SUCCESSION

HOW DO ECOSYSTEMS
RESPOND TO CHANGE?
• A change in structure ensures a change in
function and species composition.
• Ecological succession is the gradual and
fairly predictable change in species
composition of an area over time.
• During succession, some species colonize
and their populations become more
numerous, whereas other species
populations decline and even disappear.
Primary Succession on a Newly
Established Volcanic Island

Primary
Succession –
involves the
gradual
establishment
of biologic
communities in
an area that
has not been
occupied by life
before.
 Primary Succession
• Lifeless area.
• Pioneer species (lichens and mosses) create
soil (chemical and physical weathering).
• Young soils support bacteria, fungi, insects, and
small worms (adds organic material to soil as
they die).
• Perennial grasses and herbs.
• All early successional plants grow low to the
ground, can establish large populations quickly
under harsh conditions.
 Primary Succession
• After hundreds of years the soil matures
(deep and fertile) and midsuccessional
species grow.
• These species include: herbs, grasses,
and low shrubs and later include trees that
require lots of sunlight.
 Primary Succession
• As midsuccessional stage species grow
and create shade areas they are replaced
by late successional species.

• Primary succession occurs fastest in

humid tropical areas and slowest in dry
polar areas.
 Terrestrial Primary Succession
Boreal Forest Biome

Climax
Heath Pine, Community
Small spruce
mat Balsam fir,
Exposed rocks become herbs and
colonized by lichens and and aspen paper birch,
mosses to create a soil. May shrubs white
take hundreds to thousands of spruce
years to establish a fertile soil
 Secondary Succession
• Occurs where soil or bottom sediment
remains where an area has been
disturbed or destroyed.
• Abandoned farmlands, burned or cut
forests, heavily polluted areas, land that
has been dammed or flooded.
 Secondary Succession
Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome

Mature Oak-
Young Pine Hickory Forest
Shrubs
Annual
Perennial Forest
weeds
Weeds and
grasses
 Species Found at Various Stages
of Succession
Early Successional Midsuccessional Late Wilderness
Species Species Successional Species
Rabbit Species
Elk Grizzly bear
Quail Turkey
Moose Wolf
Ringneck Pheasant Martin
Deer Caribou
Dove Hammond’s
Ruffed grouse Bighorn Sheep
flycatcher
Bobolink Snowshoe hare California condor
Gray squirrel
Pocket Gopher Bluebird Great horned owl
Table 8-1 Ecosystem Characteristics at Immature and Mature Stages of Ecological Succession
Table 8-1
Immature Ecosystem Immature Ecosystem

Page 158
Characteristic (Early Successional Stage) (Late Successional Stage)

Ecosystem Structure
Small Large
Plant size
Low High
Species diversity
Mostly producers, few decomposers Mixture of producers, consumers,
Trophic structure
and decomposers
Few, mostly generalized
Ecological niches Many, mostly specialized
Low
Community organization High
(number of interconnecting
links)

Ecosystem Function
Low High
Biomass
High Low
Net primary productivity
Simple, mostly plant herbivore Complex, dominated by
Food chains and webs
with few decomposers decomposers
Efficiency of nutrient recycling Low High
Efficiency of energy use Low High
 How Do Species Replace One
Another?
• 1. Facilitation – promotion of growth due natural
enrichment of soil.
• 2. Inhibition – early successional species can
hinder the establishment and growth of other
species. Removal of the inhibitors by fire,
bulldozer or other disturbance is the only way to
allow other species to establish.
• 3. Tolerance – late successional plants are
unaffected by plants at earlier stages.
 What is the Role of Disturbance in
Succession?
• A disturbance is a discrete event in time that
disrupts an ecosystem or community.
• Natural disturbances = fires, hurricanes,
tornadoes, droughts, and floods.
• Anthropogenic disturbances = deforestation,
overgrazing, and plowing.
• Disturbances create openings for opportunistic
species to colonize areas and change the
community structure of an area.
Opportunistic Phragmites australis
 What is the Role of Fire in
Succession?
• Fires start by lightening in the following
biomes: savanna, temperate grasslands,
chaparral, temperate rain forest, and
northern coniferous forest.
• Fire burns older trees by burning biomass
and releasing seeds as cones open in
intense heat = ensures regeneration.
 Fire Suppression
• Fire suppression can be very dangerous.
It allows for the build up of large quantities
of flammable underbrush and
undergrowth.
• It allows conifers to grow very large and
store energy as biomass.
• BOTH contribute to fuel for the fire,
making a moderate forest fire catastrophic!
Forest Fires
After the Fire…
 Is Succession Predictable?
• General patterns of succession are predictable.
• Research indicated that there is no ecological plan
leading to ecological balance or equilibrium.
• Succession can be highly variable, chaotic, and
unpredictable.
• We do know there will be changes to structure, function,
and species composition that will continue to change
over time due to facilitation, inhibition, and tolerance.
• The Earth’s ecosystems are dynamic and resilient.
Research shows that ecosystems with high diversity in
primary producers are the most resilient ecosystems.
Climax Community in Temperate
Deciduous Forest