Each woody plant growth form is efficient only within a narrow disturbance range

Evidence

In contrast to many of the combinations of traits involved in seedling establish­ ment, the traits that determine woody plant growth appear to be more specialized in their response to disturbance. The studies discussed in Section IV suggest that a particular growth form will have a maximum growth efficiency in a fairly narrow range of disturbances or levels of resource availability. Factors such as patchiness in the patterns of seedling establishment, differences in the timing of establishment, and regrowth of surviving plants can act to reduce the importance of differential growth rates and efficiencies in the regrowth of vegetation following disturbance. — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1348

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to ch4/ch37 material on tolerant vs intolerant species partitioning gaps by size, and to the disturbance-regime vocabulary used throughout the landscape course. — connects to: Lianas suppress host tree growth and mortality unless trees shed or outgrow them — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 449; Shrubland diversity arises from varied disturbance rather than a single optimum — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 672