This book is about ideas on the nature and causes of temporal change in the species composition of vegetation. In particular it examines the diverse processes of inter action of plants with their environment, and with one another, through which the species composition of vegetation becomes established. The first chapter considers the general nature of vegetation and the ways in which vegetation change is perceived by ecologists. Chapters 2 and 3 provide essential background about the relationships between plants and their abiotic and biotic environment. Anyone who is familiar with the...