Ecological succession after disturbances

What you’ll learn about succession

Disturbances reset ecosystems in different ways, and succession explains the step-by-step recovery that follows. You’ll practice identifying stages, drivers, and outcomes across forests, grasslands, wetlands, and aquatic systems.

Every question uses 4 options and there’s no timer, so you can think through evidence like soil presence, seed sources, and species traits instead of rushing.

Skills you’ll practice

You’ll sharpen your ability to distinguish primary vs. secondary succession, connect disturbance type to recovery speed, and predict which organisms dominate early, mid, and late stages.

You’ll also work with concepts like facilitation, inhibition, and tolerance, plus how nutrient cycling and microclimate changes steer community turnover.

Common pitfalls to avoid

• Mixing up primary succession (no soil) with secondary succession (soil remains)
• Assuming succession always ends in a single “climax” community in every biome
• Forgetting that disturbance severity and frequency can prevent late-stage communities
• Overlooking the role of seed banks, nearby refuges, and dispersal limitations
• Treating pioneer species as “weak” rather than stress-tolerant specialists

Difficulty and question settings

Difficulty is balanced as Mixed: you’ll see straightforward definitions alongside scenario questions that require applying multiple clues. Before you start, choose the question count and select an easier or harder difficulty to match how much practice you want in one session.