The forgotten stage of forest succession: early‐successional ecosystems on forest sites
Open accessAbstract
Early‐successional forest ecosystems that develop after stand‐replacing or partial disturbances are diverse in species, processes, and structure. Post‐disturbance ecosystems are also often rich in biological legacies, including surviving organisms and organically derived structures, such as woody debris. These legacies and post‐disturbance plant communities provide resources that attract and sustain high species diversity, including numerous early‐successional obligates, such as certain woodpeckers and arthropods. Early succession is the only period when tree canopies do not dominate the forest site, and so this stage can be characterized by high productivity of plant species (including herbs and shrubs), complex food webs, large nutrient fluxes, and high structural and spatial complexity. Different disturbances contrast markedly in terms of biological legacies, and this will influence the resultant physical and biological conditions, thus affecting successional pathways. Management activities, such as post‐disturbance logging and dense tree planting, can reduce the richness within and the duration of early‐successional ecosystems. Where maintenance of biodiversity is an objective, the importance and value of these natural early‐successional ecosystems are underappreciated.
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In many ecosystems, plant species diversity declines with increasing time since fire.
“First, many ecosystems exhibit declining plant species diversity with increasing time since fire (Swanson et al., 2011).”
From Fire as a fundamental ecological process: Research advances and frontiers (2020) · cites this paper as Swanson et al., 2011
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Hessl, A. E., & Graumlich, L. J. (2002) · Journal of Biogeography · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2002.00703.x · Cited by 87 · see citing works
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Fire as a fundamental ecological process: Research advances and frontiers
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“First, many ecosystems exhibit declining plant species diversity with increasing time since fire (Swanson et al., 2011).”
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- Authors
- Swanson, M. E., Franklin, J. F., Beschta, R. L., Crisafulli, C. M., DellaSala, D. A., Hutto, R. L., Lindenmayer, D. B., & Swanson, F. J.
- Affiliations
- Washington State University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Oregon State University (US)
- US Forest Service (US)
- University of Montana (US)
- Australian National University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Swanson, Mark E
- ORCID
- Venue
- Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-03-02
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 117-125
- ISSN
- 1540-9295 (ISSN-L)
- 1540-9309
- OpenAlex
- W2116356357
- Cited by
- 1,013
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 57 · 2025: 77 · 2024: 71 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 65 · 2021: 72 · 2020: 107 · 2019: 79 · 2018: 71 · 2017: 57 · 2016: 79 · 2015: 58 · 2014: 60 · 2013: 46 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 25.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (publishedVersion)
- ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
- The Mathematics Enthusiast (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Wilburforce Foundation
- Joint Fire Science Program
- Johnson and Johnson
- U.S. Forest Service
- Pacific Northwest Research Station
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
- Keywords
- forest succession, biological legacies, woody debris, woodpeckers, arthropods, species diversity, nutrient fluxes, food webs, tree planting, biodiversity conservation, forest management
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