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Population patterns through twenty years of oldfield succession

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Abstract

Using 48 permanent, 0.5×2.0 m quadrats, changes in species composition and cover were followed in an oldfield abandoned after plowing in the spring of 1960. Twenty years of data collected since then show the succession to be individualistic, that is, composed of broadly overlapping population curves through time. In general, the population curves exhibit long, persistent tails, indicating that, through this time span, succession is a process in which species that are present for much of the time become dominant at different times. Invasion and extinction are not the major mechanisms of community change. Bi- or multi-modal peaks were discovered in some species, but there is no clear explanation of such patterns yet. Many species which are important later in the sequence invade early. Information on the biologies of representative species from early, middle, and late portions of the sequence are correlated with the population patterns. In particular, the mode of dispersal, life cycle, germination behavior, and assimilation requirements are related to species positions. However, there is need for coordinated, comparative study of species strategies as well as experimental study of species interactions in order to more fully understand the mechanisms of this succession. The patterns discovered in this oldfield are compatible with contemporary concepts of succession as an organism-based phenomenon, in which probabilistic gap creation and filling are critical.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, P.O. Box 1059, 08854, Piscataway, NJ, USA

    S. T. A. Pickett

  2. Bureau of Biological Research, Nelson Laboratories, Rutgers University, P.O. Box 1059, 08854, Piscataway, NJ, USA

    S. T. A. Pickett

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Nomenclature follows Fernald (1958).

The late Dr. Murray F. Buell, Dr. Helen F. Buell, and the late Dr. John A. Small deserve special mention because, in 1958, they began the long-term, permanent quadrat study partly reported here. Such unselfish, prospective behavior merits notice and I am happy to acknowledge my debt to them. I thank Helen Buell for her patient teaching and helpful discussion and criticism. Dr. Thomas G. Siccama encoded the pre-1971 data. I thank Ms. Angela Salvemini for patient and trustworthy entry of the more recent data. The Research Council of Rutgers University partially defrayed the cost of a computer terminal, and Dr. R. T. T. Forman, Director of HMF, provided computing funds. I have benefitted from discussions with Dr. R. J. Frye, and from criticism by Dr. F. A. Bazzaz and Dr. T. D. Lee. The figures were prepared by Lisa Bandazian.

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Pickett, S.T.A. Population patterns through twenty years of oldfield succession. Vegetatio 49, 45–59 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00051566

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