ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

ASSIGNMENT
TOPIC: TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS FOREST ECOSYSTEM GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM DESERT ECOSYSTEM POND ECOSYSTEM LAKE ECOSYSTEM RIVER ECOSYSTEM ESTUARIAN ECOSYSTEM

By, N.HARISH,ECE-A 42009106021

FOREST ECOSYSTEM
Forest ecology is the study of the interrelated patterns, processes, flora, fauna and ecosystems in forests. The management of forests is known as forestry, silviculture, and forest management. A forest ecosystem is a natural woodland unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (Biotic components) in that area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BRANCHES

Forest ecology is one branch of a biotically-oriented classification of types of ecological study (as opposed to a classification based on organizational level or complexity, for example population or community ecology). Thus, forests are studied at a number of organizational levels, from the individual organism to the ecosystem. However, as the term forest connotes an area inhabited by more than one organism, forest ecology most often concentrates on the level of thepopulation, community or ecosystem. Logically, trees are an important component of forest research, but the wide variety of other life forms and abiotic components in most forests means that other elements, such as wildlife or soil nutrients, are often the focal point. Thus, forest ecology is a highly diverse and important branch of ecological study. Forest ecology studies share characteristics and methodological approaches with other areas of terrestrial plant ecology. However, the presence of trees makes forest ecosystems and their study unique in numerous ways.

COMMUNITY DIVERSITY AND COMPLEXITY

Since trees grow to much larger sizes than other plant life-forms, there is the potential for a wide variety of forest structures (or physiognomies). The infinite number of possible spatial arrangements of trees of varying size and species makes for a highly intricate and diverse microenvironment in which environmental variables such as solar radiation, temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed can vary considerably over large and small distances. In addition, an important proportion of a forest ecosystem's biomass is often underground, where soil structure, water quality and quantity, and levels of various soil nutrients can vary greatly. [2] Thus, forests are often highly heterogeneous environments compared to other terrestrial plant communities. This heterogeneity in turn can enable great biodiversity of species of both plants and animals. It also affects the design of forest inventory sampling strategies, the results of which are sometimes used in ecological studies. A number of factors within the forest affect biodiversity; primary factors enhancing wildlife abundance and biodiversity are the presence of diverse tree species within the forest and the absence of even aged timber management.[3] For example, the Wild turkey thrives when uneven heights and canopy variations exist and its numbers are diminished by even aged timber management.

GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae) and other herbaceous (non-woody) plants (forbs). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica. In temperate latitudes, such as northwestern Europe and the Great Plains and California in North America, native grasslands are dominated by perennial bunch grass species, whereas in warmer climates annual species form a greater component of the vegetation.

Grasslands are found in most ecological regions of the Earth. For example there are five terrestrial ecoregion classifications (subdivisions) of thetemperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome ('ecosystem'), which is one of eight terrestrial ecozones of the Earth's surface. Grassland vegetation can vary in height from very short, as in chalk where the vegetation may be less than 30 cm (12 in) high, to quite tall, as in the case of North American tallgrass prairie, South American grasslands and African savanna. Woody plants, shrubs or trees, may occur on some grasslands - forming savannas, scrubby grassland or semi-wooded grassland, such as the African savannas or the Iberian dehesa. Such grasslands are sometimes referred to as wood-pasture or woodland.[2] While grasslands in general support diverse wildlife, given the lack of hiding places for predators, the African Savanna regions support a much greater diversity in wildlife than do temperate grasslands.[3] The appearance of mountains in the western United States during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, a period of some 25 million years, created a continental climate favorable to the evolution of grasslands. Existing forest biomes declined, and grasslands became much more widespread. Following the Pleistocene Ice Ages, grasslands expanded in range in the hotter, drier climates, and began to become the dominant land feature worldwide. [2] As flowering plants, grasses grow in great concentrations in climates where annual rainfall ranges between 500 and 900 mm (20 and 35 in).[1] The root systems of perennial grasses and forbs form complex mats that hold the soil in place. Mites, insect larvae, nematodes and earthworms inhabit deep soil, which can reach 6 metres (20 ft) underground in undisturbed grasslands on the richest soils of the world. These invertebrates, along with symbiotic fungi, extend the root systems, break apart hard soil, enrich it with urea and other natural fertilizers, trap minerals and water and promote growth.[4] Some types of fungi make the plants more resistant to insect and microbial attacks.

