ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

What is Ecological succession?

“Ecological succession is a series of changes that occur in an ecological community over time.”

Ecological succession is the steady and gradual change in a species of a given area with respect
to the changing environment. It is a predictable change and is an inevitable process of nature as all the
biotic components have to keep up with the changes in our environment.

The ultimate aim of this process is to reach equilibrium in the ecosystem. The community that
achieves this aim is called a climax community. In an attempt to reach this equilibrium, some species
increase in number while some others decrease.

In an area, the sequence of communities that undergo changes is called sere. Thus, each community
that changes is called a seral stage or seral community.

All the communities that we observe today around us have undergone succession over a period of time
since their existence. Thus, we can say that evolution is a process that has taken place simultaneously
with that of ecological succession. Also, the initiation of life on earth can be considered to be a result of
this succession process.

If we consider an area where life starts from scratch through the process of succession, it is known as
primary succession. However, if life starts at a place after the area has lost all the life forms existing
there, the process is called secondary succession.

It is obvious that primary succession is a rather slow process as life has to start from nothing whereas
secondary succession is faster because it starts at a place which had already supported life before.
Moreover, the first species that comes into existence during primary succession is known as the pioneer
species.

What are the main causes of ecological succession?

The main causes of ecological succession include the biotic and climatic factors that can destroy
the populations of an area. Wind, fire, soil erosion and natural disasters include climatic factors.

What is the role of Ecological succession in Ecosystem?

Without ecological succession, Earth would be much like Mars. Ecological succession provides
diversity and depth to a biotic community. Without it, life can not grow or progress. Succession, it
seems, is the gateway to evolution. There are five main elements to ecological succession: primary
succession, secondary succession, pioneer and niche species, climax communities and sub-climax
communities.

What is the importance of ecological succession?

Ecological succession is important for the growth and development of an ecosystem. It initiates
the colonization of new areas and the recolonization of the areas that had been destroyed due to
certain biotic and climatic factors. Thus, the organisms can adapt to the changes and learn to survive in a
changing environment.

What are the types of Ecological Succession?

Succession may be initiated either by formation of new habitat (landslide or lava flow) or
disturbance of already existing habitat (fires, land clearance). There are three recognized stages to
ecological succession. Each covers a gradual process of change and development. They do not have hard
and defined boundaries, and it is possibly for an ecological system to be in both stages at once during
the transition period from one to another. The 3 stages of ecological succession are:

1. Primary – This is when an ecological community first enters into a new form of habitat that it has not
been present in before. A good example of this would be the habitat created when granite is removed in
a quarry. The rock face that is left behind is altered and becomes a new habitat. The environment that
then grows within that habitat is considered to be in its primary stage.

2. Secondary – The secondary succession stage occurs after a habitat has been established, but it is then
disturbed or changed in some fashion and a new community moves in. To use the example from before
– let us say that a primary stage develops on the face of a newly quarried granite cliff. That habitat
grows undisturbed, until there is a forest fire that then burns and changes a portion of the habitat that
has been growing on the rock face. That ecological habitat has now entered its secondary stage.

3. Climax – the climax stage is the last stage of an ecosystem. It is when the ecosystem has become
balanced and there is little risk of an interfering event or change to mutate the environment.
Several rainforests and deserts qualify as being in the climax stage. What is tricky about a climax stage is
that given human development, any ecosystem that is in the climax stage now holds the risk of being
destroyed and going backward in the stages.

What are the stages of Ecological Succession?

When talking about the types of ecological succession it is important to remember that the “types”
occur within the stages, but they may not necessarily be unique to that stage. What determines the
stage that an ecosystem is in is dependent on its energy balance. There are four main types of ecological
succession:

Pioneer – pioneer types are the new lifeforms that enter into a primary succession and begin to take
hold. This can be anything from a seed to a bacteria to an insect or to an animal wandering into a new
area and bedding down to make it their home. The pioneer has no connection to the environment, but it
does find enough present in the new ecosystem to begin to establish its life.

Establishing – the establishing type can be hard to pinpoint because it crosses into the pioneer and
sustaining. Establishing is the process in which lifeforms identify elements in an ecosystem that can
sustain their basic needs – such as food, water and safe habitat.

