Disturbance and the subsequent development of vegetation are key contributors
to pattern on the landscape. By disturbance, we mean any relatively discrete event
in time that disrupts ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes
resource availability, substrate, or the physical environment (White and Pickett,
1985). Examples include fires, volcanic eruptions, floods, and storms. Disturbances
are often described by a variety of attributes, including their spatial distribution,
frequency, spatial extent, and magnitude. The spread of disturbance and spatial
patterns of recovery have received considerable attention in landscape ecology,
and we devote a chapter to exploring these dynamics (see Chapter 7). Here, we
simply recognize disturbance as an important agent of pattern creation at a variety
of spatial and temporal scales.