Explain how can barren land be made habitable in reference to succession.

Prior to the formation to any ecosystem, the area can be defined as barren and without the ability to support large species flora or fauna. For an ecosystem to form the area must first be made habitable, the first step in this being the colonistation by the pioneer community. The pioneer community begin the process of succession and usually reach the barren area by wind or animal droppings in the form of seeds and spores. The species which colonise the area germinate quickly and have a natural tolerance to extreme environments that lack minerals and nutrients. This includes some algae or lichen, and they also commonly have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, depositing it along with other minerals to create an environment which is easier to colonise by other species.
The next seral stage in the process of succession is the intermediate community which improve upon the species diversity of the previous pioneer community. As the pioneer community die their remains decompose producing organic products and over time this creates enough organic components to support secondary colonisers such as mosses. These add further to the diversity of the land and overtime, once these secondary colonisers die, their remains allow for the growth of plants such as grass or ferns. Each seral stage adds more depth to the soil allowing greater retention of water which in hand allows for more species of plant to grow which have higher water intake requirements. As this continues small animals and insects may travel to the land and survive off the current flora, and will add to the content of the soil. This intermediate community is succeeded by the climax community, which is easily identifiable by having a few major abundant species present which take up most of the mass of the ecosystem. In this stage the land is much more habitable and creates a more stable environment for life. Depending on the limiting factors such as the amount of light or the temperature of the environment, the climax community could be a woodland supporting large species or a shrubland supporting much smaller ones. Nevertheless it is this process of succession that allows for a barren land to be made habitable.