Disturbance and succession have long been of interest in ecology, but how landscape patterns of ecosystem structure and function evolve following large disturbances is poorly understood. After nearly 25 years, lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta var. latifolia ) forests that regenerated after the 1988 Yellowstone Fires (Wyoming, USA ) offer a prime opportunity to track the fate of disturbance‐created heterogeneity in stand structu...

San Nicolas Island is surrounded by broad areas of shallow subtidal habitat, characterized by dynamic kelp forest communities that undergo dramatic and abrupt shifts in community composition. Although these reefs are fished, the physical isolation of the island means that they receive less impact from human activities than most reefs in Southern California, making San Nicolas an ideal place to evaluate alternative theories abo...