APES Succession - Shope

• succession: a gradual change in species composition in a given area

• primary succession
o establishment of a biotic community in an area which has had no life before

• secondary succession
o re-establishment of life in an area where life was previously present

• pioneer species
o plants which attach to bare rock and begin the process of succession

• early successive plants
o moss, lichens, grasses

• mid successional plants
o shrubs, herbs, tall grasses

• late successional plants
o trees & shade-tolerant plants

• climax community
o the final stage of succession
o ex.: oak-hickory forest or maple-birch forest

• allogenic succession
o succession cause by an environmental change

• autogenic succession
o succession caused by an environmental change and a change in the plant life