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Surtsey, a volcanic island off the southern coast of Iceland, is an important example of a place where primary succession has been observed. [2] [3] On the other hand, secondary succession happens after disturbance of a community, such as from a fire, severe windthrow, or logging. Succession was among the first theories advanced in ecology.
For example, we can examine succession in the Loess Plateau in China. In the graph on page 995 of the paper "Plant Traits and Soil Chemical Variables During a Secondary Vegetation Succession in Abandoned Fields on the Loess Plateau" by Wang (2002), we can see the initial dominance of the Artemisia scoparia, the pioneer species.
One example of primary succession takes place after a volcano has erupted. The lava flows into the ocean and hardens into new land. The resulting barren land is first colonized by pioneer organisms, like algae, which pave the way for later, less hardy plants, such as hardwood trees, by facilitating pedogenesis, especially through the biotic acceleration of weathering and the addition of ...
In 1926, Henry Gleason presented an alternative hypothesis in which plants were conceptualized as individuals rather than components of a superorganism. [5] This hypothesis suggested that the distribution of various species across the landscape reflected species-specific dispersal limitations and environmental requirements rather than predetermined associations among species.
Cyclic succession is a pattern of vegetation change in which in a small number of species tend to replace each other over time in the absence of large-scale disturbance. Observations of cyclic replacement have provided evidence against traditional Clementsian views of an end-state climax community with stable species compositions .
In ecology, allogenic succession is succession driven by the abiotic components of an ecosystem. [1] In contrast, autogenic succession is driven by the biotic components of the ecosystem. [1] An allogenic succession can be initiated in a number of ways which can include: Volcanic eruptions; Meteor or comet strike; Flooding; Drought; Earthquakes
Autogenic succession can be viewed as a secondary succession because of pre-existing plant life. [6] A 2000 case study in the journal Oecologia tested the hypothesis that areas with high plant diversity could suppress weed growth more effectively than those with lower plant diversity.
A seral community is an intermediate stage found in ecological succession in an ecosystem advancing towards its climax community. In many cases more than one seral stage evolves until climax conditions are attained. [1] A prisere is a collection of seres making up the development of an area from non-vegetated surfaces to a climax community.