ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
“Ecological succession is a series of changes that occur in an ecological community over time.”
1. Ecological succession is the steady and gradual change in a species of a given area with respect to the changing environment. It is a predictable change and is an inevitable process of nature as all the biotic components have to keep up with the changes in our environment.
2. The ultimate aim of this process is to reach equilibrium in the ecosystem. The community that achieves this aim is called a climax community. In an attempt to reach this equilibrium, some species increase in number while some other decreases.
3.In an area, the sequence of communities that undergo changes is called sere. Thus, each community that changes is called a seral stage or seral community.
TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION --
There are following types of ecological succession.
1. Primary succession
Primary succession is the succession that starts in lifeless areas such as the regions devoid of soil or the areas where the soil is unable to sustain life.
When the planet was first formed there was no soil on earth. The earth was only made up of rocks. These rocks were broken down by microorganisms and eroded to form soil. The soil then becomes the foundation of plant life. These plants help in the survival of different animals and progress from primary succession to the climax community.If this primary ecosystem is destroyed, secondary succession takes place.
2.Secondary succession
Secondary succession occurs when the primary ecosystem gets destroyed. For eg., a climax community gets destroyed by fire. It gets recolonized after the destruction. This is known as secondary ecological succession. Small plants emerge first, followed by larger plants. The tall trees block the sunlight and change the structure of the organisms below the canopy. Finally, the climax community arrives.
3.Cyclic succession
This is only the change in the structure of an ecosystem on a cyclic basis. Some plants remain dormant for the rest of the year and emerge all at once. This drastically changes the structure of an ecosystem.
Seral Community -- “A seral community is an intermediate stage of ecological succession advancing towards the climax community.”
Cause of Ecological succession - The main causes of ecological succession include the biotic and climatic factors that can destroy the populations of an area. Wind, fire, soil erosion and natural disasters include the climatic factors.
Importance -
Ecological succession is important for the growth and development of an ecosystem.
It initiates colonization of new areas and recolonization of the areas that had been destroyed due to certain biotic and climatic factors.
Thus, the organisms can adapt to the changes and learn to survive in a changing environment.
HII THIS IS KAIBALYA FROM BIOLOGY ADDA BY KAIBALYA SHARED SOME INFORMATION RELATED TO ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION WHICH IS IMPORTANT IN EXAMS . GOOD LUCK . JAY JAGANNATH.
