Question

Describe negative interactions in plants with example.

Hint:

Recall competition (shared limited resource) and allelopathy (chemical inhibition, e.g. Parthenium) as the two negative interactions.

Answer 1

Step 1: Competition:
Competition is a negative interaction in which two or more plant species compete for the same limited resource — such as light, water, space, or soil nutrients — and both are adversely affected by each other's presence, since the presence of one reduces the resource available to the other.

Step 2: Allelopathy:
Allelopathy is another negative interaction, in which one plant releases chemical substances (allelochemicals) into the environment that inhibit the germination or growth of nearby plants; for example, Parthenium (congress grass) releases allelochemicals that suppress the growth of neighbouring crop plants, and Eucalyptus trees are known to release substances that inhibit the growth of undergrowth vegetation around them.