BOTANY ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC:
Plant Succession : Hydrosere
Submitted To: Prof. Dr. Razi
Abbas Shamsi
Submitted By : Mishal Waseem
Roll Num : B16_07
Department : Botany
CONTENTS:
1.Ecological succession
2.Factors
3.Types
4. Causes of plants succession
5.Seral communities
6.Microsuccession
7.Hydrosere Succession
8.Stages of Hydrosere Succession
9.Examples
Ecological succession:
Ecological succession is the process of change in the species
structure of an ecological community over time. The time scale can be decades
(for example, after a wildfire), or even millions of years after a mass extinction
The community begins with relatively few pioneering plants and animals and
develops through increasing complexity until it becomes stable or self-
perpetuating as a climax community. The "engine" of succession, the cause of
ecosystem change, is the impact of established species upon their own
environments. A consequence of living is the sometimes subtle and sometimes
overt alteration of one's own environment.
It is a phenomenon or process by which an ecological community undergoes more
or less orderly and predictable changes following a disturbance or the initial
colonization of a new habitat. Succession may be initiated either by formation of
new, unoccupied habitat, such as from a lava flow or a severe landslide, or by
some form of disturbance of a community, such as from a fire, severe windthrow,
or logging. Succession that begins in new habitats, uninfluenced by pre-existing
communities is called primary succession, whereas succession that follows
disruption of a pre-existing community is called secondary succession.
Succession was among the first theories advanced in ecology. The study of
succession remains at the core of ecological science. Ecological succession was
first documented in the Indiana Dunes of Northwest Indiana which led to efforts
to preserve the Indiana Dunes. Exhibits on ecological succession are displayed in
the Hour Glass, a museum in Ogden Dunes.
Factors:
The trajectory of successional change can be influenced by site conditions
(perturbations), by the interactions of the species present, and by more stochastic
factors such as availability of colonists or seeds or weather conditions at the time
of disturbance. Some of these factors contribute to predictability of succession
dynamics; others add more probabilistic elements. Two important perturbation
factors today are human actions and climatic change.
In general, communities in early succession will be dominated by fast-growing,
well-dispersed species. As succession proceeds, these species will tend to be
replaced by more competitive species.
Trends in ecosystem and community properties in succession have been
suggested, but few appear to be general. For example, species diversity almost
necessarily increases during early succession as new species arrive, but may
decline in later succession as competition eliminates opportunistic species and
leads to dominance by locally superior competitors.
Net Primary Productivity, biomass, and trophic properties all show variable
patterns over succession, depending on the particular system and site. Ecological
succession was formerly seen as having a stable end-stage called the climax,
sometimes referred to as the 'potential vegetation' of a site, and shaped primarily
by the local climate. This idea has been largely abandoned by modern ecologists
in favor of nonequilibrium ideas of ecosystems dynamics. Most natural
ecosystems experience disturbance at a rate that makes a "climax" community
unattainable. Climate change often occurs at a rate and frequency sufficient to
prevent arrival at a climax state. Additions to available species pools through
range expansions and introductions can also continually reshape communities.

The development of some ecosystem attributes, such as soil properties

and nutrient cycles, are both influenced by community properties, and,
in turn, influence further successional development. This feed-back
process may occur only over centuries or millennia. Coupled with the
stochastic nature of disturbance events and other long-term (e.g.,
climatic) changes, such dynamics make it doubtful whether the 'climax'
concept ever applies or is particularly useful in considering actual
vegetation
Types:
Primary, secondary and cyclic succession:
Successional dynamics beginning with colonization of an area that has not been
previously occupied by an ecological community, such as newly exposed rock or
sand surfaces, lava flows, newly exposed glacial tills, etc., are referred to as
primary succession. The stages of primary succession include pioneer plants
(lichens and mosses), grassy stage, smaller shrubs, and trees. Animals begin to
return when there is food there for them to eat. When it is a fully functioning
ecosystem, it has reached the climax community stage. For example, parts of
Acadia National Park in Maine went through primary succession.
Successional dynamics following severe disturbance or removal of a pre-existing
community are called secondary succession. Dynamics in secondary succession
are strongly influenced by pre-disturbance conditions, including soil development,
seed banks, remaining organic matter, and residual living organisms. Because of
residual fertility and pre-existing organisms, community change in early stages of
secondary succession can be relatively rapid. In a fragmented old field habitat
created in eastern Kansas, woody plants "colonized more rapidly (per unit area)
on large and nearby patches.
Secondary succession is much more commonly observed and studied than
primary succession. Particularly common types of secondary succession include
responses to natural disturbances such as fire, flood, and severe winds, and to
human-caused disturbances such as logging and agriculture.
As an example, secondary succession has been occurring in Shenandoah National
Park following the 1995 flood of the Mormon River, which destroyed plant and
animal life. Today, plant and animal species are beginning to return.

