FIGURE 4.

Habitat quality mediated the effect of canopy disturbance on the annual net primary productivity (NPP) dynamics of understory macroalgae. In high‐quality habitat, annual and quarterly disturbances to canopy‐forming giant kelp increased understory NPP over time relative to controls. In medium‐quality habitat, understory NPP increased over time relative to controls with quarterly but not annual disturbance. Disturbance had no effect on understory NPP in low‐quality habitat. Horizontal dashed line, solid lines and shading as in Figure 3