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1. Integrating and assessing metacommunity drivers of ecosystem function and resilience in benthic algal systems

   https://doi.org/10.1002/oik.11887  

   Shannon, Thomas P; Gaiser, Evelyn E (July 2026, Oikos)

   Understanding the scales and mechanisms by which species composition interacts with ecosystem functions is critical for forecasting the effects of environmental perturbations on ecosystem services. However, the linkages between what regulates the ecosystem functions of dispersal‐capable networks of communities (metacommunities) and what regulates a metacommunity's capacity to maintain its compositional and functional regimes when disturbances occur (resilience) has been under‐studied. Benthic algal communities provide a good model for revealing these compositional and functional connections and disturbance responses, because benthic algae respond rapidly to environmental changes in trait‐dependent ways that influence function. Here we propose a metacommunity framework to assess how local‐scale benthic algal community dynamics drive regional‐scale ecosystem functions, linking metacommunity concepts of dispersal, species traits, environmental regulation, and biotic interactions to ecosystem concepts of resilience and stability. We operationally define metacommunity resilience sensu Holling, review the processes by which algal metacommunity dynamics affect the stability and resilience of ecosystem functions, and describe quantitative approaches for assessing metacommunity resilience. We apply this framework to a systematic synthesis of literature on benthic algal responses to disturbances, to assess the state of the literature and reporting trends of algal resilience. This synthesis found that benthic algae are often reported to be non‐resistant and adaptive to disturbances, and particularly non‐resilient to press disturbances. However, resilience to pulse disturbances was commonly reported, wherein reports typically demonstrated greater degrees of recovery and low or no regime shift. Several areas of under‐reporting were found within the scope of the literature synthesis, including spatially explicit and large‐scale experimental research, quantifications of baseline variance, and assessments of metacommunity‐specific properties of disturbance response. Ultimately, we combine findings from our review and synthesis to make recommendations for addressing literature gaps through additional research on metacommunity resilience, for which we suggest best practice approaches. 

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2. On the Shoulders of Giants: Continuing the Legacy of Large-Scale Ecosystem Manipulation Experiments in Puerto Rico

   https://doi.org/10.3390/f10030210  

   Wood, Tana; González, Grizelle; Silver, Whendee; Reed, Sasha; Cavaleri, Molly (March 2019, Forests)

   There is a long history of experimental research in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico. These experiments have addressed questions about biotic thresholds, assessed why communities vary along natural gradients, and have explored forest responses to a range of both anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic disturbances. Combined, these studies cover many of the major disturbances that affect tropical forests around the world and span a wide range of topics, including the effects of forest thinning, ionizing radiation, hurricane disturbance, nitrogen deposition, drought, and global warming. These invaluable studies have greatly enhanced our understanding of tropical forest function under different disturbance regimes and informed the development of management strategies. Here we summarize the major field experiments that have occurred within the Luquillo Experimental Forest. Taken together, results from the major experiments conducted in the Luquillo Experimental Forest demonstrate a high resilience of Puerto Rico’s tropical forests to a variety of stressors. 

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3. Soil microbiome feedbacks during disturbance-driven forest ecosystem conversion

   https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrae047  

   Nelson, Amelia R; Fegel, Timothy S; Danczak, Robert E; Caiafa, Marcos V; Roth, Holly K; Dunn, Oliver I; Turvold, Cosette A; Borch, Thomas; Glassman, Sydney I; Barnes, Rebecca T; et al (January 2024, The ISME Journal)

   Abstract Disturbances cause rapid changes to forests, with different disturbance types and severities creating unique ecosystem trajectories that can impact the underlying soil microbiome. Pile burning—the combustion of logging residue on the forest floor—is a common fuel reduction practice that can have impacts on forest soils analogous to those following high-severity wildfire. Further, pile burning following clear-cut harvesting can create persistent openings dominated by nonwoody plants surrounded by dense regenerating conifer forest. A paired 60-year chronosequence of burn scar openings and surrounding regenerating forest after clear-cut harvesting provides a unique opportunity to assess whether belowground microbial processes mirror aboveground vegetation during disturbance-induced ecosystem shifts. Soil ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity was reduced the first decade after pile burning, which could explain poor tree seedling establishment and subsequent persistence of herbaceous species within the openings. Fine-scale changes in the soil microbiome mirrored aboveground shifts in vegetation, with short-term changes to microbial carbon cycling functions resembling a postfire microbiome (e.g. enrichment of aromatic degradation genes) and respiration in burn scars decoupled from substrate quantity and quality. Broadly, however, soil microbiome composition and function within burn scar soils converged with that of the surrounding regenerating forest six decades after the disturbances, indicating potential microbial resilience that was disconnected from aboveground vegetation shifts. This work begins to unravel the belowground microbial processes that underlie disturbance-induced ecosystem changes, which are increasing in frequency tied to climate change. 

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4. Mapping primary forest loss using dense time series and resilience metrics

   Suh, J; Hong, F; Zhu, Z; Hedges, S; Yang, Z (December 2024, AGU Fall Meeting 2024, Session: Global Environmental Change, 2024AGUFMGC51O0157S)

   Primary forests play a crucial role in providing essential ecosystem services and supporting biodiversity compared to secondary forests. With increasing threats from extreme climate events and human activities, monitoring primary forest loss is critical for understanding the impact of these threats on ecosystems and biodiversity. Dense time series data from remotely sensed satellite imagery allow us to track historical disturbances, making it an effective source for mapping primary forests over time. However, distinguishing between primary and secondary forests based on spectral-temporal information remains challenging as primary forests can show high resilience to certain natural disturbances (e.g., drought), and secondary forests may not have experienced any disturbance during the satellite observation period. In this context, this study aims to map primary forests on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola using the time series approach and resilience metrics given that primary forests tend to be more resilient than secondary forests. To achieve this, we used spectral-temporal features from COntinuous monitoring of Land Disturbance (COLD) algorithm based on all available Landsat data between 1984 and 2023. Additionally, a resilience map is generated from deseasonalized and detrended spectral observations using the lag-1 autocorrelation method. Then, a Random Forest model was employed to generate an annual primary forest map. 

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5. Local Stabilising Density Effects in the Context of Ecological Disturbance and Community Assembly

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70118  

   Doolittle, Cole J; LaManna, Joseph A (April 2025, Ecology Letters)

   The maintenance of species diversity in ecological communities has many promising explanations, including certain types of local biotic interactions that generate differential effects on the performance of conspecific and heterospecific individuals. To date, most studies of these local biotic interactions have focused on relatively stable systems, such as mature forests or undisturbed grasslands. However, many ecosystems are far from a stable state, especially under accelerating global climate change. Here, we present a synthesis of local differences between conspecific and heterospecific interactions following disturbances—and how disturbances may alter the strength and scaling of these effects to population growth and species diversity. First, we clarify terminology and categorise disturbances based on their primary mode of impact on species interactions. Second, we leverage existing literature to develop a framework for understanding how disturbances may alter the strength and role of local biotic interactions in regenerating communities. Third, we use prominent examples of disturbance: drought, windthrow and wildfire, to highlight remaining gaps in knowledge. Finally, we discuss implications for future populations and communities in unstable states. We emphasise the need for empirical studies to further integrate disturbance and local conspecific density effects within broader ecological models of community assembly and functioning 

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