Question

A volcano erupted and covered the surrounding area with lava and ash, destroying the plant life and remaining soil. Life eventually returned to this area and began to go through ecological succession.
Describe some of the characteristics of plants in the first stages of primary succession.

Explain what must happen in the area so that plants would be able to colonize the area again.

Answer 1

The first plants that will start to flourish in the area would be the ones that do not require soil for their growth, and are perfectly satisfied with getting lot of sunlight, thus the pioneers will be the mosses and the lichens. As there will be more and more mosses and lichens, the area will start to be dominated by them, and as some of them die, they will decompose, slowly changing the rocks, and giving birth to the new soil. Initially the soil will be very thin, so only plants with low requirements will be able to grow, mostly short grasses. The small grasses though will contribute to much higher amounts of biomass, so the soil will be becoming deeper and more fertile as the time passes. Than the shrubs will be able to grow in this area, and as they too will contribute to larger amounts of biomass, and making the soil deeper and more fertile, the trees will come at least and spread out in the area.