Passage I
A 1-hectare (10,000 m2) area of forest was equally divided into Plots X and Y. The herbaceous layer (all nonwoody plants ≤ 1 m tall) in Plot Y was then killed using an herbicide. Next, equal numbers of seeds from 5 tree species were evenly dispersed throughout both plots. Figure 1 shows, for each tree species, the seedling emergence (average number of seedlings per m2 that emerged from the forest floor) for each plot. Figure 2 shows, for each tree species, the percent of the seedlings that were surviving in each plot 1 yr after emergence. Figure 3 shows, for each plot, the percent distribution of the 5 tree species among those 1-year-old seedlings.
3. According to the data in Figure 3, what effect, if any, did removing the herbaceous layer have on the percent distribution among the 1-year-old seedlings in the 1-hectare area of the forest? The removal of the herbaceous layer:
Your Answer is
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Refer to figure 3, compare Plot X and Plot Y, and find that the proportions of the 5 species of trees are all different, so the percentage for each of the 5 species is changed