Climax species

[2] The seedlings of climax species can grow in the shade of the parent trees, ensuring their dominance indefinitely.

When the pace of succession slows down as the result of ecological homeostasis, the maximum permitted biodiversity is reached.

Climax species, closely controlled by carrying capacity, follow K strategies, wherein species produce fewer numbers of potential offspring, but invest more heavily in securing the reproductive success of each one to the micro-environmental conditions of its specific ecological niche.

But the idea of a dominant species is still widely used in silvicultural programs and California Department of Forestry literature.

[citation needed] White spruce (Picea glauca) is an example of a climax species in the northern forests of North America due to its ability to adapt to resource scarce, stable conditions, it dominates Northern forest ecosystem in the absence of a disturbance.

An image of ecological succession, starting with pioneer species and ending with an old-growth forest that is dominated by climax species, which is denoted by VIII.