The article presents a comprehensive conceptual framework to understand ecological succession, emphasizing the role of plant-environment feedback loops. The framework integrates seven general causes of succession: landscape context, disturbance and land-use, biotic factors, abiotic factors, species availability, species performance, and the plant community. These causes can be linked in feedback loops to drive succession, while others act as extrinsic factors that create variability in successional trajectories. The authors discuss various types of feedback loops, including species performance (ESP) and species availability (ESA) feedback loops, and their interactions. They also explore mechanisms of successional species replacement, such as life-history trade-offs, and the role of positive feedback loops. The framework is designed to guide systematic comparisons among study sites and environmental gradients, and to inform research design and field studies. The authors argue for integrating long-term studies, controlled experiments, and dynamic modeling to better understand the complex dynamics of ecological succession.The article presents a comprehensive conceptual framework to understand ecological succession, emphasizing the role of plant-environment feedback loops. The framework integrates seven general causes of succession: landscape context, disturbance and land-use, biotic factors, abiotic factors, species availability, species performance, and the plant community. These causes can be linked in feedback loops to drive succession, while others act as extrinsic factors that create variability in successional trajectories. The authors discuss various types of feedback loops, including species performance (ESP) and species availability (ESA) feedback loops, and their interactions. They also explore mechanisms of successional species replacement, such as life-history trade-offs, and the role of positive feedback loops. The framework is designed to guide systematic comparisons among study sites and environmental gradients, and to inform research design and field studies. The authors argue for integrating long-term studies, controlled experiments, and dynamic modeling to better understand the complex dynamics of ecological succession.