Recall the concept of tradeoffs. Given fixed resources, investment in one trait reduces the amount that can be invested in another trait. Through succession, species composition may change because of tradeoffs between colonization ability and competitive ability; plants cannot do both! Some species are good at arriving at and colonizing disturbed sites but are later replaced by better competitors.

Make a graph and label the x-axis with life history traits associated with colonization ability and the y-axis with life history traits associated with competitive ability (do not simply use the labels colonization ability and competitive ability - you need to come up with some real-life traits plants would have).

Then place each of the following plant groups/species as a separate point in appropriate relative locations on the graph: weeds, trees, crabgrass, native California bunchgrass, California poppy, valley oak.

Note: you may need to do a little research on the internet to understand the life histories of these plants.