Plant succession; an analysis of the development of vegetation
Plant Succession An Analysis of the Development of Vegetation
By Frederic E. Clements
Professor of Botany in the University of Minnesota
Published by the Carnegie Institution of Washington
Washington, 1916
Preface iii List of illustrations X
Concept and Causes of Succession[edit]
- The formation an organism 3
- Universal occurrence of succession 3
- Viewpoints of succession 3
- Succession and sere 4
- Sere and cosere 4
- Processes in succession 4
Causes of Succession[edit]
- Relation of causes 5
- Kinds of causes 5
- Proximate and remote causes 5
Essential Nature of Succession[edit]
- Developmental aspect 6
- Functional aspect 7
General Historical Summary[edit]
Early Investigations[edit]
- King, 1685 8
- Degner, 1729 9
- Buffon, 1742 9
- Biberg, 1749 10
- Anderson, 1794 10
- De Luc, 1806 10
- Rennie, 1810 12
- Dureau, 1825 13
- Steenstrup, 1842 14
- Reissek, 1856 16
- Vaupell, 1857 17
- von Post, 1861 17
- Gremblich, 1876 18
- Müller, 1878-1887 19
- Other investigations 19
Recent Investigations[edit]
- Blytt, 1876 21
- Hult, 1885-1887 22
- Warming, 1891 23
- MacMillan, 1894-1896 24
- Warming, 1895 25
- Graebner, 1895 25
- Pound and Clements, 1898-1900 26
- Schimper, 1898 26
- Cowles, 1899 27
- Cowles, 1901 28
- Clements, 1902-1904 29
- Clements, 1904 29
- Friih and Schroter, 1904 30
- Clements, 1905-1907 30
- Moss, 1907-1910 30
- Clements, 1910 31
- Cowles, 1911 31
- Shantz, 1911 31
- Tansley, 1911 31
- MacDougal, 1914 32
Initial Causes[edit]
- Significance of bare areas 33
- Modifications of development 33
- Processes as causes 34
- Change of conditions 34
- Fundamental nature of water-content 34
- Kinds of initial causes 35
- Physiography 36
Topographic Causes[edit]
- Topographic processes 36
- Kinds of processes 37
- Base-leveling 38
Erosion[edit]
- Nature 39
- Agents of erosion 39
- Rate and degree of erosion 40
- Fragmentary and superficial erosion 40
- Bare areas due to water erosion 41
- Bare areas due to wind erosion 41
- Bare areas due to gravity 41
- Bare areas due to ice action 41
Deposit[edit]
- Significance 42
- Agents of deposit 42
- Manner of deposit 43
- Rate and depth of deposit 43
- Place of deposit 44
- Distance of transport 44
- Fragmentary and local deposit 45
- Sterility of deposits 45
- Bare areas due to deposit by moving water 45
- Bare areas due to waves and tides 46
- Composition and water-content of alluvial deposits 46
- Bare areas due to deposit by ground waters 46
- Bare areas due to deposit by wind 47
- Deposit by ice and snow 47
- Bare areas due to deposit by glaciers 47
- Bare areas due to deposit by ice and snow 48
- Bare areas due to deposit by gravity 48
- Bare areas due to volcanic deposits 49
- Ponding and draining 49
- Kinds of lakes and ponds 50
- Life-history of a lake 50
- Drainage 51
Elevation and Subsidence[edit]
- Elevation and subsidence 52
- New areas due to elevation 52
- Subsidence 52
- Earthquakes 54
- Similarity of topographic processes 54
Edaphic Causes[edit]
- Nature 55
Climatic Causes[edit]
- Róle 55
- Bare areas due to climatic factors directly 55
- Bare areas due to drouth 56
- Bare areas due to wind 56
- Bare areas due to snow, hail, and frost 56
- Bare areas due to lightning 57
- Bare areas due indirectly to climatic factors 57
- Sudden changes of climate 57
Biotic Causes[edit]
- General relations 58
- Action and effect 58
- Bare areas due to destruction of vegetation alone 59
- Bare areas with dry or drier soils 59
- Bare areas with wet soils or water 60
Primary and Secondary Areas[edit]
- Distinction 60
- Sterility of primary and secondary areas 60
- Denudation 61
- Methods of denudation 61