CLIMATE
Natural grasslands primarily occur in regions that receive between 250 and 900 mm (9.8 and 35 in) of rain per year, as compared with deserts, which receive less than 250 mm (9.8 in) and tropical rainforests, which receive more than 2,000 mm (79 in).[2] Anthropogenic grasslands often occur in much higher rainfall zones, as high as 200 cm (79 in) annual rainfall. Grassland can exist naturally in areas with higher rainfall when other factors prevent the growth of forests, such as in serpentine barrens, where minerals in the soil inhibit most plants from growing. Average daily temperatures range between -20 and 30 C. Temperate grasslands have warm summers and cold winters with rain or some snow.

DESERT ECOSYSTEM
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than 250 millimetres (10 in) per year,[1][2] or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation.[3] In the Kppen climate classification system, deserts are classed as BWh (hot desert) or BWk (temperate desert). In the Thornthwaite climate classification system, deserts would be classified as arid megathermal climates

GEOGRAPHY
Deserts are part of a wide classification of regions that, on an average annual basis, have a moisture deficit (i.e. they can potentially lose more than is received). Deserts are located where vegetation cover is sparse to almost nonexistent.[1][6] Deserts take up about one fifth (20%) of the Earth's land surface.[1]Hot deserts usually have a large diurnal and seasonal temperature range, with high daytime temperatures, and low nighttime temperatures (due to extremely low humidity). In hot deserts the temperature in the daytime can reach 45 C/113 F or higher in the summer, and dip to 0 C/32 F or lower at nighttime in the winter. Water vapor in the atmosphere acts to trap long wave infrared radiation from the ground, and dry desert air is incapable of blocking sunlight during the day (due to absence of clouds) or trapping heat during the night. Thus, during daylight most of the sun's heat reaches the ground, and as soon as the sun sets the desert cools quickly by radiating its heat into space. Urban areas in deserts lack large (more than 14 C/25 F) daily temperature variations, partially due to the urban heat island effect. Many deserts are formed by rain shadows; mountains blocking the path of precipitation to the desert (on the lee side of the mountain). Deserts are often composed of sand and rocky surfaces. Sand dunes called ergs and stony surfaces called hamada surfaces compose a minority of desert surfaces. Exposures of rocky terrain are typical, and reflect minimal soil development and sparseness of vegetation. The soil is rocky because of the low chemical weathering, and the relative absence of a humus fraction. Bottomlands may be salt-covered flats. Eolian processes are major factors in shaping desert landscapes. Polar deserts (also seen as "cold deserts") have similar features, except the main form of precipitation is snow rather than rain. Antarctica is the world's largest cold desert (composed of about 98% thickcontinental ice sheet and 2% barren rock). Some of the barren rock is to be found in the so-called Dry Valleys of Antarctica that almost never get snow, which can have iceencrusted saline lakes that suggest evaporation far greater than the rare snowfall due to the strong katabatic winds that evaporate even ice. The largest hot desert is the Sahara in northern Africa, covering 9 million square kilometres and 12 countries. Deserts sometimes contain valuable mineral deposits that were formed in the arid environment or that were exposed by erosion. Due to extreme and consistent dryness, some deserts are ideal places for natural preservation of artifacts and fossils. Deserts have a reputation for supporting very little life, but in reality deserts often have high biodiversity, includinganimals that remain hidden during daylight hours to control body temperature or to limit moisture needs. Some fauna includes the kangaroo rat, coyote, jack rabbit, and many lizards. These animals adapted to live in deserts are calledxerocoles. Many desert animals (and plants) show especially clear evolutionary adaptations for water conservation or heat tolerance, and so are often studied in comparative physiology, ecophysiology, and evolutionary physiology. One well-studied example is the specializations of mammalian kidneys shown by desert-inhabiting species.[12] Many examples of convergent evolution have been identified in desert organisms, including between cacti and Euphorbia,kangaroo rats and jerboas, Phrynosoma and Moloch lizards. Some flora includes shrubs, Prickly Pears, Desert Holly, and the Brittlebush. Most desert plants are drought- or salt-tolerant, such as xerophytes. Some store water in their leaves, roots, and stems. Other desert plants have longtaproots that penetrate to the water table if present, or have adapted to the weather by having wide-spreading roots to absorb water from a greater area of the ground. Another adaptation is the development of small, spiny leaves which shed less moisture than deciduous leaves with greater surface areas. The stems and leaves of some plants lower the surface velocity of sand-carrying winds and protect the ground from erosion. Even small fungi and microscopic plant organisms found on the soil surface (so-called cryptobiotic soil) can be a vital link in preventing erosion and providing support for other living organisms.

