Species Composition

Abstract

AbstractChapter 4 reviews research on species composition: how vegetation shifts from grasses to trees in different successional stages. It is generally accepted that a transition from grasses to herbs to shrubs to woody species is common, despite the fact that time of recovery may vary in different places. Also, it is usually suggested that with a shorter fallow, tree growth would be hindered, and the land might not be able to reach a tree fallow. We also discuss what different researches have found regarding the relationship between soil depletion and the reduction of tree species as fallow duration shortens. Whether the changes in species composition are predictable is one of the major questions regarding secondary forest succession. Two influential models have been proposed to predict floristic change: the ‘relay floristics’ model and the ‘initial floristic composition’ model. However, our review concludes that new approaches are needed to explain the great variability of species composition among sites, as neither the ‘reductionist’ nor the ‘holistic’ approaches seem to be able to fully predict and explain the regeneration pathway of species composition along the successional trajectory.KeywordsEcological successionForest structuresSpecies composition‘Relay floristics’ model‘Initial floristic composition’ modelPioneer species