OPEN ELECTIVE – B ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT (18ME751)

Module-3 Environment & Ecosystem

Environment: Introduction, Multidisciplinary nature of environmental studies- Definition, scope, and
importance, Need for public awareness.
Ecosystem: Concept, Energy flow, Structure, and function of an ecosystem. Food chains, food webs and
ecological pyramids, Forest ecosystem, Grassland ecosystem, Desert ecosystem and Aquatic ecosystems,
Ecological succession.

Q.1 What is the significance of Environment studies? July2019/6M)

It is not only a collection of facts or information about the environment. It is about the way we all should live.
When you develop this concern, you will begin to act at your own level to protect the environment we all live in
and build framework on which we must all realign our lives. Three reasons for studying the state of the
environment are as given below.
1. It is the need for information that clarifies modern environmental concepts such as the need to conserve
biodiversity, the need to lead more sustainable lifestyles and the need to use resources more equitably.
2. Here is a need to change the way in which we view our own environment by a practical approach
based on observation and self-learning
3. There is the need to create a concern for our environment that will trigger pro-environmental action, including
activities we can do in our daily life to protect it.
Q.2 Define Environment. Mention its scope. Discuss the need for public awareness
DEFINITION: Environmental studies deal with every issue that affects an organism. It is essentially a
multidisciplinary approach that brings about an appreciation of our natural world and human impacts on
its integrity. It is an applied science as it seeks practical answers to making human civilization sustainable on
the earth’s finite resources. Its components include biology, geology, chemistry, physics, engineering,
sociology, health, anthropology, economics, statistics, computers, and philosophy.

SCOPE: As we look around at the area in which we live, we see that our surroundings were originally a natural
landscape such as a forest, a river, a mountain, a desert, or a combination of these elements. Most of us live in
landscapes that have been heavily modified by human beings, in villages, towns or cities. But even those of us
who live in cities get our food supply from surrounding villages and these in turn are dependent on natural
landscapes such as forests, grasslands, rivers, seashores, for resources such as water for agriculture, fuel wood,
fodder, and fish. Thus, our daily lives are linked with our surroundings and inevitably affects them. We use water
to drink and for other day-to-day activities. We breathe air, we use resources from which food is made and we
depend on the community of living plants and animals which form a web of life, of which we are also a part.
Everything around us forms our environment and our lives depend on keeping its vital systems as intact as
possible.
We cannot continue to live without protecting the earth’s environmental resources as Mother Nature and most
traditional societies have learned that respecting nature is vital for their livelihoods. This has led to many cultural
practices that helped traditional societies protect and preserve their natural resources. Respect for nature and all
living creatures is not new to India. All our traditions are based on these values. Emperor Ashoka’s edict
proclaimed that all forms of life are important for our well-being in 4th Century BC. Over the past 200 years
however, modern societies began to believe that easy answers to the question of producing more resources could
be provided by means of technological innovations.
For example, though growing more food by using fertilizers and pesticides, developing better strains of domestic
animals and crops, irrigating farmland through mega dams and developing industry, led to rapid economic growth,
the ill effects of this type of development, led to environmental degradation. The industrial development and
intensive agriculture that provides the goods for our increasingly consumer-oriented society uses up large amounts
of natural resources such as water, minerals, petroleum products, wood, etc. Non-renewable resources, such
as minerals and oil are those which will be exhausted in the future if we continue to extract these without a
Department of Civil Engineering, BKIT, Bhalki Dr. Rajashekar Matpathi. ME(Design), Ph.D. 1
 OPEN ELECTIVE – B ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT (18ME751)

thought for subsequent generations. Renewable resources, such as timber and water, are those which can be used
but can be regenerated by natural processes such as regrowth or rainfall. But these too will be depleted if we
continue to use them faster than nature can replace them. For example, if the removal of timber and firewood
from a forest is faster than the regrowth and regeneration of trees, it cannot replenish the supply. And loss
of forest cover not only depletes the forest of its resources, such as timber and other non-wood products, but affect
our water resources because an intact natural forest acts like a sponge which holds water and releases it slowly.
Deforestation leads to floods in the monsoon and dry rivers once the rains are over.
Such multiple effects on the environment resulting from routine human activities must be appreciated by each one
of us, if it is to provide us with the resources we need in the long-term.
Our natural resources can be compared with money in a bank. If we use it rapidly, the capital will be reduced to
zero. On the other hand, if we use only the interest, it can sustain us over the longer term. This is called sustainable
utilization or development

