Natural Plant Succession
Plant communities grow and change over time through a natural process called succession. These patterns occur gradually over long periods of time. When a landscape is disturbed in some way, a general process of plant recolonization occurs.
The first plants to grow tend to be fast growing “pioneer” species that establish quickly on disturbed soils. Many plants humans consider weedy fall into this category. Given enough time, more complex plants such as herbaceous perennials, trees and shrubs …