Disturbance (ecology)

In biology, a disturbance is a temporary change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem. Disturbances often act quickly and with great effect, to alter the physical structure or arrangement of biotic and abiotic elements. Disturbance can also occur over a long period of time and can impact the diversity within an ecosystem. Major ecological disturbances may include fires, flooding, windstorms, insect outbreaks and trampling. Earthquakes, various types of volcanic eruptions, tsunami, firestorms, impact events, climate change, and the devastating effects of human impact on the environment (anthropogenic disturbances) such as clearcutting, forest clearing and the introduction of invasive species can be considered major disturbances. Disturbance forces can have profound immediate effects on ecosystems and can, accordingly, greatly alter the natural community. Because of these and the impacts on populations, disturbance determines the future shifts in dominance, various species successively becoming dominant as their life history characteristics, and associated life-forms, are exhibited over time.

Conditions under which natural disturbances occur are influenced mainly by climate, weather, and location. Fire disturbances will only occur in areas where there is low precipitation, some form of ignition (typically lightning), and enough flammable biomass to allow fire to spread. Conditions often occur as part of a cycle and disturbances may be periodic. Other disturbances, such as those caused by humans, invasive species or impact events, can occur anywhere and are not necessarily cyclic. Extinction vortices may result in multiple disturbances or a greater frequency of a single disturbance. Immediately after a disturbance there is a pulse of recruitment or regrowth under conditions of little competition for space or other resources. After the initial pulse, recruitment slows since once an individual plant is established it is very difficult to displace. Due to the varying forms of disturbance this directly impacts the organisms which will exploit the disturbance and create diversity within an ecosystem.

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