What is the Clements successional theory?
Clements described plant succession as a developmental process through which the community underwent a well-defined series of stages that ultimately resulted in a mature, or climax, community. The climax community was both an indicator and expression of the climatic conditions that determined it.
How do Clements and Gleason explain plant community?
While Clements developed a theory of the plant community as governed by deterministic laws of succession that led to a highly integrated and self-regulating stable climax community (Clements 1916(Clements , 1936, Gleason developed an ”individualistic” theory where communities did not have distinct functional …
What was Frederic Clements known for?
Frederic Edward Clements (September 16, 1874 – July 26, 1945) was an American plant ecologist and pioneer in the study of plant ecology and vegetation succession.
What is plant climax?
climax, in ecology, the final stage of biotic succession attainable by a plant community in an area under the environmental conditions present at a particular time.
Did the scientific community accept the Clements theory?
Among classic ecologists, many of Clements’s theories and assumptions were not widely accepted. However, he always remained pragmatic and understood how to build off of all constructive criticism. Clements was a key ecologist in his time and is still praised for his initial experiments in the field of ecology.
Who discovered ecological succession?
Ecological succession is a fundamental concept in ecology. The study of succession was pioneered at the University of Chicago by Henry Chandler Cowles, who was also one of the founders of ecology as a discipline, as he studied the plants of the Indiana Dunes.
How did Clements define a community?
Clements considered the different species in a community as being tightly integrated and interdependent, much like the organs that make up a plant or animal, leading him to use the metaphor of the community as a “complex organism” (Clements 1916).
What is organismal community concept?
This concept led to the assumption that communities are fundamental entities, to be classified as the Linnaean taxonomy of species. Frederick E. Clements was one of the leading proponents of this approach, and his view became known as the organismic concept of communities.
What are the contributions of Frederick Clements to range science?
Even as a controversial ecologist, Frederic Clements was considered one of the biggest contributors to theoretical plant ecology, phytogeography, and experimental taxonomy. A renowned botanist, Arthur G. Tansley, recalled Clements as “by far the greatest individual creator of the modern science of vegetation.”
What is Monoclimax theory?
Monoclimax (or climatic climax theory) is developed by Federic Clements and supported by; Cowles, Ranganathan and Puri, but strongly objected by Daubenmire (1968). This theory recognizes only one climax, determined solely by climate, no matter how great the variety of environment conditions is at the start.
Who was the father of ecosystem?
Eugene Odum pioneered the concept of the ecosystem — the holistic understanding of the environment as a system of interlocking biotic communities. These ideas were inspired in part by Odum’s father, Howard W.