MODULE -03

ENVIRONMENT AND
ECOSYSTEM

PREPARED BY
Mr. PRASANNA
DCE, BE, M.TECH
 ENVIRONMENT
• Environment can be defined as a sum total of
all the living and non-living elements and their
effects that influence human life. While all
living or biotic elements are animals, plants,
forests, fisheries, and birds, non-living or
abiotic elements include water, land, sunlight,
rocks, and air.
NEED FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS
• Earth’s resources are dwindling and our environment is being
increasingly degraded by human activities and hence something
needs to be done.

• Government alone cannot perform all the clean-up functions.

• Individual/group efforts in their own every possible way has to be

made to protect our environment.

• Mass public awareness: newspapers, radio, television strongly

influences public opinion on conserving our environment.
• Interested students can join environmental group (WWF-I,
BNHS)

• Read environment related magazines such ‘DOWN TO

EARTH’, ‘WWF-I’, BNHS HORNBILL’, etc.

• Practice and promote good civic sense: no spitting, no tobacco

chewing, not throwing garbage on the road, etc.

• Take part in events organized on world environment day,

wildlife week, etc.

• Visit a national park or sanctuary, or spend time in whatever

nature you have near your home.
 ECOSYSTEM

• Ecology. Ecology is the study of ecosystems.

• Ecosystem. A group of organisms interacting
among themselves and with the environment is
known as ecosystem.
• Example: Animals cannot synthesis their
food directly but depend on the plants either
directly or indirectly
 ECOSYSTEM
• The term ecosystem
was first introduced by
A.G Tansley, an English
botanist in 1935.
 Structure of the Ecosystem
• The structure of an ecosystem can be split into
two main components, namely:
• Biotic components - components
consisting of living organisms
• Abiotic components - consisting of
elements that are not live or non living
organisms
• The biotic and abiotic components are
interrelated in an ecosystem.
Biotic and Abiotic Components
o Biotic components. The living organisms(or)
living members in an ecosystem collectively
forms its community called biotic components
or biotic community.
o Examples: Plants , Animals, Micro organisms
(decomposers)
o Abiotic Components. Abiotic components are
the non living components of an ecosystem.
o It includes air, water, oil, minerals, sunlight,
wind etc
Biotic Components or Living Organisms

