The characteristics of regeneration failure and their potential to shift wet temperate forests into alternate stable states

•Forests can shift to alternate states where regeneration fails post-disturbance.•Empirical experiments can help to quantify alternate states in forests.•Acacia woodland replaces ash-type eucalypt forest where regeneration fails.•Transition to alternate states can compromise the functional integrity of forests.•Management changes and intervention must mitigate the risk of regeneration failure.