Steady-state shifting mosaics need frequent small disturbances plus feedback on frequency

Evidence

The greatest likelihood of a steady state in the shifting mosaic occurs in systems in which disturbance is frequent and small in scale relative to an otherwise homoge­ neous area of habitat, and in which feedback mechanisms influence disturbance frequency. An example of such a feedback mechanism is the increasing flam­ mability of forest stands with time since the last fire (Mutch, 1970) and the increas­ ing vulnerability to disturbance that organisms experience as they age and increase in size (e.g., the stress on algae holdfasts increases with increasing algae biomass; Sousa, Chapter 7, this volume). — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 2273

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Localized disturbances turn sessile assemblages into a patch mosaic — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 681; A fine-grained patch mosaic can retain watershed nutrients better than large managed patches — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1991; Small-edge-rich gap regimes produce repeat disturbance that slows gap closure — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 230

Broader Connections

• Small-edge-rich gap regimes produce repeat disturbance that slows gap closure #exemplifies (0.90) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 230