Table 3. Factors leading to disturbances and responses in the five communities. Community Event Factors leading to disturbance (or lack of, if no disturbance) Factors leading to response Nature of response Adaptiveness of response Disturbance: Tree cutting Maple Tree cutting on private home site GS8 U6 Did not enforce rule in favor of maintaining community norm Neutral Oak Tree cutting on privatized lots GS5, U1, U6 GS6, U6 No response Maladaptive Box Elder Tree cutting on common land GS5, U1, U6 U6 Creating formal rules Adaptive Twin Oaks None U1, U6 — — Anticipatory/ adaptive Tulip Poplar Tree cutting on privatized lots GS5, U7, RU3 GS6, U6 Creating formal rules Adaptive Disturbance: Leadership Maple None GS6, U5, U6 — — Anticipatory/ adaptive Oak Two conflictive factions within community over leadership right GS6, U5, U7 GS6 External court decision, but conflict reemerged Maladaptive Box Elder One leader misused community funds and was investigated for drug issues GS5, GS6, GS8, U5 GS6, GS7 Leader was removed and bylaw changes enacted Adaptive Twin Oaks None U1, U5, U6, U7 — — Anticipatory/ adaptive Tulip Poplar None GS5, GS6, GS7, U5 — — Anticipatory/ adaptive Disturbance: Boundaries and neighbors Maple Poaching of ginseng and morels; hostility from neighbors GS8, U1, RS3 GS3 Cooperation with neighbors; monitoring by members Maladaptive Oak Trespassing to use lake and forest; poaching of ginseng; conflict with neighbor over hayfield GS8 U6 Monitoring by members Maladaptive Box Elder Trespassing for hunting and bathing in the river; ATVs; hostility from neighbors GS8 GS3, GS5, U6 Changed rules; strong shared norms; cooperation with neighbors; fencing; monitoring by members Adaptive Twin Oaks Trespassing for hunting; ATVs GS8, U1, RS3 GS8 Fencing; monitoring by members Maladaptive Tulip Poplar Trespassing to use lake and forest GS8 GS5, GS6 Monitoring by security committee and volunteers Adaptive Disturbance: Membership transition Maple Membership decline following fire; tensions over incorporating children of members GS4, GS7 U6 Changed shared norms to adopt a new vision of the community Adaptive Oak Departure of members following group conflicts GS7, U5, U6 GS6 Ceased regular meetings Maladaptive Box Elder Large festivals that bring in outsiders unaware of rules I5 GS5, GS8 Created formal rules to regulate outsiders Adaptive Twin Oaks Death of a member leading to small group size U1 U1, U7 No response Maladaptive Tulip Poplar Changed community composition (from mostly retirement to also young people, families) S2 GS6, GS7 Created formal rules to share decision making Adaptive Disturbance: Natural disasters and "Acts of God" Maple House fire Stochastic event U2, U5 Large part of community members left; remaining members went on to different shared norms Adaptive Oak None None — — — Box Elder None None — — — Twin Oaks None None — — — Tulip Poplar Flood Stochastic event, U4 GS3, U5 Application for state and federal disaster assistance; potential restructure of governance arrangements Unclear