have we learned?What have we
learned? What generalities can we make?What generalities can we
make? What are the obstacles to generality?What are the obstacles
to generality? What are the interesting and important
questions?What are the interesting and important questions? Slide
33 First announcement: Disturbance and restoration in forest
ecosystems Course for the PhD-programme in Biodiversity and
Forestry, Vrdns, Linkping, Feb 13 17, 2006. Course leaders: Mats
Niklasson, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, SLU Per-Anders
Esseen, Ecology & Env Science, UMU Invited teachers: prof Peter
White,Biology Univ of North Carolina, USA prof Sylvie Gauthier,
Canadian Forest Service, Quebec Lars- Owe Wikars, Entomology SLU
Uppsala Lars stlund, Forest Vegetation Ecology, SLU Ume and more
Slide 34 Outline A personal history Definition and significance
Importance Search for generality Discussion Slide 35 Disturbance
definitions Absolute:Absolute: A discrete event in time that
disrupts ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes
resources, substrate availability or the physical environment
(White & Pickett 1985) Grime: a loss of biomass Slide 36 Slide
37 Relative Definition: Displacement from normal dynamics Patch
dynamicsPatch dynamics Quantitative & qualitative
equilibriumQuantitative & qualitative equilibrium Historic
Range of Variation, Natural Range of VariabilityHistoric Range of
Variation, Natural Range of Variability CriticalityCriticality
ResilienceResilience Slide 38 Importance BiodiversityBiodiversity
Exotic invasionsExotic invasions Effects on value, healthEffects on
value, health Ecosystem use, harvestEcosystem use, harvest Climate
changeClimate change Land-use and hazard insuranceLand-use and
hazard insurance Environmental ethics in a patch dynamic
worldEnvironmental ethics in a patch dynamic world Slide 39 The 17
Ten Greatest Hits 2000+ Papers Obstacles to Generality Slide 40
Patch & Multipatch Scales Patch scale Multipatch scale Slide 41
Thinking about disturbance SpacePatchMultipatch(Landscape) Slide 42
Space/TimeEventMultievent PatchMultipatch(Landscape) Slide 43
Thinking about disturbance Space/TimeEventMultievent Patch1. P-E2.
P-ME Multipatch 3. MP-E4. MP-ME (Landscape) Slide 44 Thinking about
disturbance Space/TimeEventMultievent Patch1. P-E2. P-ME Multipatch
3. MP-E4. MP-ME (Landscape) Slide 45 Thinking about disturbance
Space/TimeEventMultievent Patch1. P-E2. P-ME Multipatch 3. MP-E4.
MP-ME (Landscape) Easiest to study Slide 46 Thinking about
disturbance Space/TimeEventMultievent Patch1. P-E2. P-ME Multipatch
3. MP-E4. MP-ME (Landscape) Biodiversity, Sustainability Slide 47
Thinking about disturbance #1 Patch-Event Scale Legacy matters
Empirical detail matters Specificity matters Slide 48 Disturbances
within one ecosystem vary Appalachian Fir Forest Slide 49 Slide 50
A family of successions differing in legacy because of difference
in severity Slide 51 Fire intensity & effects on soils --from
Ryan 2002 Slide 52 FIRE SEVERITY Organic Soil Depth & Coarse
Wood Long Term Drying Short Term Drying & Wind Canopy Height
& Mass of Fine Fuel Site Factors Weather Factors Fireline
Intensity (Flame Length) Depth of Burn UnburnedLightModerateDeep
Unburned Low Moderate High Extreme 19 Ground Fire with Total Duff
Consumption Time (hours) 0 Temperature (C) 1100 Savannah Grass Fire
without Duff Consumption Time (minutes) 4 Temperature (C) 325 0
Crown Fire without Duff Consumption Time (minutes) 10 25
Temperature (C) 0 1100 016 Crown Fire with Total Duff Consumption
Time (hours) Temperature (C) 1100 Slide 53 Slide 54 Richter et al.
