Primary Succession

Places without any soil Sides of volcanoes Landslides Flooding Need pioneer species so other things can come

Lichens
Symbiotic relationship between algae and Fungus Algal or cyanobacteria cells are photosynthetic => reduce CO2 into sugar to feed the symbiotic Fungus provides support, water and minerals from the substrate for the algae

Lichens-Pioneer Species
Break down hard substrate, providing nutrients to the soil lichens die => create a nutrient rich soil Lichens -indicator species- are sensitive to changes in environment (air pollution, soil pollution, water pollution, etc.)

Primary Succession
Simple plants =mosses and ferns can grow in the new soil Simple plants die (adding more organic material) => Soil layer thickens (other small plants begin to take over) => Plants die, and they add more nutrients to the soil (Shrubs and trees) => Animal starts coming and living there (Insects, small birds, and mammals)

Secondary Succession
Begins in a place that already has soil and was once the home of living organisms (after forest fires) Occurs faster and has more and different species than primary succession

Climax Community
Stable place with animals that is an end result of any succession process Does not apply for all environment big trees Grasses in prairies Cacti in deserts