User:Lhughesg/sandbox

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Climax species

Climax species, also called late

K-selected or equilibrium species, are plant species that can germinate and grow with limited resources, like low-sun exposure or low water availability.[1] They are the species within forest succession 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.[2]

The

R-selected species, in the sense that climax species are good competitors but poor colonizers, whereas pioneer species are good colonizers but poor competitors.[5]

In addition to disturbances promoting species diversity by allowing more pioneer species to develop, the age of a successional ecosystem increases species diversity.[6] As ecosystems progress toward later successional stages, the appearance of climax species allows other species to develop that cannot tolerate the high sun-exposure that pioneer species can.

An image of ecological succession, starting with pioneer species and ending with an old-growth forest that is dominated by climax species.

Given the prevailing ecological conditions, climax species dominate the climax community. When the pace of succession slows down as a result of ecological homeostasis the maximum permitted biodiversity is reached.[7] Their reproductive strategies and other adaptive characteristics can be considered more sophisticated than those of opportunistic species.[1]

[Original Fourth Paragraph here, no edits]

Examples

Picea glauca (White spruce) 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.[8]

Other examples of climax species in old-growth forests:

Notes

  1. ^
    ISSN 1573-5052
    .
  2. ISSN 1573-5052
    .
  3. PMID 32469962.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link
    )
  4. ISSN 1573-5052
    .
  5. ISSN 0025-5564
    .
  6. ^ "Succession: A Closer Look | Learn Science at Scitable". www.nature.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  7. ISBN 978-0-08-045405-4
    , retrieved 2020-12-03
  8. ^ "Picea glauca". www.fs.fed.us. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Lhughesg/sandbox&oldid=994434164"