Which of the following statements is true?

A.

Species diversity tends to decrease as a result of ecological succession.

B.

Species diversity is not affected by ecological succession.

C.

Species diversity tends to remain constant during ecological succession.

D.

Species diversity tends to increase as a result of ecological succession.

The answer is D.

Species diversity has been increasing through decades of years.

D. Species diversity tends to increase as a result of ecological succession.

Explanation:

Ecological succession is the process by which plant communities develop over a period of time on the land where there was no vegetation. The succession begins with a pioneer species such as lichens, some fungi species. Species such as lichen begins to secrete acids that begin to break the barren land into small particles. The small particles mix with lichen remains and starts soil formation. On addition of soil more diverse plant species such as bryophytes and pteridophytes grow. Later on, these plants are replaced by most diverse angiosperms. In this way, species diversity tends to increase as a result of ecological succession.