Temporal Buffering
Mechanisms that smooth out short-term environmental fluctuations, allowing organisms or ecosystems to persist through temporary adverse conditions.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 2 chapters:
"...s reliably forecast future conditions. Strategy 3: Long-Lived Structures - Buffering Across Cycles Some organisms survive cycles through sheer temporal buffering - living long enough to experience multiple cycles and averaging across them. The bristlecone pines that opened this chapter live 4,000-5,000 years..."
"...tly - it accumulates in a litter layer (leaf litter, fallen branches, dead roots) that functions as a nutrient reservoir. The litter layer creates temporal buffering: nutrients aren't released all at once (which would overwhelm plant uptake capacity and cause nutrient leaching) but are released gradually as decomp..."
Biological Context
Seeds banks buffer plant populations against bad years. Fat stores buffer animals against food scarcity. Soil organic matter buffers against drought. Long-lived individuals buffer populations against recruitment failures. Temporal buffering converts hostile episodes into survivable intervals.
Business Application
Financial reserves, diversified revenue streams, and long-term contracts provide temporal buffering for businesses. Organizations without buffers are vulnerable to short-term shocks that buffered competitors survive.