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In politics, succession refers to the ascension to power by one politician or monarch after another, usually in a clearly defined order.
For more information on specific succession procedures, see:
For the detailed treatment of this subject, see Ecological succession.
In ecology, succession refers to the replacement of one biological community by another. Succession can be primary or secondary. Primary succession occurs on essentially new substrata: bare rock or soil that has never been colonised before. Examples would be sand dunes and lava flowsLava is molten rock that a volcano expels during an eruption. Due to its high temperature, lava can be quite fluid when first exuded from a volcanic vent, but eventually solidifies into rock. However, the lava may flow many miles before solidification.. Secondary succession occurs on land which has been colonised before, but has been disturbed back to some earlier state. Examples would include a drained reservoirA reservoir ( French: reservoir is an artificial lake created by flooding land behind a dam. Some of the world's largest lakes are reservoirs. Surveyors have to find river valleys which are deep and narrow; the valley sides can then act as natural walls., cleared forestThis article is about forests as a massing of trees. For other uses of the word, see Forest (disambiguation). A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, an area set aside for hunting). Forests can be found in all regions capable o, or ploughFor the constellation known as The Plough see Ursa Major. The plough (American spelling: plow is a tool used in farming for turning the earth in which one is to plant new seeds. The plough is a development of the pick, and was initially pulled by oxen ored field.
Succession begins with arrival of the pioneer speciesIn ecology a pioneer species is a plant species which colonises previously uncolonised land, usually leading to succession. Since uncolonised land usually has thin, poor quality soils with few nutrients pioneer species are typically very hardy plants, wit and leads eventually to establishment of a climax communityIn ecology a climax community is the community of plants and animals which is the result of succession, where a biological system, a community, or a soil has reached a steady state. In temperate climates these are typically deciduous or coniferous woodlan. In primary successions pioneer species are typically hardy plants that survive under harsh conditions. On English sand dunes, marram grassSee text Marram grass is a genus of perennial grass, used to prevent or stop erosion of dunes. It is a pioneer species which acts as a sand-binder and dune-builder, with an extensive root system and a coarse, stiff structure. The roots contain rhizhomes w has deep roots to tap into the water table, rhizomes to bind the soil, and leaves that reduce water loss through transpiration. On lava flows the first plants to colonize are adapted to survive in thin or no soils and possibly little water. The pioneer plants add organic matter to the soil, and help bind soil particles together, eventually allowing other species to colonise the area. This process slowly enhances the soil quality, enabling a sequence of other species assemblages to survive until a climax community is established. Climax communities are those communities of plants, animals, fungi, etc. that will be able to replace themselves with new generations of the same species. The climax community of an area will be determined by the characteristics of an area, such as elevation, soil type, and amount of rainfall. The climax communities most people are familiar with are usually some form of woodland that comes in after a field is abandoned.