Ecosystem - Concept Structure and Functions
Ecosystem - Concept Structure and Functions
Concept of Ecosystem:
An organism is always in the state of perfect balance with the environment. The environment literally
means the surroundings. The environment refers to the things and conditions around the organisms
which directly or indirectly influence the life and development of the organisms and their populations.
“Ecosystem is a complex in which habitat, plants and animals are considered as one interesting unit,
the materials and energy of one passing in and out of the others” – Woodbury.
Organisms and environment are two non-separable factors. Organisms interact with each other and
also with the physical conditions that are present in their habitats.
“The organisms and the physical features of the habitat form an ecological complex or more briefly
an ecosystem.” (Clarke, 1954).
The concept of ecosystem was first put forth by A.G. Tansley (1935). Ecosystem is the major
ecological unit. It has both structure and functions. The structure is related to species diversity. The
more complex is the structure the greater is the diversity of the species in the ecosystem. The
functions of ecosystem are related to the flow of energy and cycling of materials through structural
components of the ecosystem.
According to Woodbury (1954), ecosystem is a complex in which habitat, plants and animals are
considered as one interesting unit, the materials and energy of one passing in and out of the others.
According to E.P. Odum, the ecosystem is the basic functional unit of organisms and their environment interacting with each
other and with their own components. An ecosystem may be conceived and studied in the habitats of various
sizes, e.g., one square metre of grassland, a pool, a large lake, a large t ract of forest, balanced
aquarium, a certain area of river and ocean.
All the ecosystems of the earth are connected to one another, e.g., river ecosystem is connected with
the ecosystem of ocean, and a small ecosystem of dead logs is a part of large ecosys tem of a forest. A
complete self-sufficient ecosystem is rarely found in nature but situations approaching self-sufficiency
may occur.
Structure of Ecosystem:
The structure of an ecosystem is basically a description of the organisms and physical features of
environment including the amount and distribution of nutrients in a particular habitat. It also provides
information regarding the range of climatic conditions prevailing in the area.
From the structure point of view, all ecosystems consist of the following basic components:
1. Abiotic components
2. Biotic components
1. Abiotic Components:
It also includes such physical factors and ingredients as moisture, wind currents and solar radiation.
Radiant energy of sun is the only significant energy source for any ecosystem. The amount of non-
living components, such as carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, etc. that are present at any given time is
known as standing state or standing quantity.
2. Biotic Components:
The biotic components include all living organisms present in the environmental system.
From nutrition point of view, the biotic components can be grouped into two basic components:
The autotrophic components include all green plants which fix the radiant energy of sun and
manufacture food from inorganic substances. The heterotrophic components include non-green
plants and all animals which take food from autotrophs.
So, biotic components of an ecosystem can be described under the following three heads:
2. Consumers, and
The amount of biomass at any time in an ecosystem is known as standing crop which is usually
expressed as fresh weight, dry weight or as free energy in terms of calories/metre.
The producers are the autotrophic elements—chiefly green plants. They use radiant energy of sun in
photosynthetic process whereby carbon dioxide is assimilated and the light energy is converted into
chemical energy. The chemical energy is actually locked up in the energy rich carbon compounds.
Oxygen is evolved as by-product in the photosynthesis.
This is used in respiration by all living things. Algae and other hydrophytes of a pond, grasses of the
field, trees of the forests are examples of producers. Chemosynthetic bacteria and carotenoid bearing
purple bacteria that also assimilate CO2 with the energy of sunlight but only in the presence of organic
compounds also belong to this category.
The term producer is misleading one because in an energy context, producers produce carbohydrate
and not energy. Since they convert or transduce the radiant energy into chemical form, E.J. Kormondy
suggests better alternative terms ‘converters’ or ‘transducers’. Because of wide use the term producer
is still retained.
Consumers:
Those living members of ecosystem which consume the food synthesized by producers are called
consumers. Under this category are included all kinds of animals that are found in an ecosystem.
These are purely herbivorous animals that are dependent for their food on producers or green plants.
