Plants release secondary metabolites into the soil that change the chemical environment around them. Exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) is an important allelochemical whose role in successional trajectories has not been examined. We hypothesized that ABA can accumulate in the soil through successional processes and have an influence on forest dynamics. To this end, we investigated the distribution of ABA in forest communities from early to late successional stages and the response of dominant species to the gradient of ABA concentrations in three types of forests from northern to southern China. Concentrations of ABA in the soils of three forest types increased from early to late successional stages. Pioneer species' litters had the lowest ABA content, and their seed germination and seedling early growth were the most sensitive to the inhibitory effect of ABA. Mid- and late-successional species had a much higher ABA content in fallen leaves than pioneer species, and their seed germination and seedling early growth were inhibited by higher concentrations of ABA than pioneers. Late-successional species showed little response to the highest ABA concentration, possibly due to their large seed size. The results suggest that ABA accumulates in the soil as community succession proceeds. Sensitivity to ABA in the early stages, associated with other characteristics, may result in pioneer species losing their advantage in competition with late-successional species in an increasingly high ABA concentration environment, and being replaced by ABA-tolerant, late-successional species.