5 public questions tagged with this topic.
A climax community is a stable and mature ecological state reached at the end of succession.
Ref: NCERT Class 12 Biology Chapter 11: Organisms and Populations Population Growth - Exponential and Logistic Models
In the classical succession framework, a climax community is the relatively persistent assemblage reached after successive seral communities. It remains dynamically active and can fluctuate, but its broad composition is considered stable under the prevailing regional climate and disturbance regime until conditions change substantially. Organisms can drive succession autogenically by changing their own habitat, while floods, erosion, sedimentation, or climate can drive allogenic change. Biological agents such as grazers and pathogens may also redirect succession by altering competitive relation
Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 20
A climax community, in the traditional succession concept, is a relatively stable, self-perpetuating assemblage that maintains its broad composition under the prevailing climate and soil conditions. Long-lived organisms reproduce successfully within the community, nutrient cycles are comparatively tight, and small population changes do not automatically reset succession. This does not mean the community is motionless: individuals die and recruit, species abundances fluctuate, and patches are created by local disturbance. Nor must it have the highest primary productivity; mature biomass carries
Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 20
Hydrarch, or hydrosere, succession begins in a freshwater habitat such as a pond and, under suitable regional climate, proceeds toward a terrestrial community. Phytoplankton and submerged plants trap sediment and add organic matter. As the basin becomes shallower, floating plants, reeds, and sedges colonize; marsh and swamp stages may follow. Continued sedimentation, peat formation, transpiration, and soil development reduce open water and permit shrubs and trees. In a humid climate capable of supporting woodland, the conventional textbook endpoint is forest. A pond is the starting habitat, wh
Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 20
A mature or conventionally defined climax community has high standing biomass and relative stability because long-lived organisms and complex trophic interactions dominate after prolonged succession. Plants accumulate woody tissue and extensive roots, while soils store organic matter and nutrients. Gross primary production may remain substantial, but community respiration also becomes large because the accumulated biomass must be maintained. Net ecosystem production therefore approaches a lower value than in rapidly growing earlier stages. Stability here means persistence or recovery around a
Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 20
