Disturbance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the controls term, see control theory.
In ecology, a disturbance is a temporary change in average environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in ecosystem structure that lasts longer than the change in the environment. Disturbances may be natural or anthropogenic. Examples include fire, grazing, flood, landslide, drought. Ecosystem changes include altered populations or physiological behaviour of difference species as they respond to the stressful conditions imposed by the disturbance.
