Is Ecological Succession Good?

Have you ever heard of succession? It's something you might learn in science around grade seven and I will be teaching you about it today. Let us start off with a brief explanation of what succession is. 

Succession is when you let land restart its growth. For example, after a fire in a field, it has burnt all the grass and it has to regrow everything. Is that good or bad? Bad, right? Wrong. It's actually really good for Earth! It's good because, if we didn't have succession, all the ecosystems would be the same. If we do let ecological succession happen, all the ecosystems will be different and different species can live where they need to be to survive. 

The first stage of succession is just bare rock and soil. After you burn or trample the ground, the grass will be all gone and the dirt will be all alone. Then some lichens may grow. If you are like me, you might not know what lichens are, but they are a small plant that forms a crusty, leaf-like growth that can appear on the ground, walls, and trees. You have probably seen it before, you were just not about to name it. Next to appear will be the small annual plants. They will be quite small, like blades of grass or dandelions. Then we will finally get our grass back, along with some perennials, plants that live more than two years. The next step are some shrubs and shade-tolerant trees like pines, who can't thrive in the shade or with competition such as litter. And lastly, we have our shade-intolerant trees such as oaks and maples. 

But also, there are two types of succession. Primary succession and secondary succession. Primary succession is when the whole section of forest or field gets restarted and secondary succession is when only part of an ecosystem is killed. Both are good for the planet and ecosystem. 

What can even cause succession? Some causes are volcanic eruptions, flooding that cause severe erosion (basically water and wind causing Earth's layers to wear and weather away), landslides, nuclear explosions, oil spills, but there are many others. 

Now that we know all about succession, here are some solutions to help us let succession happen!

  • If there is a fire, keep it contained but let it burn for a bit. Definitely put it out if you think it's too big, but if it's not huge yet, let it keep going for a bit and the Earth will thank you. 
  • Don't worry if your beautiful lawn gets trampled. Even humans can cause succession! When you step on your lawn a lot, it will eventually cause succession. Then it will grow back even better! If no one stepped on your lawn for a long time, it would eventually turn into a giant forest, but that wouldn't happen for around 500 years. 

Shoutout to my science teacher! You taught me all I know about succession and without you, I would not have written this post. Thanks! 

Thank you so much for reading this post. I really appreciate all the views I get. If you want to help save Earth, subscribe! It's free and just lets me know that there are multiple people who view my blog, not just the same viewer over and over! Together, we can change the world. 

-EarthLover24     

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