- Depth of removal or deposit 61
- Rate and extent of removal 62
Ecesic Causes[edit]
- Nature 63
Aggregation[edit]
- Concept and róle 63
- Effects of simple aggregation 63
- Relation to denuded areas 64
- Interaction of aggregation and migration 64
Migration[edit]
- Concept 64
- Mobility 64
- Seed-production 65
- Influence of the organ used 65
- Influence of the migration contrivance 66
- Role of migration agents 67
- Destructive action of agents 67
- Direction of migration 67
Ecesis[edit]
- Nature and róle 68
- Germination 69
- Fate of seedling 70
- Growth 71
- Reproduction 71
- Ecesis in bare areas 71
Competition[edit]
- Nature 72
- Competition and dominance 72
- Competition in air and in soil 73
- Róle of competition in succession 73
Invasion[edit]
- Nature and róle 75
- Kinds of invasion 75
- Manner of invasion 76
- Barriers 77
- Biological barriers 77
- Changes in barriers 78
Reactions[edit]
- Concept and nature 79
- Róle in succession 80
- Previous analyses of reaction 80
- Kinds of reactions 81
Soil Formation[edit]
- Manner 81
- Reaction by accumulating plant bodies or parts 81
- Reaction by accumulating plant concretions 83
- Reaction by producing weathering 83
- Reaction upon wind-borne material 84
- Reaction upon water-borne detritus 85
- Reaction upon slipping sand and gravel 86
Soil Structure[edit]
- Reaction by adding humus 86
- Reaction by compacting the soil 87
- Reaction by preventing weathering or erosion 88
Water-Content[edit]
- Reaction by increasing water-content 88
- Reaction by decreasing water-content 89
Nutrients and Solutes[edit]
- Reaction by adding nutrients or foodstuffs 89
- Reaction by decreasing nutrients 89
- Reaction by producing acids 90
- Reaction by producing toxins 90
Soil Organisms[edit]
- Reaction by means of parasites 91
- Reaction by means of saprophytes 92
Air Reactions[edit]
- Reaction upon light 92
- Reaction upon humidity, temperature, and wind 94
- Reaction upon local climate 94
- Reaction upon aërial organisms 95
- Correlation of reactions 96
- Quantitative study of reactions 96
Stabilization and Climax[edit]
- Stabilization 98
- Causes of stabilization 98
- Relation to the climax 98
- Degree of stabilization 99
Life-History Stages[edit]
- Nature
- Kinds of stages 100
- Role of life forms 100
- Reasons why plants disappear 100
- Reasons why plants appear at certain stages 100
- Reasons why plants appear before their proper time 103
- Initial stages 103
- Medial stages 105
The Climax[edit]
- Concept 105
- Nature 106
- Relation to succession 106
- Kinds of climaxes 107
- Subclimaxes 107
- Potential climaxes 108
- Changes of climate 109
- Preclimax and postclimax 109
- Changes of climax 110
Structures and Units of Vegetation[edit]
Development and Structure[edit]
- Relation 111
- Kinds of structure 111
- Zonation 111
- Relations of climax zones 113
- Significance of alternation 115
- Developmental relation of layers 115
- Relation of seasonal aspects 116
The Units of Vegetation[edit]
Historical Summary:[edit]
- The formation concept 116
- Grisebach's concept of the formation 116
- Drude's concept 117
- Clements's concept 118
- Moss's concept 118
- Schröter's concept 119
- Gradmann's concept 119
- Warming's concept 120
- Negri's concept 122
- Correlation of divergent views 122
- Significance of development 123
- Earlier suggestions of developmental view 123
The Formation:[edit]
- Developmental concept of the formation 124
- Analysis of the formation 125
- Formation units 125
- Formation 126
- Names of formations 127
Climax Units:[edit]
- Association 128
- Consociation 129
- Society 130
- Bases 131
- Kinds of societies 132
- Aspect societies 132
