Question

Horatio is studying an abandoned farm in his community. The land of the farm once supported fields of corn, beans, and spinach, as well as
pastures for cattle and sheep. Today, the farmland is covered in a variety of grasses, shrubs, and small trees, and is home to rabbits, gophers,
and other small animals.
The evidence most strongly supports which of the following conclusions?
O
A. The farmland is undergoing primary succession, which eventually will restore the original climax community.
O
B. The farmland is undergoing secondary succession, which eventually will restore the original climax community.
O
C. The farmland is undergoing secondary succession, which may or may not restore the original climax community.
D. The farmland has undergone primary succession, and is now a stable climax community.

Answer 1

Answer: C. The farmland is undergoing secondary succession, which may or may not restore the original climax community.

Explanation:

Ecological communities are highly dynamic- they gradually evolve. Typically their progression involves:

• colonizing species exploiting uninhabited areas (Primary succession)
• becoming a habitable and increasingly complex community
• there is increased diversity of organisms (Secondary)

The makeup of biological communities is crucial to defining Primary and Secondary succession; eventually, through changes in this makeup, a steady-state or equilibrium is reached called a climax community. While Primary succession starts off with the modification of a previously unoccupied area along with increasing variation; secondary succession begins after major disruption in the community such as fires, storms and flooding.

Like the abandoned farmland near Horatio’s home, secondary communities do not begin with the removal of soil and all biological life; other species, seen here in the grassland, may be more suited to the altered conditions and begin to modify the area creating a new community.

However, the process of becoming a climax community can be pretty complicated- it is very dependent on other factors like temperature and rainfall. Communities that experience rapid change, frequent major disruptions and even human intervention, are less likely to attain a stable equilibrium and may never become climax communities.