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Key mechanisms shaping plant succession are dynamic over time

The mechanisms shaping plant succession after glacier retreat are dynamic. Compositional dissimilarity between communities decreases over time, accompanied by a shift in the relative contribution of taxa addition versus replacement. Taxa addition prevailed in early communities, whereas replacement became more important after 50 years of succession.

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Fig. 1: Community changes over plant succession following glacier retreat.

References

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This is a summary of: Cantera, I. et al. The importance of species addition ‘versus’ replacement varies over succession in plant communities after glacier retreat. Nat. Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01609-4 (2024).

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Key mechanisms shaping plant succession are dynamic over time. Nat. Plants 10, 202–203 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01610-x

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