Disturbances are events that significantly change patterns in the structure and function of landscape systems (Forman, 1995). These events and changes may be small to large, minor to catastrophic, natural to anthropogenic, and short-term to long-lasting. It is almost trite to say that disturbances are a ubiquitous component of all landscapes. Volumes and reviews have been written on landscape disturbances and responses (e.g., Pickett and White, 1985; Turner, 1987; Rundel et al., 1998; Gunderson, 2000), and some aspect of disturbance permeates most of the other papers in this volume.

Rather than attempt another general review of disturbance impacts on landscapes, which in a short paper could only be superficial, my aim here is to present a special perspective, one focused on a framework for how disturbances impact on small landscape structures (vegetation patches) and, consequently, on vital processes that occur at this fine scale. I will illustrate the way these impacts flow on to affect two landscape functions: conserving resources and maintaining diversity. It is these impacts and functions that are of growing interest to ecologists (e.g., McIntyre and Lavorel, 1994, 2001) and of critical importance to a wide spectrum of land managers, from ranchers with economic production goals to park rangers with biodiversity conservation goals (Freudenberger et al., 1997). I hope to convince you, with two examples, that understanding the effect of disturbances on basic landscape functions at a fine scale can lead to principles with much broader implications for both landscape preservation and restoration.