Question

According to David Tilman's long term ecosystem experiments, the total biomass in plots with more species shows,

• A. No variation from year-to-year.
• B. Less variation from year-to-year.
• C. High variation from year-to-year.
• D. Average variation from year-to-year.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The correct answer is (B) : Less variation from year-to-year.

Answer 2

The correct answer is: (B) Less variation from year-to-year.

David Tilman's long-term ecosystem experiments focused on understanding the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem stability. One of his key findings was that ecosystems with higher species diversity tend to exhibit less variation in total biomass from year to year compared to ecosystems with fewer species.

In these experiments, Tilman observed that plots with more species showed greater stability in biomass production over time. This means that ecosystems with diverse species are better able to maintain consistent productivity despite fluctuations in environmental conditions, such as droughts, pests, or other disturbances.

The greater stability in these diverse ecosystems is thought to result from the different roles played by each species, where some species are able to thrive under varying conditions while others may decline. This buffering effect helps reduce the overall variation in biomass over time, making ecosystems with higher species richness more resilient to disturbances.