What are pioneer species? What is the role of the pioneer species?

Pioneer species are those first species that colonize places where before there were no living beings, like, for instance, algae that colonize bare rocks. In general, pioneer species are autotrophs or those that maintain harmonious ecological interaction with autotrophic beings (as autotrophic bacteria, herbaceous plants, lichens).

The pioneer community is produced of species able to survive under hostile environments. The presence of these species changes the microenvironment generating changes in abiotic and biotic factors of the ecosystem undergoing formation. Thus they open the way to other species to establish in the place by the creation of latest potential ecological niches.