ABSTRACT
Plant communities change over time; the temporal scale for change ranges from a single growing season to many years. The study of community dynamics encompasses the many possible changes in the distribution and abundance of a species and the reasons for these changes in community structure. Changes in plant community composition, called ecological succession, are a result of both internal and external processes. Internal processes include competition between plants as well as the accumulation of peat. External processes include climatic or topographic changes, such as those due to glaciation. In wetlands, the most important external processes are usually associated with changes in water depth, flow rate, period of inundation, and water chemistry.
