ecological succession

ecological succession
Hannu · Public domain · source
Name	Ecological succession
Domain	Ecology

ecological succession is the directional change in species composition, structure, and ecosystem processes that occurs in a community over time following a disturbance or the creation of new substrate. It explains how landscapes recover after events such as volcanic eruptions, glaciation, fire, or land clearance and underlies restoration efforts led by organizations and agencies. Key figures in its development include Henry Chandler Cowles, Frederic Clements, Arthur Tansley, and Victor E. Shelford, whose ideas shaped debates in early 20th‑century ecology and influenced later work by scholars at institutions like the United States Forest Service and the Royal Society.

Overview

Succession describes temporal trajectories from colonization to a more complex community, framed historically by studies at locations such as the Indiana Dunes and the Surtsey island investigations. Early conceptual models contrasted Clements’s view of a deterministic climax community with ideas advanced by Henry Gleason and later synthesized in frameworks used by researchers at the Smithsonian Institution and the Max Planck Society. Contemporary ecology integrates concepts from landscape ecology practiced in regions like the Amazon Rainforest and disturbance ecology applied after events such as the Mount St. Helens eruption.

Types of Succession

Primary succession begins on newly exposed substrate where no soil exists, exemplified by plant colonization on lava fields of Kīlauea and the emergence of biota on Surtsey. Secondary succession follows disturbance where soil and some biota remain, as observed after episodes like the Great Yellowstone Fire of 1988 and agricultural abandonment on the Loess Plateau. Autogenic succession is driven by biotic modification of the environment, a process studied in forests monitored by the United States Geological Survey, whereas allogenic succession results from abiotic forcing such as hydrological change along the Yellow River or glacier retreat in the European Alps.

Mechanisms and Processes

Mechanisms include species colonization, local extinction, dispersal dynamics studied in metapopulation theory developed by researchers associated with the University of Oxford and the University of California, Berkeley, and facilitation, inhibition, and tolerance interactions formalized in succession models. Soil formation and nutrient accumulation involve processes examined by scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, while disturbance regimes such as fire frequency in systems managed by the National Park Service and hurricane impacts in the Caribbean alter successional trajectories.

Patterns and Models

Classical models—Clementsian climax concepts and Gleasonian individualistic perspectives—coexist with modern mathematical and simulation models used by groups at the Santa Fe Institute and computational ecologists at ETH Zurich. Models address alternative stable states, regime shifts documented in systems like the Aral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef, and neutral theory comparisons promoted by researchers at the University of Chicago. Spatially explicit models incorporate patch dynamics developed in landscape studies of the Yellowstone National Park and island biogeography theory originating from work at the University of Oxford.

Role of Species Interactions

Succession is mediated by competition, facilitation, predation, herbivory, mutualism and parasitism involving taxa studied by institutions such as the Royal Society of London and the California Academy of Sciences. Keystone species, such as apex predators discussed in research on the Yellowstone National Park reintroduction of the gray wolf, and engineer species like beavers studied in North American research networks, can redirect successional pathways. Invasive species introductions tracked by the International Union for Conservation of Nature often alter succession, as seen in case studies involving European rabbit impacts and plant invasions reported in the work of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland.

Human Impacts and Management

Anthropogenic drivers—land use change, fire suppression policies enacted by agencies like the United States Forest Service, and climate change documented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—alter successional dynamics and create novel ecosystems researched by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Restoration ecology practices applied by groups such as The Nature Conservancy and policy frameworks from the United Nations Environment Programme use successional principles to guide reforestation, afforestation, and rehabilitation after mining operations in regions like the Pilbara.

Applications and Examples

Applied examples include rewilding projects in the Scottish Highlands, afforestation in the Loess Plateau coordinated by Chinese research institutes, and succession following volcanic activity on Mount St. Helens and Mount Pinatubo. Urban succession studies at universities such as Columbia University inform green infrastructure planning, while coastal marsh restoration in areas like the Mississippi Delta and seagrass recovery in the Mediterranean Sea illustrate management using successional theory. Experimental long‑term plots maintained by networks like the Long Term Ecological Research Network provide empirical data across biomes, supporting adaptive management by conservation organizations including BirdLife International.

Category:Ecology