Flows and transfers at sere (terrestrial) Flashcards
What is sere
A sere is a vegetation succession that relates to a specific environment. Each stage in the succession is called a seral stage.
Vegetation succession that occurs on:
bare rock is known as lithosere
water/ freshwater pond is known as hydrosere
salt/ coastal salt marsh is known as halosere
coastal sand/ sand dunes is known as psammosere
How does bare rock turn into woodland?
Rock is exposed for the first time e.g. after glacial retreat.
The exposed rock is vulnerable to weathering.
Rock is slowly broken down. Carbon may be released often dissolved in water.
Over time vegetation such as lichens and mosses grow on the bare rock and carbon exchange starts to take place involving photosynthesis and respiration.
How does bare rock turn into woodland? 2
Gradually as organic matter is added to the broken fragments of rock a soil develops that can supply a wider range of plants.
Over hundreds of years the plant species become more diverse, benefiting from the supply of carbon in the soil.
Eventually the final seral stage is reached when environmental balance is found due to relationship with climate – climatic climax.
Within the UK our climax vegetation tends to be deciduous woodlands.