Deserts typically have a plant cover that is sparse but enormously diverse. The giant saguaro cacti of the Sonoran Desert provide nests for desert birds and serve as "trees" of the desert. Saguaro grow slowly but may live up to 200 years. When 9 years old, they are about 15 centimeters (6 in) high. After about 75 years, the cacti develop their first branches. When fully grown, saguaro cacti are 15 meters (50 ft) tall and weigh as much as 10 tons. They dot the Sonoran and reinforce the general impression of deserts as cactus-rich land.

The ten largest deserts

Rank

Desert

Area (km) Area (mi)

Antarctic Desert (Antarctica)

13,829,430 5,339,573

Sahara Desert (Africa)

9,100,000+ 3,320,000+

Arctic Desert (Arctic)

2,600,000+ 1,003,600+

Arabian Desert (Middle East)

2,330,000

900,000

Gobi Desert (Asia)

1,300,000

500,000

Kalahari Desert (Africa)

900,000

360,000

Patagonian Desert (South America) 670,000

260,000

Great Victoria Desert (Australia)

647,000

250,000

Syrian Desert (Middle East)

520,000

200,000

10

Great Basin Desert (North America) 492,000

190,000

POND ECOSYSTEM
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural features, while fish ponds are designed for commercial fish breeding, and solar ponds designed to store thermal energy. Standing bodies of water such as puddles, ponds, and lakes are distinguished from a water course, such as a brook, creek, or stream via current speed. While currents in streams are more easily observed, ponds and lakes possess thermally driven microcurrents and moderate wind-driven currents. These features distinguish a pond from many other aquatic terrain features, such as stream pools and tide pools.

TECHNICAL DEFINITIONS
The technical distinction between a pond and a lake has not been universally standardized. Limnologists and freshwater biologists have proposed formal definitions for pond, in part to include 'bodies of water where light penetrates to the bottom of the waterbody,' 'bodies of water shallow enough for rooted water plants to grow throughout,' and 'bodies of water which lack wave action on the shoreline.' Each of these definitions has met with resistance or disapproval, as the defining characteristics are each difficult to measure or verify. Accordingly, some organizations and researchers have settled on technical definitions ofpond and lake which rely on size alone.[1] Even among organizations and researchers who distinguish lakes from ponds by size alone, there is no universally recognised standard for the maximum size of a pond. The international Ramsar wetland convention sets the upper limit for pond size as 8 hectares (19.768 acres),[2] but biologists have not universally adopted this convention. Researchers for the British charity Pond Conservation have defined a pond to be 'a man-made or natural waterbody which is between 1 m2 and 20,000 m2 in area (~2 ha or ~5 acres), which holds water for four months of the year or more.'[3] Other European biologists have set the upper size limit at 5 ha (12.355 acres).[4] In practice, a body of water is called a pond or a lake on an individual basis, as conventions change from place to place and over time. In North America, even larger bodies of water have been called ponds; for example, Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts measures 61 acres (~25 ha), nearby Spot Pond is 340 acres (137 ha), while in between is Crystal Lake at 33 acres (13 ha). There are numerous examples in other states of bodies of water less than 10 acres (4 ha) being called lakes. As the case with Crystal Lake shows, marketing purposes may be the driving factor behind some names.

