1.

0 ECOSYSTEMS
1.1 CONCEPT OF ECOSYSTEM

Various kinds of life supporting system like the

forests, grassland, oceans, lakes, rivers,
mountains, deserts and estuaries show wide
variations in their structural composition and
functions. However, they all are alike in the fact
that they consist of living entities interacting with
their surroundings exchanging matter and
energy. How do these different units like a hot
desert, a dense evergreen forest, the Antarctic
Sea or a shallow pond differ in the type of their
flora and fauna, how do they derive energy and
nutrients to live together, how do they influence
each other and regulate their stability are the
questions that are answered by Ecology.

The term Ecology was coined by Earnst Haeckel

in 1869. It is derived from the Greek words Oikos-
home + logos - study. So ecology deals with
the study of organisms in their natural
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home interacting with their surroundings.
The surroundings or environment consists of
other living organisms (biotic) and physical
(abiotic) components. Modern ecologists believe
that an adequate definition of ecology must
specify some unit of study and one such basic
unit described by Tansley (1935) was ecosystem.
An ecosystem is a self-regulating group of
biotic communities of species interacting
with one another and with their non-living
environment exchanging energy and
matter. Now ecology is often defined as
the study of ecosystems.

An ecosystem is an integrated unit consisting of

interacting plants, animals and microorganisms
whose survival depends upon the maintenance
and regulation of their biotic and abiotic
structures and functions. The ecosystem is thus,
a unit or a system which is composed of a
number of sub-units that are all directly linked
with each other. They may be freely exchanging

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energy and matter from outside an open
ecosystem or may be isolated from outside a
closed ecosystem.

1.2 Ecosystem Characteristics

Ecosystem show large variations in their size,

structure, composition etc. However, all the
ecosystems are characterized by certain basic
structural and functional features which are
common.

1.3 Structural Features

Composition and organization of biological

communities and abiotic components constitute
the structure of an ecosystem.

1.3.1 Biotic Structure

The plants, animals and microorganisms present

in an ecosystem form the biotic component.

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 These organisms have different nutritional
behaviour and status in the ecosystems and are
accordingly known as producers or customers,
based on how they get their food.

(a) Producers: They are mainly the green plants,

which can synthesize their food themselves in
the presence of sunlight by involving chlorophyll,
the green pigment present in the leaves, through
the process of photosynthesis. They are also
known as photo autotrophs (auto=self;
troph=food, photo=light).

There are some microorganisms also which can

produce organic matter to some extent through
oxidation of certain chemicals in the absence of
sunlight. They are known as chemosynthetic
organisms or chemo-autotrophs. For instance
in the ocean depths, where there is no sunlight,
chemoautotrophic sulphur bacteria make use of
the heat generated by the decay of radioactive
elements present in the earths core and released

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 in oceans depths. They use this heat to convert
dissolved hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and carbon
dioxide (CO2) into organic compounds.

(b) Consumers: All organisms which get their

organic food by feeding upon other organism are
called consumers, which are of the following
types:
(i) Herbivores (plant eaters): They feed
directly on producers and hence also
known as primary consumers. e.g. Rabbit,
insect, man.
(ii) Carnivores (meat eaters): They feed on
other consumers. If they feed on
herbivores they are called secondary
consumers (e.g. frog) and if they feed on
other carnivores (snake, big fish etc.) they
are known as tertiary carnivores /
consumers.
(iii) Omnivores: They feed on both plants and
animals. E.G. Humans, rat, fox, many birds.

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(iv) Detritivores (Detritus feeders or
Saprotrophs): They feed on the parts of
dead organisms, wastes of living
organisms, their cast-offs and partially
decomposed matter e.g. beetles, termites,
ants, crabs, earthworms, etc.

(c) Decomposers: They derive nutrition by

breaking down the complex organic
molecules to simpler organic compounds
and ultimately into inorganic nutrients.
Various bacteria and fungi are
decomposers.
In all the ecosystems, this biotic structure
prevails. However, in some, it is the primary
producers which predominate (e.g. in forests,
agroecosystems) while in others the
decomposers predominate (e.g. deep ocean)

1.3.2 Abiotic Structure

The physical and chemical components of an
ecosystem constitute its abiotic structure. It

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 includes climatic factors, edaphic (soil) factors,
geographical factors, energy, nutrients and toxic
substances.

(a) Physical factors: The sunlight and shade,

intensify of solar flux, duration of sun hours,
average temperature, maximum-minimum
temperature, annual rainfall, wind, latitude and
altitude, soil type, water availability, water
currents etc. are some of the important
physical features which have a strong influence
on the ecosystem.
We can clearly see the striking difference in
solar flux, temperature and precipitation
(rainfall, snow etc.) pattern in a desert
ecosystem, in a tropical rainforest and in
tundra ecosystem.
(b) Chemical factors: Availability of major essential nutrients
like carbon, nitrogen phosphorus, potassium, hydrogen,
oxygen and sulphur, level of toxic substances, salts causing
salinity and various organic substances present in the soil or
water largely influence the functioning of the ecosystem.
All the biotic components of an ecosystem are influenced by
the abiotic components and vice versa, and they are linked
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together through energy flow and matter cycling as shown
diagrammatically in fig. 1.1

Fig. 1.1 Nutrient cycling and energy flow

meditated through food-chain. The flow of
energy is unidirectional while the nutrients
move in a cyclic manner from the abiotic to
biotic (food chain) to abiotic and so on.
1.4 Functional Attributes
Every ecosystem performs under natural
conditions in a systematic way. It receives
energy from the sun and passes it on through
various biotic components and in fact, all life
depends upon this flow of energy. Besides
energy, various nutrients and water are also
required for life processes which are exchanged
by the biotic components within themselves
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 and with their abiotic components within or
outside the ecosystem. The biotic components
also regulate themselves in a very systematic
manner and show mechanisms to encounter
some degree of environmental stress. The
major functional attributes of an ecosystem are
as follows:
(i) Food chain, food webs and trophic
structure
(ii) Energy flow
(iii) Cycling of nutrients (Biogeochemical
cycles)
(iv) Primary and Secondary production
(v) Ecosystem development and regulation

