2.5.9 (HL)—Community development influences

Succession is shaped by interacting climate, substrate, disturbance and consumer controls—not climate alone.

Bedrock and soil affect pH, nutrients and water; slope and drainage affect development; fire, flood, drought and storms reset stages; consumers alter vegetation from the top down.

Heavy grazing removes tree seedlings, keeping a site open even where climate could support woodland.

Check substrate, disturbance history and consumer pressure alongside climate.

A climate-only prediction ignores the processes that can reset or maintain an alternative state.