Severe Natural Disturbances

Although severe natural disturbances such as hurricanes are natural, they can have a disproportionate impact on relatively small or isolated natural areas.

Without surrounding natural areas to supply seeds and animals, it may be difficult to restore the complex web of interacting species in an isolated natural area, and all the functions that its natural communities collectively perform.1

Even small disturbances, whether natural or unnatural, can cause problems in an area surrounded by or inhabited by non-native invasive plant species. If a mature tree falls during an ice storm or tornado and opens up a gap in a forest canopy, non-native invasive species may outcompete the natives for the new patch of sunlight.