Knowra Forest succession Forest succession Forest succession is the change in a forest community’s species composition and physical structure over time, often following disturbance or the abandonment of land.
Ecological succession : Ecological succession is the change in an ecological community’s composition and structure over time. Forest succession is the forest-specific form of this broader community process.
Ecological disturbance : An ecological disturbance is an event that disrupts organisms or community structure and changes resource availability. Fire, storms, and logging can initiate or redirect forest succession.
Mount St. Helens : Mount St. Helens is a volcano in Washington state whose 1980 eruption transformed surrounding ecosystems. Its eruption created a natural experiment in succession across sharply different disturbance conditions.
Climax community : A climax community is a proposed relatively stable endpoint of succession under specified environmental conditions. The concept contrasts with views of forests as continually changing mosaics without one inevitable endpoint.
Forest biodiversity : Forest biodiversity is the variety of genes, species, and ecological interactions within forest ecosystems. Species richness and composition shift as canopy, soils, and habitat structure develop.
Primary succession : Primary succession is community development on a surface lacking developed soil and biological legacies. It describes forest development where disturbance leaves bare substrate, as after a lava flow.
Biological legacy : A biological legacy is an organism, structure, or biological material that persists after disturbance. Surviving seeds, roots, and dead wood influence which forest species return.
Glacier Bay : Glacier Bay is an Alaskan fjord where retreating glaciers expose land for ecological development. Its newly exposed surfaces provide a classic setting for studying primary succession toward forest.
Alternative stable states : Alternative stable states are distinct ecosystem configurations that persist under similar external conditions. They challenge the idea that a given forest site has only one likely successional outcome.
Forest carbon cycle : The forest carbon cycle is the movement and storage of carbon among trees, soils, organisms, and the atmosphere. Regrowing forests accumulate or release carbon as biomass and dead organic matter change.
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