- Layer societies 133
- Cryptogamic societies 133
- Terminology 133
- Changes of rank or dominance 134
- Clan 134
Seral Units:[edit]
- Nature and significance 135
- Associes 136
- Consocies 137
- Socies 138
- Colony 138
- Family 139
- Summary of units 139
- Mixed communities 139
- Nomenclature of units 140
- Formation groups 142
- Bases 143
- Developmental groups 143
Direction of Development[edit]
- Development always progressive 145
- Nature of regression 145
- Course of development 146
- Regression and retrogression 146
- Nilsson's view 146
- Cowles's view 147
- Cajander's view 149
- Sernander's view 149
- Moss's view 150
- Hole's view 154
- Conversion of forest 155
- Status of forest in Britain 156
- Artificial conversion 157
- Graebner's studies: Conversion of forest to heath 157
- Conversion of forest into moor 159
- Causes of conversion 161
- Possibility of backward development 162
- Degeneration 163
- Regeneration 163
- Correlation of progressive developments 164
- Convergence 165
- Normal movement 166
- Divergence 167
Classification of Seres[edit]
- Historical 168
- Clements's system 168
- Normal and anomalous succession 169
- Primary and secondary succession 169
- Cowles's system 171
- Possible bases of classification 175
- Developmental basis of classification 175
- Initial areas and causes 176
- Relative importance of bases 177
- The climax as a basis 177
- Recognition of climax areas 177
- Climaxes of North American vegetation 179
- Subclimaxes 180
- Relationship of climaxes 180
- Names of climaxes 181
- Priseres and subseres 182
- Hydroseres and xeroseres 182
- Phylogenetic system 183
Climax Formations of North America[edit]
- Classification 184
The Deciduous Forest Climax[edit]
- Prisere 184
- Hydrosere 184
- Xerosere 203
- Subsere 212
The Prairie-Plains Climax[edit]
- Prisere 214
- Xerosere 214
- Hydrosere 220
- Subsere 221
The Cordilleran Climaxes[edit]
- Priseres 225
- Subseres 226
- Desert Climaxes
- Southeastern Climaxes
Succession in Eurasia[edit]
- Scandinavia
- Britain
- Middle Europe
- Russia
- Mediterranean region
- Tropics and subtropics
Past Climates and Climaxes[edit]
Interpretation[edit]
- Interpretation of past vegetations 279
- Methods of interpretation 280
Vegetation Eras[edit]
- Criteria 283
- Evidence from the method of sequence 286
- Division into eras 288
- Saporta's table of eras and periods 288
- Relation of vegetation era and eosere 289
- Comparison of geologic and vegetation eras 289
The Plant Record[edit]
- Nature 290
- Strates and stases 291
- The strate 292
- Kinds of strates 293
- The stase 293
- Water stases 294
- Kinds of stases 295
- Relations of strate and stase 295
- Relation to stratigraphic units 296
- Relation to succession 297
Deformation and Gradation[edit]
- Processes 297
- Nature of deformation 298
- Great periodic movements of deformation 298
- Sequences of deformation 299
- Permian deformation 300
- The circulation sequence 300
- The gradation sequence 300
- The climatic sequence 301
- The deformation cycle 302
- The series of deformation cycles 304
- Deformation and unconformity 305
- Correlation of climates 306
- Effects upon vegetation 307
- The cycle of erosion 307
- Relation to vegetation 309
Past Climates[edit]
- Interpretation 312
- Evidence of past climates and changes 313
- Geologic evidence 313
- Salt and gypsum 314
- Red beds 314
- Terraces 315
- Fluctuations of lake levels 316
Botanic Evidence[edit]
- Plant fossils 317
- Successional evidences 317
- Evidence from stases 318
- Evidence from annual rings 318
Zooic Evidence[edit]
- Animal fossils 319
- Culture relicts 319
Causes of Climatic Changes[edit]
- Kinds of causes 320
- The deformational hypothesis 321
