Ecology 5th Edition by Manuel Molles

Exercise 18

In most studies of forest succession such as that of Reiners and colleagues (1971) and Oosting (1942), researchers study suc­cession by comparing sites of various ages. This approach is called a "space for time substitution." What are some major assumptions of a space for time substitution? What contribu­tion might the Glacier Bay system make to testing some of those assumptions? Why is this approach often necessary? What advantages for studying succession are offered by sys­tems like Sycamore Creek?