The proportion of dead or decadent (e.g., moribund, dying) to young or mature plants in the community relative to that expected for the site, under normal disturbance regimes, is an indicator of the population dynamics of the stand. If recruitment is not occurring and existing plants are either dying or dead, the integrity of the stand would be expected to decline and other undesirable plants (e.g., weeds or invasives) may increase. A healthy range has a mixture of many age classes of plants relative to site potential and climatic conditions.