Ruderal species

A single-species ruderal community of Dittrichia viscosa on gravel near to Petah Tikva–Sgula railway station, Israel. (Compare with mixed-species image below.)

A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural – for example, wildfires or avalanches – or a consequence of human activity, such as construction (of roads, of buildings, mining, etc.) or agriculture (abandoned fields, irrigation, etc.).

The word ruderal comes from the Latin rudus rubble.

Ruderal species typically dominate the disturbed area for a few years, gradually losing the competition to other native species. However, in extreme disturbance circumstances, such as when the natural topsoil is covered with a foreign substance, a single-species ruderal community may become permanently established, as depicted in the image on the right. In addition, some ruderal invasive species may have such a competitive advantage over the native species that they, too, may permanently prevent a disturbed area from returning to its original state despite natural topsoil.

Features

Features contributing to a species' success as ruderal are:

Quantification

Various scales for quantifying ruderality have been devised.[1]

See also

A mixed-species ruderal community on the side of Israel's road 40, north of the Yarkon River, where topsoil was left after the road-building activity.

References

  1. ↑ Hill, M.O.; Roy, D.B.; Thompson, K. (2002). "Hemeroby, urbanity and ruderality: bioindicators of disturbance and human impact". Journal of Applied Ecology 39 (5): 708–720. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.2002.00746.x.

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