Environmental Science 15th Edition by Scott Spoolman,Tyler Miller

Exercise 5

Visit a nearby land area, such as a partially cleared or burned forest, a grassland, or an abandoned crop field, and record signs of secondary ecological succession. Take notes on your observations and formulate a hypothesis about what sort of disturbance led to this succession. Include your thoughts about whether this disturbance was natural or caused by humans. Study the area carefully to see whether you can find patches that are at different stages of succession and record your thoughts about what sorts of disturbances have caused these differences. You might want to research the topic of ecological succession in such an area.