Theory 36/Centuries/Forest dynamics
Composition Is Disturbance Against Generation
The claim
Forest species composition is set by the ratio of disturbance interval to generation time, so a species with a long generation persists only where disturbance is rarer than its maturation.
01Mechanism
A species must reach reproductive age before the next disturbance; the ratio determines whether it can.
02Prediction
Composition should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Composition tracking climate would remove the disturbance interval.