which statement best describes ecological succession?

which statement best describes ecological succession?

Answer:

The statement that best describes ecological succession is: Ecological succession can be defined as the tendency of an ecological community to change species composition and structure over the years of recovery from disturbance, or where a new habitat has been created, changes occur in a directional, predictable way.

The principles of ecological succession are quite basic to any understanding of ecology and revolve around the changes in ecosystems. This process occurs in all sorts of ecosystems right from the forests to the coral reefs and has a profound impact on ecological stability. Succession is of two types, primary, where there was no life before (for instance in volcanic islands) and secondary where life exists but it is disrupted (for instance after farming). It is a sequence of stages which include pioneer species that convert an environment for other certain levels of organismal complexities. For instance, in a fire regime program in a forest, the very first elements that you are likely to see are the hardy grasses and shrubs before large plants and trees come up after some time. This process occurs until a more or less stable climax community is reached, but it may be altered or resumed at any time. This is because activities like deforestation or even the making of urban areas directly affect the occurrence of the successions. Thus, making it crucial to have this process understood in the right manner in cases of conservation and management of ecosystems.