Question

A North Carolina timber company proposes to clear-cut 45 hectares of oak-hickory deciduous forest in the Appalachian Mountains. The company has said that the forest will regrow naturally, and 50 years after the clear-cutting the company plans to harvest again, cutting all the oaks and hickories that have at least a 40-centimeter diameter. A local citizens' group claims that this is not a realistic plan. Which of the following, if true, best supports the claim of the citizens' group?AHarvesting oak and hickory will disrupt the soil in the first year after clear-cutting; oaks and hickories cannot germinate that first year.BOak and hickory are late-successional species; pioneer species will dominate for many decades before the oaks and hickories are reestablished.CConiferous forests can regrow after having been clear-cut; the biome will change to a boreal forest after clear-cutting.DPopulations of large carnivores in the forest will decline after clear-cutting occurs; deer hunting will suffer as a result.EErosion rates on the slopes of the Appalachian Mountains will decrease after clear-cutting; many new species will move into the forest.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. Oak and hickory are late-successional species; pioneer species will dominate for many decades before the oaks and hickories are

Explanation:

Oak and hickory are late-successional species (which can also be called Climax species or equilibrium species). These plants species undergo little or no changes in species composition depending on whether the site is allowed to rest