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Section 2: Plant Succession
Plant communities develop through a succession of changes.
Case study : Psammoseres (sand dunes) e.g. Murlough Nature Reserve outside Newcastle
Biogeography: The study of the distribution of plants and animals over
the earth’s surface.• ‘Nature abhors a vacuum’• i.e. if plants die something will always replace
them. When new land is created, e.g. a lava flow, new species will move into that area and take over.
• Algae & lichen will colonize rock and break it down (weather it) to form soil.
• The formation of soil then allows other plants to take over.
What is vegetation succession?
• PRISERE is the term for vegetation succession. It is the complete chain of successive seres beginning with a pioneer community and ending with a climax vegetation.
• Vegetation succession occurs because the environmental conditions change. This happens gradually for lots of plants to develop.
• Each stage is called a SERAL STAGE.• Each stage sees the development of species
which cause the micro environment to change which in turn lets new species move in and become dominant.
The MONOCLIMAX CONCEPT• F.E. Clements (1916) said that
for each climatic zone only one type of climax vegetation could evolve.
• He called this the climatic climax vegetation. It is now more commonly known as the monoclimax concept.
• This occurs when the vegetation is in harmony with the local environment.
• As seral stages develop the number of species and height of the plants increase.
• Each sere tends to be named after the dominant species ( the largest or most numerous species).
• The Monoclimax Concept
Pioneer Community
Climatic climax(natural vegetation)
pris
ere Seral stages:
temporary conditions which develop over time(plant succession)
What is Britain’s Biome? P.306
Britain’s Climate
• Cool temperate due to our island position• Cool summers (winds off Atlantic cooling
influence– water slower to heat up than land)• Mild winters (winds off Atlantic warming
influence – water holds its heat for longer & warm ocean current North Atlantic Drift)