term1 Definition1term2 Definition2term3 Definition3
Please sign in to your Google account to access your documents:
Ecological succession
Is the observed process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. The times scale can be decades (for example, after a wildfire), or even millions of years after a mass extinction.
Observed changes in species structure of ecological communities over time.
Primary succession
Is one of two types of biological and ecological of plant life, occurring in an environment in which new substrate devoid vegetation and usually lacking soil, such as a lava flow or area left from retreating glacier, is deposited. In other words it is a gradual growth of an ecosystem over a longer period.
Starts from nothing, gradual growth of ecosystem over a longer period of time.
Secondary succession
Is one of the two types of ecological succession of plant life. as opposed to the first, primary succession, secondary succession is a process started by an event (for example fire, harvesting, hurricane) that reduces an already established ecosystem for (example a forest or a wheat field) to a smaller population of species, and as such secondary succession occurs on preexisting soil whereas primary succession usually occurs in a place lacking soil.
Starts with some sort of life, and is started by an event such as a fire.
Climax community
Is a historic term that expressed a biological community of plants and animals and fungi which, through the process of ecological succession the development of vegetation in an area over time, had reached a steady state
A steady state in a biological community.
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
An eruption of a big volcano.
Disturbance
Is it temporary change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem. disturbances often act quickly and with great effects, sometimes resulting in the removal of large amounts of biomass.
Is sudden and lethal.
Stress
Is small amount and damage over time and reduces the growth or reproduction of individuals.
Damage over time
Alternative stable state
Predict the ecosystems can exist under multiple states sets of unique biotic and abiotic conditions. These alternative states are non-transitory and therefore considered stable over eat a logically relevant time scales. Ecosystems made transition from one stable state to another, in what is known as a state shift sometimes termed a phase shift or regime shift, when perturbed. Do to ecological feedbacks ecosystems display resistance to state shifts and therefore intend to remain in one state unless perturbations are large enough.
Communities can follow different successional paths and display alternative states.
Need help typing ? See our FAQ (opens in new window)
Please sign in to create this set. We'll bring you back here when you are done.
Discard Changes Sign in
Please sign in to add to folders.
Sign in
Don't have an account? Sign Up »
You have created 2 folders. Please upgrade to Cram Premium to create hundreds of folders!