ABSTRACT
This model takes account of chronic and patchy disturbance, a process that occurs when, for example, strong winds topple trees and create forest gaps. Any species may invade the gap opened up by the toppling of any other species. Succession in this case is a race for uncontested dominance in recent gaps, rather than direct competitive interference. No species is competitively superior to any other. Succession works on a ‘first come, first served’ basis-the species that happen to arrive first become established. It is a disorderly process, in which any directional changes are due to short-lived species replacing long-lived species.
