Succession

The colonisation of barren ground by plants and animals and the changes which follow is called an...?

ecological succession
What are the two kinds of succession?
- Primary succession
- Secondary succession
What are the sequence of events in primary succession?

Land that has not previously been inhabited (no soil) → lichen (pioneer species) → mosses → small flowering annual plants → grasses → shrubs → soft wood trees (pines and community → hardwood trees (oak) and community
The time taken from the colonisation of the intial pioneer species to climax community can be...?

Many centuries
When does secondary succession occur?

When the soil already exists but plants have been destroyed eg after a fire
What do the pioneer species in secondary succession tend to be?

Annual plants
Does secondary succession take longer or shorter than primary succession?

Shorter - around one hundred years
Succession occurs because...?

the habitat is altered by the plants growing there
What is a climax community?

The stable community in the ecosystem where the dominant species of plants are well adapted to environmental conditions and in which no further succession takes place
Climax communities tend to have...?
- Complex food webs
- High species diversity
- High biomass
During succession the same sequence of events always takes place and the changes which take place cannot be reversed. This means succession is...?

unidirectional

Author

Anonymous

148161

Card Set

Succession

Description

Higher Biology - Unit Three - Succession

Updated

2012-04-17T16:11:13Z

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