Which among the following is the most stable ecosystem?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, Marine ecosystem. Oceans are the largest and most continuous ecosystems on Earth, and water's high heat capacity gives them enormous thermal and chemical buffering — temperature, salinity and other conditions change far more slowly and gently there than on land. This buffering supports a long-established, minimally disturbed community, which is the classic definition of ecological stability.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Forests are diverse and comparatively stable among land ecosystems, but they remain far more exposed to seasonal climate swings, fire and human disturbance than the buffered marine environment, so they rank below it in stability.  (b) Deserts see extreme temperature swings between day and night and scarce, unpredictable rainfall — among the least stable, most fluctuating ecosystems, not the most stable.  (d) Grasslands are strongly shaped by seasonal rainfall, grazing and fire, making them comparatively more variable than the buffered marine environment.

Concept: Ecological stability describes how well an ecosystem resists and recovers from disturbance and fluctuation, not how productive or biodiverse it is. Large, ancient, buffered systems tend to be the most stable; small or climatically extreme systems tend to be the least. Among the major ecosystem types, the marine (ocean) ecosystem is considered the most stable because of its vast, continuous size and water's strong thermal buffering, which dampens the swings that disturb terrestrial ecosystems.

State PCS 2023 Q6 — Environment & Ecology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q6 — Environment & Ecology PYQ with Answer