Floodplain forests are low-lying, frequently-flooded forests found around rivers that periodically overflow their banks. These forests contain a mix of grasses, deciduous trees, shrubs and woody vines whose seeds are dispersed by animals, and wetland plants that are dispersed during flooding events. By the year 1980, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley had lost over 70% of its original floodplain forest due to agriculture. Researchers investigating how to restore this forest monitored secondary succession in an abandoned agricultural field that had once been a floodplain forest. They monitored this area for 20 years. By the end of this period, a plant community with a high proportion of shrubs and woody vines had developed. However, this community lacked the wetland species typical of a floodplain forest. Based on this information, which of the following is the most likely reason why secondary succession did not completely restore the floodplain forest?

Human Anatomy & Physiology (11th Edition)
11th Edition
ISBN:9780134580999
Author:Elaine N. Marieb, Katja N. Hoehn
Publisher:Elaine N. Marieb, Katja N. Hoehn
Chapter1: The Human Body: An Orientation
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Floodplain forests are low-lying, frequently-flooded forests found around rivers that periodically overflow their banks. These forests contain a mix of grasses, deciduous trees, shrubs and woody vines whose seeds are dispersed by animals, and wetland plants that are dispersed during flooding events.

By the year 1980, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley had lost over 70% of its original floodplain forest due to agriculture. Researchers investigating how to restore this forest monitored secondary succession in an abandoned agricultural field that had once been a floodplain forest. They monitored this area for 20 years. By the end of this period, a plant community with a high proportion of shrubs and woody vines had developed. However, this community lacked the wetland species typical of a floodplain forest.

Based on this information, which of the following is the most likely reason why secondary succession did not completely restore the floodplain forest?

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