Losing Legacies, Ecological Release, and Transient Responses: Key Challenges for the Future of Northern Ecosystem Science

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• 作者：Merritt R. Turetsky ; Jennifer L. Baltzer ; Jill F. Johnstone ; Michelle C. Mack…
• 关键词：arctic ; boreal ; succession ; disturbance ; permafrost ; wildfire ; carbon ; diversity ; trophic interactions ; niche
• 刊名：Ecosystems
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：20
• 期：1
• 页码：23-30
• 全文大小：
• 刊物类别：Biomedical and Life Sciences
• 刊物主题：Ecology; Plant Sciences; Zoology; Environmental Management; Geoecology/Natural Processes; Hydrology/Water Resources;
• 出版者：Springer US
• ISSN：1435-0629
• 卷排序：20

文摘

Northern ecosystem processes play out across scales that are rare elsewhere on contemporary earth: large ranging predator–prey systems are still operational, invasive species are rare, and large-scale natural disturbances occur extensively. Disturbances in the far north affect huge areas of land and are difficult to control or manage. Historically, disturbance patterns and processes ranging across a number of spatio-temporal scales have played an important role in the resilience of northern ecosystems. However, due to interactions with a warming climate, these disturbances are now erasing key legacies of the last millennia of ecosystem processes. Building on the concepts of legacies and cross-scale interactions, we highlight several general conceptual issues that represent key challenges for the future of northern ecosystem science, but that also have relevance to other biomes.