SuccessionHow communities change over time, and where each type starts.BiologyThe stages of primary succession.1Bare rock or new surfaceVolcanic rock, sand dune, retreating glacier.2Pioneer speciesLichens and mosses; tolerant of extremes, they begin soilformation.3Soil accumulatesFrom weathering and dead organisms.4Intermediate communitiesGrasses, then shrubs. Each modifies conditions for the next.5Climax communityStable, self-sustaining, given the climate.THROUGH SUCCESSIONBiodiversity increasesBiomass increasesSoil depth increasesStability increasesDeflected succession is a community held below climax bymanagement — grazing or mowing produce and maintain grassland.Successionlearnposters.com
Succession — printable life science wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Succession, step by step

The stages of primary succession.

  1. Bare rock or new surfaceVolcanic rock, sand dune, retreating glacier.
  2. Pioneer speciesLichens and mosses; tolerant of extremes, they begin soil formation.
  3. Soil accumulatesFrom weathering and dead organisms.
  4. Intermediate communitiesGrasses, then shrubs. Each modifies conditions for the next.
  5. Climax communityStable, self-sustaining, given the climate.

Through succession

  • Biodiversity increases
  • Biomass increases
  • Soil depth increases
  • Stability increases

Deflected succession is a community held below climax by management — grazing or mowing produce and maintain grassland.

Questions about the Succession poster

What’s on the Succession poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The stages of primary succession. Bare rock or new surface — Volcanic rock, sand dune, retreating glacier.; Pioneer species — Lichens and mosses; tolerant of extremes, they begin soil formation.; Soil accumulates — From weathering and dead organisms.; Intermediate communities — Grasses, then shrubs. Each modifies conditions for the next.; Climax community — Stable, self-sustaining, given the climate.. Deflected succession is a community held below climax by management — grazing or mowing produce and maintain grassland.
Who is the Succession poster for?
Succession belongs to the Biology section rather than to a school year, because life science is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning ecology can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Succession poster?
Primary starts from bare rock. Secondary starts from disturbed soil. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Succession belongs on the wall where that life science work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Succession?
Measuring Biodiversity, Carbon in Ecosystems and Climate & Ecosystems sit alongside Succession in the Biology section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Measuring BiodiversityCarbon in EcosystemsClimate & Ecosystems
Is the Succession poster free to download and print?
Yes. Succession downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Biology section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Succession poster print at?
Succession is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Succession loses nothing.Printing guide

Related posters

Charts that sit alongside Succession on the same wall.

Browse every Biology poster, or start from the full catalogue.