Free Forest Ecology MCQs with Answers

• A. Acacia
• B. Aloe
• C. Rhizophora
• D. Euphorbia

Explanation: Acacia, Aloe and Euphorbia are commonly associated with dry, xeric conditions.

• A. Producers only
• B. Consumers only
• C. Decomposers only
• D. All of the above

Explanation: An ecosystem’s biotic components include producers, consumers and decomposers.

• A. Conductivity meter
• B. Porometer
• C. Colorimeter
• D. Potometer

Explanation: Salts dissolved in soil water increase its ability to conduct electricity, so soil salinity is commonly estimated from electrical…

• A. The host
• B. Of mutual benefit
• C. The parasite
• D. Not beneficial

Explanation: In the ecological sense used here, symbiosis refers to a close association in which both partners benefit, more precisely called…

• A. Algae and fungi
• B. Algae and bryophytes
• C. Algae and roots of gymnosperms
• D. Fungi and roots of higher plants

Explanation: Mycorrhiza is the mutually beneficial association of fungi with the roots of higher plants.

• A. Profundal zone
• B. Limnetic zone
• C. Both (a) & (b)
• D. Littoral zone

Explanation: In a lake, the profundal zone lies below the effective light-penetration level, so photosynthesis is absent or negligible there.

• A. Saprophytism
• B. Symbiosis
• C. Epiphytism
• D. Parasitism

Explanation: Rhizobium and related nodule bacteria live in legume root nodules and receive carbohydrates from the plant while fixing atmospheric…

• A. Saprophytic
• B. Parasitic
• C. Mutualistic
• D. Commensal

Explanation: Rhizobium bacteria obtain carbohydrates and shelter from legume roots, while the plant receives usable nitrogen fixed from the atmosphere.

• A. Living together
• B. A process advantageous to algae
• C. Harmful relationship of two organisms
• D. Phenomenon useful to fungi

Explanation: Symbiosis literally means living together and refers broadly to a close association between different organisms, whether the interaction…

• A. Mosses
• B. Grasses
• C. Ferns
• D. Liverworts

Explanation: After severe fire, grasses are typical early colonisers because their seeds disperse readily and many can resprout from protected roots.

• A. Parasitism
• B. Saprophytism
• C. Commensalism
• D. Symbiosis

Explanation: Commensalism is the interaction in which one organism gains while the other is unaffected, such as an epiphyte using a tree for support…

• A. Reiter
• B. Haeckel
• C. Warming
• D. Hilaire

Explanation: Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire introduced the term ethology for the study of animal behaviour.

• A. Weathering : sedimentation
• B. Weathering : pedogenesis
• C. Pedogenesis : weathering
• D. Sedimentation : pedogenesis

Explanation: Weathering first breaks parent rock into mineral material, after which pedogenesis develops that material into soil.

• A. Ecotype
• B. Ecad
• C. Ecotone
• D. Life form

Explanation: An ecad is an environmentally induced form whose members come from the same genetic stock but differ in appearance under different…

• A. Algae
• B. Bacteria
• C. Lichens
• D. Fungi

Explanation: Lichens chemically attack rock through acids produced by their algal and fungal partners, while their physical growth also helps…

• A. Biome
• B. Biological clock
• C. Biological spectrum
• D. Ecotone

Explanation: An ecotone is the transition zone between two adjacent communities, such as the boundary between forest and grassland.

• A. Annual rainfall
• B. Nature of parent material
• C. Wind velocity
• D. Mean temperature

Explanation: Parent material is a passive soil-forming factor because it supplies the mineral base from which soil develops.

• A. Warming
• B. Misra
• C. Odum
• D. Maeckel

Explanation: Eugene Odum defined ecology as the study of the structure and function of nature, emphasizing relationships among organisms and their…

• A. Horizons A1 and A2 only
• B. Horizon A only
• C. Horizons A2 and B only
• D. Horizons A and B

Explanation: The solum is the developed soil profile, usually comprising the A and B horizons and excluding the relatively unaltered C horizon.

• A. Lithosphere
• B. Xerosphere
• C. Pasmmosphere
• D. Pedosphere

Explanation: The lithosphere is the solid rocky outer layer of Earth, including the crust and uppermost mantle.