a lithosere (a sere originating on rock) is a plant succession that begins life on a newly exposed rock surface, such as one left bare as a result of glacial retreat, tectonic uplift as in the formation of a raised beach, or volcanic eruptions. for example, the lava fields of eldgjá in iceland where laki and katla fissures erupted in the year 935 and the solidified lava has, over time, begun to form a lithosere.