Ecological Succession - Seral Communities

Seral Communities

A seral community is an intermediate stage found in an ecosystem advancing towards its climax community. In many cases more than one seral stage evolves until climax conditions are attained. A prisere is a collection of seres making up the development of an area from non-vegetated surfaces to a climax community. Depending on the substratum and climate, a seral community can be one of the following:

Hydrosere

Community in freshwater

Lithosere

Community on rock

Psammosere

Community on sand

Xerosere

Community in dry area

Halosere

Community in saline body (e.g. a marsh)