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Ecosystem Succession Paper. Ecosystem Succession Paper A community of
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Submitted by 7bruno7 on August 26, 2007
Category: Social Issues
Words: 1361 | Pages: 6
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Ecosystem Succession Paper
A community of organisms does not evolve instantly, but instead progresses steadily by way of a succession of species. The method of gradual community development involving the species of one period being replaced by unlike species is called succession. A landscape can originally be occupied by specific organisms that will eventually be replaced by new organisms, and these new organisms will ultimately be replaced by even newer organisms.
On page 87 in the text Environment, figure 5-4 illustrates the primary succession on a glacial moraine. Primary succession is the gradual transformation of species' configurations in an environment that until that time was never occupied by organisms. In addition, no soil is present when primary succession starts. Primary succession can take hundreds or even thousands of years to transpire. On exposed and desolate rock, the primary succession's transition from a pioneer community to a forest community will frequently transpire in the following order: lichens to mosses to grasses to shrubs then to trees. (Berg & Raven, 2004)
Letter A of figure 5-4 illustrates the exposure of the bare rock remaining after the retreat of the glacier, no soil exists. Lichens first occupy the exposed and desolate rocks. Lichens may be the most significant organism in the pioneer community. The pioneer community is the original community that evolves during primary succession. "Abundant pioneer plant communities are Oxyrietum digynae and Androsacetum alpinae with the following species : Oxyria digyna, Geum reptans, Cardamine resedifolia, Ranunculus glacialis, Arabis alpina, Saxifraga oppositifolia, Cerastium uniflorum; Androsace alpina, Poa laxa, Gentiana bavarica, Leucanthemopsis alpina and Saxifraga bryoides" (Burga, Frauenfelder, Ruffet, Hoelzle, & Kaab, 2004). Lichens release acids that assist in breaking the bare rock apart; as a result, this starts the method of soil...
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