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Ecosystem Change
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.Frederick Douglass
Ecological Succession
Progressive change in species composition, ecosystem function and structure following a disturbance Minor changes in structure and function accumulate
over time Ecological function of ecosystem changes
Initiated by a disturbance
Directional change in structure
Follows a predictable pattern
Successional Classifications (seres) Primary succession: establishment of plant
communities on newly formed habitats lacking plants Lava flows, sand dunes, landslides, etc.
Secondary succession: return to vegetation following a disturbance
There is some blurring of the classifications
Some examples Tornado levels a strip of forest
Trees are all gone, but seed bank is still there.
Secondary succession will follow
Severe fire burns through organic layer of soil and destroys the seed bank and nutrients Primary succession would proceed even
though plants were there before
Disturbances vary along with their impact
Succession as a Deterministic
Process Frederick Clements (1916)
Distinct steps…ends in a climax community
Clementsian Succession
Established species alter the environment Allow new species to move in and establish
Directional change in composition – aka. Community structure – is maintained by the continuous alteration of the environment
Within the community (specified): Succession always follow the same pattern as
it develops to climax community If interrupted, it will follow the path again. This is why considered deterministic
Stability and Climax Community In Clement’s view,
The concept of climax community assumes: The species colonizing and establishing themselves in a
given region can achieve stable equilibrium Stable equilibrium – forces to change system = forces to
keep system the same…no change results Therefore, the climate community = stable equilibrium
Clementsian Example
Hardwood trees, a climax community, has a disturbance in the form of deforestation.
The community will always proceed this way The transition will occur in predictable
manner.
Barring any further disturbances, the hardwood community will be reached and will be stable.
Is deterministic pathway the
only way? Idea of stable community fell out of favor
Individualistic Perspective (Gleason, 1926) The relationship between coexisting species (communities)
as the result of similarities in their requirements and tolerance to the environment.
Partly result of chance Succession is not deterministic
The challenge
Gleason argued that Clements explanation of succession could not explain retrogressive successions Plant community simplifies and loses biomass
over time
Clements vs. Gleason
Clements
Assume long term stability
Deterministic
Interdependence among species
Gleason
Assume environment can deteriorate over time
Random
No relationship between species – together because of similar env. requirements
Stability Refuted Succession viewed as a phenomenon that
rarely attains equilibrium
Equilibrium related to nature of disturbance Disturbance acts at variety of scales Magnitude of disturbance varies Many disturbances remove only part of the
previous plant community
Disturbance Variations in the definition (general
agreement): Any relative discrete event in space and time
that disrupts an ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes resources, substrate, or the physical environment – Pickett and White, 1985 Discrete in time (as opposed to chronic stress or
background environmental variability) Cause a notable change (perturbation) in the
state of the system
Consequences of Disturbance
Total habitat destruction
Creation of new habitat (transformation)
Fragmentation (loss of certain habitat, isolation of habitats)
Increase patch number, isolation, edge
Decrease patch size, connectivity, interior
Alter local climate/microclimate, hydrology, biota diversity, behavior, health, persistence)
The good in disturbances Dependent on temporal scale of analysis
Example: Forest fire
Short term = disturbance Long term = required to maintain seed bank and
regeneration of intermediate tree growth (pines)
• Intermediate disturbance hypothesis• Highest diversity
when disturbances occur at certain time intervals.
Succession Related to Biodiversity
An example Mt. St. Helens eruption – May 1980
Good place to see the different aspects of succession and disturbance at work.
The disturbance
Eruption Survival Survival of organisms was strongly influenced by
characteristics of disturbance processes, local site conditions, and biological factors
Pyroclastic flow and avalanche debris: Almost no organisms survived the blast Those that survived:
Plants with underground buds, burrowing animals, and organisms protected by snow, topography, or other features
Having diverse refuges facilitated survival of some organisms
Life history attributes: Many organisms not present yet
Anadromous fish – still at sea Migratory birds
Larger, local populations suffered higher mortality than smaller species or migratory species
Surviving groups included all of the primary trophic levels – herbivores, predators, scavengers and decomposers
Complex food webs quickly developed in the emerging ecosystems
Surviving species established new interactions and began to process the dead organisms from the pre-eruption system.
Eruption Survival
Timing
Eruption in early morning Allowed nocturnal animals to be protected in
subterranean burrows
Eruption in early spring Snow and ice created refuges and many
plants had not broken out of winter dormancy at higher elevations
Early successional stage of many recently harvested forest sites Profusion of wind dispersed seeds of pioneer
plant species