ecological succession is the process by which the mix of species and habitats in an ecological community changes over time

what was once a farm becomes a meadow becomes a forest

each community creates the conditions required for the successor community to thrive

decayed matter in a pond becomes peat becomes a marsh a bog a swamp

a disturbance is an event that changes the ecosystem

tides move in and out fire burns off vegetation

an old growth tree falls in a swamp the saplings below see the sun just in time

a drought a flood

the arrival of a farmer with nowhere else to grow

drains the swamp that sank the carbon that kept the flood from rising

more and more, human activity drives disturbance

faster than communities can adapt

faster than they can create the conditions for successor communites to thrive

faster than we ourselves can restore them

there were cities here before us will there be cities when we're gone?