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Integrating theory into disturbance interaction experiments to better inform ecosystem management
journal contribution
posted on 2016-04-01, 00:00 authored by C N Foster, Chloe SatoChloe Sato, D B Lindenmayer, P S BartonManaging multiple, interacting disturbances is a key challenge to biodiversity conservation, and one that will only increase as global change drivers continue to alter disturbance regimes. Theoretical studies have highlighted the importance of a mechanistic understanding of stressor interactions for improving the prediction and management of interactive effects. However, many conservation studies are not designed or interpreted in the context of theory and instead focus on case-specific management questions. This is a problem as it means that few studies test the relationships highlighted in theoretical models as being important for ecological management. We explore the extent of this problem among studies of interacting disturbances by reviewing recent experimental studies of the interaction between fire and grazing in terrestrial ecosystems. Interactions between fire and grazing can occur via a number of pathways; one disturbance can modify the other's likelihood, intensity or spatial distribution, or one disturbance can alter the other's impacts on individual organisms. The strength of such interactions will vary depending on disturbance attributes (e.g. size or intensity), and this variation is likely to be nonlinear. We show that few experiments testing fire-grazing interactions are able to identify the mechanistic pathway driving an observed interaction, and most are unable to detect nonlinear effects. We demonstrate how these limitations compromise the ability of experimental studies to effectively inform ecological management. We propose a series of adjustments to the design of disturbance interaction experiments that would enable tests of key theoretical pathways and provide the deeper ecological understanding necessary for effective management. Such considerations are relevant to studies of a broad range of ecological interactions and are critical to informing the management of disturbance regimes in the context of accelerating global change.
History
Journal
Global change biologyVolume
22Issue
4Pagination
1325 - 1335Publisher
John Wiley & SonsLocation
Chichester, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1354-1013eISSN
1365-2486Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalUsage metrics
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No categories selectedKeywords
antagonismscompound effectsdisturbance ecologyfiregrazinghigher order effectsmultiple stressorssynergismsterrestrial ecosystemsScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineBiodiversity ConservationEcologyEnvironmental SciencesBiodiversity & ConservationEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyCROSS-SCALE INTERACTIONSCLIMATE-CHANGEECOLOGICAL THRESHOLDSBURNED PATCHESHETEROGENEITYANTAGONISMSTRESSORSSYNERGISMDYNAMICS
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