https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-0055-2

Turetsky, M. R., Baltzer, J. L., Johnstone, J. F., Mack, M. C., McCann, K., & Schuur, E. A. (2017). Losing legacies, ecological release, and transient responses: Key challenges for the future of northern ecosystem science. Ecosystems, 20(1), 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-0055-2

Northern ecosystem processes play out across scales that are rare elsewhere on contemporary earth: large ranging predator–prey systems are still operational, invasive species are rare, and large-scale natural disturbances occur extensively. Disturbances in the far north affect huge areas of land and are difficult to control or manage. Historically, disturbance patterns and processes ranging across a number of spatio-temporal scales have played an important role in the resilience of northern ecosystems. However, due to interactions with a warming climate, these disturbances are now erasing key legacies of the last millennia of ecosystem processes. Building on the concepts of legacies and cross-scale interactions, we highlight several general conceptual issues that represent key challenges for the future of northern ecosystem science, but that also have relevance to other biomes.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-0055-2