ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION - MR. CRAMEREcological Succession The replacement of one community by another...
Transcript of ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION - MR. CRAMEREcological Succession The replacement of one community by another...
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
Ecosystems tend to
change with time
until a stable system
is formed.
The stable system that
will form depends on
climatic limitations.
Ecological Succession
The replacement of one
community by another
until a stable stage is
reached is called
ecological succession.
a series of changes in a
community in which new
populations of organisms
gradually replace existing
ones
Climax Community
The final stage of
succession is called
the climax
community.
The climax
community in New
York State is an oak-
hickory forest or a
maple-beech forest.
Primary Succession
Primary succession
occurs where there
was no previous
community, such as
on bare rock or sand.
Primary succession
begins with pioneer
organisms.
Pioneer Organisms
Pioneer organisms
can tolerate extreme
conditions: hot and
cold; dry and wet.
Moss, dune grass, and
lichens are pioneer
organisms.
Lichens
Lichens are algae and
fungus growing
together in a
mutualistic
relationship. Algae
make the food;
fungus anchor and
capture water.
Pioneer organisms
Soil is produced over hundreds of years by pioneer organisms.
These organisms break apart rock, add humus as they die and decompose, and hold water
This allows other organisms to grow there.
Succession occurs BECAUSE
Each community changes the conditions so that they are more favorable to other organisms that replace them.
For example, some types of trees need a lot of sun and their saplings cannot grow under the shade of their own species.
They will be replaced by the types of trees whose saplings cangrow in shade of other trees.
Secondary Succession
When a community is
disrupted and
succession occurs
again, it is called
secondary
succession.
Disruption may be
from fire, farming,
wind, foresting
Secondary Succession
The community
begins again where
the former
community was
disrupted.
Soil is already
present.
A community is still undergoing
succession
As long as the species
keep changing:
Here, the plants
growing under the
pine trees are NOT
small pine trees, so
the species will be
changing as the old
pine trees fall.
Climax Community
The same climax
community will
develop unless the
abiotic conditions
have changed.
We can tell it’s a climax
community-
A climax community
replaces itself with
more of itself:
Under sugar maple
trees, we will see
sugar maple saplings-
that shows that it is a
climax community
Climax Community
The climax community will be part of the BIOME of that area.
Our climax community-oak/hickory forest-is part of the temperate deciduous forest biome