The document discusses key aspects of ecological succession:
- Succession is the process of change in plant communities over time in an area.
- It leads to a climax community, a stable ecosystem that persists until disrupted by a disturbance.
- Disturbances that trigger succession can be natural, like fires, or human-caused, like deforestation.
- Primary succession occurs on new areas without soil, like lava flows, while secondary follows disturbances where soil remains.
- Succession progresses from pioneer species like lichens and mosses to shrubs and trees as they change environmental conditions.
Tornadoes, clear-cutting, and fires all cause secondary succession. Volcanic eruptions destroy the soil base, so succession is primary– first build soil.
This picture follows the story in PLT.
In the east, the climax community may be different than the northwest.
![Launch ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/succession-091202143137-phpapp02/85/Succession-1-320.jpg)
![Launch ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)