Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Disturbance

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Wetland Book

  • 170 Accesses

Abstract

Disturbance is a natural process that disrupts the environment and can impact species through injury, death, or migration. A disturbance also creates landscape heterogeneity if landscape elements (e.g., logs and soil) are modified or removed. Disturbance can remove competitors and release resources, allowing new species and individuals to occupy the newly available space. These dynamics are referred to as patch/gap dynamics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Keddy PA. Wetland ecology. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2010.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Gosselink JG. Wetlands. 3rd ed. New York: Wiley; 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naiman RJ, Décamps H, McClain ME. Riparia: ecology, conservation, and management of streamside communities. Burlington: Elsevier/Academic; 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickett STA, White PS, editors. The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. New York: Academic; 1987.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Clayton State University, 2000 Clayton State Blvd., Morrow, GA, 30260, USA

    Jere A. Boudell

Authors
  1. Jere A. Boudell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jere A. Boudell .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia

    C. Max Finlayson

  2. International Water Security Network, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Mark Everard

  3. UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands

    Kenneth Irvine

  4. RM Wetlands and Environment Ltd., Littleworth, Oxfordshire, UK

    Robert J. McInnes

  5. U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, LA, USA

    Beth A. Middleton

  6. Aquatic Ecosystems Group, Department of Water Science and Engineering, UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands

    Anne A. van Dam

  7. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia

    Nick C. Davidson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Boudell, J.A. (2018). Disturbance. In: Finlayson, C.M., et al. The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9659-3_92

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation