Summary:
- Ecological succession is the process in which a community changes through time.
- It begins with a plant that must be able to grow on new land with minimal soil or nutrients.
- The first species to colonize a disturbed area are called pioneer species.
- They change the environment and pave the way for other species to come into the area.
- Early ecologists thought that a community always goes through the same series of stages during succession.
- They also assumed that succession always ends with a final stable stage.
- Today, most ecologists no longer hold these views.