Plant Disturbance Ecology: The Process and the Response

Disturbance ecology continues to be an active area of research, having undergone advances in many areas in recent years. One emerging direction is the increased coupling of physical and ecological processes, in which disturbances are increasingly traced back to mechanisms that cause the disturbances themselves, such as earth surface processes, mesoscale, and larger meteorological processes, and the ecological effects of interest are increasingly physiological.

Plant Disturbance Ecology, 2nd Edition encourages movement away from the informal, conceptual approach traditionally used in defining natural disturbances and clearly presents how scientists can use a multitude of approaches in plant disturbance ecology. This edition includes nine revised chapters from the first edition, as well new, more comprehensive chapters on fire disturbance and beaver disturbance. Edited by leading experts in the field, Plant Disturbance Ecology, 2nd Edition is an essential resource for scientists interested in understanding plant disturbance and ecological processes.

Provides a framework for collaboration between geophysical scientists and ecologists studying natural disturbances

Includes fully updated research with 5 new chapters and revision of 11 chapters from the first edition

1. Disturbance and Succession

2. The Turbulent Wind in Plant and Forest Canopies

3. Thunderstorm Downbursts: Windstorms and Blowdowns

4. Understanding How the Interaction of Wind and Trees Results in Windthrow,Stem Breakage, and Canopy Gap Formation

5. Meteorological Conditions Associated with Ice Storm Damage to Forests

6. The Effect of Icing Events on the Death and Regeneration of North American Trees

7. Coastal Dune Succession and the Reality of Dune Processes

8. Fluvial Geomorphic Disturbances and Life History Traits of Riparian Tree Species

9. Water Level Changes in Ponds and Lakes: The Hydrological Processes

10. Development of Post-Disturbance Vegetation in Prairie Wetlands

11. Modelling fire effects on plants: from organs to ecosystems

12. Insect Defoliators as Periodic Disturbances in Northern Forest Ecosystems

13. Revisiting the Relationship between Spruce Budworm Outbreaks and Forest Dynamics over the Holocene in Eastern North America Based on Novel Proxies

14. Beaver as Agents of Plant Disturbance