1.4.1 Trophic Structure

The structure and functions of ecosystem are
very closely related and influence each other so
intimately that they need to be studied together.
The flow of energy is meditated through a series
of feeding relationships in a definite sequence or
pattern which is known as food chain. Nutrients

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too move along the food chain. The producers
and consumers are arrange in the ecosystem in a
definite manner and their interaction along with
population size are expressed together as
trophic structure. Each food level is known as
trophic level and the amount of living matter at
each trophic level at a given is known as
standing crop or standing biomass.

Before we study about energy flow or nutrient

cycling, we must learn about the food-chains,
that provide the path through which the flow of
energy and matter take place in ecosystem.
1.4.2 Food Chains
The sequence of eating and being in an
ecosystem is known as food chain. All
organisms, living or dead are potential food for
some other organisms and thus, there is
essentially no waste in the functioning of a
natural ecosystem. A caterpillar eats a plant leaf,
a sparrow eats the caterpillar, a cat or hawk eats
the sparrow and when they all die, they are

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consumed by microorganisms like bacteria or
fungi (decomposers) which break down the
organic matter and convert it into simple
inorganic substances that can be used by the
plants-the primary producers.
Some common examples of simple food
chains are:
Grass grasshopper frog snake
hawk (grassland ecosystem)
Phytoplanktons water fleas small fish
Tuna (pond ecosystem)
Lichens reindeer man (Arctic tundra)

Each organism in the ecosystem is assigned

a feeding level or trophic level depending on
its nutritional status. Thus, in the grassland
food chain, grasshopper occupies the 1st
trophic levels, frog the IInd and snake and hawk
occupy IIIrd and IVth tropic level, respectively. The
decomposers consume the dead matter of all these
trophic levels. In nature, we come across two major
types of food chain:

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I. Grazing food chain: It starts with green plants
(primary producers) and culminates in
carnivores. All the example cited above show
this type of food chain. Another example could
be

Fig. 1.2 A grazing food chain in a pond

ecosystem.

II. Detritus Food Chain: It starts with dead organic

matter which the detritivores and decomposers
consume. Partially decomposed dead organic
matter and even the decomposers are consumed
by detritivores and their predators. An example
of the detritus food chain is seen in a Mangrove
(estuary).

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 Here, a large quantity of leaf material falls in the
form of litter into the water. The leaf fragments are
eaten by saprotrophs. (Saprotrophs are those
organisms which feed on dead organic matter). These
fallen leaves are colonized by small algae, which are
also consumed by the saprotrophs or detritivores
consisting of crabs, mollusks, shrimps, insect larvae,
nematodes and fishes. The detritivores are eaten by
small carnivores fishes, which in turn are eaten by large
carnivores fishes.

Leaf litter algae crabs small carnivores fish

large carnivores fish (Mangrove ecosystem)
Dead organic matter fungi bacteria (forest
ecosystem)

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 Thus the grazing food chain derives its energy
basically from plant energy while in the detritus food
chain it is obtained primarily from plant biomass,
secondarily from microbial biomass and tertiarily from
carnivores. Both the food chains occur together in
natural ecosystems, but grazing food chain usually
predominates.

1.4.3 Food Web

Food chains in ecosystem are rarely found to operate as
isolated linear sequences. Rather, they are found to be
interconnected and usually form a complex network
with several linkages and are known as food webs.
Thus, food web is a network of food chains where
different types of organisms are connected at
different trophic levels, so that there are a
number of options of eating and being eaten at
each trophic level.
Fig. 1.4 illustrates an example of a food-web in the
unique Antarctic ecosystem. This is representing the
total ecosystem including the Antarctic sea and the
continental land. The land does not show any higher life
forms of plants. The only species are that of some
algae, lichens and mosses. The animals include

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penguins and snow petrel which depend upon the
aquatic chain for their food energy.
In a tropical region, on the other hand, the
ecosystem are much more complex. They have a rich
species diversity and therefore, the food webs are
much more complex.
Why nature has evolved food webs in ecosystems
instead of simple linear food chains? This is because
food webs give greater stability to the ecosystem. In a
linear food chain, if one species becomes extinct or one
species suffers then the species in the subsequent
trophic levels are also affected. In a food web, on the
other hand, there are a number of options available at
each trophic level. So if one species is affected, it does
not affect other trophic levels so seriously.

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 Fig. 1.4 A simplified food web in Antarctic
ecosystem
Just consider the simple food chains of arctic tundra
ecosystem:
Cladonia reindeer man
Grass caribou wolf
If due to some stress, the population of reindeer or
Caribou falls, it will leave little option for man or wolf to
eat from the ecosystem. Had there been more
biodiversity, it would have led to complex food web
giving the ecosystem more stability.
Significance of food chains and food webs
Food chains and food webs play a very significant
role in the ecosystem because the two most
important functions of energy flow and
nutrients cycling take place through them.
The food chains also help in maintaining and
regulating the population size of different animals
and thus, help maintain the ecological balance.
Food chains show a unique property of biological
magnification of some chemicals. There are
several pesticides, heavy metals and other
chemicals which are non-biodegradable in nature.
Such chemicals are not decomposed by
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 microorganisms and they keep on passing from
one trophic level to another. And, at each
successive trophic level, they keep on increasing in
concentration. This phenomenon is known as
biomagnifications or biological magnification.
1.5 Ecological Pyramids
Graphic representation of trophic structure and
function of an ecosystem, starting with
producers at base and successive trophic levels
forming the apex is known as an ecological
pyramid. Ecological pyramids are of three types:
Pyramid of numbers: It represents the number of
individual organisms at each trophic level. We may
have upright or invented pyramid of numbers,
depending upon the type of ecosystem and food chain
shown in fig. 1.5. A grassland ecosystem (Fig. 1.5a) and
a pond ecosystem show an upright pyramid of
numbers. The producers in the grassland are grasses
and that in a pond are phytoplanktons (algae etc.),
which are small in size and very large in number. So the
producers form a broad base. The herbivores in
grassland are insects while tertiary carnivores are
hawks or other birds which are gradually less and less
in number and hence the pyramid apex becomes
gradually narrower forming an upright pyramid. Similar

