Significance of Plant Succession

Understanding plant succession has several real, practical payoffs beyond pure classification. Because succession is a dynamic, ongoing process, ecologists can study and assess the seral stages of any plant community in a given area at a given time. This knowledge helps explain the controlled growth of one or more species within a forest, and — put to practical use — can help protect dams from siltation, guide the techniques used in reforestation and afforestation programmes, and support the maintenance of pastures. Succession also helps maintain overall species diversity in an ecosystem, and the specific diversity patterns seen during succession are shaped by resource availability and by various kinds of disturbance. Primary succession specifically involves colonising a habitat devoid of life from the outset, while secondary succession involves re-establishing a plant community in an area that has been disturbed rather than starting fr …