"Disturbance, dynamics and resilience of understory plant communities in northern forests"

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Disturbance is an important driver of the composition and biodiversity of most plant communities. Understanding the factors that contribute to the ability of a plant community to remain stable in the face of disturbance (resistance) or to recover from disturbance (resilience) is important for sustainable management and restoration of disturbed ecosystems and for conservation of biodiversity. This is particularly true in this era of increasing human disturbance of ecosystems and when phenomena such as climate change may be leading to extreme or unusual disturbance events (e.g., outbreaks of the Mountain Pine Beetle or extreme wildfires). Plant species differ in traits such as shade tolerance, dispersal, and regeneration strategy that will influence their resistance or resilience. When an ecosystem is disturbed, some species will possess traits that allow them to perform better than others. These resistant species that remain on a site after disturbance can have a very important influence on the post-disturbance development of the plant community, and thus on the future biodiversity and ecosystem function.