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is the case with the herbivores, carnivores and top
carnivores in pond which decrease in number at higher
trophic levels.

Fig. 1.5 Pyramid of numbers (a) grassland (b) forest

(c) Parasitic food chain.

In a forest ecosystem, big trees are the producers,

which are less in number and hence form a narrow
base. At larger number of herbivores including birds,
insects and several species of animals fed upon the
trees (on leaves, fruits, flowers, bark, etc.) and form a
much broader middle level. The secondary consumers
like fox, snakes lizards etc. are less still smaller in

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number. So the pyramid is narrow on both sides and
broader in the middle (fig. 1.5b).
Parasitic food chain shows an inverted pyramid of
number. The producers like a few big trees harbor fruit
eating birds acting like herbivores which are larger in
number. A much higher number of lice, bugs, etc. grow
as parasites on these birds while a still greater number
of hyperparasites like bugs, fleas and microbes feed
upon them, thus making an inverted pyramid (fig 1.5c).
Pyramid of biomass: It is based upon the total
biomass (dry matter) at each trophic level in a food
chain. The pyramid of biomass can also be upright or
inverted. Fig. 1.6 (a, b) show pyramid of biomass in a
forest and an aquatic ecosystem. The pyramid of
biomass in a forest is upright in contrast to its pyramid
of numbers. This is because the producers (trees)
accumulate a huge biomass while the consumers total
biomass feeding on them declines at higher trophic
levels, resulting in broad base and narrowing top.

Fig. 1.6 Pyramid of biomass (a) Grassland

(b) Pond.

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The pond ecosystem shows an inverted
pyramid of biomass (Fig. 1.6b). The total
biomass of producers (phytoplanktons) is
much less as compared to herbivores
(zooplanktons, insects), carnivores (small
fish) and tertiary carnivores (big fish). Thus
the pyramid takes an inverted shape with
narrow base and broad apex.

Pyramid of energy: The amount of

energy present at each trophic level is
considered for this type of pyramid. Pyramid
of energy gives the best representation of
the trophic relationships and it is always
upright.
At every successive trophic level, there
is huge loss of energy (about 90%) in the
form of heat, respiration etc. Thus, at each
next higher level only 10% of the energy
passes on. Hence, there is a sharp decline in
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energy level of each successive trophic level
as we move from producers to top
carnivores. Therefore, the pyramid of energy
is always upright
as shown in fig. 1.7.

Fig 1.7 Pyramid of Energy

1.6 Energy Flow in an Ecosystem
Flow of energy in an ecosystem takes place through the
food chain and it is this energy flow which keeps the
ecosystem going. The most important feature of this
energy flow is that it is unidirectional or one-way
flow. Unlike the nutrients (like carbon, nitrogen,
phosphorus etc.) which move in a cyclic manner and
are reused by the producers after flowing through the
food chain, energy is not reused in the food chain.
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 Also, the flow energy follows the two laws of
Thermodynamics:
Ist law of Thermodynamics states that energy
can neither be created nor destroyed but it can be
transformed from one form to another. The solar energy
captured by the green plants (producers) gets
converted into biochemical energy of plants and later
into that of consumers.
IInd law of Thermodynamics states that energy
dissipates as it is used or in other words, it gets
converted from a more concentrated to a dispersed
form. As energy flows through the food chain, there
occur dissipation of energy at every trophic level. The
loss of energy takes place through respiration, loss of
energy in locomotion, running, hunting and other
activities. At every level there is about 90% loss of
energy and the energy transferred from one trophic
level to other is only about 10%.
Energy flow models: The flow of energy through
various trophic levels in an ecosystem can be explained
with the help of various energy flow models.
(a) Universal energy flow model: Energy flow through
an ecosystem was explained by E.P Odum as the
universal energy flow model (Fig. 1.8). As the flow of
energy takes place, there is a gradual loss of energy at

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 every level, thereby resulting in less energy available
at next trophic level as indicated by narrower pipes
(energy flow) and smaller boxes (stored energy in
biomass). The loss of energy is mainly the energy not
utilized (NU). This is the energy lost in locomotion,
excretion etc. or it is the energy lost in respiration (R)
which is used for production (P).

Fig. 1.8 Universal energy flow model applicable to all

living components
(I =energy input; A : assimilated energy ; P =
Production ; NU = Energy not used).

(b) Single channel energy flow model: The flow of

energy takes place in an unidirectional manner through
a single channel of green plants or producers to
herbivores and carnivores. Fig. 1.9 depicts such a

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model and illustrates the gradual decline in energy
level due to loss of energy at each successive trophic
level in gazing food chain.

Fig. 1.9 One-way energy flow model showing

unidirectional flow through primary producers,
herbivores and carnivores. At each successive trophic
level there is huge loss of energy (I =Solar energy
Input; GPP = Gross primary production ; NPP = Net
primary production ; NU = Energy not used ; NA =
Energy not assimilated e.g. excretion ; R = Respiratory
loss).