FORMATION Ponds can result from a wide range of natural processes, although in many parts of the world these are now severely constrained by human activity. Any depression in the ground which collects and retains a sufficient amount of precipitation can be considered a pond, and such depressions can be formed by a variety of geological and ecological events. CHARACTERISTICS
Some ponds have no surface outflow draining off water and ponds are often spring-fed. Hence, because of the closed environment of ponds, such small bodies of water normally develop self containedecosystems.

Ponds' calm waters are ideal for insects and other water dwelling invertebrates. This includes the pondskater, the water boatman, the diving beetle, the whirligig beetle and the water scorpion.

LAKE ECOSYSTEM
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, not to be confused with a lagoon, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean, and are larger and deeper than ponds.[1][2] Lakes can be contrasted with riversor streams, which are usually flowing. However most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams.

Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basinsor along the courses of mature rivers. In some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them. Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for industrial or agricultural use, for hydro-electric power generation or domestic water supply, or for aesthetic or recreational purposes.

DISTRIBUTION OF LAKES
The majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes. More than 60 percent of the world's lakes are in Canada this is because of the deranged drainage system that dominates the country. Finland is known as The Land of the Thousand Lakes, (actually there are 187,888 lakes in Finland, of which 60,000 are large),[7] and the U.S. state ofMinnesota is known as The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes. The license plates of the Canadian province of Manitoba used to claim 100,000 lakes[8] as one-upmanship on Minnesota, whose license plates boast of its 10,000 lakes.[9] Most lakes have at least one natural outflow in the form of a river or stream, which maintain a lakes's average level by allowing the drainage of excess water.[10] Some do not and lose water solely by evaporation or underground seepage or both. They are termed endorheic lakes (see below). Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for hydro-electric power generation, aesthetic purposes, recreational purposes, industrial use, agricultural use or domestic water supply. Evidence of extraterrestrial lakes exists; "definitive evidence of lakes filled with methane" was announced by NASA as returned by the Cassini Probe observing the moon Titan, which orbits the planet Saturn. Globally, lakes are greatly outnumbered by ponds: of an estimated 304-million standing water bodies worldwide, 91 percent are 1 hectare (2.5 acres) or less in area (see definition of ponds).[11] Small lakes are also much more numerous than big lakes: in terms of area, one-third of the world's standing water is represented by lakes and ponds of 10 hectares (25 acres) or less. However, large lakes contribute disproportionately to the area of standing water with 122 large lakes of 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi, 100,000 ha, 247,000 acres) or more representing about 29 percent of the total global area of standing inland water. ORIGIN OF LAKES There are a number of natural processes that can form lakes. A recent tectonic uplift of a mountain range can create bowl-shaped depressions that accumulate water and form lakes. The advance

and retreat of glaciers can scrape depressions in the surface where water accumulates; such lakes are common in Scandinavia, Patagonia, Siberia and Canada. The most notable examples are probably the Great Lakes of North America .

