Egler’s $10,000 Succession Challenge

Abstract

Frank Egler was a proponent of a variant of Gleasonian succession called “initial floristics,” which suggests that the early establishment of plant species has a great influence on later vegetation succession. In contrast, Clementsian succession suggests that vegetation progresses in stages to a climax. Historically, this idea has been widely held by teachers and managers, but Egler did not observe this type of succession. Egler offered a $10,000 reward for anyone who could give an example of vegetation stages progressing to a climax stage in support of Clementsian succession. No one has successfully challenged Egler’s concept. Initial floristics as a variant of Gleasonian succession has withstood many decades of scrutiny.