Image Figure 2. Five year old Gimlet regeneration east of Hyden. Eucalyptus salubris and more than twenty other pioneer plant species at a density of about 35,000 stems per hectare. Photo N. McQuoid. Pioneer plants recruit easily and heavily, but almost without exception, they also die in large numbers because of competition for water and nutrients.
Attrition is also the result of their relatively short life spans.
Recruitment plants Vegetation communities in southern WA are made up of a huge array of many different types, all closely matched to soil types and rainfall. After disturbance, these communities recruit with a dominance of pioneer plants over the first 10 years or so. Image Figure 3. Many others are present but are difficult to see. Image Figure 4.