How do species dominating in succession differ from others?

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Abstract
Data on succession were collected from 15 seres starting on bare ground in man‐made habitats (i.e. sites disturbed by various mining activities, bulldozed sites, ruderal urban sites, the exposed bottom of a destroyed water reservoir, and abandoned fields), all in the western part of the Czech Republic, Central Europe. The period for which the data on succession were available ranged from 12 to 60 yr. 56 species reaching dominance in some period of succession were selected (the criterion being: at least 25 % cover in at least one year in any sere); they were compared for biological and ecological traits with other species participating in the seres (167 species with at least 1 % cover in at least one year in any sere), and with the Central European flora as a whole. Significant differences between the species dominating in succession and others were found for the following traits: life form, life strategy, pollination mode, and ability of lateral spread. Dominant species differed from the regional flora in distribution of life strategies, pollination mode and immigration status. The results suggest that an ‘ideal successional dominant’ is a tall, wind‐pollinated plant, often a geophyte capable of intensive lateral spread, requiring high nutrient supply and sufficient site moisture. The set of traits contributing to achieving dominance by a species in human‐made habitats includes both features occurring independently of phylogenies (life strategy, pollination mode, plant height, moisture demands) and those which dominant species probably share due to their common ancestors (nutrient demands, capability of extensive lateral spread).