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An Example Of What Is Ecological Succession?

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What is ecological succession? From the moment you are created, you are growing and going through anticipated changes. You grow taller, develop cognitive thinking, and become an individual. In comparison, when a tree in planted its matures over time, getting more immense and going through changes as time passes. The sequence of change is noticeable in both of these examples and that’s how ecological succession is examined (Conserve Energy Future). Joshua Anderson defines ecological succession as “The process by which the species structure of a community changes over time.” This can be simply stated as “a series of events by which life comes back and changes are made (Andersen). A golden example can be found in the beginning when an …show more content…

“Primary succession occurs in essentially lifeless areas—regions in which the soil is incapable of sustaining life as a result of such factors as lava flows, newly formed sand dunes, or rocks left from a retreating glacier” (Thompson). Primary succession takes action when the disturbance is drastic enough to impair the soil needed to obtain life. Anderson states, “Primary succession is succession that begins in an area where soil has not yet been formed.” An example of primary succession is the explosion that happened to Mount St. Helens. The explosion disrupted the area causing soil loss. Jessica Liang stated, “The eruption of Mount St. Helens is infamous for the destruction wrought on the surrounding areas; however it has also given rise to the development of a host of possible new ecological systems, reset the evolutionary clock, and allowed scientists to witness the actual process of ecological succession.” Once the land is desolate, pioneer species makes it’s living by coming to a newly disturbed area (Andersen). An example Mr. Andersen gave is the lupine flower. Lupine fixes nitrogen from bacteria on the roots that take nitrogen in the air then return it to the soil. Another example he gave was lodge pole pines. Lodge pole pines have wax-filled cones that only open if there is a fire. These plants are pioneer

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