Journal ArticleDOI
Patterns of plant species diversity during succession under different disturbance regimes.
TLDR
It is suggested that between-community variations in diversity patterns during succession in plant communities are due to the effects of selection on life history strategies under different disturbance regimes, providing an evolutionary mechanism with which to examine the changes in plant community structure during succession.Abstract:
I suggest that between-community variations in diversity patterns during succession in plant communities are due to the effects of selection on life history strategies under different disturbance regimes Natural disturbances to plant communities are simultaneously a source of mortality for some individuals and a source of establishment sites for others The plant community consists of a mosaic of disturbance patches (gaps) of different environmental conditions The composition of the mosaic is described by the size-frequency distribution of the gaps and is dependent on the rates and scales of disturbance The life-history strategies of plant species dependent on some form of disturbance for establishment of propagules should reflect this size-frequency distribution of disturbance patches An extension of island biogeographic theory to encompass relative habitat area predicts that a community should be most rich in species adapted to growth and establishment in the spatially most common patch types Changes in species diversity during succession following large scale disturbance reflect the prevalent life history patterns under historically common disturbance regimes Communities in which the greatest patch area is in large-scale clearings (eg following fire) are most diverse in species establishing seedlings in xeric, high light conditions Species diversity decreases during succession Communities in which such large patches are rare are characterized by a large number of species that reach the canopy through small gaps and realtively few which regenerate in the large clearings Diversity increases during succession following a large scale disturbanceEvidence from communities characterized by different disturbance regimes is summarized from the literature This hypothesis provides an evolutionary mechanism with which to examine the changes in plant community structure during succession Diversity peaks occurring at "intermediate levels" of disturbance as discussed by Connell and Huston are interpreted in this contextread more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The Theory of Island Biogeography
TL;DR: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols used xiii 1.
Journal ArticleDOI
Disturbance, Diversity, and Invasion: Implications for Conservation
TL;DR: The natural disturbance regime is now unlikely to persist within conser- vation area since fragmentation and human intervention have usually modified physical and biotic conditionx Active management decisions must now be made on what distur- bance regime is require and this requires decisions on what species are to be encouraged or discouraged.
Journal ArticleDOI
Tropical rainforest gaps and tree species diversity
TL;DR: Interest in the role of adaptations by species to different regeneration sites in structuring plant assemblages in general and tropical tree communities in particular is heightened by rising rates of deforestation throughout the tropics and a critical need for management strategies of the remaining preserves.
Journal ArticleDOI
The disturbance of forest ecosystems: the ecological basis for conservative management
TL;DR: A review of the literature on natural disturbance in forests can be found in this paper, where the authors argue that disturbance is a major force moulding the development, structure and function of forests and that management of forests for all their benefits can be controlled so that the effects can be contained within those which result from natural disturbance.
Journal ArticleDOI
Models, mechanisms and pathways of succession
TL;DR: A framework of successional mechanisms is erected based on classical causes of succession that have survived recent scrutiny and aims at comprehensiveness, and specific mechanisms are nested within more general causes.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
The Theory of Island Biogeography
TL;DR: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols used xiii 1.
Book
The Theory of Island Biogeography
TL;DR: The Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201
Journal ArticleDOI
Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs.
TL;DR: The commonly observed high diversity of trees in tropical rain forests and corals on tropical reefs is a nonequilibrium state which, if not disturbed further, will progress toward a low-diversity equilibrium community as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
Evidence for the existence of three primary strategies in plants and its relevance to ecological and evolutionary theory
TL;DR: A triangular model based upon the three strategies of evolution in plants may be reconciled with the theory of r- and K-selection, provides an insight into the processes of vegetation succession and dominance, and appears to be capable of extension to fungi and to animals.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Strategy of Ecosystem Development
TL;DR: The principles of ecological succession bear importantly on the relationships between man and nature and needs to be examined as a basis for resolving man’s present environmental crisis.