Community change

Species richness

• Number of species in a community/ecosystem/habitat
• Structural complexity
• Ecotone/edge effects
• Disturbance regime
• Environmental stress
• Dispersal

Resilience and resistance

• Resistance is ability to withstand disturbances
• Resilience is ability to recover from disturbances
• Together, confer degree of community stability

Succession

Primary succession

• Occurs on non-vegetated or de-seeded land
• Undertaken by pioneer species

Secondary succession

• Occurs on de-vegetated or primary successional land
• Undertaken by non-pioneer (i.e. established) species