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Palaeovegetation studies have shown that vegetation has changed in composition and extent in the inter-mountain Pacific Northwest over the past 20 000 years. Today, both natural and human-induced disturbances have long-term influence on the structure and composition of eastside vegetation. Disturbance may enhance landscape diversity, therefore, the scale of modifying events and activities needs to shift from species and stand to the landscape level. Knowledge of plant succession is the foundation of a sound vegetation management programme where the primary goal is to retard, arrest, or accelerate the natural forces of vegetation change.