Can montane landscapes recover from human disturbance? Long-term evidence from disturbed subalpine communities Original Research Article

Using toposequence and chronosequence studies spanning greater than 45 years, I examined the long-term recovery of disturbed subalpine plant communities in Colorado, USA. I found that, after over 100 years, these disturbed plant communities remained distinct from similar surrounding undisturbed areas. Differences included species composition, diversity (species richness and evenness), vegetation density, ground cover, and biomass. The results suggest that biotic factors structure vegetation communities even hundreds of years following disturbance.