Preface; Contents; 1 Heterogeneity, Dynamism, and Diversity of Natural Systems; The Complexity in Ecological Sciences; Environmental Variability; Spatial Heterogeneity and Biological Diversity; References; 2 The Concept of Disturbance; Impact, Disturbance, Stress: A Population Ecology-Based Terminology; References; 3 Role and Effects of Disturbances in Natural Systems; Simplification of Communities Following a Disturbance; Enrichment of Communities as a Result of a Disturbance; Effects of Disturbances and Responses of Organisms

Effects and Different Responses Among Sessile and Vagile OrganismsInteraction Among Disturbances; Effects of Disturbances on Biological Communities: Approaches and Metrics; References; 4 The Disturbance Regime; Spatial Components; Temporal Components; Magnitude and Modality Components; Disturbance Regime and Management Strategies; Indicators for Disturbance Evaluation: A Plant Ecology Perspective; References; 5 Disturbances and Coexistence of Species; The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH); The Huston Model of the Dynamic Equilibrium; The Model of Gradual Climate Change (GCC)

9 Nomenclature and Taxonomy of ThreatsReferences; 10 Threat Regime; References; 11 Threat Quantification and Ranking; Rating Typologies: Absolute Versus Relative Approaches; Arithmetic Versus Comparative Approaches; Influence and Knowledge Analysis; Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA); Further Tools for Threat Assessment; References; 12 Threat Mapping; An Introduction; Plant-Based Mapping as a Tool for Revealing Natural Disturbance and Anthropogenic Threats (Franco Pedrotti); References; 13 Including Threats in Adaptive Management; References; 14 Conclusions and Prospects; References