Succession (Topic 5, Unit 4, A2, Edexcel, Biology)

Succession:

Primary succession - occurs on bare ground where there has never existed a community before.

Secondary succession - occurs on bare ground where there has existed a community before (ground and existing community has been cleared and succession begins again).

Deflected succession - human activity prevents succession from occuring and a stable climax community is maintained.

The Process of Succession:

• On bare ground the conditions are very harsh and most species are unable to adapt to these extreme conditions.
• Pioneer Species (xerophytes), however, have adaptations that enable their survival within these extreme conditions of the habitat and so pioneer species are the first organisms to colonise the species.
• Following the pioneer species' death…