Succession - Disturbance, Stress, And Succession, Primary Succession, Secondary Succession, Mechanisms Of Succession, Climax—the End Point Of Succession
occurs substrates modified nature
Succession is a process of ecological change, involving the progressive replacement of earlier biotic communities with others over time. Succession usually begins with the disturbance of a pre-existing ecosystem, followed by recovery. In the absence of further stand-level disturbance, succession culminates in a stable climax community, the nature of which is determined by climate, soil, and the nature of the local biota. Primary succession occurs on bare substrates that have not been previously modified by biological processes. Secondary succession occurs on substrates that have been modified biologically, and it follows disturbances that have not been so intense as to eliminate the regenerative capacity of the vegetation.
Additional Topics
Disturbance is an episodic stress that causes substantial changes in the structure and function of ecosystems. Depending on its severity and extent, disturbance can influence individual organisms or entire stands, disrupting relationships among individuals within the community, and affecting ecological processes such as productivity, nutrient cycling, and decomposition. Natural disturbances can be…
Primary successions occur after disturbances that have been intense enough to obliterate any living organisms from the site, and even to have wiped out all traces of previous biological influences, such as soil development. Natural disturbances of this intensity are associated with glaciation, lava flows, and very severe wildfires, while human-caused examples might include the abandonment of a pav…
Secondary succession occurs after disturbances that are not intense enough to kill all plants, so that regeneration can occur by re-sprouting and growth of surviving individuals, and by the germination of pre-existing seeds to establish new plants. This regeneration by surviving plants and seeds is supplemented by an aggressive invasion of plant seeds from elsewhere. Another characteristic of seco…
As noted previously, succession generally begins after disturbance creates a situation of great resource availability that can be exploited by organisms, but under conditions of little competition. The classical explanation of the ecological mechanism of community change during succession is the so-called facilitation model. This theory suggests that the recently disturbed situation is first explo…
The climax of succession is a relatively stable community that is in equilibrium with environmental conditions. The climax condition is characterized by slow rates of change in an old-growth community, compared with more dynamic, earlier stages of succession. The climax stage is dominated by species that are highly tolerant of the biological stresses associated with competition, because access to …
Citing this material
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.
User Comments
6 months ago
ang pangit ng website na ito