Succession - reforesting

After a cyclone, lanslide, bushfire...

First thing to colonise:
Herbs, grasses, clover
these hold the soil and the vegetative cover invites wallabies, rabbits, birds an herbivores to come in and bring the nutrient of their manure. These animals disperse seeds from their feet, pelts and through their manure.

Secondly:
Woody pioneers
woody stems with lots of leaves, berry plants, lantana, raspberry, tobacco.. all these plants have amazing fibrous root systems and lots of leaf drop. They shade out the first species. They provide a habitat for birds to nest, providing greater deposits of manure.

Then comes the Tree Pioneers
Nitrogen fixing trees, bacteria, microrisy (beneficial fungus) which protects trees from root rot, brings water from 1km away. Rosobium bacteria sugars from tree roots.

This progression from grasses to tree pioneers is underpinned by the development of a fungal dominated soil from its beginnings as a bacteria dominated soil.