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| Characteristics of Biotic Community |
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| A stable and self sufficient community has certain specific characteristics. |
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| a) Habitat |
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| Biotic community occupies particular area with specific physical environment, which acts as a limiting factor, regulating the population size of various species within the community. |
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| b) Self sufficiency |
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| Nutritionally, each community comprises autotrophic plants and heterotrophic animals, perfectly balanced. The remains and dead bodies of these producers and consumers are decomposed by the decomposers (bacteria and fungi) and help in the recycling of materials. |
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| c) Structure and Stratification |
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| A stable community comprises of various strata, each comprising the population of particular kind of species. Their growth forms determine the structure of a community and on their arrangement, community shows either horizontal layering called zonation or vertical layering called stratification. |
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| d) Dominance and Succession |
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| Nature of community is determined by only a few species called dominants, and each community develops as a result of a directional change called succession, in it with time. |
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| e) Species diversity |
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| Community is formed of a number of different populations. The number of species and population abundance in a community also vary greatly. Species diversity depends upon size of the area, diversity of habitats in that area, soil type, altitude etc. |
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