- The volcanic hypothesis 322
- The solar hypothesis 325
- Kullmer's law of the shift of the storm-track 326
- The cyclonic solar hypothesis 327
- Relative value of causes 327
- Coincidence of causes 328
Climatic Cycles[edit]
- Relation of changes and cycles 329
- Kinds of cycles 330
- Arotowski's cycle of 2½ years 330
- The 11-year sun-spot cycle 332
- Sun-spot maxima and minima from 1750 to 1913 333
- Table of maximum and minimum years, 1610 to 1913 334
- Nature of sun-spots 334
- Effects of sun-spots upon climate 334
- Douglass's 21-year cycle 336
- Brückner's 35-year cycle 336
- Major sun-spot cycles 337
- Volcanic cycles 338
- Deformational cycles 339
The Series of Climax Cycles[edit]
- Correlation of cycles 339
- Table of climatic cycles 340
- Spatial differentiation of climates 341
Correlation of Climatic Cycles and Succession[edit]
- General relations 342
- Responses of vegetation 342
- Relation to the different climatic cycles 343
Past Succession: The Ceneosere[edit]
General Principles[edit]
- Phylogeny and ontogeny 344
- Recapitulation 345
- Geosere and eosere 346
- Clisere 347
- Cosere 348
- Correlations of seres 349
- Processes and principles of past succession 349
The Cenophyiic Era[edit]
- The Flora:
- Nature and origin 351
- Relation to Mesophytic and Paleophytic floras 351
- Inferences from distribution 352
- Inferences from phylogeny 353
- The Life-forms:
- The record 354
- Methods of inference 354
- Dominants 355
- Structure of the vegetation 356
- Climates and Habitats:
- Relation of habitat to climate 357
- Deformational and climatic cycles 359
- Periods and epochs 359
- The Ceneosere:
- The Cretaceous period 360
- Life-forms and dominants 361
- Cretaceous seres and coseres 363
- The Cretaceous-Eocene clisere:
- The deformation cycle 364
- Vegetation zones 365
- Dominants of the Eocene 366
- The Oligocene-Miocene clisere
- The deformation cycle 365
- Coseres and cliseres 366
- The Pleistocene cliseres and coseres
- The deformation cycle 368
- The causes of glaciation 368
- Glaclal-interglacial cycles 371
- The Pleistocene flora 371
- Pliocene climax zones 372
- The Jerseyan-Aftonian clisere 372
- Seres and coseres 376
- Postglacial succession 377
- The Peat Clistase 378
Mebeosere and Paleosere[edit]
The Mesophytic Era[edit]
- The flora 404
- Composition of the flora 404
- Life-forms and dominants 405
- Structure of the vegetation 406
- Deformation and climatic cycles 406
- Climate of the periods 408
The Meseosere[edit]
- Permian succession 409
- Triassic succession 411
- Jurassic succession 412
- The Cycadean climax 413
- Comanchean succession 414
The Paleophytic Era[edit]
- The flora 417
- Life-forms and dominants 419
- Structure of the vegetation 419
- Deformational cycles and climates 419
The Paleosere[edit]
- The sere 420
- The cosere 421
- The clisere 422
The Investigation of Succession[edit]
- Primary methods 423
- Special methods 424
The Quadrat Method[edit]
- Concept and significance 424
- Kinds of quadrats 425
- List quadrat 425
- Chart quadrat 426
- Permanent quadrat 427
- Denuded quadrat 429
- Quadrat series and sequences 429
- Various quadrats 430
- The transect 430
- The bisect 432
- The migration circle 433
Methods of Mapping[edit]
- Methods 435
- Community charts and ecotone maps 435
- Survey maps 436
- Climax maps 436
Instrumental Methods[edit]
- General considerations 437
- Measurement of reactions 438
- Measurement of water reactions 438
- Measurement of light reactions 439
Growth Methods[edit]
- Ring counts 440
- Burn-scars 441
Tables of Genera 443[edit]
Tables of Life Forms and Dominants 406[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
==Index==