Surtsey and Mount St. Helens: a comparison of early succession rates

Early ecological succession rates on Surtsey and Mount St. Helens, two distinct volcanic landscapes, reveal key mechanisms governing colonization and development. The study found that nutrient input from external sources—seabirds on Surtsey and windborne nutrients on Mount St. Helens—plays a critical role in accelerating succession, despite environmental constraints like bare lava or extreme exposure. Succession rates varied significantly across substrates, with gull colonies on fertile sands advancing faster than barren tephra or pumice plains. The research employed permanent plots, detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and principal components analysis (PCA) to quantify changes in species composition and structure over time, offering insights into the broader principles shaping volcanic island ecosystems.

del Moral, R., & Magnússon, B. (2014). Surtsey and Mount St. Helens: a comparison of early succession rates. Biogeosciences, 11(7), 2099–2111. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2099-2014