Severe disturbance plus low resource base can reduce species richness
Evidence
The rate of regrowth after disturbances is determined by the resource base. The effect of disturbance of a given intensity and frequency may be different in re source-limited systems than in resource-rich sites. Species richness may be reduced in systems experiencing a severe disturbance regime but having low resource bases. Since environmental stress may, by affecting resource uptake and productivity, also govern system structure, its role may be very similar to that of the resource base. — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 2259
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Floristic richness survives best where economic ‘progress’ has been slowest — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: With Other…, 172; Road traffic reduces grassland bird density up to 3.5 km away — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1382; Mature forests harbor long-lived soil seed banks of pioneer species awaiting disturbance — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 440 (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Unrelated sessile communities obey the same disturbance-diversity rule
#expands(0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss, 300 - Large-scale disturbances can prevent landscapes from reaching equilibrium
#corroborates(0.75) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 2272