Based on nutrition, biotic components can be

categorised into:-
Autotrophs (Producers)
Heterotrophs (Consumers)
 Saprophytes (Decomposers)
• Producers(autotrophs). Producers include all
types plants, shrubs as they can produce food
through the process of photosynthesis.
• Consumers(heterotrophs) are organism that
depend on other organisms for food.
• Decompsers(saprophytes). Decomposers
include fungus such as yeasts rusts, smuts,
mushrooms and bacteria. They directly thrive
on the dead and decaying organic matter.
Biotic Components or Living Organisms
 ENERGY FLOW
• Every ecosystems has several interrelated
mechanisms that affect human life. These are
1. Water cycle
2. The carbon cycle
3. The oxygen cycle
4. The nitrogen cycle
5. The energy cycle
 The Water Cycle:
• The water is the most
important component of
ecosystem. All living
organism used water to
grow and survive in an
ecosystem.
• The water cycle through
the atmosphere, soil,
rivers, lakes and oceans.
When it rains the water
runs along the ground and
flows into rive r or falls
directly into the sea.
• A same parts of the rain water that falls on land
percolates into the ground. Water is drawn up from
the ground by plats along with the nutrients from the
soil.
• The water is then transferred from the leaves as water
vapour and return to the atmosphere. But while this is
an endless cyclon which life depends, human
activities are making.
 THE OXYGEN CYCLE:
• Oxygen is absorbed by plants
and animals from the air
during respiration. Basically
the oxygen cycle is the
biogeochemical cycle of
oxygen within its four main
reservoirs.
• The atmosphere (air), the total
content of biological matter
within the biosphere, the
hydrosphere(the combined
mass of water found under and
over the surface of planet) and
the lithosphere.
• The main driving factor of the oxygen cycle is photosynthesis,
which is responsible for the modern earth atmosphere. So the
plant life plays an important role in our life, which we
frequently do not appreciate. This is an important reason to
participate in forestation programs.
 THE NITROGEN CYCLE:
• The nitrogen fixing
bacteria and fungi in the
soil give this important
element to plants which
absorb it as nitrates.
• These nitrates are part of
the plants metabolism,
which help in forming
new plant proteins.
• This is used by the
animals that feed on the
plants. The nitrogen in
them transferred to the
carnivores when they feed
on the herbivores.
• So, the nitrogen cycle describes how nitrogen moves between
plants, animals, bacteria, the atmosphere and soil in the
ground. So nitrogen is an important element for all lives on
earth. This cycle is biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is
converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among
atmosphere, terrestrial and marine eco system.
 CARBON CYCLE
• It is very important to all sea
system and ultimately life
on earth.
• On the earth living tissue
contains carbon because
they contain many types of
proteins, fats and
carbohydrates.
• The carbon in these (living
or dead) tissues is recycled
in the various process.
• So the carbon cycle, in
biology circulation of
carbon in various forms
through nature.
• Carbon hold all organic compounds and many of which
are essential for life on the earth. The source of the carbon
found in living matter is carbon dioxide in the air or
dissolved in water. All of mankind depends on the oxygen
generated through this cycle. It also keeps the Co2 at
acceptable levels.
• The carbon returns to the atmosphere when the plants
decay, eaten and digested by animals or burn in fires,
because plant and animals are an integral part of this
cycle, because both plants and animals release carbon
dioxide during respiration. They also return fixed carbon
to the soil. So as ecosystem change under a changing
climate, the carbon cycle will also be change.
 ENERGY CYCLE
• The energy
cycle describes the
interactions between
energy sources within
the Earth's environment.
These interactions are
very complex, and even
small changes in them
can lead to significant
changes in long-term
climate behavior.
 FOOD CHAINS
• Food chains will always start with a producer, a plant or
microorganism that can make its own food through photosynthesis,
the process of creating sugar and oxygen from water, carbon dioxide
gas, and sunlight.
• The next organism on every food chain will be the primary
consumer – a plant-eating animal, also known as an herbivore.
• Following the primary consumer are one or more additional
consumers, called the secondary (2nd) consumer tertiary (3rd)
consumer, quaternary (4th) consumer, etc….
• Secondary and higher consumers will always be omnivores or
carnivores. The final consumer on any food chain is also known as a
top predator, because it has no predators of its own.
• Visually represent food chains with a list of organisms connected by
arrows to show the movement of energy through food (see above).
• Food chains are also sometimes represented as pyramids (see
below), because it takes many producers to feed each primary
consumer, many primary consumers to feed each secondary
consumer, and so on.
• This is why ecosystems have many plants but few top predators.
Each layer on the pyramid represents a position in the food chain,
called a trophic level.
• Food chains vary in length. Some may be short, with as few as two
tropic levels. Others have more trophic levels due to many different
producers eating one another.
 FOOD WEBS
• Food chain is just one of the many paths that allow energy to flow
through an ecosystem.
• But ecosystems are more complicated than a single food chain:
every ecosystem includes many food chains that overlap and
connect.
• For example, several different herbivores might all feed on one large
field of grass. One predator might eat several types of prey to get
enough food. The result is a complex network of feeding
relationships between organisms in an ecosystem, called a food
web.
• Food webs map the many paths for the movement of energy
between all the organisms in an ecosystem.
• In addition to the producers and consumers, decomposers are an
important part of any food web.
• Decomposers are ecosystem members who have an
important role of recycling nutrients back into the soil.
• They consume waste and decaying plant and animal
matter. Usually, decomposers are fungi, micro organisms,
or invertebrate animals like worms. Thanks to
decomposers, nutrients are returned to the soil to help
plants grow.
The difference between food chains and food webs
• Food chains are a single path showing how energy moves
from organism to organism through an ecosystem, while a
food web is a more complex network that maps the
multiple feeding relationships of each organism in an
ecosystem.
 ENERGY PYRAMID
• An energy pyramid is a model that shows the flow of
energy from one trophic level to the next along a food
chain.
• The pyramid base contains producers—organisms that
make their own food from inorganic substances.
• All other organisms in the pyramid are consumers. The
consumers at each level feed on organisms from the level
below and are themselves consumed by organisms at the
level above.
• Most of the food energy that enters a trophic level is
“lost” as heat when it is used by organisms to power the
normal activities of life. Thus the higher the trophic level
on the pyramid, the lower the amount of available energy.
ENERGY PYRAMID
 Biotic Components or Living Organisms

 Consumers are further classified into primary

consumers, secondary consumers and tertiary
consumers.
Primary consumers are always herbivores
(veg)that they rely on producers for food.
Secondary consumers depend on primary
consumers for energy. They can either be a
carnivore (non veg) or an omnivore (veg &
non veg).
 Biotic Components or Living Organisms

• Tertiary consumers are organisms that

depend on secondary consumers for food.
Tertiary consumers can also be an omnivore.
• Quaternary consumers are present in some
food chains. These organisms prey (hunt) on
tertiary consumers for energy. Further more,
they are usually at the top of a food chain as
they have no natural predators.
 Abiotic Components or Non living Oranisms

• Abiotic components are the non-living

component of an ecosystem. It includes air,
water, soil, minerals, sunlight, temperature,
nutrients, wind, altitude, turbidity, etc.
 Types of Ecosystem

Mainly there are two types of ecosystems.

