Rosy Mound 365: Succession

The gradual and orderly process of ecosystem development brought about by changes in community composition and the production of a climax characteristic of a particular geographic region. ---http://www.thefreedictionary.com/succession

Succession occurs everywhere every day. For example, a plowed field is not not planted one year. Seeds that are blown in the wind land here. When the plants give off their own seeds, some fall in the field. Then tree seeds eventually are blown in and take root. The field is gradually filling up with plants. The trees continue to grow and drop more seeds, until the field is completely gone and is replaced by a forest.

At Rosy Mound, succession is a major part of dune structure. The beach is the most basic stage of the dune. The main abiotic factors are water and sand, along with the occasional washed up article of trash. Then comes the foredune, where marram grass starts to grow. You can see the sand start to pile up. The abiotic factor is the sand. The trough is the lower part of the dunes, where smaller plants, trees, and shrubs start to grow. Marram grass is still visible, but not as abundant as in the foredune. The abiotic factor is the sand. Finally, after the trough comes the forested part of the dune. As the title says, it's forested, and trees are the major dominating plant life, while bushes and flowering plants still flourish. The abiotic factors are the sand, which is now under a couple of inches of soil, and whatever structures that are built to maintain the dunes.

From the beach -foredune area, succession can be seen as marram grass growing, and sand piling up from the beach area.

Beach/Foredune~ Picture from Kyler Scott's Camera- 9/23/11

From the foredune-trough, smaller plants and shrubs start to grow. Also, the elevation climbs down a little bit.

The trough-forested dune starts to greatly grow in elevation. The plant life grows immensely from trough area.

Trough to Backdune~ Picture from Kyler Scott's Camera- 9/23/11