successional
- adjective
- /səkˈsɛʃənl/
- Specialized
:
sucesional
- After a wildfire, the landscape undergoes a successional process where different plant species gradually replace one another.
- early successional
- successional species
- successional forest
Examples
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Red oak is now becoming dominant over earlier successional species like red maple.
Academic text (2007) -
Forest stands were harvested and burned at different frequencies and times in the early 20th century, changing their successional status.
Academic text (2008) -
We now consider the mechanisms by which climate, disturbance, and successional status affect forest carbon storage.
Academic text (2008) -
Interactions among these factors alter successional pathways in ways that we are just beginning to understand.
Academic text (1996) -
Greater structural damage or mortality led to an increased establishment of early successional species.
Academic text (1997) -
The addition of these early successional patches may also lead to a short-term increase in landscape diversity.
Academic text (1997) -
Future successional changes in eastern forests may actually further limit blackgum's dominance.
Academic text (2007) -
Tree mortality following Hurricane Hugo was related to successional stage and to height within the canopy.
Academic text (1997) -
For example, when forest harvest rates exceed regeneration rates, integrity is reduced, resulting in loss of late-successional communities.
Academic text (1994) -
As in Yellowstone, however, species dominance shifted substantially because early successional species thrive in the hurricane-created gaps.
Academic text (1997)
Synonyms
Relating to a stage in the natural change of plants and animals over time
Antonyms
How Sequential
Surface Forms
Morphology
successional = succession (semi-transparent) = succession + al
The adjective is regularly formed from 'succession', but the ecological sense is somewhat specialized and not fully predictable for an average learner.
Etymology
Successional comes from a Latin root meaning 'to follow' and is related to words like succession and successive, so imagine events that come one after another. That's why successional describes changes in nature or an ecosystem where new plants and animals appear step by step over time.