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Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is the gradual process of community replacement over time in an area, progressing from initial colonization to a stable climax community. It involves stages of nudation, invasion, competition, reaction, and stabilization. Primary succession occurs in new areas like bare rock, while secondary succession follows disturbances that destroy existing communities but leave soil intact.

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857 views13 pages

Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is the gradual process of community replacement over time in an area, progressing from initial colonization to a stable climax community. It involves stages of nudation, invasion, competition, reaction, and stabilization. Primary succession occurs in new areas like bare rock, while secondary succession follows disturbances that destroy existing communities but leave soil intact.

Uploaded by

Mk Verma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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AIAS

Ecological Succession

26.Oct.20

By:
DR. KARUNENDRA
ASST. PROFESSOR
AMITY INSTITUTE OF APPLIED SCIENCES
AMITY UNIVERSITY, NOIDA CAMPUS, UTTAR-
PRADESH
Ecological Succession
AIAS

Ecological succession is the gradual and sequential process of replacement of one


community by other in an area over a period.

The ecological succession is an orderly


process of community change in a unit
area- E.P.Odum

Population : The group of individual


species occupying in a unit area.
Eg: Fox, deer (flora/ fauna)

Community: It can be defined as a


combination of different population in
an ecosystem.
Eg: A pond ecosystem may consist of
population of spirogyra (algae) frogs,
fishes and insects. Fig: Various steps of ecological succession
Classification of ecological succession AIAS

Ecological Succession

Primary Succession Secondary Succession


Primary succession is the succession that Secondary succession occurs when the
starts in lifeless areas like where the soil is primary ecosystem gets destroyed.
unable to sustain life.
Eg., a climax community gets destroyed by
fire. It gets recolonized after the
Eg: Just beginning of life on earth .The
destruction. This is known as secondary
earth was only made up of rocks. Due to ecological succession.
microbial action and weathering soil
formed then plants and animals can come Small plants emerge first, followed by larger
in existence . plants. The tall trees block the sunlight and
change the structure of the organisms
*If this primary ecosystem is destroyed, below the canopy. Finally, the climax
secondary succession takes place community arrives.
Primary succession is the process by which an area first
changes from bare rock into a functioning ecosystem. AIAS
Secondary Succession AIAS

 SECONDARY SUCCESSION begins in


habitats where communities were
entirely or partially destroyed by some
kind of damaging event.

 When an existing community has been


cleared by a disturbance such as a fire,
tornado, etc. The soil remains intact, the
area begins to return to its natural
community. Because these habitats
previously supported life, secondary
succession, unlike primary succession,
begins on substrates that already bear
soil.

 Since the soil is already in place,


secondary succession can take place five
to ten times faster than primary
succession.

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. Process of Ecological Succession AIAS

The ecological succession is a


complex process and it may take
thousands of years. It includes
following steps:

Nudation
Invasion
Competetion
Reaction
Stabilization

 Nudation : It is the first step of


ecological succession where the
development of bare area starts .

Causes for nudation: It may include


(i)Topographic Fig: Nudation
(ii)Climatic
(iii)Biotic
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. Invasion & Competetion
AIAS

 Invasion :It is the establishment of a


species in the bare area. It is second
important step of succession.

Invasion may be completed in four steps


(i) Arrival
(ii)Establishment
(iii)Integration
(iv)Spread Fig: Invasion

 Competetion
It is most typically considered the interaction
of individuals for a common resource that is in
limited supply.

 Interspecific Competition
 Intraspecific Competition
Fig Intraspecific & Interspecific Competition 7
. Ecological succession - Reaction
AIAS

 Reaction
It is the most important stage in the ecological
succession .
Reaction cause change in soil, water, light
and temperature of the area.
Due to modification the present community
become unstable for the existing
environmental condition and will be quickly
replaced by another community.
The whole sequence of community that
replaces one another in the given area is called
sere

This phase autogenic changes such as the Fig: Ecological succession - Reaction

buildup of humus affect the habitat, and one


plant community replaces another.

8
.
Stabilization / Stage of Climax AIAS

 It is the final stage in ecological


succession.
 The final or terminal community
become stabilized (more and less) for
longer period and maintain its
equilibrium with the climate of the
area.
 The final community is called climax
community and it is not immediately
replaced by other community.
Examples: Forest , grassland, coral reef.

Different types of Climaxes:


Climatic Climax
Edaphic Climax (soil moisture, topography, soil nutrients)
Catastrophic Climax (wild fire, floods etc.)

Fig: Different types of Climaxes 9


.
Characteristics of Stabilized / Climax community AIAS

 They show rich diversity in species composition and


which remains constant for many years.
 The community possesses a complex food chain system.
 They possess high tolerance towards the environmental
condition.
 The vegetation of the community will have high
ecological amplitude.
 The ecosystem will be balances and self sustainable.

10
Audio-Video on Ecological Succession
AIAS

11
QUESTIONS AIAS

Q.1 What is ecological succession . Explain the process of ecological succession.

Q.2 What is meant by nudation. What are the cause of nudation.

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REFERENCE AIAS

[1] Ecosystem; chapter.3; DK Asthana;Schand; Environmental studies;14-29.


[2] Ecological succession;;You-tube channel.

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