Chapter 3 Ecosystem Disturbances

How do disturbances affect the flow of energy and matter in the ecosystem?

http://oceana.org/en/our-work/climate-energy/ocean-acidification/learn-act/what-is-ocean-acidification

http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/named/msbasin/hypoxia101.cfm

HurricanesIce stormsTsunamisTornadoesVolcanic eruptionsForest fires

Natural Ecosystem Disturbances

Human settlementAgricultureAir pollutionClear cutting of forestsMountaintop removal for coal mining

Anthropogenic Disturbances

1. Scientists must learn about the natural rates of cycling and the factors that influence those rates.

2. Scientists examine changes that occur in a small confined area as a model for changes on a larger scale.

How do environmental scientists study ecosystem disturbance?

Watershed comparisons determined that clear cutting released nutrients from the ecosystem into the river at a greater rate than the comparison watershed.

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

Watersheds 4 & 5

Resistance = how much disturbance effects flow of matter and energy

Resilience = rate of return to original state

Resistance vs Resilience

Restoration Ecology Florida Everglades

Chesapeake Bay

City Park New Orleans

What is the role of disturbance in an ecosystem?

Cultural servicesRegulating servicesResilienceProvisionsSupport systems

What services do ecosystems provide? Pgs 77 - 80