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A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural – for example, wildfires or avalanches – or the consequences of human activities, such as construction (of roads, of buildings, mining, etc.) or agriculture (abandoned fields, irrigation, etc.).
The term ruderal originates from the Latin word rudus, meaning "rubble".
Ruderal species typically dominate the disturbed area for a few years, gradually losing the competition to other native species. However, in extreme disturbance circumstances, such as when the natural topsoil is covered with a foreign substance, a single-species ruderal community may become permanently established. In addition, some ruderal invasive species may have such a competitive advantage over the native species that they, too, may permanently prevent a disturbed area from returning to its original state despite natural topsoil.
Features
Features contributing to a species' success as ruderal are:
- Massive seed production
- Seedlings whose nutritional requirements are modest
- Fast-growing roots
- Independence of mycorrhizae
- Polyploidy
Quantification
Ecologists have proposed various scales for quantifying ruderality, which can be defined as the "ability to thrive where there is disturbance through partial or total destruction of plant biomass" (Grime, Hodgson & Hunt, 1988). The ruderality scale of Grime presents values that are readily available, and it takes into account disturbance factors as well as other indicators such as the annual or perennial character of the plants.
See also
- Edge effect
- Hemeroby
- Pioneer species
- Restoration ecology
- Supertramp (ecology)
- Examples of ruderal species:
- Cannabis ruderalis (family Cannabaceae)
- Conyza bonariensis (family Asteraceae)
- Dittrichia viscosa (Asteraceae)
- Nicotiana glauca (Solanaceae)
References
- Grime, J. P.; Hodgson, J. G.; Hunt, R. (1988). Comparative Plant Ecology. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-1094-7. ISBN 978-0-412-74170-8.
- Hill, M.O.; Roy, D.B.; Thompson, K. (2002). "Hemeroby, urbanity and ruderality: bioindicators of disturbance and human impact". Journal of Applied Ecology. 39 (5): 708–720. Bibcode:2002JApEc..39..708H. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.2002.00746.x.
External links
Media related to Ruderal species at Wikimedia Commons- St. John TV. 1987. SOIL DISTURBANCE AND THE MINERAL NUTRITION OF NATIVE PLANTS in Proceedings of the 2nd Native Plant Revegetation Symposium Archived 2006-01-18 at the Wayback Machine
- Chapin. FS. III. 1980. The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 11:233–260. Archived 2008-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
- "Ruderal" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 814.