(c) Double channel or Y-shaped energy flow

model: In nature, both grazing food chain and
detritus food chain operate in the same
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ecosystem. However, sometimes it is the grazing
food chain which predominates. It happens in
marine ecosystem where primary production in
the open sea is limited and a major portion of it is
eaten by herbivorous marine animals. Therefore,
very little primary production is left to be passed
on to the dead or detritus compartment. On the
other hand, in a forest ecosystem the huge
quantity of biomass produced cannot be all
consumed by herbivores. Rather, a large
proportion of the live biomass enters into detritus
(dead) compartment in the form of litter. Hence
the detritus food chain is more important there.

The two channel or Y-shaped model of energy

flow shows the passage of energy through these
two chains, which are separated in time and
space (Fig 1.10)

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Fig 1.10 Y-shaped or 2-channel energy flow model
showing energy flow through the grazing food
chain and the detritus food chain (R=
Respiration, D= Detritus or dead matter).

1.7. Nutrient Cycling

Besides energy flow, the other important
functional attribute of an ecosystem is nutrient
cycling. Nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, sulphur,
oxygen; hydrogen, phosphorous etc. move in
circular paths through biotic and abiotic
components and are therefore known as
biogeochemical cycles. Water also moves in a
cycle, known as hydrological cycle. The nutrients
too move through the food chain and ultimately
reach the detritus compartment (containing dead
organic matter) where various micro-organisms

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carry out decomposition. Various organically
bound nutrients of dead plants and animals are
converted into inorganic substances by microbial
decomposition that are readily used up by plants
(primary producers) and the cycle starts afresh.
1.7.1. Nitrogen Cycle
Cycling of such important nutrient nitrogen is
shown in Fig. 1.11. Nitrogen is present in the
atmosphere as N2 in large amount (78%) and it is
fixed either by the physical process of lightening
or biologically by some bacteria and/or
cyanobacteria (blue green algae) The nitrogen is
taken up by plants and used in metabolism for
biosynthesis of amino acids, proteins, vitamins
etc. and passes through the food chain. After
death of the plants and animals, the organic
nitrogen in dead tissues is decomposed by
several groups of ammonifying and nitrifying
bacteria which convert them into ammonia,
nitrites and nitrates, which are again used by
plants. Some bacteria convert nitrates, into

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molecular nitrogen or N2 which is released back
into the atmosphere and the cycle goes on.

Fig. 1.11 Nitrogen cycle a gaseous cycle with

major reserve as N2 (78%) in the atmosphere.
Circulation of N-between living components and
soil/atmosphere is mediated by a group of micro-
organisms which convert one form of N into
another.

1.7.2 Carbon Cycle

Sometimes human interference disturb the
normal cycling of such nutrients and create
imbalances. For example, nature has a very
balanced carbon cycle (Fig. 1.12). Carbon, in the
form of carbon dioxide is taken up by green

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plants as a raw material for photosynthesis,
through which a variety of carbohydrates and
other organic substances are produced. Through
the food chain it moves and ultimately organic
carbon present in the dead mater is returned to
the atmosphere as carbon dioxide by
microorganisms. Respiration by all organisms
produces carbon dioxide, while the latter is used
up by plants.
In the recent years carbon dioxide levels
have increased in the atmosphere due to burning
of fossil fuels etc. which has caused an imbalance
in the natural cycle and the world today is facing
the serious problems of global warming due to
enhanced carbon dioxide emissions.

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Fig 1.12 Carbon Cycle
1.7.3 Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorous cycle is another nutrient cycle,
which is shown in Fig. 1.13. The reservoir of
phosphorous lies in the rocks, fossils etc. which is
excavated by man for using it as a fertilizer.
Farmers use the phosphate fertilizers
indiscriminately and as a result excess
phosphates are lost as run-off, which causes the
problem of eutrophication or over nourishment of
lakes leading to algal blooms are already
discussed

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in unit 2. A good proportion of phosphates
moving with surface run-off reaches the oceans
and are lost into the deep sediments. Our limited
supply of phosphorus lying in the phosphate
rocks of this earth are thus over-exploited by man
and a large part is taken out of the normal cycle
due to loss into oceans. So human beings are
making the phosphorus cycle acyclic. Sea birds,
on the other hand, are playing an important role
in phosphorous cycling. They eat sea-fishes
which are phosphorous rich and the droppings or
excreta of the birds return the phosphorous on
the land. The Guano deposits on the coasts of
Peru are very rich sources of phosphorous.

1.8 Production of Ecosystem

1.8.1 Primary Production
Primary productivity of an ecosystem is defined
as the rate at which radiant energy is converted

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into organic substances by photosynthesis or
chemo-synthesis by the primary producers.
When organic matter is produced by the primary
producers (mainly green plants and some
microorganisms), some of it is oxidized or burnt
inside their body and converted into carbon-
dioxide which is released during respiration and it
accompanied by loss of energy. Respiratory loss
of energy is a must, because it is required for the
maintenance of the organism. Now, the
producers are left with a little less organic matter
than what was actually produced by them. This is
known as the net primary production (NPP)
and the respiratory loss (R) added to it gives the
gross primary production (GPP)

Thus, NPP=GPP R.
Primary production of an ecosystem depends
upon the solar radiations, availability of water
and nutrients and upon the type of the plant and
their chlorophyll content. Table 1.11 shows the

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average gross primary productivity of some
major ecosystems.

