What is the effect of tail recursion on stack space in recursive functions?

Tail recursion refers to a specific type of recursion where the recursive call is the last operation in the function. This characteristic allows certain programming languages and compilers to optimize the function calls through a technique called tail call optimization.

When tail call optimization is applied, the current function's stack frame can be reused for the subsequent function call, instead of creating a new one. This means that even with many recursive calls, the amount of stack space utilized remains constant, effectively reducing memory usage compared to non-tail recursive functions, which accumulate stack frames for each function call and can lead to stack overflow for deep recursion.

Thus, the ability to optimize tail-recursive functions to minimize stack space usage is a critical advantage, especially for algorithms that may require multiple recursive calls. This is why the correct answer highlights the potential for optimization, leading to reduced stack space requirements.