IMPORTANCE: Environment is not a single subject. It is an integration of several subjects that include both
Science and Social Studies. To understand all the different aspects of our environment we need to understand
biology, chemistry, physics, geography, resource management, economics, and population issues. Thus, the
scope of environmental studies is extremely wide and covers some aspects of nearly every major discipline. We
live in a world in which natural resources are limited. Water, air, soil, minerals, oil, the products we get from
forests, grasslands, oceans and from agriculture and livestock, are all a part of our life support systems.
Without them, life itself would be impossible. As we keep increasing in numbers and the quantity of resources
each of us uses also increases, the earth’s resource base must inevitably shrink. The earth cannot be expected to
sustain this expanding level of utilization of resources. Added to this is misuse of resources. We waste or pollute
large amounts of nature’s clean water; we create
more and more material like plastic that we discard after a single use; and we waste colossal amounts of food,
which is discarded as garbage.
Manufacturing processes create solid waste byproducts that are discarded, as well as chemicals that flow
out as liquid waste and pollute water, and gases that pollute the air. Increasing amounts of waste cannot be
managed by natural processes. These accumulate in our environment, leading to a variety of diseases and other
adverse environmental impacts now seriously affecting all our lives. Air pollution leads to respiratory diseases,
water pollution to gastro-intestinal diseases, and many pollutants are known to cause cancer.
Improving this situation will only happen if each of us begins to take actions in our daily lives that will help
preserve our environmental resources. We cannot expect Governments alone to manage the safeguarding of
the environment, nor can we expect other people to prevent environmental damage. We need to do it ourselves.
It is a responsibility that each of us must take on as one’s own.

NEED FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS: As the earth’s natural resources are dwindling and our environment is
being increasingly degraded by human activities, it is evident that something needs to be done. We often feel that
managing all this is something that the Government should do. But if we go on endangering our environment,
there is no way in which the Government can perform all these clean-up functions. It is the prevention of
environment degradation in which we must all take part that must become a part of all our lives.
Just as for any disease, prevention is better than cure. To prevent ill-effects on our environment by our actions,
is economically more viable than cleaning up the environment once it is damaged. Individually we can play a
major role in environment management.
We can reduce wasting natural resources and we can act as watchdogs that inform the Government about
sources that lead to pollution and degradation of our environment. This can only be made possible through
mass public awareness. Mass media such as newspapers, radio, television, strongly influence public opinion.
However, someone has to bring this about. If each of us feels strongly about the environment, the press and media
will add to our efforts. Politicians in a democracy always respond positively to a strong publicly supported
movement. Thus, if you join an NGO that supports conservation, politicians will make green policies. We are
Department of Civil Engineering, BKIT, Bhalki Dr. Rajashekar Matpathi. ME(Design), Ph.D. 2
 OPEN ELECTIVE – B ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT (18ME751)

living on spaceship earth with a limited supply of resources. Each of us is responsible for spreading this message
to as many people as possible.
Activities suggested for concerned students for creating awareness:
1. Join a group to study nature, such as World Wide Fund for Nature-India(WWF-I) or Bombay Natural
History Society (BNHS), or another environmental group.
2. Begin reading newspaper articles and periodicals such as ‘Down to Earth’, WWF-I newsletter, BNHS
Hornbill, Sanctuary magazine, etc. that will tell you more about our environment. There are also several
environmental websites.
3. Lobby for conserving resources by taking up the cause of environmental issues during discussions with
friends and relatives.
4. Practice and promote issues such as saving paper, saving water, reducing use of plastics, practicing the
3Rs principle of reduce, reuse, recycle, and proper waste disposal.
5. Join local movements that support activities such as saving trees in your area, go on nature treks, recycle
waste, buy environmentally friendly products.
6. Practice and promote good civic sense such as no spitting or tobacco chewing, no throwing garbage on
the road, no smoking in public places, no urinating or defecating in public places.
7. Take part in events organized on World Environment Day, Wildlife Week, etc.
8. Visit a National Park or Sanctuary or spend time in whatever nature you have near your home.

