Ecological Succession
Purpose: After studying this material you should be able to:
- Describe an ecosystem and explain how the biological community interacts with its environment
- Explain the role of disturbance in (natural and managed) ecosystems and its relationship to succession
- Explain what primary succession is and give some real world examples
- Explain what secondary succession is and distinguish it from primary succession
- Describe how living components in the ecosystem change nonliving components during succession
Directions: Read all directions thoroughly and make sure to read the overview
and objectives. Answer all questions below on a separate piece of paper, and be sure to visit all the web
links as indicated. When visiting the web links, make sure you read all the information and look
over the images, and answer any associated questions.
Ecological Succession-
Overview: From the Latin, Succedere, to follow after “Change in the species composition of a community over time”
Primary Succession- follows the formation of new land surfaces consisting of rock, ava, volcanic ash, sand, clay, or other exclusively mineral substrate. This means that there is NO SOIL present Soil is a mixture of mineral material, decaying organic material, and living organisms
Secondary Succession- follows the destruction or partial destruction of the vegetation area by some sort of disturbances, like a fire, windstorm, or flood that leaves the soil intact
Pioneer Species- initiate recovery following disturbance in both primary AND secondary successions
Pioneers “pave the way” for later colonists by altering the biotic and abiotic environment
** soil stabilization
** soil nutrient enrichment (organic matter and biological nitrogen fixation)
** increased moisture holding capacity
** light availability
** temperature
** exposure to wind
Species composition tends toward a CLIMAX COMMUNITY through succession
- The climax community describes an end product of succession that persists until disturbed by environmental change. Succession occurs at large scales involving higher plants and animals, but may involve microbial communities on a smaller
scale.
Visit the Link:http://geowords.org/ensci/imagesbook/04_03_succession.swf
Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper
1: How is primary succession different from secondary succession?
Primary Succession involves the establishment of a community of a barren habitat and secondary succession involves the reestablishment of a community in an area that has been disturbed. So primary creating and secondary fixing the damage on a primary succession area.
2: What impact do humans have on succession?
Humans can cause an event that restarts the succession cycle like forest fires.
Primary Succession:http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/demo/PrimarySuccession.html
3: What causes this primary succession? List at least two other examples of primary succession you can think of.
- When species are introduced into a new area. Could be humans moving species or a lava flow coving a landscape.
4: What are the 1st species to arrive after the succession event?
- Lichens and mosses begin to grow after the glaciers melt and uncover rock.
5: How does the rate of secondary succession compare to primary succession? Why do they differ?
Explain.
- I think they would both take the same amount of time because they are both starting form square one. Primary succession starts with the glaciers melting rock being uncovered and lichens and mosses growing and so on and secondary succession begins on land that was once part of primary succession, but was destroyed.
Secondary Succesion:
8: Fire is one cause of secondary succession. List at least 4 other examples of secondary succession.
1. The renewal of a crop after harvesting.
2. A volcanic eruption causes damage to plants and tree life.
3. Renewal after diseases a plant population can be affected by a variety of infectious plant diseases.
4. A forest renews after logging.
9: Imagine a lawn on campus or in someone’s yard. Are there any examples of succession there now? If no one maintained it for five years, what might it look like? What would it look like after 10 years? 50? 100?
No because we maintain the lawn by cutting the grass, removing weeds and fertilizing it. If no one maintained it for 5 years the lawn would have died and begun to break down growing lichens and mosses. At 10 years the shrub stage would begin. Within 50 years primary succession would have continued begin to grow more plant life along with trees building a young forest. 100 years, bigger plants begin to grow, 150 to 200 a forest begins a mature forest and around 200 to 300 you have these huge different types of trees and other large plants along with animals so a climax forest.
- Describe an ecosystem and explain how the biological community interacts with its environment
- Explain the role of disturbance in (natural and managed) ecosystems and its relationship to succession
- Explain what primary succession is and give some real world examples
- Explain what secondary succession is and distinguish it from primary succession
- Describe how living components in the ecosystem change nonliving components during succession
Directions: Read all directions thoroughly and make sure to read the overview
and objectives. Answer all questions below on a separate piece of paper, and be sure to visit all the web
links as indicated. When visiting the web links, make sure you read all the information and look
over the images, and answer any associated questions.
