Changing disturbance regimes, ecological memory, and forest resilience
University of Saskatchewan · United States Geological Survey · +13 more institutions
Abstract
Ecological memory is central to how ecosystems respond to disturbance and is maintained by two types of legacies – information and material. Species life‐history traits represent an adaptive response to disturbance and are an information legacy; in contrast, the abiotic and biotic structures (such as seeds or nutrients) produced by single disturbance events are material legacies. Disturbance characteristics that support or maintain these legacies enhance ecological resilience and maintain a “safe operating space” for ecosystem recovery. However, legacies can be lost or diminished as disturbance regimes and environmental conditions change, generating a “resilience debt” that manifests only after the system is…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 64.87
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 64
Authors
12- JFJill F. JohnstoneCorresponding
University of Saskatchewan
- CDCraig D. Allen
United States Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center
- JFJerry F. Franklin
University of Washington
- LELee E. Frelich
University of Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
- BJBrian J. Harvey
University of Colorado Boulder
Topics & keywords
- Disturbance (geology)
- Ecosystem
- Ecology
- Psychological resilience
- Environmental resource management
- Abiotic component
- Ecological resilience
- Forest ecology