A Tree Dies in the Forest...

Eastern forest disturbance is primarily through canopy gaps.  These forests are ...."characterized by a long recurrence interval of disturbance relative to successional recovery time as well as small disturbance area."
HR Delcourt and PA Delcourt. Eastern Deciduous Forests. in  MG Barbour and WD Billings; North American Terrestrial Vegetation. 2nd Edition.