DISTURBANCE RESPONSE

FOR YOUR NOTEBOOK

Disturbance Response- Human | Natural

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Secondary Succession: orderly and predictable change that takes place after a community of organisms has been removed but the soil has remained intact; usually occurs faster than primary succession (generally occurs after a disturbance)

Disturbance: an event of intense environmental stress occurring over a relatively short period of time and causing large changes in the affected ecosystem; individuals or entire species may be weakened or killed off

• Disturbance can be good or even necessary for an ecosystem; however, If the disturbance is ongoing and prevents succession from occurring, the damaged ecosystems may fail to recover

  • Natural Causes

    • Volcanic eruptions

    • Hurricanes

    • Tornadoes

    • Earthquakes

    • Glacial advance/retreat

    • Wildfires 

    • Insect infestation

  • Anthropogenic (Human) Activity 

    • Construction

    • Damming of rivers and streams

    • Wildfires

    • Severe pollution (toxic chemicals, nutrients, or heat)

    • Harvesting

• Large Scale vs. Small Scale Disturbance

  • Large scale events can affect millions of acres (wildfires) or entire continents (glaciation)

  • Small scale events can be as small as the death of one large tree in a forest