An example of Secondary Succession by stages:

1. stable deciduous forest community

2. A disturbance, such as a wild fire, destroys the forest
3. The fire burns the forest to the ground
4. The fire leaves behind empty, but not destroyed, soil
5. Grasses and other herbaceous plants grow back first
6. Small bushes and trees begin to colonize the area
7. Fast growing evergreen trees develop to their fullest, while shade-
tolerant trees develop in the understory
8. The short-lived and shade intolerant evergreen trees die as the
 larger deciduous trees overtop them. The ecosystem is now back to a
similar state to where it began.
Causes of plant succession:
Autogenic succession can be brought by changes in the soil caused by the
organisms there. These changes include accumulation of organic matter in litter
or humic layer, alteration of soil nutrients, or change in the pH of soil due to the
plants growing there. The structure of the plants themselves can also alter the
community. For example, when larger species like trees mature, they produce
shade on to the developing forest floor that tends to exclude light-requiring
species. Shade-tolerant species will invade the area.
Allogenic succession is caused by external environmental influences and not by
the vegetation. For example, soil changes due to erosion, leaching or the
deposition of silt and clays can alter the nutrient content and water relationships
in the ecosystems. Animals also play an important role in allogenic changes as
they are pollinators, seed dispersers and herbivores. They can also increase
nutrient content of the soil in certain areas, or shift soil about (as termites, ants,
and moles do) creating patches in the habitat. This may create regeneration sites
that favor certain species.
Climatic factors may be very important, but on a much longer time-scale than any
other. Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns will promote changes in
communities. As the climate warmed at the end of each ice age, great
successional changes took place. The tundra vegetation and bare glacial till
deposits underwent succession to mixed deciduous forest. The greenhouse effect
resulting in increase in temperature is likely to bring profound Allogenic changes
in the next century. Geological and climatic catastrophes such as volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, avalanches, meteors, floods, fires, and high wind also
bring allogenic changes.

Seral communities:
A seral community is an intermediate stage found in an ecosystem advancing
towards its climax community. In many cases more than one seral stage evolves
until climax conditions are attained.A prisere is a collection of seres making up
the development of an area from non-vegetated surfaces to a climax community.
Depending on the substratum and climate, different seres are found.

Pond succession or sere A: emergent plant life B: sediment C: Emergent plants grow inwards,
sediment accretes D: emergent and terrestrial plants E: sediment fills pond, terrestrial plants
take over F: trees grow

Microsuccession:
Succession of micro-organisms including fungi and bacteria occurring within a
microhabitat is known as microsuccession or serule. This type of succession
occurs in recently disturbed communities or newly available habitat, for example
in recently dead trees, animal droppings, exposed glacial till, etc. Microbial
communities may also change due to products secreted by the bacteria present.
Changes of pH in a habitat could provide ideal conditions for a new species to
inhabit the area. In some cases the new species may outcompete the present
ones for nutrients leading to the primary species demise. Changes can also occur
by microbial succession with variations in water availability and temperature.
Theories of macroecology have only recently been applied to microbiology and so
much remains to be understood about this growing field. A recent study of
microbial succession evaluated the balances between stochastic and deterministic
processes in the bacterial colonization of a salt marsh chronosequence. The
results of this study show that, much like in macro succession, early colonization
(primary succession) is mostly influenced by stochasticity while secondary
succession of these bacterial communities was more strongly influenced by
deterministic factors.

A hydrosere community
HYDROSERE SUCCESSION:
A hydrosere is a plant succession which occurs in an area of fresh water such as in
oxbow lakes and kettle lakes. In time, an area of open freshwater will naturally
dry out, ultimately becoming woodland. During this change, a range of different
landtypes such as swamp and marsh will succeed each other.
The succession from open water to climax woodland takes centuries or millennia.
Some intermediate stages will last a shorter time than others. For example,
swamp may change to marsh within a decade or less. How long it takes will
depend largely on the amount of siltation occurring in the area of open water.
Mute swan (Cygnus olor) in a hydrosere community at sunrise.

Stages:
Hydrosere is the primary succession sequence which develops in aquatic
environments such as lakes and ponds. It results in conversion of water body and
its community into a land community. The early changes are allogenic as
inorganic particles such as sand and clay are washed from catchment areas and
begin filling the basin of the water body. Later, remains of dead plants also fill up
these bodies and contribute to further changes in the environment.
If water body is large and very deep, a strong wave action is at work, therefore in
these bodies a noticeable change cannot easily be observed. However, in smaller
water body such as a pond the succession is easily recognizable. Different plant
communities occupy different zones in a water body and exhibit concentric
zonation. The edges of the water body are occupied by rooted species,
submerged species are found in the littoral zone and plankton and floating
species occupy the open water zone.
1.Phytoplankton stage:
Unicellular floating algal plants such as
diatoms are pioneer species of a bare water body, such as a pond. Their spores
are carried by air to the pond. The phytoplankton are followed by zooplankton.
They settle down to the bottom of the pond after death, and decay into humus
that mixes with silt and clay particles brought into the basin by run off water and
wave action and form soil. As soil builds up, the pond becomes shallower and
further environmental changes follow.

