Cyclic succession

Cyclic succession is a pattern of vegetation change in which in a small number of species tend to replace each other over time in the absence of large-scale disturbance.

Observations of cyclic replacement have provided evidence against traditional Clementsian views of an end-state climax community with stable species compositions.

[1] However, broader cyclic processes can also be observed in cases of secondary succession in which regular disturbances such as insect outbreaks can 'reset' an entire community to a previous stage.

On geologic time scales, climate cycles can result in cyclic vegetation changes by directly altering the physical environment.

Exogenous factors, such as depredation by herbivores, can also be indirect drivers for cyclic succession if they differentially modulate plant life history properties over time.

[9] It is important to note that patterns cyclic succession cannot be readily linked to any single species, as Watt's Calluna bushes have been observed in non-cyclic systems.

Even though water availability is limiting such that only one species would be predicted to survive, Larrea tridentata and Opuntia leptocaulis are observed to replace each other in the absence of environmental disturbance.