An arrangement of changes along gradients,with examples from successions in boreal peatland

Summary A multidimensional arrangement of various gradients referring to the nature of ecosystem changes is presented (Table 1). Examples are given, some of them from boreal peatlands (mires) which show both convergence from different origin and divergence in the local development. Some successions in wetlands are retrogressive, and the changes are usually at the same time biotically generated and environmentally conditioned, sometimes (e.g. shores, deltas, palsas) mainly the latter.