# Reading Ecological Succession

Part of the Nature Merit Badge Digital Resource Guide: [Introduction & Overview](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/nature/guide/index.md)

*6. Changing Landscapes*

> **6.** Do the following:

This requirement covers two linked ideas:

- **What succession means** in ecology
- **How to read a real landscape** and explain how it changed in the past and may change in the future

## Requirement 6a

> **6a.** Explain what succession is to your counselor.

Succession is the natural process by which a habitat changes over time. Bare ground may become grassland. Grassland may become shrubland. Shrubland may become young forest, and young forest may later become mature forest. Not every place follows the exact same pattern, but the big idea is that communities of plants and animals shift as conditions change.

A disturbance often starts or restarts succession. Fire, flooding, storms, farming, logging, erosion, or abandoned fields can all change what grows next.

Video: [Ecological Succession (video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrIvMt6HWlA)

Video: [Ecological Succession: Change Is Good (video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZKIHe2LDP8)

> **Did You Know?**
>
> Some habitats that look “messy,” like weedy fields and shrubby edges, are actually important succession stages that support animals needing young growth and lots of cover.

## Requirement 6b

> **6b.** Visit a natural area (forest, grassland, meadow, water feature) and explain what stage of succession (both plant and animal) the area is in. Talk about what community/succession stages may have been there before and what community/succession stages may replace what you see now. Discuss what disturbances or changes have taken place in the past to create this landscape and what changes may occur in the future to change the landscape further.

This is where the idea becomes real. You are acting like a field ecologist, using clues to reconstruct the past and predict possible futures.

### What clues to look for

Notice whether the site has bare soil, annual weeds, grasses, shrubs, young trees, or a mature canopy. Then ask what animals fit that stage. Meadow birds, pollinators, rabbits, and deer may use open ground differently than owls, salamanders, and shade-loving plants in older forest.

### Thinking backward

If you are standing in a meadow with a few young trees, maybe the place used to be a farm field or a recently disturbed opening. If you are in a dense young forest, perhaps it was logged or cleared decades ago. Stumps, fencing, drainage ditches, invasive plants, or old road beds can all be clues.

### Thinking forward

If disturbance stops, shrubs may thicken, trees may spread, shade may increase, and the animal community may change too. But future disturbance could send the area in another direction. Floods, fire, mowing, invasive species, or development might change the path.

Video: [Ecological Succession-Primary and Secondary (video)](https://youtu.be/8ceDE01iWLE?si=kzFlf4WEsd2ArppS)

**Succession field notes** — Questions to answer while you are on-site

- [ ] What plants dominate here now?
- [ ] What animals or signs of animals fit this stage?
- [ ] What evidence suggests an earlier stage?
- [ ] What disturbance may have shaped this place?
- [ ] What might the site become if current trends continue?

> **Tip**
>
> Pick one site you can describe clearly rather than trying to sound dramatic. A school meadow, pond edge, old field, or neighborhood woodlot can all work if you observe it carefully.

Video: [The Outdoor Code Explained (video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoOSgw6sOPA)

Video: [What is Leave No Trace? (video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpq01rO9ZR0)

[Leave No Trace Basics (video)](https://vimeo.com/1115216743/63b20c0b33?share=copy): A reminder to read changing landscapes without damaging the habitats you are trying to understand.

Succession helps you see nature as a moving story, not a frozen picture. The final badge requirement asks how this knowledge could shape your future through a career or hobby.

---

- Previous: [Outdoor Ethics in Nature Study](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/nature/guide/req5/index.md)
- Next: [Choose a Future Path](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/nature/guide/req7/index.md)