General questions of vegetation change and the relationship between natural and human causes of plant disturbance are examined. The themes presented were treated by the author in a semester-long, college-level geography course. The book might be used as an outline for professors wishing to develop such a course, as a text for students, or as a supplemental reference for a more general course in biogeography or related fields. There are six chapters. Chapter 1 examines factors influencing vegetation and disturbance as a vegetation factor. Vegetation change is the focus of the second chapter. Chapter 3 discusses human impacts on vegetation, looking at changes in fire regimes, livestock grazing, logging, trampling, off-road vehicles, air pollution, construction activity, altered biota, abandonment of agricultural land, and purposeful manipulation. The effects of altered vegetation on environmental systems are examined in the fourth chapter. Historical and ecological sources for studying vegetation change are dealt with in chapter 5. The concluding chapter discusses vegetation change and human purpose. A bibliography is included. (RM)