Disturbance and Forest Regeneration

Disturbances play a major role in forest ecosystem dynamics since they can kill vegetation and release growing space, making it available for other species to occupy. They have a profound effect on forest development due to their great influences on physical environment, which, in return, can cause temporal and spatial variation of stand component and stand structure. After disturbances, forests may performance different responses. In spite of complex, general patterns of these responses can be divided into two broad groups: reorganization of vegetation and establishment of vegetation through regeneration, by different sexual and asexual mechanisms, before or after disturbances, along a gradient of disturbances. So regeneration, as an important ecological process, can not be separated from different kinds of disturbances which include both natural disturbance and human disturbance. This paper introduced the researches about disturbance and regeneration published in recent years. The responses of forest to disturbance, differently in frequency, magnitude and spatial extent were discussed. More attentions were paid on the following aspects: disturbance and regeneration mechanisms, relationship between disturbance and spatial pattern of regeneration, the influence of disturbance on regeneration cycles, on seed disperse and seedling establishment.