Range Forest Officer recruitment (state exams) · India · State Public Service Commissions and state forest departments (e.g. MPPSC, UKPSC, UPPSC)
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersForests as ecosystems: biotic and abiotic components, energy flow, productivity, nutrient cycling, succession, disturbance and the population and community ecology that silviculture depends on.
In the exams: IFoS Forestry Paper II Section B (forest ecology and ethnobotany); ICAR AIEEA-PG Group 09 (ecosystem, succession, climax); ICAR AICE-JRF 59 Unit 1; PRC Forest Ecosystem subject; GATE EY Section 1
How our questions for Range Forest Officer recruitment spread across the units of Forest Ecology & Ecosystem Processes. Difficulty: 12 easy, 7 medium, 2 hard.
| Energy flow, food webs and trophic levels | 3 | |
| Disturbance regimes: fire, wind, insects, gap dynamics | 3 | |
| Ecological field methods: quadrats, transects, importance value index | 3 | |
| Ecosystem concepts: biotic and abiotic components | 2 | |
| Primary productivity and biomass of forests | 2 | |
| Biogeochemical cycles: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, water | 2 | |
| Succession, climax and retrogression | 2 | |
| Ethnobotany and traditional ecological knowledge | 2 | |
| Community ecology: structure, diversity indices, species-area relations | 1 | |
| Plant-animal interactions: pollination and seed dispersal | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Which layer of a forest lies directly on top of the mineral soil?
B. The forest floor of litter and humus
The forest floor (litter and humus) lies on the soil. Emergents, canopy and shrubs are above-ground layers.
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
Leaf litter → springtails → spiders → shrews is an example of a:
B. Detrital food chain
It starts with dead organic matter, so it is a detrital chain.
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
The biological spectrum of a humid tropical forest is dominated by:
A. Phanerophytes
Woody plants with buds high above ground dominate humid tropical forests.
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
A fire that spreads through the tree canopy is a:
C. Crown fire
Crown fires burn in the canopy; surface fires burn litter and undergrowth; ground fires burn organic soil.
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
Which trees are typically wind-pollinated?
C. Conifers, oaks and birches
Anemophily prevails in conifers and many temperate broadleaves; the others are animal-pollinated.
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
36 individuals occur in the 12 quadrats where a species was found. What is its abundance?
B. 3 per quadrat of occurrence
Abundance = 36 ÷ 12 = 3. 1.8 divides by all 20 quadrats (density per quadrat).
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
Relative dominance of tree species is usually based on:
A. Basal area
Dominance for trees is measured as basal area.
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
People's Biodiversity Registers in India are prepared by:
D. Biodiversity management committees under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002
The 2002 Act created local biodiversity management committees that document resources and knowledge in PBRs.
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
Gross primary production is:
C. Total photosynthetic carbon fixation
GPP is total photosynthetic fixation before respiration.
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
Primary consumers in a food chain are:
C. Herbivores
Primary consumers eat plants.
Further reading: Odum & Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology (5th ed., 2005); Barnes et al., Forest Ecology (4th ed., 1998); Kimmins, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., 2004)
Ten here, 21 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to Range Forest Officer recruitment in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
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