Ecological succession

American essayist, poet, and philosopher (1817–1862)

thumb|These maps show a scale, or index of greenness, based on several factors: the number and type of plants, leafiness, and plant health. Where foliage is dense and plants are growing quickly, the index is high, represented in dark green. Regions with sparse vegetation and a low vegetation index are shown in tan. Based on measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite. Areas where there is no data are gray.

process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time

soil forming processes

American ecologist (1920–1980)

ecological community that has reached its final steady state

first species to colonize or inhabite damaged ecosystems

American ecologist (1874–1945)

change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem

changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two or more habitats

American ecologist (1882-1975)

American botanist (1869-1939)

gradual growth and change of an ecosystem on new substrate

scientific discipline concerned with natural processes involving fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects

intermediate stage found in ecological succession

hypothesis in ecology

upright=1.2|thumb|Mute swan (Cygnus olor) in a hydrosere community at sunrise. A hydrosere is a plant succession which occurs in an area of fresh water such as in oxbow lakes and kettle lakes. In time, an area of open freshwater will naturally dry out, ultimately becoming woodland. During this change, a range of different landtypes such as swamp and marsh will succeed each other.

redevelopment of an encology after an event that changes it radically

A psammosere is the sequence of plant succession that has been initiated on sand.

Previously inhabited areas reclaimed by vegetation and wildlife