Get Ecological Succession Activity

Secondary succession is more common and usually occurs faster than primary succession because the substrate is already present. Secondary succession occurs on a surface where an ecosystem has previously existed. This happens after some sort of disturbance.

Succession is a natural change of the environment. It is the process by which a biological community changes over time. These changes may be slow and hard to see over short time periods. Examples are the growth of hardwood forests, and the development of the Great Barrier Reef.

Ecological succession is the process by which the mix of species and habitat in an area changes over time. Gradually, these communities replace one another until a “climax community”—like a mature forest—is reached, or until a disturbance, like a fire, occurs. Ecological succession is a fundamental concept in ecology.

Primary succession occurs in an environment without previous life, or a barren habitat. Secondary succession occurs in an area that had previously been inhabited but experienced a disturbance, such as a wildfire. The newly created volcanic island has no previous life, and is made of rock, devoid of soil.

Primary succession begins in barren areas, such as the bare rock exposed by a retreating glacier. The first inhabitants are lichens or plants that can grown on bare rock. Over hundreds of years these “pioneer species” convert the rock into soil that can support simple plants such as grasses.

Give students a scenario and have them draw a cartoon timeline of what would happen in the area over hundreds of years. 9. Most of your students have cell phones, so have them go outside and take pictures of primary and secondary succession in their neighborhoods. They can upload them and create a photo journal.

For example, after a forest fire that kills all the mature trees on a particular landscape, grasses might grow, followed by shrubs and a variety of tree species, until eventually the community that existed before the fire is present again. Secondary succession begins after a disturbance, like a fire.

Give students a scenario and have them draw a cartoon timeline of what would happen in the area over hundreds of years. 9. Most of your students have cell phones, so have them go outside and take pictures of primary and secondary succession in their neighborhoods. They can upload them and create a photo journal.

Ecological succession is the natural, gradual and orderly change in an environment. It is the gradual replacement of one plant community by another through natural processes over time.

The 5 stages of ecological succession are nudation, invasion, competition and co-action, reaction, and stabilization or climax.

The lifespan of a pond is determined by how fast it “fills in.” The natural succession is for a pond to turn into a bog, then a bog into a field, then a field into a forest.

1. (general) (a) The act of following in order or sequence; (b) A following of things, events, people, or ranks after another in a sequence of time, as in a succession of disasters. 2. (ecology) The directional and progressive change of communities in a given area over time.

Secondary succession is more common and usually occurs faster than primary succession because the substrate is already present. Secondary succession occurs on a surface where an ecosystem has previously existed. This happens after some sort of disturbance.

Succession is a natural change of the environment. It is the process by which a biological community changes over time. These changes may be slow and hard to see over short time periods. Examples are the growth of hardwood forests, and the development of the Great Barrier Reef.

Ecological succession is the process by which the mix of species and habitat in an area changes over time. Gradually, these communities replace one another until a “climax community”—like a mature forest—is reached, or until a disturbance, like a fire, occurs. Ecological succession is a fundamental concept in ecology.

Primary succession occurs in an environment without previous life, or a barren habitat. Secondary succession occurs in an area that had previously been inhabited but experienced a disturbance, such as a wildfire. The newly created volcanic island has no previous life, and is made of rock, devoid of soil.

Primary succession begins in barren areas, such as the bare rock exposed by a retreating glacier. The first inhabitants are lichens or plants that can grown on bare rock. Over hundreds of years these “pioneer species” convert the rock into soil that can support simple plants such as grasses.

Give students a scenario and have them draw a cartoon timeline of what would happen in the area over hundreds of years. 9. Most of your students have cell phones, so have them go outside and take pictures of primary and secondary succession in their neighborhoods. They can upload them and create a photo journal.

For example, after a forest fire that kills all the mature trees on a particular landscape, grasses might grow, followed by shrubs and a variety of tree species, until eventually the community that existed before the fire is present again. Secondary succession begins after a disturbance, like a fire.

Give students a scenario and have them draw a cartoon timeline of what would happen in the area over hundreds of years. 9. Most of your students have cell phones, so have them go outside and take pictures of primary and secondary succession in their neighborhoods. They can upload them and create a photo journal.

Ecological succession is the natural, gradual and orderly change in an environment. It is the gradual replacement of one plant community by another through natural processes over time.

The 5 stages of ecological succession are nudation, invasion, competition and co-action, reaction, and stabilization or climax.

The lifespan of a pond is determined by how fast it “fills in.” The natural succession is for a pond to turn into a bog, then a bog into a field, then a field into a forest.

1. (general) (a) The act of following in order or sequence; (b) A following of things, events, people, or ranks after another in a sequence of time, as in a succession of disasters. 2. (ecology) The directional and progressive change of communities in a given area over time.