Climax Community Characteristics
The climax community can deal with how it acts.
- Rather than being xeric (dry) or hydric (wet), it is typically mesic, or having a medium amount of water.
- Climax community is organised.
- The climax community is larger and offers more habitats for a greater variety of species due to its complex structure.
- Smaller, shorter-lived, and more biotically potential organisms (r-selected) are more common in the early phases of succession. Conversely, the climax community’s species are often large, long-lived, and have low biotic potential (K-selected).
- While gross primary production is typically larger than community level in an immature stage of succession, energy is steady (net primary production is zero) in climax communities.
- Energy is steady (net primary production = 0) in climax communities, but energy storage occurs when gross primary output in an immature stage of succession is often greater than community respiration.
- Climax communities are quite stable, but young ecosystems are not very stable.
- They are more resilient to invaders and undergo less change than younger ecosystems.
Climax Community
A climax community is the final stage of ecological succession which remains stable as long as the environment remains unchanged. The climax community characteristics include stable species composition, equilibrium with environmental conditions, and a complex structure supporting diverse habitats and species.
The climax stage is not entirely permanent because the environment changes over very long periods due to changes in temperature, ecological processes, and evolutionary processes. In this article, we will study the climax community, its characteristics, examples, and more.
Table of Content
- What is Climax Community in Ecological Succession?
- Climax Community Characteristics
- Climax Community Examples
- Factors Affecting Climax Community
- Biotic Interactions
- Successional Stages Leading to Climax Community
- Why do Most Ecosystems Never Reach Climax Community?
- Conclusion – Climax Community
- FAQs on Climax Community
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