Landscape patterns in stand-replacing disturbances across the world’s forests

Abstract

The spatial imprint of forest disturbances, which can result from a variety of anthropogenic and natural causes, is important in shaping the form and function of the world’s forests. However, we lack a systematic assessment of how the forms of forest disturbances differ globally, which could help in sustainable forest policy and management initiatives to protect forest biomes. Here we produce a global-scale quantification of disturbance patch structures. Using indicators of magnitude, complexity and context, we found that the forms of stand-replacing disturbances can be classified into four broad patterns, whose spatial dominance varies across regions. Human activities were shown to introduce disturbance structures that are not naturally common, especially in the tropics. The consistency of these patterns across biomes outside intact forests suggests that a continuation of current dynamics may lead to a structural homogenization of the world’s forests, with potential consequences for forest ecology and functions. These results provide a greater understanding of the mechanisms governing forest dynamics and elucidating the causal agents of disturbances. This will be a key step towards building more reliable projections of future forest conditions, informing policymaking and ensuring the sustainability of forest management.