1996 Slide 55 Specificity & structure NoneNone Drought,
landslide, dune movement, freeze-thaw, salinity incursions, crown
fire Large, dominant individualsLarge, dominant individuals Ice
storm, wind Small individualsSmall individuals Surface fire, flood,
falling trees Slide 56 Disturbance specificity aAbB Succession
Disturbance Slide 57 Disturbance specificity: Setting succession
back aAbB Succession Disturbance Slide 58 Disturbance specificity:
Advancing succession aAbB Succession Disturbance Slide 59
Disturbance specificity: Holding succession in check aAbB
Succession Disturbance Slide 60 Disturbance specificity:
Maintaining late successional species aAbB Succession Disturbance
Slide 61 Thinking about disturbance #2 Space/TimeEventMultievent
Patch1. P-E2. P-ME Multipatch 3. MP-E4. MP-ME (Landscape) History
matters Interactions matter Slide 62 Clark 1996 Disturbance density
in time Slide 63 Disturbance Regime: Synergisms Feedback between
community state & disturbanceFeedback between community state
& disturbance Feedback between time since disturbance & the
next disturbanceFeedback between time since disturbance & the
next disturbance Disturbance interactionsDisturbance interactions
Slide 64 Disturbances interact: history matters + promote
subsequent disturbance - inhibit subsequent disturbance Fire-fire
(Covington & Moore 1994)Fire-fire (Covington & Moore 1994)
Fire-insect (Flamm et al. 1993)Fire-insect (Flamm et al. 1993)
Fire-grazing (Vinton et al. 1993)Fire-grazing (Vinton et al. 1993)
Wind-fungi-insects (Matlack et al. 1993)Wind-fungi-insects (Matlack
et al. 1993) Avalanche-fire-insects (Veblen et al.
1994)Avalanche-fire-insects (Veblen et al. 1994) Slide 65 Hardwoods
White pine % Damage 20 40 Age (yr) 80 100 Hurricane damage
increases with age & is greater in successional pine stands
than hardwoods at any age -- Foster 1988 Slide 66 Disturbance
Regime: Synergisms Feedback between time since disturbance &
the next disturbanceFeedback between time since disturbance &
the next disturbance Suppression decreases frequency BUT increases
severity Slide 67 Feedback with time since disturbance: fire From
Niklasson & Granstrom Slide 68 Gustafson et al. 2004 Management
influence on risk of crown fire to towns FIRE SUPPRESSION DECREASES
CROWN FIRE RISK! Slide 69 Thinking about disturbance #3
Space/TimeEventMultievent Patch1. P-E2. P-ME Multipatch 3. MP-E4.
MP-ME (Landscape) Slide 70 Climate, site drive disturbance regime
Process creates pattern Pattern creates process Slide 71
Disturbance-climate relations Regional synchronicityRegional
synchronicity Climate systems & spatial autocorrelation Stress
on management Violation of independence for otherwise isolated
populations that we had hoped were independent Southern Oscillation
& fire --Swetnam & Betancourt 1990 Slide 72 Bekker &
Taylor 2001 Slide 73 Rollins et al. 2002 In the S, more fire on NW,
N, NE slopes In the N, more fire on SW, W slopes Slide 74 Process
creates pattern + Fire often increases heterogeneity - Succession
often decreases heterogeneity Slide 75 Heterogeneity Higher Lower
Slide 76 Hi Meadow, CO 4,422 ha Viveash, NM 11,017 ha Bobcat Gulch,
CO 3,059 ha High burn Low/ Unburned Image from S. Kotliar, USGS
Heterogeneity is important in recovery: distance, size, seed
source, legacy Slide 77 Pattern also creates process + Fire spread
from more to less flammable stands - Fire absent from flammable
stands because of fire breaks Slide 78 Islands in boreal forest
lakes Bergeron & collaborators Isolated from large, high
intensity mainland fires Lightning ignitions increase as island
size, elevation, & isolation increase Frequent low intensity
fires maintain island populations of Red Pine that could not
persist in the mainland crown fire regime Slide 79 Fuel
Connectedness & Fire Cape Canaveral Duncan & Schmalzer 2004
Slide 80 Connectedness & Fuel Moisture Slide 81 Turner and
Romme 1994 * * high fuel moisture e.g., typical spring * * low fuel
moisture e.g. typical late-summer low flammability high
flammability burned * lightning strike very low fuel moisture and
wind e.g. 1988 WIND * * Slide 82 Pattern & Process Pattern
controls process at low to medium fire intensities Process
overwhelms pattern at high fire intensities Agee 1998 Slide 83
Pattern & Process Pattern controls process at low to medium
fire intensities Process overwhelms pattern at high fire
intensities Agee 1998 TOP DOWN vs. BOTTOM UP CONTROL Top Down =
Climate Bottom Up = Fuels Slide 84 Thinking about disturbance #4
Space/TimeEventMultievent Patch1. P-E2. P-ME Multipatch 3. MP-E4.
MP-ME (Landscape) Dynamic equilibrium Historic range of variation
Slide 85 Frequency vs. Magnitude Gaps in Japanese deciduous forest
--Tanaka & Nakashizuka 1998 Slide 86 Two definitions of dynamic
equilibrium 1. Quantitative equilibrium % Time Slide 87 Two
definitions of dynamic equilibrium 2. Qualitative or persistence
equilibrium BOUNDED VARIATION % Time Slide 88 Minimum dynamic area
An area large enough to contain all the patch types and to result
in the sustained dynamics of the ecosystem Slide 89 Minimum dynamic
area An area large enough to contain all the patch types and to
result in the sustained dynamics of the ecosystem Rules of Thumb
Maximum disturbance