Terrestrial Ecosystem - Land based

 Aquatic Ecosystem - Water based
 Terrestrial Ecosystem

Terrestrial ecosystems are exclusively

land based ecosystems. There are different
types of terrestrial ecosystems around various
ecological zones.
 TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM
A terrestrial ecosystem
includes :-
 Forest Ecosystem
 Grassland Ecosystem
 Tundra Ecosystem
 Desert Ecosystem
 FOREST ECOSYSTEM
A forest ecosystem consists of several
plants, animals, and micro organisms that
live in coordination with the abiotic actors
of the environment. Forest help in
maintaining the temperature of the earth
and absorbs carbon dioxide
 1. CONIFEROUS FOREST
• As the name suggests,
the trees found in these
forests mainly consists
of cone-bearing trees
like the spruce, pine, fir,
and hemlock. These are
found mostly in the
northern parts of North
America, Asia, and
Europe.
 2. DECIDUOUS FOREST
• The trees of these forests
are broadleaved and are
shed between late summer
to early autumn. The
leaves are usually green
but later acquires yellow,
red and orange colours
gradually.
• These forests are found in
America, Western and
Central Europe, and
Northeastern Asia where
the winters are cold and
summers are warm.
 3. MIXED FORESTS
• Deciduous and
Coniferous trees as
both types constitute
mixed forests, which
are mostly found in
mountainous areas.
• These are found
almost every part of
the world.
4. MEDITERRANEAN FORESTS
• They are also called
scrublands as its
temperature is suitable
for short oaks and pines
to grow.
• The Mediterranean
forest contains a wide
variety of wildflowers
and insect-eating birds.
This forest is also
termed as “maquis”.
 5. TROPICAL RAINFOREST
• These forests are situated
in the areas with hot
temperatures like South
America, Africa, Asia
and Australia.
• Thus they are called
Tropical and due to
continuous rainfall
throughout the year, they
are called Rainforests.
• It is a habitat for various
insects, colourful birds
and mammals.
 Grassland Ecosystem
Grasslands are areas dominated by grasses. They
occupy about 20% of the land on the earth
surface.
Grasslands occur in both in tropical and
temperate regions where rainfall is not enough to
support the growth of trees.
Grasslands are found in areas having well-
defined hot and dry, warm and rainy seasons.
This ecosystem contains five types of grasslands
that are:
1. Desert Grasslands
2. Flooded Grasslands
3. Montane Grasslands
4. Tropical Grasslands
5. Temperate Grasslands
 Grasslands in India
• In India, grasslands are found as village grazing
grounds (Gauchar) and extensive low pastures of dry
regions of the western part of the country and also in
Alpine Himalayas.
• Perennial grasses are the dominant plant community.
• In the Himalayan mountains, there are high, cold
Himalayan pastures.
• There are tracts of tall elephant grass in the low-lying
Terai belt south of the Himalayan foothills.
• There are semi-arid grasslands in Western India, parts of Central
India, and the Deccan Plateau.

• Patches of shola grasslands that occur on hill slopes alongside the

extremely moist evergreen forests in South India.

• In some regions, grasslands also support a variety of other

herbaceous plants like sedges, legumes and members of the
sunflower family.

• Grasslands support numerous herbivores, from minute insects to

very large mammals.

• Rats, mice, rodents, deer, elephants, dogs, buffalo, tigers,

lions, ferrets are some common mammals of grasslands.

• In northeast India, the one-horned rhinoceros is amongst the

threatened animal of grassland in this region.

• A large number of avian fauna makes the grassland colourful.

 TUNDRA ECOSYSTEM

Tundra ecosystems are without trees and grass

found in cold climates or where rainfall is scarce.
These are covered with snow for most of year. The
ecosystem of Arctic, Himalaya are tundra type.
 AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
• Ecosystems present in a body of water. These
can be further divided into two types :-
– Freshwater Ecosystem
- Marine Ecosystem
 AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM

• Freshwater Ecosystem Fresh water

ecosystem includes that includes lakes, ponds,
rivers, streams and wetlands. These have no
salt content.
• Marine Ecosystem The marine ecosystem
includes seas and oceans. These water have
more salt content and greater biodiversity
when compared to freshwater ecosystem
• Lotic and Lentic eco system. A lotic
ecosystem are flowing (running) waters.
Examples include streams, rivers, springs,
brooks and channels.
• A lentic ecosystem has still waters. Examples
include ponds, basin marshals, ditches,
reservoirs ,lakes pools etc.
 IMPORTANCE OF ECOSYSTEM
• It provides habitants to wild plants and animals
• It promotes various food chains and food webs
• It controls essential ecological processes and
promotes lives
• Involved in the recycling of nutrients between
biotic and abiotic components
• It helps in maintaining the usual flow of energy in
an ecosystem including Carbon cycle, energy
cycle, nitrogen cycle, oxygen cycle and water
cycle