Institutions in Environment: Among the large number of institutions that deal with environmental protection
and conservation, a few well-known organizations include government organizations such as the Botanical
Survey of India (BSI)Calcutta. and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) Calcutta, and NGOs such as BNHS,
Bombay, WWF-I New Delhi, Environmental Education Centre (EEC), Madras, Centre for Environment
Education (CEE), Ahmedabad, Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research
(BVIEER), Pune, Salim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore etc.

Q.3 Explain Food Chains, Food Webs and Ecological Pyramid with skethes.
The transfer of energy from the source in plants through a series of organisms by eating and being eaten
constitutes food chains. At each transfer, a large proportion of energy is lost in the form of heat. These food
chains are not isolated sequences but are interconnected with each other. This interlocking pattern is known as
the food web. Each step of the food web is called a trophic level. Hence green plants occupy the first level,
herbivores the second level, carnivores the third level and secondary carnivores the fourth level. These trophic
levels together form the ecological pyramid.
FOOD CHAIN: The process of transfer of food (energy) from one organism to a series of organisms is called
as “food chain”. A food chain always starts with a plant life and end with animal life.

Thus, a food chain is a picture (or) model that shows the flow of energy from autotrophs (producers) to series of
organisms in an environment, as shown in the figure. Food chains are classified into three categories.

1. Grazing food chains: starts with green plants (producers) and goes to decomposer food chain (or) detritus
food chain through herbivores and carnivores Ex: 1. Grasses Grasshoppers Frog Snake Eagles
2. Green plants Deer Tiger (or) lion
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 OPEN ELECTIVE – B ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT (18ME751)

2. Detritus’ food chain: starts with dead organic matter (plants and animals) and goes to decomposer through
consumers. Detritus food chains, independent of solar energy, but they depend on influx of dead organic
matter. Ex: Dead Plants Soil mitts Algae Crabs Small fish Large fish
3. Parasitic food chain: operates in many ecosystems. In this food chain either consumer (or) producer is
parasitized and the food passes to smaller organisms. A parasitic food chain involves host parasite hyper
parasites’ links. Ex: Trees Fruit eating birds Lice & Bugs Bacteria Fungi

FOOD WEB: In a food web many food chains are interconnected, where different types of organisms are
connected at different tropic levels, so that there are a number of options of eating and being eaten at each tropic
level. Thus, there is an interconnecting of various food chains are called food webs and as shown in following
figure.

In contrast, a food web connects different food chains or the organisms distributed at different trophic levels of
our ecosystem. Each link in the food web is connected to at least two other relative organisms.
Differences Between Food Chain and Food Web:
Food Chain Food Web
refers to a single pathway that simply shows represents combinations of food chains and trophic levels
the energy and nutrient flow from one to four that constitute an ecological community where the organisms
trophic levels and finally to the decomposers. are linked with each other for food and survival
The pattern of a food chain follows a linear The pattern of a food web is generally depicted by a lattice
pathway arrangement where the different organisms are interrelated
with each other forming a net-like cycle
The organisms in a food chain are linked at Conversely, the interconnecting food chains constitute the
different trophic levels through a single chain food web.
Higher organisms in a food chain depend higher trophic level organisms of the food web feed upon a
upon a single kind of lower organism. variety of organisms associated with different kinds of
ecosystems

Ecological Pyramids: An ecological pyramid (trophic pyramid, Eltonian pyramid, energy pyramid, or food
pyramid) is a diagrammatic(graphical) representation designed to show the biomass or bio productivity at each
trophic level depicted in successive stages in a given ecosystem.
In an ecosystem, green plants – the producers, utilize energy directly from sunlight and convert it into matter. A
large number of these organisms form the most basic, or first ‘trophic level’ of the food pyramid. The herbivorous
animals that eat plants are at the second trophic level and are called primary consumers. The predators that feed
on them form the third trophic level and are known as secondary consumers. Only a few animals form the third
trophic level consisting of carnivores at the apex of the food pyramid. This is how energy is used by living
creatures and flows through the ecosystem from its base to the apex. Much of the energy is used up in activities
of each living organism.
Department of Civil Engineering, BKIT, Bhalki Dr. Rajashekar Matpathi. ME(Design), Ph.D. 4
 OPEN ELECTIVE – B ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT (18ME751)

Types of Ecological Pyramid

The importance of the ecological pyramid are

1. This pyramid shows the feeding of organisms in different ecosystems.
2. It shows the productivity of energy transfer.
3. With the help of this ecological pyramid it is easy to monitor the condition of the ecosystem.
4. These pyramids show how much energy is transferred from one level to another.
5. This pyramid shows how one organism is dependent on another in a particular ecosystem.

