Ruderal species
 | This articlerelies largely or entirely on asingle source.(July 2023) |
Aruderal speciesis aplantspeciesthat is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural – for example,wildfiresoravalanches– or the consequences of human activities, such as construction (of roads,of buildings,mining,etc.) or agriculture (abandoned fields,irrigation,etc.).
The termruderaloriginates from the Latin wordrudus,meaning "rubble".
Ruderal species typically dominate the disturbed area for a few years, gradually losing thecompetitionto other native species. However, in extreme disturbance circumstances, such as when the naturaltopsoilis covered with a foreign substance, a single-species ruderal community may become permanently established. In addition, some ruderalinvasive speciesmay 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
[edit]Features contributing to a species' success as ruderal are:
- Massive seed production
- Seedlingswhosenutritionalrequirements are modest
- Fast-growing roots[citation needed]
- Independence ofmycorrhizae[citation needed]
- Polyploidy
Quantification
[edit]Ecologists have proposed various scales for quantifying ruderality, which can be defined as the "ability to thrive where there is disturbance through partial or total destruction of plant biomass" (Grime, Hodgson & Hunt, 1988).[1][2]The ruderality scale ofGrimepresents values that are readily available, and it takes into account disturbance factors as well as other indicators such as the annual or perennial character of the plants.
See also
[edit]
- Edge effect
- Hemeroby
- Pioneer species
- Restoration ecology
- Supertramp (ecology)
- Examples of ruderal species:
References
[edit]- ^Grime, J. P.; Hodgson, J. G.; Hunt, R. (1988).Comparative Plant Ecology.Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.doi:10.1007/978-94-017-1094-7.ISBN978-0-412-74170-8.
- ^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.Bibcode:2002JApEc..39..708H.doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.2002.00746.x.
External links
[edit]
Media related toRuderal speciesat Wikimedia Commons- St. John TV. 1987. SOIL DISTURBANCE AND THE MINERAL NUTRITION OF NATIVE PLANTS in Proceedings of the 2nd Native Plant Revegetation SymposiumArchived2006-01-18 at theWayback Machine
- Chapin. FS. III. 1980. The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 11:233–260.Archived2008-12-17 at theWayback Machine
- .Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 814.
