Disturbance patches in a perennial matrix differ functionally from total removal.

Evidence

Gopher digging and cultivation can both be viewed as large-scale treatments in that 2-5 ha undergo the treatment at any given time, and within these treatment areas extensive populations of disturbance-adapted species can develop. An important difference, however, is that in cultivation the entire range of perennial species is removed, whereas in the presence of a high gopher population a broad spectrum of perennial species serves as a matrix within which the disturbance occurs. Thus, in the latter case, the opportunistic species might be viewed as colonizing patches in a mosaic, whereas in the former they are viewed as colonizing a relatively uniform, large-scale disturbance. — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 561

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes a patch-dynamic disturbance (gopher mounds in a resilient matrix) from uniform stand-replacing treatment (cultivation) — the patch vs. uniform distinction.
• XREF: Ties to the course theme of land-use change: how a formerly forested or prairie site was disturbed determines recovery trajectory from present structure. — connects to: Forest age and composition changes cluster along disturbance-history boundaries — Tom Wessels, Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to…, 30; Intermediate disturbance works by preserving patch structure, not protecting weak competitors — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1939; Patch dynamic theory rests on unverified assumptions about population equivalence — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1821 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Intermediate disturbance works by preserving patch structure, not protecting weak competitors #expands (0.85) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1939
• Patch dynamic theory rests on unverified assumptions about population equivalence #complicates (0.80) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1821