DESCRIPTION OF INTERACTIVE

The interactive will be based on the image of succession below. Clicking on each ‘slice’ of the image will produce a popup window that explains each stage of succession. Each popup can be close with an ‘x’.

I) Bare rocks from volcanic eruptions or exposed by declining glaciers.

II) Lichens, a symbiotic combination of fungus with algae or cyanobacteria, and moss, a nonvascular bryophyte, begin to grow on the bare rocks. These organisms are known as pioneer species.

III) As the moss and lichen die, they will decompose and organic material begins to build up. This organic material is the first soil.

IV) The organic soil supports seeds of grasses and other vascular plants blown in on the wind or deposited in the droppings of passing birds. As each generation of plant dies and decomposes, the organic soil layer continues to build and thicken.  

V) Additional plant varieties start to establish themselves on the rich soil, and the soil layer continues to thicken, allowing roots of larger plants to take hold. The root systems prevent erosion of the soil.

VI) The thicker soil also holds more water, and shrubs and bushes start to establish themselves.

VII) Once the soil is deep enough, small trees, typically gymnosperms, can take hold.

VIII) Larger gymnosperm and angiosperms begin to move in, and shade tolerant plants will establish themselves. At some point, the development of vegetation steadies. When this occurs, it is called the climax community.