Question

State whether the following statement is true or false:

All successional trends lead towards relative xerophytism.

Answer 1

This statement is false.

Explanation:

Successional trends do not always lead to xerophytism (adaptation to dry conditions). For example, in a xerosere succession starting from bare rock, early stages involve xerophytic species like crustose lichens and xerophytic mosses, but as succession progresses, the environment becomes more mesophytic (moist), culminating in climax forests that are relatively mesophytic rather than xerophytic. Thus, succession generally leads to increased complexity and moisture conditions, not always to relative xerophytism.