eOrganic author:
Mary E. Barbercheck, Penn State University
Ecological succession is the predictable changes in the structure of an ecological community (Schowalter, 2006). In agroecosystems, succession is usually initiated by some form of disturbance (for example, fire, logging, tillage of grasslands) of an existing ecological community. The trajectory of ecological change is affected by site conditions, by the interactions of the species present, and by more random factors, for example the kinds of seeds in the soil or weather conditions. In general, in early succession (soon after a disturbance), communities will be dominated by colonizers--fast-growing, easily dispersed, opportunistic species specialized to exploit disturbance (for example, annual weeds). As time after disturbance lengthens and succession proceeds, colonizer species will tend to be replaced by those that are more competitive ("persisters", for example, perennial weeds, woody species). In general, disturbance is used in agroecosystems to control succession to favor crop plants over invasive opportunistic pests and more competitive species.
This article is part of a series discussing the ecology of insects in organic farming systems. For more information, see the following articles:
- Ecological Understanding of Insects in Organic Farming Systems
- Decomposers in Organic Farming Systems
- Pollinators in Organic Farming Systems
- Natural Enemies in Organic Farming Systems
- How Insects Damage Plants
- Plant Defenses Against Insects
- Insect Life Cycles
- Insect Populations
- Factors that Influence the Size of Insect Populations
- Diversity, Stability, and Productivity of Insect Populations
- Ecological Succession
- Insects in Ecological Communities
- Additional Resources for an Ecological Understanding of Insects in Organic Farming Systems
References and Citations
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Schowalter, T.D. 2006. Insect Ecology: An Ecosystem Approach. 2nd Edition. Academic Press. Burlington, MA.
Additional Resources
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Pedigo, L.P., and M.E. Rice. 2006. Entomology and pest management. 5th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall. Columbus, OH.
- Wikipedia contributors. Succession [Online]. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_succession (verified 11 March 2010).
