A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural – for example, wildfires or avalanches – or the consequences of human activities, such as construction or agriculture.
Features
Features contributing to a species' success as ruderal are: • Massive seed production • Seedlings whose nutritional requirements are modest • Fast-growing roots • Independence of mycorrhizae • Polyploidy ==Quantification==
Quantification
Ecologists have proposed various scales for quantifying ruderality, which can be defined as the "ability to thrive where there is disturbance through partial or total destruction of plant biomass" (Grime, Hodgson & Hunt, 1988). The ruderality scale of Grime presents values that are readily available, and it takes into account disturbance factors as well as other indicators such as the annual or perennial character of the plants. == See also ==