Phytoplanktons in the First stage

2.Submerged stage:
As the water body becomes shallower, more submerged rooted species are able
to become established due to increasing light penetration in the shallower water.
This is suitable for growth of rooted submerged species such as Vallisneria,
Elodea, Hydrilla, and Ceratophyllum , Myriophyllum. These plants root
themselves in mud. Once submerged species colonize the successional changes
are more rapid and are mainly autogenic as organic matter accumulates.
Inorganic sediment is still entering the lake and is trapped more quickly by the net
of plant roots and rhizomes growing on the pond floor. The pond becomes
sufficiently shallow (2–5 ft) for floating species and less suitable for rooted
submerged plants.

3.Floating stage:
The floating plants are rooted in the mud, but some or all their leaves float on the
surface of the water. These include species like Nymphaea, Nelumbo and
Potamogeton. Some free-floating species also become associated with root
plants. The large and broad leaves of floating plants shade the water surface and
conditions become unsuitable for growth of submerged species which start
disappearing. The plants decay to form organic mud which makes the pond more
shallow yet (1–3 ft).
4.Reed swamp stage:
The pond is now invaded by emergent plants such as Phragmites (reed-grasses),
Typha (cattail), and Zizania (wild rice) to form a reed-swamp (in North American
usage, this habitat is called a marsh). These plants have creeping rhizomes which
knit the mud together to produce large quantities of leaf litter. This litter is
resistant to decay and reed peat builds up, accelerating the autogenic change.
The surface of the pond is converted into water-saturated marshy land.

5.Sedge-meadow stage:
Successive decreases in water level and changes in substratum help members of
Cyperaceae and Graminae such as Carex spp. and Juncus to establish themselves.
They form a mat of vegetation extending towards the centre of the pond. Their
rhizomes knit the soil further. The above water leaves transpire water to lower
the water level further and add additional leaf litter to the soil. Eventually the
sedge peat accumulates above the water level and soil is no longer totally
waterlogged. The habitat becomes suitable for invasion of herbs (secondary
species) such as Mentha, Caltha, iris, and Galium which grow luxuriantly and
bring further changes to the environment. Mesic conditions develop and marshy
vegetation begins to disappear.
6.Woodland stage:
The soil now remains drier for most of the year and becomes suitable for
development of wet woodland. It is invaded by shrubs and trees such as Salix
(willow), Alnus (alder), and Populus (poplar). These plants react upon the habitat
by producing shade, lower the water table still further by transpiration, build up
the soil, and lead to the accumulation of humus with associated microorganisms.
This type of wet woodland is also known as carr.

7.Climax stage:
Finally a self-perpetuating climax community develops. It may be a forest if the
climate is humid, grassland in case of sub-humid environment, or a desert in arid
and semi-arid conditions. A forest is characterized by presence of all types of
vegetation including herbs, shrubs, mosses, shade-loving plants and trees.
Decomposers are frequent in climax vegetation.
The overall changes taking place during development of successional
communities are building up of substratum, shallowing of water, addition of
humus and minerals, soil building and aeration of soil. As the water body fills in
with sediment, the area of open water decreases and the vegetation types moves
inwards as the water becomes shallower. Many of the above-mentioned
communities can be seen growing together in a water body. The center is
occupied by floating and submerged plants with reeds nearer the shores,
followed by sedges and rushes growing at the edges. Still further are shrubs and
trees occupying the dry land.
Examples:
An example is a small kettle lake called Sweetmere, in Shropshire, UK.
Sweetmere is one of many small kettle lakes which formed at the end of the last
glacial period when the temperatures began to increase. The ice began to melt
and retreat approximately 10,000 years ago.
As the climate slowly began to warm this allowed algae, water lilies and floating
aquatic plants to begin to colonise the lake. These, in essence, were the pioneer
species. Once these began to die it provided organic matter to the lake bed
sediment and therefore increased fertility and reduced depth. As a result, this
allowed deeper rooted species to develop such as reed, bulrush and reedmace. At
this point there is a growing floating raft of thick organic matter within the lake.
Because the bulrushes and reeds have relatively deep roots, this encouraged
bioconstruction which traps more sediment, allowing sedges, willow and alder to
become established. This process further decreased the water depth and raised
the lakebed thus making it drier.
Drier conditions now meant that a wider range of species could inhabit the area.
Birch and alder came into dominance. All species which have grown have
occurred because of seed transfer either by animals, birds, wind, or water
transfer. Water level is further reduced as a result of further bioconstruction and
also due to increasing temperatures there is increased evaporation from the lake .
Underneath the birch canopy developed terrestrial shrubs and grasses. This then
increased the acidity which increased the rates of nutrient exchange. The area has
been artificially drained and this allowed the oak and ash community to develop.
This is the seral stage.
The lake is now being managed by cutting down certain species in order to stop
the whole lake becoming dried up and dominated by the oak and ash woodland.
Another example of a hydrosere is Loch a' Mhuilin, located on the Isle of Arran,
Scotland. This small lake lies behind a ridge of material deposited towards the end
of the last Ice Age. The lake exhibits characteristic features of a hydrosere, the
succession from a fresh water surface with small pioneer plant species to a sub-
climax vegetation of alder and willow. The climax vegetation of oak and beech
woodland has not been achieved due to the impact of human activities of clearing
grazing land, as well as grazing by red deer and rabbits.