Feedback dynamics analysis of secondary successional transients in ecosystems

A theoretical dynamic model of the mutual causalities that generate secondary successional behavior in ecological systems is developed using zero- and first-order nonlinear difference equations. The model is based on Odum's tabular model of ecological succession, and has been simulation-tested for the case of secondary succession in a grassland ecosystem. It shows how energy, abiotic and biotic matter, and community (species) diversity interact in time and space to produce autogenic succession, that is, developmental changes generated by biotic components within the system as distinguished from allogenic forcing functions from without the system. The simulations demonstrate that successional transients can arise from the endogenous feedback structure of the ecosystem and provide strong evidence for the validity of the model.