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The effects of changes in habitat structure during succession in terrestrial communities

  • Chapter
Habitat Structure

Part of the book series: Population and Community Biology Series ((PCBS,volume 8))

Abstract

Succession is one of the most widespread and readily observed ecological phenomena. One of the many characteristic features of succession is a change in the physical structure of the habitat, concomitant with and generally the result of biotic processes. Directional changes in habitat structure occur in terrestrial and aquatic habitats, although the magnitude and the time scale over which they take place are variable. Thus, in many examples of primary successions in extreme habitats (e.g., tundra), changes may be subtle and occur only slowly (Olson, 1958; Morrison and Yarranton, 1973), while in many biomes the overall change in habitat structure may be dramatic, such as the succession from grassland to forest, although climate and nature of the disturbance make the time scale highly variable.

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  1. Department of Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Susan S. Bell , Earl D. McCoy  & Henry R. Mushinsky ,  & 

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Brown, V.K. (1991). The effects of changes in habitat structure during succession in terrestrial communities. In: Bell, S.S., McCoy, E.D., Mushinsky, H.R. (eds) Habitat Structure. Population and Community Biology Series, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3076-9_8

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