Wilderness and natural disturbance
Research during the past two decades has dramatically changed man's understanding of wilderness ecosystems and, consequently, the way in which such systems should be managed. Rather than simple, highly stable, and homogeneous, such systems are in fact complex, dynamic mosaics in which natural disturbances, such as fire, play an essential and inevitable role. Much of the diversity associated with wilderness landscapes arises from the heterogeneous behavior of disturbances such as fire. Preserving these processes is necessary if we are to preserve many wilderness ecosystems. Many reviewed the Yellowstone fires as a major catastrophe in one of the crown jewels of the wilderness system. To the ecologist, this was a catastrophe only so far as it jeopardized human life and property. -from Author
