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

M. R. Turetsky, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Jill F. Johnstone, Michelle C. Mack, Kevin S. McCann, Edward A. G. Schuur


Abstract
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.
Cite:
M. R. Turetsky, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Jill F. Johnstone, Michelle C. Mack, Kevin S. McCann, and Edward A. G. Schuur. 2016. Losing Legacies, Ecological Release, and Transient Responses: Key Challenges for the Future of Northern Ecosystem Science. Ecosystems, Volume 20, Issue 1, 20(1):23–30.
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