Succession Notes Start writing after the cycles pages

What is succession?  Succession, a series of environmental changes, occurs in all ecosystems.  Succession takes place because through the processes of living, growing and reproducing, organisms interact with and affect the environment within an area, gradually changing it.  Succession involves the whole community, not just the plants.

Primary Succession  An example of primary succession is the initial development of plant or animal communities in an area where no soil initially exists (such as caused by a lava flow following volcanic eruption or severe landslide that covered the land).  The primary succession is important in pioneering the area to create conditions favorable for the growth of other forms of plants and animals.

Primary Succesion

Primary Succession  Example: The volcanic islands of that are emerging from the ocean. The land masses are new.  Primary succession is when there are no nutrients to sustain plant life and microbes and fungi must convert the harsh unfertile soil to fertile.  Takes a long time

Secondary Succession  The series of community changes which take place on a previously colonized, but disturbed or damaged habitat.  Examples include areas which have been cleared of existing vegetation (such as after tree-felling in a woodland) and destructive events such as fires.

Succession Primary  The series of community changes which occur on an entirely new habitat which has never been colonized before. For example, a newly quarried rock face or sand dunes. Secondary  is the series of community changes which take place on a previously colonized, but disturbed or damaged habitat. For example, after felling trees in a woodland, land clearance or a fire.