Abstract
The artificial suppression of natural disturbance can often lead to a variety of side effects, ranging from alterations in geomorphology to significant changes in ecological productivity and community structure and structural properties at the landscape level of organization. As White (1979) has noted, these alterations are frequently unanticipated and detrimental. A few familiar examples include: (1) forest fire suppression leading to buildup of fire fuels and unnaturally severe fires (Mutch 1970; Niering 1981); (2) suppression of the annual floods of the Colorado River resulting in erosion and loss of beaches (Dolan et al. 1974); and (3) suppression of periodic flooding of swamp forests leading to reduced primary productivity (Conner and Day 1976).
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Odum, W.E., Smith, T.J., Dolan, R. (1987). Suppression of Natural Disturbance: Long-Term Ecological Change on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In: Turner, M.G. (eds) Landscape Heterogeneity and Disturbance. Ecological Studies, vol 64. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4742-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4742-5_7
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