Which process describes the gradual change of an environment due to competition over time?

The process involving the gradual change of an environment due to competition over time is referred to as succession. This term encompasses both primary and secondary succession, which are specific types of ecological succession that describe how ecosystems develop over time, starting from barren environments or recovering from disturbances, respectively.

Succession highlights the dynamic nature of ecosystems, where the composition of species changes over time due to factors like competition for resources, which can influence the types of plants and animals that thrive in a given habitat. In the context of competition, species adapt, replace, or coexist with one another as they vie for limited resources such as sunlight, nutrients, and space, leading to shifts in community structure and biodiversity.

Primary succession occurs on new substrates devoid of soil, such as after a volcanic eruption, while secondary succession takes place in areas where a disturbance has altered an existing ecosystem, but soil and some organisms still remain. The choice of just "succession" encompasses both processes and reflects the broader concept of environmental change driven by competition and ecological interactions over time.