page_title: Climax community
hierarchical_section_title: Climax community
caption_attribution_description: Daintree Rainforest. Photo taken June 2005. Uploaded with permission.
context_page_description: In ecology, climax community is a term for a stable biological community of plants, animals and fungi.
  After a process of ecological succession the vegetation in an area reaches a steady state. Its stability is not guaranteed: invasive species and climate change can cause changes. However, relatively, the system is stable.
  This equilibrium was thought to occur because the climax community is composed of species best adapted to average conditions in that area. The term is sometimes also applied in soil development.
  The idea of a single climatic climax, which is defined in relation to regional climate, originated with Frederic Clements in the early 1900s. The first analysis of succession as leading to something like a climax was written by Henry Cowles in 1899, but it was Clements who used the term "climax" to describe the idealized endpoint of succession.
context_section_description: In ecology, climax community is a term for a stable biological community of plants, animals and fungi.
  After a process of ecological succession the vegetation in an area reaches a steady state. Its stability is not guaranteed: invasive species and climate change can cause changes. However, relatively, the system is stable.
  This equilibrium was thought to occur because the climax community is composed of species best adapted to average conditions in that area. The term is sometimes also applied in soil development.
  The idea of a single climatic climax, which is defined in relation to regional climate, originated with Frederic Clements in the early 1900s. The first analysis of succession as leading to something like a climax was written by Henry Cowles in 1899, but it was Clements who used the term "climax" to describe the idealized endpoint of succession.
caption: The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia is an example of a climax forest ecosystem
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