Question

Choose the correct statement

• A. With in few years rocky soil changed into fertile soil based on the climate
• B. In xerarch succession, lichens pave way to small plants like bryophytes
• C. In hydrarch, pioneers are free floating angiosperms
• D. The climax community also will change in due course

Hint:

Pioneer species:
Xerarch = Lichens.
Hydrarch = Phytoplankton.
Climax community is always stable and does not change unless the climate changes drastically.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Check the timescale claim in option A.
Turning bare rock into fertile soil is an extremely slow, multi generational process driven by weathering, it does not happen within just a few years regardless of climate, so option A is false.
Step 2: Check the xerarch sequence in option B.
On bare rock, lichens are the true pioneers, they secrete acids that slowly weather the rock surface and create enough soil for mosses and small bryophytes to move in next, exactly what option B describes, so this one is accurate.
Step 3: Check options C and D.
In hydrarch succession the pioneers are phytoplankton and submerged plants, not free floating angiosperms, so option C is wrong, and by definition a climax community is the stable end point of succession that persists rather than continuing to change, so option D is also wrong.
Final answer: Option 2, in xerarch succession lichens pave the way for bryophytes is the correct statement.