HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Climax species, also called late
seral A seral community is an intermediate stage found in ecological succession 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 ...
, late-successional,
K-selected In ecology, ''r''/''K'' selection theory relates to the selection of combinations of traits in an organism that trade off between quantity and quality of offspring. The focus on either an increased quantity of offspring at the expense of individ ...
or equilibrium species, are plant
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
that can germinate and grow with limited resources; e.g., they need heat exposure or low water availability. They are the species within
forest 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 more or less. Bacteria allows for the cycling of nutrients such as ca ...
that are more adapted to stable and predictable environments, and will remain essentially unchanged in terms of species composition for as long as a site remains undisturbed. The
seedlings A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...
of climax species can grow in the shade of the parent trees, ensuring their dominance indefinitely. The presence of climax species can also reduce the prevalence of other species within an ecosystem. However, a disturbance, such as fire, may kill the climax species, allowing pioneer or earlier successional species to re-establish for a time. They are the opposite of
pioneer species Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so ...
, also known as
ruderal A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural for example, wildfires or avalanchesor the consequences of human activities, such as construction ( of roads, of buildings, mining, et ...
, fugitive, opportunistic or
R-selected In ecology, ''r''/''K'' selection theory relates to the selection of combinations of traits in an organism that trade off between quantity and quality of offspring. The focus on either an increased quantity of offspring at the expense of individ ...
species, in the sense that climax species are good competitors but poor colonizers, whereas pioneer species are good colonizers but poor competitors. Given the prevailing ecological conditions, climax species dominate the
climax community In scientific ecology, climax community or climatic climax community is a historic term for a community of plants, animals, and fungi which, through the process of ecological succession in the development of vegetation in an area over time, ha ...
. When the pace of succession slows down as the result of ecological homeostasis, the maximum permitted
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') le ...
is reached. Their reproductive strategies and other adaptive characteristics can be considered more sophisticated than those of opportunistic species. Through
negative feedback Negative feedback (or balancing feedback) occurs when some function of the output of a system, process, or mechanism is fed back in a manner that tends to reduce the fluctuations in the output, whether caused by changes in the input or by othe ...
, they adapt themselves to specific environmental conditions. Climax species are mostly found in forests. Climax species, closely controlled by
carrying capacity The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment, given the food, habitat, water, and other resources available. The carrying capacity is defined as ...
, follow K strategies, wherein species produce fewer numbers of potential offspring, but invest more heavily in securing the reproductive success of each one to the micro-environmental conditions of its specific ecological niche. Climax species might be iteroparous, energy consumption efficient and
nutrient cycling A nutrient cycle (or ecological recycling) is the movement and exchange of inorganic and organic matter back into the production of matter. Energy flow is a unidirectional and noncyclic pathway, whereas the movement of mineral nutrients is cycli ...
.


Disputed term

The idea of a climax species has been criticized in recent ecological literature. Any assessment of successional states depends on assumptions about the natural fire regime. But the idea of a dominant species is still widely used in
silvicultural Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...
programs and
California Department of Forestry The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsib ...
literature.


Examples

White spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii ''Picea engelman ...
(''Picea glauca'') is an example of a climax species in the northern forests of North America due to its ability to adapt to resource scarce, stable conditions, it dominates Northern forest ecosystem in the absence of a disturbance. Other examples of climax species in old-growth forests: * Canadian hemlock *
Pacific silver fir ''Abies amabilis'', commonly known as the Pacific silver fir, is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range. It is also commonly referred to as the white fir, red fir, love ...
*
White fir ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain ranges ...
* Yellow carabeen *
Blue grama ''Bouteloua gracilis'', the blue grama, is a long-lived, warm-season ( C4) perennial grass, native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and U.S. M ...
* Douglas fir *
Coast redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus ''Sequoia (genus), Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast r ...
*
European beech ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...


See also

*
Climax vegetation In scientific ecology, climax community or climatic climax community is a historic term for a community of plants, animals, and fungi which, through the process of ecological succession in the development of vegetation in an area over time, ha ...


References


Further reading

* * * \ * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Climax Species Ecological succession Botany Biology terminology Habitat Environmental terminology Systems ecology Forest ecology