Seral community

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A seral community of shrubs and grasses on an abandoned field
A seral community of shrubs and grasses on an abandoned field

A seral community (or sere) is an intermediate stage found in ecological succession in an ecosystem advancing towards its climax community. An example of seral communities in secondary succession is a recently logged coniferous forest; during the first two years, grasses, heaths and herbaceous plants such as fireweed will be abundant, after a few more years, shrubs will start to appear, and about six to eight years after clearing, the area is likely to be crowded with young birches. Each of these stages can be referred to as a seral community.

A seral community is the name given to each group of plants within the succession. A primary succession describes those plant communities that occupy a site that has not previously been vegetated. These can also be described as the pioneer community.

A prisere is a collection of seres making up the development of an area from non-vegetated surfaces to a climax community.

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