Insects, rodents, rabbit, deer, cow, buffalo, goat are some of the common herbivores in the terrestrial
ecosystem, and small crustaceans, molluscs, etc. in the aquatic habitat. Elton (1939) named herbivores
of ecosystem as “key industry animals”. The herbivores serve as the chief food source for carnivores.
These are carnivores and omnivores. Carnivores are flesh eating animals and the omnivores are the
animals that are adapted to consume herbivores as well as plants as their food. Examples of secondary
consumers are sparrow, crow, fox, wolves, dogs, cats, snakes, etc.
These are the top carnivores which prey upon other carnivores, omnivores and herbivores. Lions,
tigers, hawk, vulture, etc. are considered as tertiary or top consumers.
(d) Besides different classes of consumers, the parasites, scavengers and saprobes are also included
in the consumers. The parasitic plants and animals utilize the living tissues of different plants and
animals. The scavengers and saprobes utilize dead remains of animals and plants as their food.
Decomposers and transformers are the living components of the ecosystem and they are fungi and
bacteria. Decomposers attack the dead remains of producers and consumers and degrade the
complex organic substances into simpler compounds. The simple organic matters are then attacked
by another kind of bacteria, the transformers which change these organic compounds into the
inorganic forms that are suitable for reuse by producers or green plants. The decomposers and
transformers play very important role in maintaining the dynamic nature of ecosystems.
Function of Ecosystem:
An ecosystem is a discrete structural, functional and life sustaining environmental system. The
environmental system consists of biotic and abiotic components in a habitat. Biotic component of the
ecosystem includes the living organisms; plants, animals and microbes whereas the abiotic component
includes inorganic matter and energy.
Abiotic components provide the matrix for the synthesis and perpetuation of organic components
(protoplasm). The synthesis and perpetuation processes involve energy exchange and this energy
comes from the sun in the form of light or solar energy.
These three interact and form an environmental system. Inorganic constituents are synthesized into
organic structures by the green plants (primary producers) through photosynthesis and the solar
energy is utilized in the process. Green plants become the source of energy for renewals (herbivores)
which, in turn become source of energy for the flesh eating animals (carnivores). Animals of all types
grow and add organic matter to their body weight and their source of energy is complex organic
compound taken as food.
They are known as secondary producers. All the living organisms whether plants or animals in an
ecosystem have a definite life span after which they die. The dead organic remains of plants and
animals provide food for saprophytic microbes, such as bacteria, fungi and many other animals. The
saprobes ultimately decompose the organic structure and break the complex molecules and liberate
the inorganic components into their environment.
These organisms are known as decomposers. During the process of decomposition of organic
molecules, the energy which kept the inorganic components bound together in the form of organic
molecules gets liberated and dissipated into the environment as heat energy. Thus in an ecosystem
energy from the sun, the input is fixed by plants and transferred to animal components.
Nutrients are withdrawn from the substrate, deposited in the tissues of the plants and animals, cycled
from one feeding group to another, released by decomposition to the soil, water and air and then
recycled. The ecosystems operating in different habitats, such as deserts, forests, grasslands and seas
are interdependent on one another. The energy and nutrients of one ecosystem may find their way
into another so that ultimately all parts of the earth are interrelated, each comprising a part of the
total system that keeps the biosphere functioning.
(3) Consumption of producers by consumers and further elaboration of consumed materials; and.
(4) After the death of producers and consumers, complex organic compounds are degraded and finally
converted by decomposers and converters into such forms as are suitable for reutilization by
producers.
The principal steps in the operation of ecosystem not only involve the production, growth and death
of living components but also influence the abiotic aspects of habitat. It is now clear that there is
transfer of both energy and nutrients from producers to consumers and finally to decomposers and
transformers levels. In this transfer there is a progressive decrease of energy but nutrient component
is not diminished and it shows cycling from abiotic to biotic and vice versa.
The flow of energy is unidirectional. The two ecological processes—energy flow and mineral cycling
which involve interaction between biotic and abiotic components lie at the heart of ecosystem
dynamics. The principal steps and components of ecosystem are illustrated in Fig. 3.1.