Table 1.11 Annual Average of gross primary

production of some major ecosystems
Ecosystem Gross primary
productivity
K Cal/M2/yr)
Deserts and Tundra 200
Open Oceans 1,000
Grasslands 2,500
Moist Temperature 8,000
Forests
Agro-ecosystems 12,000
Wet Tropical Forests 20,000
Estuaries 20,000

Productivity of tropical forests and estuaries are

the highest. This is because tropical forests have
abundant rainfall, warm temperature congenial
for growth, abundant sunlight and a rich diversity
of species. Estuaries get natural energy subsidies
in the form of wave currents that bring along with
them nutrients required for production.

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Deserts on the other hand, have limitations of
adequate water supply while Tundra have very
low temperature as limiting factor and hence
show low primary production.

Agro-ecosystems get lots of energy subsidies in

the form of irrigation water, good quality seeds,
fertilizers and pesticides and show a high
productivity of 12,000K cal/m2/yr. Still, it is
noteworthy that their productivity is less than
that of tropical forests which are not receiving
any artificial energy subsidies. Nature itself has
designed its species composition, structure,
energy capture and flow, and a closed nutrient
cycling system that ensures a high primary
production of 20,000 cal/m2/yr. Also, the
quantitative variety of the primary production is
enormous in the tropical forests. This makes it all
the more important to conserve our tropical
forests.

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1.8.2 Secondary Production
The food synthesized by green plants through
photosynthesis is the primary production which is
eaten by herbivores. The plant energy is used up
for producing organic matter of the herbivores,
which in turn, is used up by the carnivores (in
excess of respiratory loss) is known as secondary
production. The energy stored at consumer
level for use by the next tropic level is thus
defined as secondary production

1.9 Ecosystem Regulation

All ecosystems regulate and maintain themselves
under a set of environmental conditions. Any
environmental stress tries to disturb the normal
ecosystem functions. However, the ecosystem,
by itself, tries to resist the change and maintain
itself in equilibrium with the environment due to
a property known as homeostasis. Homeostasis
is the inherent property of all living
systems to resist change. However, the

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system can show this tolerance or resistance only
within a maximum and minimum range, which is
its range of tolerance known as homeostatic
plateau. Within this range, if any stress tries to
cause a deviation, then the system has its own
mechanisms to counteract these deviations
which are known as negative feedback
mechanisms so negative feedback
mechanisms are deviation counteracting
mechanisms which try to bring the system
back to its ideal conditions. But, if the stress
is too high and beyond the range of homeostatic
plateau, then another type of mechanisms known
as positive feedback mechanisms start
operating. These are the deviation accelerating
mechanisms. So the positive feedback
mechanisms add to the stress conditions and
tend to take the system away from the optimal
conditions. Fig 1.14 depicts the ecosystem
regulation mechanisms.

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Human beings should try to keep the ecosystems
within the homeostatic plateau. They should not
contribute to positive feedbacks otherwise the
ecosystems will collapse.

Fig 1.14 ecosystem regulation by homeostasis.

On application of stress, the negative feedback
mechanisms start operating, trying to counter
the stress to regulate the system. But beyond the
homeostatic plateau, positive feedback starts
which further accelerate the stress effects
causing death or collapse of the
organism/system.

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1.10 Ecological Succession
An ecosystem is not static in nature. It is dynamic
and changes its structure as well as function with
time and quite interestingly, these changes are
very orderly and can be predicted. It is observed
that one type of a community is totally replaced
by another type of community over a period of
time and simultaneously several changes also
occur. This process is known as ecological
succession.

Ecological succession is defined as an

orderly process of changes in the
community structure and function with time
mediated through modifications in the
physical environment and ultimately
culminating in a stabilized ecosystem
known as climax. The whole sequences of
communities which are transitory are known as
Seral stages or seres whereas the community
establishing first of all in the area is called a
pioneer community.

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Ecological successions starting on different types
of areas or substrata are named differently as
follows:
i. Hydrarch or Hydrosere: Starting in
watery area like pond, swamp, bog
ii. Mesarch: starting in an area of adequate
moisture
iii. Xerarch or Xerosere: Starting in a dry area
with little moisture.
They can be the following types
Lithosere : starting on a bare
rock
Psammosere : starting on sand
Halosere : starting on saline soil

1.10 Process of Succession

The process of succession takes place in a
systematic order of sequential steps as follows:

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(i) Nudation: It is the development of a bare area
without any life form. The bare area may be
caused due to landslides, volcanic eruption etc
(topographic factor), or due to drought,
glaciers, frost etc. (Climatic factor), or due to
overgrazing, disease outbreak,
agricultural/industrial activities (biotic factors)
(ii) Invasion: It is the successful establishment of
one or more species on a bare area through
dispersal or migration, followed by ecesis or
establishment. Dispersal of the seeds, spores
etc. is brought about the wind, water, insects or
birds. Then the seeds germinate and grow on
the land. As growth and reproduction start,
these pioneer species increase in number and
form groups or aggregations.
(iii) Competition and coactions: As the number of
individuals grows there is competition, both
inter-specific (between different species) and
intra-specific (within the same species), for
space water and nutrition. They influence each

40
 other in a number of ways, known as
coactions.
(iv) Reaction: The living organisms grow, use water
and nutrients from the substratum, and in turn,
they have a strong influence on the
environment which is modified to a large extent
and this is known as reaction. The
modifications are very often such that they
become unsuitable for the existing species and
favour some new species, which replace them.
Thus, reaction leads to several seral
communities.
(v) Stabilization: The succession ultimately
culminates in a more or less community called
climax which is in equilibrium with the
environment.
The climax community is characterized by
maximum biomass and symbiotic (mutually
beneficial) linkages between organisms and are
maintained quite efficiently per unit of
available energy.

