Vegetation succession at broad geographic scales: the time is right for meta-analyses

Principle investigator: Karel Prach
Funding provider: the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic
Grant No.: 20-06065S
Duration: 2020- 2023

Project Objectives:
To assess the spatio-temporal variability of vegetation succession at broader spatial scales (landscape, country, continent, global trends). To obtain results that would contribute to successional theory and also could be used in ecological restoration of disturbed habitats and nature conservation.

What was achieved:
A book summarizing current knowledge on succession at a global scale was published (Prach K., Walker L.R. 2020: Comparative Plant Succession among Terrestrial Biomes of the World. Cambridge University Press.) and a total of 11 articles in impacted journals (others are in press or under preparation). One of the main novel findings was that success of succession to reach potential natural vegetation increases with latitude. It was confirmed globally and also within a continent (Europe). Furthermore, it was found that for critically endangered species, mainly young successional stages are important under Central European conditions, and that the number of non-native species decreases during succession. More detailed research on succession has been carried out in the framework of the grant on volcanoes in Iceland (see figure), limestone and gypsum quarries in Spain, and will be carried out on waste dumps in Wales. The European Database of Successional Series (EDaSS) is under preparation.