Comparing large, infrequent disturbances: What have we learned?

Principal Investigators:

Monica G. Turner, and Virginia H. Dale

The importance of natural disturbances in shaping landscapes and influencing ecosystems is now well recognized in ecology. Understanding of relatively small disturbances has increased rapidly, but large infrequent disturbances--such as volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, big fires, tornadoes, and floods--have not been well studied.

Whether very large disturbances are qualitatively different from numerous small disturbance remains an unresolved issue in ecology, in part because of a paucity long-term data on the effects of large-scale disturbances. Within the past two decades, several very large natural disturbances--such as the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, the Yellowstone fires of 1988, Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the floods in the midwest in 1993--have received considerable post-disturbance ecological research.

We propose a 2.5-day workshop to evaluate whether general conclusions about the ecological effects of large-scale disturbance are suggested.

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Password-Protected Site for Participants Only

Participants and Meetings

Activity	Dates	Further Information
Workshop	19th—21st May 1996	Participant List

Participant Contact Information

William L. Baker	bakerwl [at] uwyo.edu	University of Wyoming
Robert Bell	bell [at] yell.nps.gov	Yellowstone National Park
Virginia H. Dale	vhd [at] ornl.gov	Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Edwin H. Everham	eeverham [at] runet.edu	Radford University
David R. Foster	drfoster [at] fas.harvard.edu	Harvard University
Jerry F. Franklin	jff [at] u.washington.edu	University of Washington
Lee E. Frelich	freli001 [at] maroon.tc.umn.edu	University of Minnesota
Edward A. Johnson	johnsone [at] ucalgary.ca	University of Calgary
Dennis H. Knight	dhknight [at] uwyo.edu	University of Wyoming
Ariel Lugo	alugo [at] fs.fed.us	Institute of Tropical Forestry, Puerto Rico
James A. MacMahon	jam [at] cc.usu.edu	Utah State University
Max A. Moritz	mmoritz [at] berkeley.edu	University of California, Santa Barbara
Robert T. Paine		University of Washington
Robert K. Peet	peet [at] unc.edu	University of North Carolina
Chris J. Peterson	chris [at] dogwood.botany.uga.edu	University of Georgia
Steward T. Pickett	picketts [at] ecostudies.org	Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
William H. Romme	fomme_w [at] fortlewis.edu	Fort Lewis College
Richard E. Sparks	rsparks [at] uiuc.edu	Illinois Natural History Survey
Mia Tegner	mtegner [at] ucsd.edu	University of California, San Diego
Monica G. Turner	turnermg [at] wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin

Products: Publications, Reports, Datasets, Presentations, Visualizations

Type	Products of NCEAS Research
Journal Article	Dale, Virginia H.; Lugo, Ariel; MacMahon, James A.; Pickett, Steward T. 1998. Ecosystem management in the context of large, infrequent disturbances. Ecosystems. Vol: 1 (6). Pages 546-557.
Journal Article	Foster, David R.; Knight, Dennis H.; Franklin, Jerry F. 1998. Landscape patterns and legacies resulting from large, infrequent forest disturbances. Ecosystems. Vol: 1. Pages 497-510.
Journal Article	Paine, Robert T.; Tegner, Mia; Johnson, Edward A. 1998. Compounded perturbations yield ecological surprises. Ecosystems. Vol: 1(6). Pages 535-545.
Journal Article	Romme, William H.; Everham, Edwin H.; Frelich, Lee E.; Moritz, Max A.; Sparks, Richard E. 1998. Are large, infrequent disturbances qualitatively different from small, frequent disturbances?. Ecosystems. Vol: 1(6). Pages 524-534.
Data Set	Romme, William H. 2008. Types of Response of Disturbance Impact to Increasing Disturbance Size. (Online version)
Journal Article	Turner, Monica G. 1998. Comparing large, infrequent disturbances: What have we learned?. Ecosystems. Vol: 1. Pages 493-496.
Journal Article	Turner, Monica G.; Baker, William L.; Peterson, Chris J.; Peet, Robert K. 1998. Factors influencing succession: Lessons from large, infrequent natural disturbances. Ecosystems. Vol: 1(6). Pages 511-523.
Report or White Paper	Turner, Monica G. 1998. Progress report: Introduction manuscript - Comparing large, infrequent disturbances: What have we learned?. (Online version)