Ecological Succession in Lakes

In actuality, a freshwater lake is a step in the hydrosere succession process of open, lifeless water into a woodland. This process takes several hundred to thousands of years. There are several stages to hydrosere (freshwater) succession.

Stage One: Phytoplankton Stage

Floating phytoplankton settle in bare water,  and then die and create humus which eventually becomes soil for the use of other species.

Stage Two: Submerged Stage

Other species take root due to useable soil and organic matter quickly builds up in the lake.

Stage Three: Floating Stage

Plants floating on the water block out too much light for submerged species, making it impossible for them to survive.

Stage Four: Reed Swamp Stage

Reed grasses now enter the lake and buildup peat, converting the lake into a saturated marsh.

Stage Five: Sedge-meadow Stage

As the water level decreases more leaf litter accumulates and the water is no longer waterlogged. New secondary species invade and remove any marsh like soil.

Stage Six: Woodland Stage


The soil dries further and shrubs and bushes invade, along with microorganisms.

Stage Seven: Climax Stage


A woodland stage is finally reached, populated by trees and decomposers that quickly remove any rotting vegetation.

Ecological succession of a lake/pond as seen in between stages two and three.

*Often times lakes become too deep from constant rainfall or impenetrable basins, which halts the ecological succession process.

Here is an excellent website for reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrosere