Download Nothing Succeeds Like Succession

Nothing Succeeds Like Succession
Succession is the orderly replacement of plant and animal species through
time in a given location.
A. This will lead to a stable ecosystem.
B. You see this when you watch a vacant lot that no one messes with. You
start with grass and eventually you get bushes and trees.
C. In places like Hawaii where there are lava flows it is even a more
complicated process. You have hard rock (the lava flows) that has to
be broken down to soil to hold plants.
There are several stages.
1. Primary Succession: The process of succession that begins in a place
without any soil.
A. You have pioneer species such as lichens that live on the rock and
break them down to soil.
B. As the lichens die they add nutrients to the newly forming soil helping
it to be able to support plant life. This happens over and over and you
eventually get a layer of soil.
C. From that layer of soil other plants can start to grow.
2. Secondary Succession: Succession that begins in a place that already has
soil and was once the home of living organisms.
A. This occurs when an area has been destroyed by fire of a similar
process.
B. Because soil is already there this occurs faster and will have
different pioneer species.
3. Climax Community-A community that has reached a stable stage of
ecological succession.
A. It is a combination of plants and animals that use the available
resources most efficiently.
B. Diversity (a lot of different species of living things) and balance are
maintained in a Climax Community.
Questions:
We are going to look at some areas and decide what state of succession they
are in.
1. Look at the grassy area of the park and describe it below.
A. Would it naturally be like this or is it caused by man to stay in one
stage? Explain.
B. What stage of succession is it in?
C. Predict what it would look like if nothing were done to it for the next
15 years. Explain.
2. Look over at the wooded area and describe or sketch it below.
A. Does this area look like it has gone through the stages of succession
on its own?
B. What stage of succession is it in?
C. Predict what it would look like if nothing were done to it for the next
15 years?
Conclusion:
1. What is the difference between primary and secondary
succession?
2. What is the difference between pioneer species and climax
communities?