Ecological Succession-
Overview: From the Latin, Succedere, to follow after “Change in the species composition of a community over time”
Primary Succession- follows the formation of new land surfaces consisting of rock, ava, volcanic ash, sand, clay, or other exclusively mineral substrate. This means that there is NO SOIL present Soil is a mixture of mineral material, decaying organic material, and living organisms
Secondary Succession- follows the destruction or partial destruction of the vegetation area by some sort of disturbances, like a fire, windstorm, or flood that leaves the soil intact
Pioneer Species- initiate recovery following disturbance in both primary AND secondary successions
Pioneers “pave the way” for later colonists by altering the biotic and abiotic environment
** soil stabilization
** soil nutrient enrichment (organic matter and biological nitrogen fixation)
** increased moisture holding capacity
** light availability
** temperature
** exposure to wind
Species composition tends toward a CLIMAX COMMUNITY through succession
- The climax community describes an end product of succession that persists until disturbed by environmental change. Succession occurs at large scales involving higher plants and animals, but may involve microbial communities on a smaller
scale.
Visit the Link:http://geowords.org/ensci/imagesbook/04_03_succession.swf
Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper
1: How is primary succession different from secondary succession?
Primary Succession involves the establishment of a community of a barren habitat and secondary succession involves the reestablishment of a community in an area that has been disturbed. So primary creating and secondary fixing the damage on a primary succession area.
2: What impact do humans have on succession?
Humans can cause an event that restarts the succession cycle like forest fires.
Primary Succession:http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/demo/PrimarySuccession.html
3: What causes this primary succession? List at least two other examples of primary succession you can think of.
- When species are introduced into a new area. Could be humans moving species or a lava flow coving a landscape.
4: What are the 1st species to arrive after the succession event?
- Lichens and mosses begin to grow after the glaciers melt and uncover rock.
5: How does the rate of secondary succession compare to primary succession? Why do they differ?
Explain.
- I think they would both take the same amount of time because they are both starting form square one. Primary succession starts with the glaciers melting rock being uncovered and lichens and mosses growing and so on and secondary succession begins on land that was once part of primary succession, but was destroyed.
Secondary Succesion:
8: Fire is one cause of secondary succession. List at least 4 other examples of secondary succession.
1. The renewal of a crop after harvesting.
2. A volcanic eruption causes damage to plants and tree life.
3. Renewal after diseases a plant population can be affected by a variety of infectious plant diseases.
4. A forest renews after logging.
9: Imagine a lawn on campus or in someone’s yard. Are there any examples of succession there now? If no one maintained it for five years, what might it look like? What would it look like after 10 years? 50? 100?
No because we maintain the lawn by cutting the grass, removing weeds and fertilizing it. If no one maintained it for 5 years the lawn would have died and begun to break down growing lichens and mosses. At 10 years the shrub stage would begin. Within 50 years primary succession would have continued begin to grow more plant life along with trees building a young forest. 100 years, bigger plants begin to grow, 150 to 200 a forest begins a mature forest and around 200 to 300 you have these huge different types of trees and other large plants along with animals so a climax forest.
Ecological Succession: Natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; can be primary or secondary.
Primary Succession
** A place without soil. Soil starts to form as lichens and the forces of weather and erosion help break down rocks.
** Sides of volcanoes, landslides, and flooding
** Where living things such as lichens that do not need soil to survive. When lichens die, they decompose , adding small amounts of organic matter to the rock to make soil.
** Called pioneer species
** Simple plants - mosses, ferns can grow in new soil
Lichens
** Symbiotic relationship between algae and fungus.
** Help break down hard substrate, providing nutrients to the soil.
** Sensitive to changes in environment
** Help create a nutrient rich soil when they die.
Secondary Succession
** A place has soil
Primary Succession
** A place without soil. Soil starts to form as lichens and the forces of weather and erosion help break down rocks.
** Sides of volcanoes, landslides, and flooding
** Where living things such as lichens that do not need soil to survive. When lichens die, they decompose , adding small amounts of organic matter to the rock to make soil.
** Called pioneer species
** Simple plants - mosses, ferns can grow in new soil
Lichens
** Symbiotic relationship between algae and fungus.
** Help break down hard substrate, providing nutrients to the soil.
** Sensitive to changes in environment
** Help create a nutrient rich soil when they die.
Secondary Succession
** A place has soil