These recovery behaviors are activated whenever the move_base node decides that the robot is stuck. It is a good exercise to read the code for this, as any documentation (like this answer) can get outdated.
In this case you need to check the file:
navigation/move_base/src/move_base.cpp
E.g. here:
http://mirror.umd.edu/roswiki/doc/unstable/api/move_base/html/move__base_8cpp_source.html
In there, search for any line like this:
state_ = CLEARING;
You will see that move_base will invoke these behaviors on three conditions: An oscillation was discovered, no global plan was received for some amount of time, or the local planner failed to find a valid velocity command for some amount of time.