Journal
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
Volume 107, Issue 2, Pages 503-509Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13132
Keywords
community assembly; dispersal limitation; disturbance; disturbance severity; global change; ecosystem development; functional traits
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Ecological succession - how biological communities re-assemble and change over time following natural or anthropogenic disturbance - has been studied since the birth of ecology, and the resulting theoretical framework underpins many aspects of the discipline. Recently, the mechanistic basis of classic succession theory has been advanced by studies of plant and microbial interactions, functional traits, and retrogressive stages of ecosystem development. This special issue brings together a series of papers that highlight these contemporary novel approaches and how our understanding of ecological succession has advanced. Four key themes emerge from the issue: (a) generalizations about succession, (b) the influence of dispersal and habitat size on successional trajectories, (c) changes in plant functional traits during succession, and (d) belowground community interactions during long term during ecosystem development. Synthesis. The articles in the special issue highlight novel perspectives on succession theory, revealing the importance of historical contingency, disturbance severity, dispersal limitation, functional traits, and belowground community processes in determining patterns of ecosystem development. Together, they reinforce the importance of ecological succession in understanding the response of plant and microbial communities to disturbance in a changing world.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available