RIVER ECOSYSTEM

A lotic ecosystem is the ecosystem of a river, stream or spring. Included in the environment are the biotic interactions (amongst plants, animals and micro-organisms) as well as the abiotic interactions (physical and chemical).[1] Lotic refers to flowing water, from the Latin lotus, past participle of lavere, to wash. Lotic ecosystems can be contrasted with lentic ecosystems, which involve relatively still terrestrial waters such as lakes and ponds. Together, these two fields form the more general study area of freshwater or aquatic ecology. Lotic waters can be diverse in their form, ranging from a spring that is only a few centimeters wide to a major river that is kilometers in width.[2] Despite these differences, the following unifying characteristics make the ecology of running waters unique from that of other aquatic habitats.[3] Flow is unidirectional. There is a state of continuous physical change. There is a high degree of spatial and temporal heterogeneity at all scales (microhabitats). Variability between lotic systems is quite high. The biota is specialized to live with flow conditions.

Flow
Water flow is the key factor in lotic systems influencing their ecology. The strength of water flow can vary between systems, ranging from torrential rapids to slow backwaters that almost seem like lentic systems. The speed of the water flow can also vary within a system. It is typically based on variability of friction with the bottom or sides of the channel, sinuosity, obstructions, and the incline gradient.[2] In addition, the amount of water input into the system from direct precipitation, snowmelt, and/or groundwater can affect flow rate. Flowing waters can alter the shape of the streambed through erosion and deposition, creating a variety of habitats, including riffles, glides, and pools

Light
Light is important to lotic systems, because it provides the energy necessary to drive primary production via photosynthesis, and can also provide refuge for prey species in shadows it casts. The amount of light that a system receives can be related to a combination of internal and external stream variables. The area surrounding a small stream, for example, might be shaded by surrounding forests or by valley walls. Larger river systems tend to be wide so the influence of external variables is minimized, and the sun reaches the surface. These rivers also tend to be more turbulent, however, and particles in the water increasingly attenuate light as depth increases.

TEMPERATURE
Most lotic species are poikilotherms whose internal temperature varies with their environment, thus temperature is a key abiotic factor for them. Water can be heated or cooled through radiation at the surface and conduction to or from the air and surrounding substrate. Shallow streams are typically well mixed and maintain a relatively uniform temperature within an area. In deeper, slower moving water systems, however, a strong difference between the bottom and surface

temperatures may develop. Spring fed systems have little variation as springs are typically from groundwater sources, which are often very close to ambient temperature.[3]

OCEAN ECOSYSTEM
Marine Biosphere Atmosphere Interactions
Marine plankton ecosystems play a key role in the global geochemical cycles of elements relevant to climate. Fluxes of CO2 and cloud-inducing DMS are mediated through the plankton of seas and oceans. In the year 2050 the CO2 in atmosphere as well as surface waters of the ocean will be doubled compared to the pre-industrial era. The ensuing shifts in pH down by 0.3-0.4 units and carbonate ion concentration, becoming only half of its original value, are thought to affect marine photosynthesis as well as calcification. For calcifying coccolithophorideae (and for that matter coral reefs as well) deficiencies in calcification have already been shown experimentally. For other taxa such as diatoms andPhaeocystis spp., research has yet to begin. We grow key phytoplankton species under controlled conditions of low, moderate, modern and high CO 2representing the Last Glacial Maximum, the pre-industrial Holocene, the modern Antropocene and the future high-CO2 ocean. Experiments for single species in the home laboratory are combined with shipboard mesocosm studies of natural plankton assemblages. Long term measurements of CO 2fluxes are performed in the Dutch Wadden and North Sea, the Ems Dollard Estuary and the Atlantic Ocean Ecophysiology of Marine Phytoplankton. The microscopic marine algae, floating in the surface layers of our oceans, - also called the phytoplankton-, convert approximately 40% of global CO2 into organic matter. These organisms therefore play an essential role in global carbon cycling and climate. Furthermore, photosynthesis by unicellular algae forms the basic process of open ocean ecosystems, providing nutrition for all higher trophic levels. The wax and wane of phytoplankton blooms is governed by bottom-up (physical and chemical environmental characteristics) and top-down control (grazing by zooplankton, krill, salps and fish). Climate change causes increasing or decreasing sea surface temperatures depending on the region. Partly related to this, either increased thermal stratification or increased wind-driven vertical mixing is expected. In coastal polar regions, local warming causes enhanced glacial melting and land run-off, thereby affecting coastal productivity due to changing salinity, water column stability and water turbidity. At the same time continuing stratospheric ozone depletion causes enhanced incident ultraviolet-B radiation in polar and temperate regions. The photobiology of marine phyto- and bacterioplankton, especially related with climate change, is studied in our lab since a few decades. Consequences of a changing light climate (irradiance levels as well as dynamics), in synergy or antagony with other forcings (temperature, nutrients) on microalgae are studied in various ocean regions

