Pattern and process in the afterlife: legacy effects of canopy tree distribution on post‐disturbance regeneration

Wild et al. (2014, Journal of Vegetation Science 25: 1327–1340) document persistent effects of the spatial distribution of canopy trees on the distribution of regeneration following stand‐replacing disturbance in montane Norway spruce forests. The authors suggest a simple physical process for these legacy effects – the accumulation of winter‐dispersed seeds in ‘tree‐wells’ with lower snow depth around the trunks of living and recently dead trees.