My field research project is based on the theoretical basis of disturbance, succession and competition, though I am not sure that I will be able to collect enough data on enough covariates to tease apart such complex relationships. I am hoping that by looking at dominant species which typify their community (woody species), I can use presence/absence and relative abundance to make some inferences on how flood frequency and human disturbance shape these communities. For example, areas dominated by invasive species may be in this condition due to changes to either of these factors, which either facilitated their establishment and/or gave them a competitive advantage over native species.
Three key words that would be relevant to my study would be woody species, flood frequency, and riparian areas. Additional keywords could include disturbance, invasive species, and floodplain alteration.
Sounds like a good start to some of the theoretical aspects you will expand on in your introduction.