As succession occurs, plants create conditions under which they themselves cannot survive, but provide shade for later successional species which need shade to germinate. In this manner, the gap is revegetated until eventually another rainforest giant closes the gap. This example illustrates how heterogeneity, via gap dynamics, can control the colonization and species flow of rainforest species. In all landscapes, heterogeneity and species flows affect and are affected by one another. Nutrient Redistribution Nutrients flow between landscape elements via biotic or abiotic vectors.
Disturbance is a vector which has a major impact on the rate of nutrient redistribution.
Mineral nutrients are typically found within the soil in terrestrial landscapes, but can be dissolved within the water in aquatic systems. Yet if a landslide or a flood occurs, the nutrients are moved by the force of gravity to new areas, and often to new landscape elements. As disturbance intensity increases, there is a greater likelihood that nutrients will be moved to new landscape elements. If revegetation is inhibited, increasing the severity of disturbance, mineral losses increase further, while if revegetation is permitted, nutrient losses decline and return to normal levels. Biomass, in the form of plant and animal species, can also move across boundaries more frequently if there are more boundaries present.