41
 Let us consider very briefly two types of
succession.
A.Hydrose (Hydrarch): This type of succession
starts in a water body like pond. A number of
intermediate stages come and ultimately is
culminates in climax community which is a
forest.
The pioneer community consists of
phytoplanktons, which are free floating algae,
diatoms etc. gradually these are replaced by
rooted-submerged plants followed by rooted-
floating plants. Growth of these plants keep
on adding organic matter to the substratum
by death and

42
Fig. 1.15 Ecological succession: A hydrach
from lake to woodland community.
Decay and thus a layer of soil build up and
shallowing of water takes place. The Reed
swamp (marshy) stages follows in which the
plants are partly in water and partly on land.

43
 This is followed by a sedgemeadow stage of
grasses then by a woodland consisting of
shrubs and trees and finally by a forest
acting as climax (Fig. 1.15)

B. Xerosere (Xerarch): This type of

succession originates on a bare rock, which
lacks water and organic matter.
Interestingly, here also the climax
community is a forest, although the
intermediate stages are very different.
The pioneer community here consists of
crutose and foliose lichens. These lichens
produce some weak acids and help in
disintegrating the rock, a process known as
weathering. Their growth helps in building
up gradually some organic matter, humus
and soil. Then comes the community of
mosses, followed by herbs, shrubs and
finally the forest trees. Throughout this
gradual process there is a slow build up of
organic matter and water in the substratum.

44
Thus, succession tends to move towards
mesic conditions (moderate condition),
irrespective of the fact, whether it started
from a dry (Xeric) condition or a moist
(hydric) condition and it culminates in a
stable climax community, which is usually a
forest.

1.11 Major Ecosystem Types

Let us consider types, characteristics
features, structure and functions of some
major ecosystems.

1.11.1 Forest Ecosystem

These are the ecosystems having a
predominance of trees that are interspersed
with a large number of species of herbs,
shrubs, climber, lichens, algae and a wide
variety of wild animals and birds. As
discussed above forests are found in
undisturbed area receiving moderated to

45
 high rainfall and usually occur as stable
climax communities.

Depending upon the prevailing climatic

conditions forests can be various types:
(a) Tropical rain forests: They are evergreen
broadleaf forests found near the equator.
They are characterized by high temperature,
high humidity and high rainfall, all of which
favour the growth of trees. All through the
year the climate remains more or less
uniform. They are the richest in biodiversity.
Different forms of life occupy specialized
areas (niches) within different layers and
spaces of the ecosystem depending upon
their needs for food, sunlight, water,
nutrients etc.

We come across different types and

layers of plants and animals in the tropical
rain forest, e.g. emergent layer is the
topmost layer of the tallest broad-leaf

46
evergreen trees, below which lies the
canopy where top branches of shorter trees
form an umbrella like cover. Below this is
present the understory of still small trees.
On the tree trunks some woody climbers are
found to grow which are known as Lianas.
There are some other plants like Orchids
which are epiphytes i.e. they are attached to
the truncks or branches of big trees and
they take up water and nutrients falling from
above. The orchids have special type of
leaves to capture and hold the water. Some
large epiphytes can hold as much as 4 litres
of water, equivalent to a small bucket! Thus,
these epiphytes almost act like mini-ponds
suspended up in the air, in the forest crown.
That is the reason why a large variety of
birds, insects and animals like monkeys
have made their natural homes (habitants)
in these forest (Plate II)
The understorey tree usually receives very
dim sunlight. They usually develop dark

47
green leaves with high chlorophyll content
so that they can use the diffused sunlight for
photosynthesis. The shrub layer receives
even less sunlight and the ground layer
commonly known as forest floor receives
almost no sunlight and is a dark layer. Most
of the animals like bats, birds, insects etc.
occupy the bright canopy layer while
monkeys, toads, snakes chameleons etc.
keep on moving up and down in sunny and
darker layers. Termites, fungi, mushrooms
etc. grow on the ground layer. Warm
temperature and high availability of
moisture facilitate rapid breakdown
(decomposition) of the dropped leaves,
twigs etc. releasing the nutrients rapidly.
These nutrients are immediately taken up by
the mycorrhial roots of the trees.

48
Interestingly, the flowers of forest trees are very
large, colourful fragrant and attractive which
helps in pollination by insects, birds, bats etc.
Ragglesia arnoldi, the biggest flower (7kg weight)
is known to smell like rotten meat and attracts
flies and beetles which help in its pollination
(Plate III).

49
The Silent Valley in Kerala is the only tropical rain
forest lying in India which is the natural habitat
for a wide variety of species.

Being the store-house of biodiversity, the forest

provide us with an array of commercial goods like
timber, fuel wood, drugs, resins, gums etc.
Unfortunately there is cutting down of these
forests at an alarming rate. Within the next 30-40
years we are likely to be left with only scattered
fragments of such forests, thereby losing the rich
biodiversity and the ecological uses of forests,
discussed earlier in unit II.
(b) Tropical Deciduous Forests: They are
found a little away from the equator and are
characterized by a warm climate the year round.
Rain occurs only during monsoon. A large part of
the year remains dry and therefore different

50
 types of deciduous trees are found here, which
lose their leaves during dry season.
(c) Tropical Shrub Forests: They are found in
areas where the dry season is even longer. Here
there are small deciduous trees and shrubs.
(d) Temperature Rain Forests: They are found
in temperature areas with adequate rainfall.
These are dominated by coniferous trees like
pines, firs, redwoods etc. They also consist of
some evergreen broad leaf trees.
(e) Temperature Deciduous Forests: They
are found in areas with moderate temperatures.
There is a marked seasonability with long
summers, cold but not too severe winter and
abundant rainfall throughout the year. The major
trees include broad leaf deciduous trees like oak,
hickory, poplar etc.
(f) Evergreen coniferous forests (Boreal
Forest): They are found just south of arctic
tundra. Here winters are long, cold and dry.
Sunlight is available for a few hours only. In
summer the temperature is mild, sun-shines for

51
long hours but the season is quite short. The
major trees include pines, spruce, fir, cedar etc.
which have tiny, needle-shaped leaves having a
waxy coating so that they can withstand severe
cold and drought. The soil is found to get frozen
during winter when few species can survive. The
leaves, also known as needles, fall on the forest
floor and cover the nutrient poor soil. These soils
are acidic and prevent other plants from
growing. Species diversity is rather low in these
forests.

