Question

What are the factors contributed to the success of pteridophytes as land plants

Answer 1

A vegetation survey comprising all major habitats has been used to examine the ecological range of pteridophytes in an area of varied geology, climate and land-use in northern England.

Pteridophytes occur most commonly in coniferous plantations, scrub, cliffs and acidic woodlands and are also frequent in broadleaved plantations, in unshaded mire and on walls and river banks. In marked contrast to the herbaceous angiosperms of the region, pteridophytes have failed to exploit habitats subject to high intensities of disturbance (e.g. arable fields, spoiled land, paths) and are relatively unsuccessful in herbaceous vegetation experiencing moderate intensities of orderly disturbance (pastures, meadows, road verges).

Strategy concepts have been applied to compare the range of ecological specialisation displayed by the pteridophytes with that of the herbaceous angiosperms within the area of study. It is concluded that the contribution of pteridophytes is restricted by the absence of ephemeral and vernal life-forms, the scarcity of shoot systems resilient under defoliation, the low relative-growth rates of many species and the susceptibility of gametophytes, and young sporophytes to competition from herbaceous angiosperms and to submergence by leaf litter from deciduous trees. Whilst some of these features are of recent importance in that increasingly they limit the capacity to survive current changes in land-use, others appear to have restricted the ecological amplitude of the Pteridophyta throughout their history.

Answer 2

Pteridophytes take place mostly in several places. Example -

In coniferous plantations,

In scrubs, in rock faces and also in acidic woodlands etc.

We also see this kind of plants on walls, on the bank of river .Pteridophytes basically grow in wet tropical forests. Which is mostly situated in those regions , which exists from sea level to the highest mountains. In India we can see various pteridophytic flora for its enlarged topography.