The species that first colonize a disturbed site are typically ones that produce a large number of efficiently dispersed seeds. | Plants that cannot successfully compete with other species can invade and colonize a site only if it is fertile and moist, such as a plowed field. | Pioneer species arrive at a site first but have lower survival rates than do species that arrive later. | Producing seeds that germinate at various time over long periods allows some plants to colonize sites that only occasionally present the right conditions for growth. | Large, long-lived seeds tend to result in large seed bank with short germination periods requiring favorable environmental conditions for development. | The successive appearance and disappearance of species on a site is a result of variation in species’ rates of invasion, growth, and survival. |