Induced and natural disturbances. The regional habitat mosaic is formed and maintained by regionally characteristic natural disturbances. Variations in the frequency, magnitude, and extent of disturbances produce complex patterns in the composition, age structure and size distribution of habitats within these mosaics. For example, the Canadian boreal forests, the Californian coastal shrublands and the African savannah are all periodically disturbed by fire. Following these fires, the mosaic of habitats typically changes in terms of composition and structure. Similarly, The forests of the Yucatan Peninsula are disturbed each year by the passage of hurricanes and floods.

Currently, disturbances induced by human activities (agriculture, construction of dams, etc.) dominate the landscape and change ecological processes at the landscape level. One of the main consequences is habitat fragmentation, which affects the natural movement patterns of individuals, i.e. dispersal. New habitats represent barriers to some species and corridors for others, affecting landscape processes as complementarity, supplementation, neighbourhood effects and the relationships between donor and recipient habitats.