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Environmental Skeptics and Critics, 2014, 3(3): 52-60
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Article

Research advances in theories and methods of community assembly and succession

WenJun Zhang1,2
1School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
2International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Hong Kong

Received 12 June 2014;Accepted 18 July 2014;Published online 1 September 2014
IAEES

Abstract
Community succession refers to the regular and predictable process of species replacement in the environment that all species had been eliminated or that had been disturbed. Community assembly is the process that species growth and interact to establish a community. Community assembly stresses the change of community over a single phase. So far a lot of theories and methods have been proposed for community assembly and succession. In present article I introduced research advances in theories and methods of community assembly and succession. Finally, continuing my past propositions, I further proposed the unified theory and methodology on community assembly and succession. I suggested that community assembly and succession is a process of self-organization. It follows the major principles and mechanisms of self-organization. Agentbased modeling was suggested being used to describe the dynamics of community assembly and succession.

Keywords community;assembly;succession;theory;methodology;research advances.


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