RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 The concept of potential natural vegetation: an epitaph? A1 Chiarucci, Alessandro A1 Araújo, Miguel B. A1 Decocq, Guillaume A1 Beierkuhnlein, Carl A1 Fernández-Palacios, José María K1 Mature vegetation K1 Succession K1 Vegetation dynamics K1 Vegetation modelling K1 Vegetation types AB We discuss the usefulness of the concept of PotentialNatural Vegetation (PNV), which describes the expectedstate of mature vegetation in the absence ofhuman intervention. We argue that it is impossibleto model PNV because of (i) the methodologicalproblems associated to its definition and (ii) theissues related to the ecosystems dynamics.We concludethat the approach to characterizing PNV isunrealistic and provides scenarios with limited predictivepower. In places with a long-term humanhistory, interpretations of PNV need to be verycautious, and explicit acknowledgement made ofthe limitations inherent in available data. PB IAVS SN 1100-9233 YR 2010 FD 2010 LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/17789 UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/17789 LA en DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna RD 26-dic-2024