Disturbance impacts on forest temporal dynamics

Contagious disturbances are widespread and an important component of the life-cycle of the Canadian boreal forest. Models which simulate the dynamics of these forests must include a representation of disturbance influences. Spatial models differ from non-spatial models in the use of area-based rather than point-based sampling designs. Distance-dependent disturbance propagation accounts for spatial correlation among disturbed stands and its inclusion in spatial models may generate more realistic forest temporal dynamics than can be generated by non-spatial models. A comparison of results from simulations using age-dependent and distance-dependent disturbance propagation can provide further insight on the role contagion in structuring forest temporal dynamics.