How Zonation and Succession Shape the Diversity and Productivity of Ecosystems - ESS topic 2.4

In this video for IB Environmental systems and societies (IB ESS) topic 2.4 zonation and succession, we distinguish between the concepts of zonation and succession. Zonation refers to changes in biological communities across the landscape, while succession is the process of changing biological communities over time. Both involve changes in the abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems.
Succession is a well-documented process that begins with bare rock (primary succession from a volcanic eruption, glacier retreat, or major landslide) or disturbed soils (secondary succession after a fire, flood, storm, or human disturbance) and ends with a stable-state climax community.
The composition of species changes throughout succession. In early stages of succession, most species are r-strategists: pioneer species that grow and reproduce rapidly, have relatively short lifespans, and which experience high mortality and low survivorship rates among offspring. On the other end of the reproductive strategy spectrum are K-strategists such as humans, other primates, and other large animals such as elephants. K-strategists grow more slowly, they have fewer offspring at a time, and they invest more time, energy and resources in ensuring a greater survival rate for each offspring.
Key words to take away from this video include:
- zonation
- succession (primary and secondary)
- r-strategist
- K-strategist
- productivity (gross productivity and net productivity)
- ecosystem stability
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[@jarrettjardine5922]

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[@MrKremerScience]

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