Energetics and Behavioural Mechanics of Marine Animals Physical interactions between marine animals and water, substrate and air determine the energetics of locomotion, acquisition of food and reproduction. Energetic costs of dominant behaviour of important species can be determined by studying the interaction between animals and their direct environment in detail. The way that physical constraints affect and determine behavioural performance i.e. during locomotion and the acquisition of food in the marine pelagic realm, is studied and mapped. We focus on the most abundant species and strive for results that can be used in ecosystem models. Novel areas such as filter feeding with actively moving filters that operate partly in the viscous and partly in inertial regimes, are explored and investigated. Another novel project is on the role of volatile chemicals (e.g. DMS) as odour sources in bi-trophic and tri-trophic interactions in marine zoo- and phytoplankton. Results so far already changed

insights in the complex interactions among trophic levels. This may have serious implications for understanding the role of volatile marine chemicals in global processes

ESTUARINE ECOSYSTEM
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.[1] Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and ocean environments and are subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflow of both seawater and freshwater provide high levels of nutrients in both the water column and sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.[2] Most modern-day estuaries were formed during the Holocene epoch by the flooding of river-eroded or glacially-scoured valleys when sea level began to rise about 10,000-12,000 years ago.[3] Estuaries are typically classified by their geomorphological features or by water circulation patterns and can be referred to by many different names, such as bays, harbors, lagoons, inlets, or sounds, although sometimes these water bodies do not necessarily meet the above criteria of an estuary and may be fully saline. Estuaries are amongst the most heavily populated areas throughout the world, with about 60% of the worlds population living along estuaries and the coast. As a result, estuaries are suffering degradation by many factors, including sedimentation from soil erosion from deforestation, overgrazing, and other poor farming practices; overfishing; drainage and filling of wetlands; eutrophication due to excessive nutrients from sewage and animal wastes; pollutants including heavy metals, PCBs, radionuclides and hydrocarbons from sewage inputs; and diking or damming for flood control or water diversion.

TYPES Salt wedge

In this type of estuary, river output greatly exceeds marine input and tidal effects have a minor importance. Fresh water floats on top of the seawater in a layer that gradually thins as it moves seaward. The denser seawater moves landward along the bottom of the estuary, forming a wedgeshaped layer that is thinner as it approaches land. As a velocity difference develops between the two layers, shear forces generate internal waves at the interface, mixing the seawater upward with the freshwater. An example of a salt wedge estuary is the Mississippi River.[5]

Partially mixed
As tidal forcing increases, river output becomes less than the marine input. Here, current induced turbulence causes mixing of the whole water column such that salinity varies more longitudinally rather than vertically, leading to a moderately stratified condition. Examples include the Chesapeake Bay andNarragansett Bay.[5]

Vertically homogenous
Tidal mixing forces exceed river output, resulting in a well mixed water column and the disappearance of the vertical salinity gradient. The freshwater-seawater boundary is eliminated due to the intense turbulent mixing and eddy effects. The lower reaches of the Delaware Bay and the Raritan River in New Jersey are examples of vertically homogenous estuaries.[5]

Inverse
Inverse estuaries occur in dry climates where evaporation greatly exceeds the inflow of fresh water. A salinity maximum zone is formed, and both riverine and oceanic water flow close to the surface towards this zone.