1.11.1 Grassland Ecosystems

Grasslands are dominated by grass species but
sometimes also allow the growth of a few trees
and shrubs. Rainfall is average but erratic.
Limited grazing helps to improve the net primary
production of the grasslands but overgrazing
leads to degradation of these grasslands
resulting in desertification. Three types of
grasslands are found to occur in different
climatic regions:

52
(a) Tropical grasslands: They occur near the borders
of tropical rain forests in regions of high average
temperature and low moderate rainfall. In Africa,
these are typically known as Savannas, which
have tall grasses with scattered shrubs and
stunted trees. The Savannas have a wide
diversity of animals including zebras, giraffes,
gazelle, antelopes etc. During dry season, fires
are quite common. Termite mounds are very
common here. The termites gather the detritus
(dead organic matter) containing fungi are found
to grow which feed upon this dead matter
including cellulose and in turn release methane,
a greenhouse gas.
Tropical savannas have a highly efficient system
of photosynthesis. Most of the carbon
assimilated by them in the form of
carbohydrates is in perennating bulbs, rhizomes,
runners etc. which are present underground.
Deliberate burning of these grasslands can
release huge quantities of carbon dioxide,

53
 another green house gas, responsible for global
warming.
(b) Temperature grasslands: They are usually found
on flat, gentle sloped hills, winters are very cold
but summer was are not and dry. Intense grazing
and summer fires do not allow shrubs or trees to
grow.
In United States and Canada these grasslands
are known as Prairies, in South America as
Pampas, in Africa as Velds and in Central Europe
and Asia they are known as Steppes.
Winds keep blowing and evaporation rate is very
high. It also favours rapid fires in summer. The
soils are quite fertile and therefore, very often
these grasslands are cleared for agriculture.
(c) Polar grasslands (Arctic Tundra): They are found
in Arctic Polar region where severe cold and
strong, frigid winds along with ice and snow
create too harsh a climate for trees to grow. In
summers the sunshine almost round the clock
and hence several small annual plants grow in
the summer. The animals include arctic wolf,

54
 weasel, arctic fox, reindeer etc. A thick layer of
ice remains frozen under the soil surface
throughout the year and is known as
permafrost. In summers, the Tundra shows the
appearance of shallow lakes, bogs etc. where
mosquitoes, different type of insects and
migratory birds appear.

1.11.3 Desert Ecosystems

These ecosystems occur in regions where
evaporation exceeds precipitation (rainfall, snow
etc). The precipitation is less than 25cm per
year. About 1/3rd of our worlds land area is
covered by deserts. Deserts have little species
diversity and consist of drought resistant or
drought avoiding plants. The atmosphere is very
dry and hence it is a poor insulator. That is why
in deserts the soil gets cooled up quickly, making
the nights cool. Deserts are of three major types,
bases on climatic conditions:
(a) Tropical deserts like Sahara and Namibia in
Africa and Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India are the

55
 driest of all with only a few species. Wind blown
sand dunes are very common.
(b) Temperate deserts like Mojave in Southern
California where day time temperatures are very
hot in summer but cool in winters.
(c) Cold deserts like the Gobi desert in China has
cold winter and warm summers.
Desert plants and animals are having most
typical adaptations for conservation of water.
Many desert plants are found to have reduced,
scaly leaves so as to cut down loss of water due
to transpiration or have succulent leaves to store
water. Many a times their stems get flattened
and develop chlorophyll so that they can take up
the function of photosynthesis. Some plants
show very deep roots to tap the groundwater.
Many plants have a waxy, thick cuticle over the
leaf to reduce loss of water through
transpiration. Desert animals like insects and
reptiles have thick outer coverings to minimize
loss of water. They usually live inside burrows

56
where humidity is better and heat is less. Desert
soil is rich in nutrients but deficient in water.
Due to low species diversity, shortage of water
and slow growth rate, the desert plant
communities, if faced with a severe stress take a
long time to recover.

1.11.4 Aquatic ecosystems

Aquatic ecosystems dealing with water bodies
and the biotic communities present in them are
either freshwater or marine. Freshwater
ecosystems are further of standing type (lotic),
like rivers. Let us consider some important
aquatic ecosystems.
(a) Pond ecosystem: It is a small freshwater
aquatic ecosystem where water is stagnant.
Ponds may be seasonal in nature i.e.
receiving enough water during rainy season.
Ponds are usually shallow water bodies
which play a very important role in the
villages where most of the activities centre
around ponds. They contain several types a

57
 algae, aquatic plants, insects, fishes and
birds. The ponds are, however, very often
exposed to tremendous anthropogenic
(human-generated) bathing and drinking
etc. and therefore get polluted.
(b) Lake Ecosystem: Lakes are usually big
freshwater bodies with standing water. They
have a shallow water zone called Littoral
Zone, an open-water zone and a deep bottom
area where light penetration in negligible,
known as profundal zone. (Fig. 1.16)

Fig. 1.16 Zonation in a lake ecosystem

58
The Dal Lake in Srinagar (J & K), Naini Lake in
Nainital (Uttarakhand) and Loktak Lake in
Manipur are some of the famous lakes of our
country.
Organisms: The lakes have several types of
organisms:
(a) Planktons that float on the surface of
waters e.g. phytoplanktons like algae and
zooplanktons like rotifers.
(b) Nektons that swim e.g. fishes
(c) Neustons that rest or swim on the surface.
(d) Benthos that are attached to bottom
sediments e.g. snails
(e) Periphytons that are attached or clingling
to other plants or any other surface e.g.
crustaceans.
Stratification: The lakes show stratification or
Zonation based on temperature differences.
During summer, the top waters become warmer
than the bottom waters. Therefore, only the
warm top layer circulates without mixing with the
colder layer, thus forming a distinct Zonation.

