Rapid responses to facilitate ecological discoveries from major disturbances

Abstract

Large‐scale natural disturbances are commonplace around the world. They can have profound effects on human infrastructure and populations, as well as substantially influencing key ecological processes, shaping landscapes, and affecting many species. Major natural disturbances also have the potential to produce important ecological and resource management insights. Here, we argue that it is essential to initiate research quickly after such disturbances, and provide examples illustrating the ecological and management discoveries that arise from the early initiation of post‐disturbance studies. However, there are currently few funding programs available to support this type of rapid research response. Consequently, many ecological and management learning opportunities are lost. We propose ways to address these problems, including: (1) establishing funding programs specifically directed at supporting studies of ecosystem response and recovery after major disturbances, and (2) encouraging scientists to develop plans for studying natural disturbances before they occur.

Seeing the forest for the trees: hybridity and social-ecological symbols, rituals and resilience in postdisaster contexts

“…If this phenomenon is recurring, what and how might policy makers plan differently in terms of inevitable disasters and potential conflict? The importance of rapid responses to facilitate ecological discoveries from major disturbances has been well argued (Lindenmayer et al 2010). However, the corresponding importance of rapid responses to facilitate social-ecological system discoveries from major disturbances, including documenting human-nature interactions such as the importance of trees and tree-planting as symbols, rituals, and the formulation of communities of practice with broad ramifications for SES resilience, is only recently beginning to be discussed.…”

Improved probability of detection of ecological “surprises”

“…This problem highlights the fact that good-quality modeling is dependent on good-quality long-term field-derived empirical data to parameterize models (57). (58,59). This opportunity occurred in two of our case studies: following the extensive and high-severity 2009 wildfires in the Central Highlands of Victoria (26) and major ice storms in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (60).…”

Effect of volcanic eruption on nutrients, light, and phytoplankton in oligotrophic lakes

“…Thus, eruptions present unique opportunities for scientific discovery though such studies are often hindered by a lack of pre-eruption and post-eruption data that allow comprehensive assessment of their effects and the mechanisms of those outcomes (Lindenmayer et al 2010;Larson 2011). Past studies of the effect of eruptions on aquatic ecosystems have emphasized fertilization by ash-borne elements such as phosphorus and iron (Hamme et al 2010;Lin et al 2011).…”