You observed that a hungry herbivorous animal had eaten the bark of a small tree to as far as it can reach. At first, the tree seems to remain healthy; but after some time, it died. Develop a hypothesis to explain your observation.

You observed that a hungry herbivorous animal had eaten the bark of a small tree to as far as it can reach. At first, the tree seems to remain healthy; but after some time, it died. Develop a hypothesis to explain your observation. L Ædi shee cs Of necessary Y a ry of a I as far heal rhy. It of keep from How •n

The hypotheses can be: - 
1) Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. The bark and cork are impermeable to the water and also the stomatal presence in the bark and cork of tree is minimal hence preventing the loss of water. Thus, as bark is not present there the tree died.

2) As the bark provides the mechanical strength to the tree, if it is eaten by the herbivore it gets weaken and lost its ability to provide the support (due to strong wind etc), hence the tree dies.

3) The bark is protective in nature as it prevents the entry of microbes and other microorganisms (fungi or bacteria) in to the tree. Now as it not present there, it is liable to cause severe damage to the plant, thereby resulting in death of the plant.


Therefore, these are the hypotheses which are responsible for the death of the plant.




Hope this information will clear your doubts about the topic.

If you have any more doubts just ask here on the forum and our experts will try to help you out as soon as possible.

Regards