What Happens to an Ecosystem After a Natural Disturbance?
After a fire or a flood impacts an ecosystem, there can be devastation. Plants die, animals are displaced from their former homes and tracts of land may have no wildlife at all. But these situations are temporary. If you had a time-lapse camera to watch the long-term aftermath of a disturbance, you would see a lot of positives come from a seemingly negative event. Healthy ecosystems have an amazing ability to bounce back from a disturbance. Sometimes the ecosystem will go back to its former structure, with the same plant and animal species. Other times, the disturbance will create something new by allowing new species to move in. Only time will determine the effects of each disturbance. It could take days or decades, but eventually, the ecosystem will recover. For example, imagine a new disease spreading among a particular mouse species. The disease could greatly reduce the mouse population or even cause it to go extinct in that area. The consequences of this disturbance are felt throu