Combined disturbances effects on community dynamics

How do disturbances affect the ability of plants to survive the desert harsh environment?

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Can we define the impact of disturbances in shaping plant communities?

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Can disturbances actually promote diversity and species coexistence?

Although disturbance impact on plant communities was always an integral part of the ecological research, we still lack both theoretical and experimental knowledge to predict its role in a changing environment. In particular, disturbances of different origins (e.g. natural vs. human induced) and different characteristics (e.g. their level of spatial and temporal correlation) are prone to have different selective effects. This may lead to the creation of specific adaptations to disturbances as well as to a change in diversity and community structure with changes in disturbance intensity and characteristics. This is particularly intriguing in relation to the desert environment, where both man-made disturbances and a long tradition of grazing interact with a strong environmental stress.