ENVIRONMENT - SCOPE

• Environment is from the French word

ENVIRONER (means Encircle or Surround
[Biological & Non-biological])
• Sum total of WATER, AIR, AND LAND;
Inter-relationships among themselves and
also with human beings, other living
organisms and property.
• Environmental study is broadly listed as;
• Natural resources – their conservation and
management
• Ecology and Biodiversity
• Environmental Pollution and Control
• Social issues in relation to development and
environment
• Human Population and Environment.
• In 1991, Supreme Court of India issued a direction
to make all the curricula environment oriented.
• In 1992, UN (United Nation) Conference in
Environment and Development (held in Rio de
Janeiro), known as “Earth Summit”, followed by
‘World Summit’ on Sustainable Development (held
in Johannesburg, 2002) have highlighted key issue
of global environment concerns.

• [Quotes: If you plan for One Year, plant RICE

• If you plan for Ten Years, plant TREES;
and If you plan for Hundred Years, EDUCATE
people]
•
• NATURAL RESOURCES

• In earth life depends upon large number of things

and services provided by nature, known as
NATURAL RESOURCES
• Two types of Natural Resources:
• Renewable Resource: In exhaustive and can be
regenerated [eg. Forests, Wildlife, Wind energy,
Hydropower, Solar energy, etc.]
• Non-renewable Resource: Cannot be regenerated
[eg. Fossil fuels Coal, petroleum, minerals, etc.]
• MAJOR NATURAL RESOURCE:
• Forest resource
• Water resource
• Mineral resource
• Food resource
• Energy resource
• Land resource
ECO SYSTEM
 ECO SYSTEM
• Ecology was coined by Earnst Haeckel in 1869
• Derived from Greek word Oikos Home;
Logos Study
• Ecology deals with study of organisms in their
natural home interacting with their
surroundings.
• An eco system is a group of biotic
communities of species interacting with one
another and with their non-living
environment exchanging energy and matter.
• STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF AN ECO SYSTEM:

• I. BIOTIC STRUCTURES : Plants, animals and micro

organisms present in an eco system from the biotic
component
• (a) Producers: Mainly green plants Synthesize
their food themselves, known as Photosynthesis
also known as photo autotrophs.
• Some micro organisms can also produce organic
matter through oxidation of certain chemicals in the
absence of sunlight; they are known as
Chemosynthetic organism (or) chemo autotroph.
•
• (b) Consumers : All organisms which get their organic
food by feeding upon other organisms. Types:
• Herbivores [Plant Eaters] Feed directly on producers
also known as primary consumers [ Rabbit, Man, Insect,
etc]
• Carnivores [Meat Eaters] Feed on other consumers; If
feed on herbivores called as secondary consumers
[Frog}; If feed on other Carnivores called as Tertiary
consumers [snake, shark, etc.]
• Omnivores Feed on both plants and animals [Human,
Birds, Fox, ]
• Detritivores Feed on dead organisms and wastes of
living organisms [ Beetles, termites, earth worms, ]
•
•
•(C) Decomposers : They get
their nutrition by breaking down
the complex organic molecules
to simpler organic compound,
and ultimately into inorganic
nutrients [Bacteria, fungi, ]
• II. ABIOTIC STRUCTURES:

• (a) Physical Factors : Sunlight, Intensity of solar

flux, duration, av. Temperature, annual rainfall,
wind, latitude and altitude, soil type, water
availability, etc.
• (b) Chemical Factors: Availability of major
nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous,
potassium, hydrogen, oxygen, and sulphur.

• All the biotic components of an eco system are

influenced by the abiotic components and vice
versa.
• FUNCTIONAL ATTRIBUTES OF AN ECO
SYSTEM
• Food chain, Food Webs and Trophic
structure
• Energy Flow
• Cycling of Nutrients
• Primary and Secondary Production
• Eco system Development and
Regulation.
•TROPHIC STRUCTURE:

• The producers and consumers are

arranged in the eco system in a
definite manner and their
interaction along with population
size are expressed together as
Trophic Structure.
•
• FOOD CHAINS:

• Sequence of eating and being eaten in a eco

system is known as Food Chain.

