What is ecological succession

This is a process by which ecosystem change over time. It is a product of complex interactions of biotic and a biotic factors. There is a gradual and continuous replacement of a dominant species until a relatively complex and stable ecosystem develops. The developmental stages are known as ere or several stages and final steady stage as a climax.

STAGES OF SUCCESSION

1. Primary Succession: The first set of organisms to inhabit a bare plot of land or a newly form pool, pond or lake.  They are the pioneer colonizers of such habitats.
2. Secondary Succession: The more complex organisms that follow the pioneer colonizers after nutrients have been made available for them by the earlier succession. The producers first arrives and prepare a favorable condition of existence for the consumers to survive.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSION

• Those species that are important in the pioneer stage are not likely to be important at climax. 
• Biomas and the standing crop of organic matter decrease with succession. 
• The diversity of species increases with succession. 
• There is increase in net community production and a corresponding increase in community respiration during succession. 
• Natural selection pressure on species in the community shifts dramatically as ecological development proceeds towards steady state.