59
Epilimnion: Warm, lighter, circulating surface
layer
Hypolimnion: Cold, viscous, non-circulating
bottom layer. In between the two layers is
thermocline, the region of sharp drop in
temperature.

Types of Lakes: Some important types of lakes

are:
(a) Oligotrophic lakes which have low
nutrient concentrations.
(b) Eutrophic lakes which are overnourished
by nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous,
usually as a result of agricultural run-off or
municipal sewage discharge. They are
covered with algal blooms e.g. Dal Lake.
(c) Dystrophic lake that have low pH, high
humic acid content and brown waters e.g.
bog lakes
(d) Endemic lakes that very ancient, deep
and have endemic fauna which are

60
 restricted only to that lake e.g. the Lake
Baikal in Russia; the deepest lake, which is
now suffering a threat due to industrial
pollution.
(e) Desert salt lake that occur in arid regions
and have developed high salt
concentrations as a result of high
evaporation. E.g. Great Salt Lake, Utah;
Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan.
(f) Volcanic lakes that receives water from
magma after volcanic eruptions e.g. many
lakes in Japan. They have highly restricted
biota.
(g) Meromictic lakes that are rich in salts
and are permanently stratified e.g. Lake
Nevada.
(h) Artificial lakes or impoundments that
are created due to construction of dams
e.g. Govindsagar Lake at Bhakra-Nangal.

Streams

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These are fresh water aquatic ecosystems where
water current is a major controlling factor,
oxygen and nutrient in the water is more uniform
and land water exchange is more extensive.
Although stream organisms have to face more
extremes of temperature and action of currents
as compared to pond or lake organisms, but they
do not have to face oxygen deficiency under
natural conditions. This is because the streams
are shallow, have a large surface exposed to air
and constant motion which churns the water and
provides abundant oxygen. Their dissolved
oxygen level is higher than that of ponds even
though the green plants are much less in number.
The stream animals usually have a narrow range
of tolerance to oxygen. That is the reason why
they are very susceptible to any organic pollution
which depletes dissolved oxygen in the water.
Thus, streams are the worst victims of industrial
development.
River Ecosystem: Rivers are large streams that
flows downward from mountain highlands and

62
flowing through the plains fall into the sea. So the
river ecosystems show a series of different
conditions.
The mountain highland part has cold, clear
waters rushing down as water falls with large
amounts of dissolved oxygen. The plants are
attached to rocks (periphytons) and fishes are
cold-water, high oxygen requiring fish like trouts.
In the second phase, on the gentle slopes, the
waters are warmer and support a luxuriant
growth of plants and less oxygen requiring fishes.
In the third phase, the river waters are very
rich in biotic diversity. Moving down the hills,
rivers shape the land. They bring with them lots
of silt rich nutrients which is deposited in the
plains and in the delta before reaching the ocean.

Oceans
These are gigantic reservoirs of water covering
more than 70% of our earths surface and play a
key role in the survival of about 2,500,000
marine species, serving as food for humans and

63
other organisms, give a huge variety of sea-
products and drugs. Oceans provide us iron,
phosphorus, magnesium, oil, natural gas, sand
and gravel.
Oceans are the major sinks of carbon dioxide and
play an important role in regulating many
biogeochemical cycles and hydrological cycle,
thereby regulating the earths climate
The oceans have two major life zones (Fig 1.17)
Coastal zone with relatively warm, nutrient rich
shallow water. Due to high nutrients and ample
sunlight this is the zone of high primary
productivity.
Open sea: It is the deeper part of the ocean,
away from the continental shelf (The submerged
part of the continent). It is vertically divided into
three regions:
(i) Euphotic zone which receives abundant
light and shows high photosynthetic
activity.

64
(ii) Bathyal zone receives dim light and is
usually geologically active.
(iii) Abyssal zone is the dark zone, 2000 to
5000 metres deep. The abyssal zone has no
primary source of energy i.e. solar energy. It is
the worlds largest ecological unit but it is an
incomplete ecosystem.

Estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal area
at the mouth of a river where fresh water and

65
salty seawater meet. These are the transition
zones which are strongly affected by tidal
action. Constant mixing of water stirs up the
silt which makes the nutrients available for the
primary producers. There are wide variation in
the stream flow and tidal currents at any given
location diurnally, monthly and seasonally.
Therefore, the organisms present in estuaries
show a wide range of tolerance to temperature
and salinity. Such organisms are known as
eurythermal and euryhaline. Coastal bays
and tidal marshes are examples of estuaries.

Estuaries have a rich biodiversity and many of

the species are endemic. There are many
migratory species of fishes like eels and
salmons in which half of the life is spent in
fresh water and half in salty water. For them
estuaries are ideal places for resting during
migration, where they also get abundant food.
Estuaries are highly productive ecosystems.
The river flow and tidal action provide energy

66
subsidies for the estuary thereby enhancing its
productivity. Estuaries are of much use to
human beings due to their high food potential.
However, these ecosystems need to be
managed judiciously and protected from
pollution.

67