Disturbance, scale, and boundary in wilderness management
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
Natural disturbances are critical to wilderness management. This paper reviews recent research on natural disturbance and addresses the problem of managing for disturbances in a world of human-imposed scales and boundaries. The dominant scale issue in disturbance management is the question of patch dynamic equilibrium. The dominant boundary issue in disturbance management is the effect of boundary conditions on disturbance frequency and magnitude. Human property and attitudes outside wilderness areas influence management decisions on disturbances within natural areas.