succession that begins with a state in which other organisms were already present; for example, abandoned cropland.

Succession on a site where an existing community has been disrupted.

The ensuing changes after vegetation disturbance that has not so degraded the site as would require primary succession from an abiotic site.

Community development in an area from which a community was removed (such as a plowed field or cutover forest).

Ecological succession in an area in which natural vegetation has been removed or destroyed but the soil is not destroyed. See ecological succession. Compare primary succession.

Secondary succession is one of the two types of ecological succession of plant life. As opposed to primary succession, secondary succession is a process started by an event (e.g. forest fire, harvesting, hurricane) that reduces an already established ecosystem (e.g. a forest or a wheat field) to a smaller population of species, and as such secondary succession occurs on preexisting soil whereas primary succession usually occurs in a place lacking soil. A harvested forest going back from being a cleared forest to its original state, the "climax community" (a term to use cautiously), is an example of secondary succession.