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Please do not disturb ecosystems further

Clearing up after natural disturbances may not always be beneficial for the environment. We argue that a radical change is needed in the way ecosystems are managed; one that acknowledges the important role of disturbance dynamics.

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Figure 1: Examples of ecosystems subject to natural disturbances and then subject to negative ecological impacts associated with subsequent human-derived disturbances.

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Correspondence to David Lindenmayer, Simon Thorn or Sam Banks.

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Lindenmayer, D., Thorn, S. & Banks, S. Please do not disturb ecosystems further. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 0031 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-016-0031

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