Sustaining – Sustaining type means that life in the ecosystem has begun to enter into a pattern that
allows for a cycle of life to continue. This means that birth and death are occurring, and there is little
migration outside of the ecosystem – this is most common in the climax succession.

Producing – the producing type occurs during the secondary succession. This is when lifeforms are
breeding and growing, but there is migration because what is produced is also not capable of being
supported within the ecosystem. There are also more areas of overgrowth or overpopulation due to
seed levels.

Pioneer species are the ones that thrive the new habitat at the beginning of ecological succession.
Pioneer species are ‘r-selected’ species that are fast growing and well-dispersed. Early succession is
therefore dominated by so called ‘r-selected’ species. As succession continues, more species enter the
community and begin to alter the environment. These are called ‘k-selected’ species. They are more
competitive and fight for resource and space. The species that are better suited for the modified habitat
then begin to succeed the other species. These are superseded by newer set of species. This goes on till
the stage of climax or equilibrium is achieved.

When succession reaches a climax, where community is dominated by stable and small number
of prominent species and no other species can be admitted, that is called the state of equilibrium or the
climax community.

Seral Community

“A seral community is an intermediate stage of ecological succession advancing towards the climax
community.”

A seral community is a stage in the process of ecological succession, in which the species
composition of an ecosystem is changing over time. Seral communities are intermediate stages between
the initial colonization of an area and the eventual establishment of a stable, mature ecosystem known
as the climax community.

Seral communities are characterized by the presence of early-succession or pioneer species, which
are usually adapted to colonize disturbed or newly created habitats. These species help to create the
conditions necessary for the establishment of later-succession species, which in turn create further
changes in the ecosystem.

Seral communities can be found in a variety of habitats, including forests, grasslands, wetlands, and
deserts. They are important for the maintenance of biodiversity, as they provide habitat and resources
for a wide range of species, including those that are rare or endangered.

There are seven different types of seres:

Types of Seres Explanation

Hydrosere Succession in aquatic habitat.

Xerosere Succession in dry habitat.

Lithosere Succession on a bare rock surface.

Psammosere Succession initiating on sandy areas.

Halosere Succession starting in saline soil or water.

Senile Succession of microorganism on dead matter.

Eosere Development of vegetation in an era.

Differences between seral community and climax community.

Seral Community: Climax Community:

1. It is transitional community which develops in an 1. It is final community that develops in an area at

area during succession. the end of biotic succession.

2. Seral community is replaced by another 2. Climax community is seldom replaced.

subsequent successional community
3. Food chains and food webs are simple. 3. Food chains and food webs are complex.

4. Biomass is small. 4. Biomass is high.

5. Diversity is of lower degree. 5. Diversity is of higher degree.

6. Niches are fewer and generalized. 6. Niches are many and specialized.

7. Size of the individuals is small. 7. Size of individuals is large.

8. Nutrient conservation is low. 8. Nutrient conservation is high.

Examples of Ecological Succession

Following are the important examples of ecological succession:

Acadia National Park

This national park suffered a huge wildfire. Restoration of the forest was left to nature. In the initial
years, only small plants grew on the burnt soil. After several years, the forest showed diversity in tree
species. However, the trees before the fire were mostly evergreen, while the trees that grew after the
fire were deciduous in nature.

Ecological Succession of Coral Reefs

Small coral polyps colonize the rocks. These polyps grow and divide to form coral colonies. The shape of
the coral reefs attracts small fish and crustaceans that are food for the larger fish. Thus, a fully functional
coral reef exists.

Reference:

Ecological Succession - Types and Examples Of Ecological Succession (byjus.com)

Types and Stages of Ecological Succession - Conserve Energy Future (conserve-energy-future.com)

Role of Ecological Succession in Ecosystems | Sciencing

Sere and Climax Community: Classification of Sere (With Diagram) (biologydiscussion.com)

Differences between Seral Community and Climax Community (biologydiscussion.com)

Ecological Succession - Class 12 | Chapter - 14| Biology Short Notes Series PDF - Learning Mantras