Succession

The Terminology

A place where succession is occurring is called a sere. (From the Latin serere = to put in a row i.e. a sequence or series). In order that people can tell what sort of succession you mean, you prefix the word sere with other words, so for example:

Hydrosere refers to community development with time in a watery environment (e.g. a pond or lake). (From the Greek hydor = water). (Any stray language students may now complain about mixing Latin and Greek roots in a one word).

Xerosere refers to community development with time in a dry environment (e.g. a desert). (From the Greek xeros = dry)

Psammosere refers to community development with time in a sandy environment (e.g. a sand dune). (From the Greek psammos = sand)

Lithosere refers to community development with time in a stony environment (e.g. a rock face). (From the Greek lithos = stone)

Halosere refers to community development with time in a salty environment (e.g. a salt marsh). (From the Greek hals = salt)

See also the explanation of Competitive Exclusion.

Succession is a continuous process but for convenience of study we may divide it up into a set of important stages called seral stages.