What is Ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and
landscape, work together to form a bubble of life. Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic
factors, or nonliving parts. ... Abiotic factors include rocks, temperature, and humidity.
Plants on land and in the ocean convert carbon dioxide to biomass (like leaves and stems) through
photosynthesis. The carbon returns to the atmosphere when the plants decay, are eaten and digested by animals,
or burn in fires. ... As ecosystems change under a changing climate, the carbon cycle will also change.

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 OPEN ELECTIVE – B ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT (18ME751)

Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems:

The carbon cycle plays a key role in regulating Earth's global temperature and climate by controlling the
amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. ... Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas, because it
helps Earth's atmosphere to retain heat generated from the Sun.
Carbon follows a certain route on earth, called the carbon cycle. Through following the carbon cycle we can also
study energy flows on earth, because most of the chemical energy needed for life is stored in organic compounds
as bonds between carbon atoms and other atoms.
During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide and sunlight to create fuel—glucose and other sugars—
for building plant structures. This process forms the foundation of the fast (biological) carbon cycle
Carbon is a fundamental part of the Earth system. It is one of the primary building blocks of all organic matter
on Earth and a key element in setting Earth’s temperature. Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the land, ocean,
and life through biological, chemical, geological and physical processes in a cycle called the carbon cycle.
Because some carbon gases are greenhouse gases, changes in the carbon cycle that put more carbon in the
atmosphere also warm Earth’s climate.

On the short time scale, the carbon cycle is most visible in life. Plants on land and in the ocean convert carbon
dioxide to biomass (like leaves and stems) through photosynthesis. The carbon returns to the atmosphere when
the plants decay, are eaten and digested by animals, or burn in fires. Because plants and animals are an integral
part of the carbon cycle, the carbon cycle is closely connected to ecosystems. As ecosystems change under a
changing climate, the carbon cycle will also change. For example, plants may bloom earlier in the year and grow
for more months (assuming sufficient water is present) as the growing season gets longer, altering the food supply
for animals in the ecosystem. If more plants grow, they will take more carbon out of the atmosphere and cool
temperatures. If, on the other hand, warming slows plant growth, habitats will shift and more carbon will go into
the atmosphere where it can cause additional warming.

Nitrogen Cycle and Ecosystems: All molecules of biological importance, except water, carbohydrates and fats,
contain nitrogen. Proteins, amino acids, chlorophyll etc. all contain nitrogen. Of total body dry weight, nitrogen
makes up almost 13%, which is the third-most abundant element after carbon (48%) and oxygen (24%).
The atmosphere contains approximately 78 per-cent nitrogen, mostly in gaseous form (N2), and thus forms the
greatest reservoir and safety valve of the system. However, this large reservoir of nitrogen in the air is not
directly available to plants, as the strong triple bond of atmospheric nitrogen makes it inaccessible.

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 OPEN ELECTIVE – B ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT (18ME751)

Nitrogen becomes accessible to organisms through biological transformation of gaseous nitrogen into nitrate
(NO−3) and ammonium (NH3). This form of nitrogen is referred to as ‘fixed’ nitrogen as it can now enter
biological processes. Most plants, thus, take in nitrogen as nitrate or ammonia. Animals produce their proteins
from food, while decomposers make it from dead animal and plant tissues.
During respiration, when proteins are broken down, a waste product containing nitrogen is produced. Some
organisms excrete ammonia directly as the usual cellu-lar waste, while many convert it to less toxic compounds.

Mammals convert ammonia to urea or uric acid. Such compounds are bro-ken down to ammonia by decomposers
to obtain energy. The entire process of nitrogen cycle, as given in Fig., can be summa-rised as shown:

Nitrogen Fixation:

In the nitrogen cycle, molecular nitrogen enters the biological pathways primarily through an assimilation by
certain microorganisms, particularly bac-teria, and also through lightning. Such a pro-cess is referred to as
nitrogen fixation.

Nitrogen fixation is carried out by cer-tain species of bacteria and cyanobacteria in both aerobic and anaerobic
environments. Some are free-living, occurring in soil or in water, while others exist in symbiotic rela-tionships
with higher plants.

Department of Civil Engineering, BKIT, Bhalki Dr. Rajashekar Matpathi. ME(Design), Ph.D. 7