Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is a fundamental concept in ecology which states that there is a definable sequence of successional stages through which an ecosystem will pass, before reaching its climax. Primary succession by definition starts with a bare substrate, whereas secondary succession occurs after an existing successional stage is disturbed (such as, for example, following a fire).

Historically, there have been two contrastng views of succession: Gleasonian and Clementsian. The Clementsian model argues for a predictable, orderly process which culminates in a stable climatic climax. The Gleasonian model is more complex, invoking interactions between the physical environment, population-level interactions between species and disturbance regimes in determining the composition and spatial distribution of species.

The obvious extension of the Gleasonian view is the view that continuous change in vegetation is the norm (similar to Cowles’ view of succession) and that multiple steady states exist in ecosystem dynamics. This challenges the popular concept of reference (or 'original') conditions in most ecosystems.

The development of some ecosystem attributes, such as pedogenesis and nutrient cycles, are critical factors which influence community development but take considerable time. Coupled with the stochastic nature of disturbances events and other long-term (e.g., climatic) changes, it is doubtful whether a true 'climax' exists in any ecosystem, except as a purely theoretical construct.

At the turn of the 20th century, Henry Chandler Cowles was one of the prime movers in the emerging study of "dynamic ecology", through his study of the Indiana Dunes, sand dunes at the southern end of Lake Michigan. Cowles found that he could relate the vegetation at any point in the dunes to several variables: the distance from the lake shore, the estimated age of the dune, and the type of soil that had developed. In 1899 his classic paper "The ecological relations of the vegetation of the sand dunes of Lake Michigan" appeared in the Botanical Gazette.

In modern times, less stress has been placed on the idea of a single, natural "climax forest" or other climax vegetation, and more study has gone into the roles of contingency in the actual development of several possibilities at any one site.

External links

Biographical sketch of Henry Chandler Cowles.

Commercial Usage: Ecological Succession

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Ecological Succession

Modern Translations: Ecological Succession

Language		Translations for "ecological succession"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Dutch		successie is de temporele opeenvolging van levensgemeenschappen (different communities follow and remplace / another in the order of time, in a given area, the term ecological succession is used to denote the process whereby). (various references)

French		par succession écologique on comprend le remplacement d'une communauté par une autre (the term ecological succession is used to denote the process whereby). (various references)

German		unter Sukzession versteht man die zeitliche Aufeinanderfolge von verschiedenen Lebensgemeinschaften an einem bestimmten Ort (different communities follow and remplace / another in the order of time, in a given area, the term ecological succession is used to denote the process whereby). (various references)

Greek		ο όρος οικολογική διαδοχή δηλώνει τη διαδικασία με την οποία,σε μια συγκεκριμένη περιοχή,διαφορετικές κοινότητες διαδέχονται χρονικά η μι (different communities follow and remplace / another in the order of time, in a given area, the term ecological succession is used to denote the process whereby). (various references)

Italian		con successione ecologica si intende il fenomeno per cui si ha la sostituzione, nella medesima area, di varie comunit� successive nel tempo (different communities follow and remplace / another in the order of time, in a given area, the term ecological succession is used to denote the process whereby). (various references)

Pig Latin		ecologicalay uccessionsay.(various references)

Portuguese		o termo sucessão ecológica utiliza-se para designar o processo em que,numa determinada área,diferentes comunidades se vão substituindo no tempo (different communities follow and remplace / another in the order of time, in a given area, the term ecological succession is used to denote the process whereby). (various references)

Spanish		por sucesión ecológica se entiende la sustitución de una comunidad por otra (different communities follow and remplace / another in the order of time, in a given area, the term ecological succession is used to denote the process whereby). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Alternative Orthography: Ecological Succession

Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

45 63 6F 6C 6F 67 69 63 61 6C 53 75 63 63 65 73 73 69 6F 6E

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01000101 01100011 01101111 01101100 01101111 01100111 01101001 01100011 01100001 01101100 00100000 01010011 01110101 01100011 01100011 01100101 01110011 01110011 01101001 01101111 01101110

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#69 &#99 &#111 &#108 &#111 &#103 &#105 &#99 &#97 &#108 &#32 &#83 &#117 &#99 &#99 &#101 &#115 &#115 &#105 &#111 &#110

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0045 0063 006F 006C 006F 0067 0069 0063 0061 006C 0053 0075 0063 0063 0065 0073 0073 0069 006F 006E

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

Domain	Title
Books	Directing Ecological Succession (reference) Ecological Succession (reference) Island Community Ecological Succession in Hawaii (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Expression	Frequency per Day
ecological succession	26
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Ecological Succession

Definition: Ecological Succession