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The Plant-Vertebrate Herbivore Interface in Arctic Ecosystems

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Arctic and Alpine Biodiversity: Patterns, Causes and Ecosystem Consequences

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 113))

Abstract

Both natural and anthropogenic disturbances affect ecosystem integrity and biodiversity. Nearly all natural disturbances in arctic regions and elsewhere are directly or indirectly driven by climate (Walker and Walker 1991). Human disturbances also operate over large spatial and temporal scales and produce immediate direct effects and numerous indirect effects (Harte et al. 1992). The effects of these two types of disturbances on ecosystem function and biodiversity may be synergistic. Each disturbance reinforces the other, so that there is mutual amplification of their respective effects (Myers 1992). Organisms often respond nonlinearly to environmental variability (DeAngelis 1992). The responses are linked, to positive and negative feedback processes which involve both abiotic and biotic components of the environment. The environmental changes associated with these feedbacks, which are not easily predictable, may lead to a loss of ecosystem resilience and biodiversity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, University of Toronto, 25 Wilcocks Street, M5S 3B2, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    R. L. Jefferies

  2. Institute for Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, 99775-0180, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    J. P. Bryant

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  1. R. L. Jefferies
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  2. J. P. Bryant
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, 94720-3140, Berkeley, CA, USA

    F. Stuart Chapin III

  2. Department of Botany, University of Basel, Schönbeinstraße 6, 4056, Basel, Switzerland

    Christian Körner

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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Jefferies, R.L., Bryant, J.P. (1995). The Plant-Vertebrate Herbivore Interface in Arctic Ecosystems. In: Chapin, F.S., Körner, C. (eds) Arctic and Alpine Biodiversity: Patterns, Causes and Ecosystem Consequences. Ecological Studies, vol 113. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78966-3_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78966-3_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-78968-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-78966-3

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