Empirical evidence of disturbance interactions: examples from Australian ecosystems

Ecosystems are shaped by a range of drivers including natural and human disturbances. Many natural disturbances such as fire, insect attack and windstorms are increasing in frequency and severity. At the same time, human disturbances like logging, land clearing and plantation establishment are expanding. Co-occurring disturbances can interact with far-reaching consequences, including altered ecological processes and losses of biodiversity. Whilst the importance of interacting disturbances is increasingly recognized, the majority of empirical studies focus only on a single driver of change. We evaluate evidence for interacting drivers of change, including natural and human disturbances, in 57 empirical studies completed within two markedly different ecosystems in southern Australia that had been subject to large-scale, long-term research programs. These programs have documented the ecological effects of fire, native forest logging, post-fire (salvage) logging, browsing by native her...生态系统（Ecosystems）受多种驱动因子调控，涵盖自然干扰（disturbances）与人为干扰两大类别。诸如火灾、虫害侵袭与强风灾害等自然干扰事件，其发生频率与破坏强度正持续升高。与此同时，伐木作业、土地开垦与人工林营建等人为干扰活动也呈现扩张态势。协同发生的各类干扰可产生交互作用，引发诸多深远影响，包括生态过程改变与生物多样性（biodiversity）丧失。尽管交互干扰的重要性日益受到学界重视，但绝大多数实证研究（empirical studies）仅聚焦于单一变化驱动因子。 本研究依托澳大利亚南部两类差异显著的生态系统中已开展的大规模长期研究项目所产出的57项实证研究成果，评估了包含自然与人为干扰在内的变化交互驱动因子的相关证据。上述研究项目已系统记录了火灾、原生林采伐、火烧迹地清理采伐（salvage logging）以及本土植食动物的啃食等事件的生态效应。