• Grass Grasshopper Frog Snake Hawk

[Grass Land Eco System]
• Phytoplanktons Water Fleas Small Fish
Tuna [Pond Eco System]

• Two major types of Food Chains; 1. Grazing

Food Chain, 2. Detritus Food Chain.
•
 FOOD WEB
• A food web consists of all the food chains
in a single ecosystem. Each living thing in
an ecosystem is part of multiple food
chains.
• Each food chain is one possible path
that energy and nutrients may take as they
move through the ecosystem.
• All of the interconnected and overlapping
food chains in an ecosystem make up a
food web.
•

• ENERGY FLOW IN AN ECO SYSTEM

•

• Flow of an energy in an eco system takes place

through the food chain and this energy flow
keeps the eco system going. The flow of
energy follows the two laws of Thermo
Dynamics.
• First Law of Thermo Dynamics : I law of TD
states that energy can either be created nor
be destroyed but it can be transformed from
one form to another [eg. Solar energy green
plants bio chemical energy consumers]
•
•Second Law of Thermo Dynamics :
II law of TD states that energy
dissipates as it is used. As energy
flows through the food chain,
there occurs dissipation of energy
at every trophic level.
• ENERGY FLOW MODELS :

• Universal Energy Flow Model : Energy

flow through an eco system was
explained by E.P. Odum University of
Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA. As the
flow of energy takes place; there is a
gradual loss of energy at every level,
thereby resulting in less energy
available at next trophic level.
• Single Channel Energy Flow Model :
Flow of an energy takes place in a
unidirectional manner through a single
channel of green plants or producers to
herbivores and carnivores.
• Double Channel or Y Shaped Energy
Flow Model : In nature, both grazing
food chain and detritus food chain
operate in the same eco system.
• NUTRIENT CYCLING : Nutrients like Carbon (C), Nitrogen
(N), Sulphur (S), Oxygen (O), Hydrogen (H), Phosphorous (P),
etc. move in circular paths in an eco system.

• PRIMARY PRODUCTION : Primary productivity of an eco

system is defined as the rate at which radiant energy is
converted into organic substances by photosynthesis or
chemo synthesis by the primary producers. NPP =
GPP - R ; Where, NPP Net Primary Production ;
GPP Gross Primary Production; and R Respiratory Loss.

• SECONDARY PRODUCTION: Energy stored at consumer

level for use by the next trophic level is defined as secondary
production.
•
 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 eco
system known as climax.

• DIFFERENT TYPES OF AREAS or SUBSTRATA:

(1) Hydrarch or Hydrosere : Starting in watery area like pond, swamp, bog,
etc.
(2) Mesarch : Starting in an area of adequate moisture.
(3) Xerarch or Xerosere : Starting in a dry area with little moisture
• Three types of Xerarch:
✔ i) Lithosere starting on a bare rock
✔ ii) Psammosere starting on sand
✔ iii) Halosere starting on saline soil.
 PROCESS OF SUCCESSION
• PROCESS OF SUCCESSION : [Development takes place in a systematic order]

❖ 1. Nudation : It is the development of bare area without any life form

❖ 2. Invasion : It is the successful establishment of one or more species on a
bare area through dispersal or migration.
❖ 3. Competition and Coaction : As the number of individuals grows there is
competition, for space, water, nutrition, etc. T1hey influence each other in
a number of ways known as coactions.
❖ 4. Reactions : As living organisms grow, use water and nutrients from
substratum and have a strong influence on the environment. Modifications
are very often (reaction), that they become unsuitable for the existing
species, and favour new species, which replace them. Thus, reaction leads
to several Seral Communities.
❖ 5. Stabilization : Succession culminates in a more or less stable community
called Climax which is in equilibrium with the environment.
 MAJOR ECO SYSTEM TYPES
• FOREST ECOSYSTEM
❖ I) TROPICAL RAIN FOREST : 2) TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FORESTS :
❖ 3) TROPHICAL SCRUB FORESTS : 4) TEMPERATE RAIN FORESTS :
❖ 5) EVERGREEN CONIFEROUS FORESTS (BOREAL FOREST)

• GRASS LAND ECO SYSTEM : [Dominated by grass species, with few

trees and shrubs]
1) TROPHICAL GRASS LANDS :
2) TEMPERATE GRASS LAND :
3) POLAR GRASS LANDS (ARCTIC TUNDRA)

• DESERT ECO SYSTEM

Desert eco system occurs in region where evaporation exceeds the
precipitation. About 1/3rd of World’s land area is covered by Desert.
▪ 1) TROPHICAL DESERTS :
▪ 2) TEMPERATE DESERTS : 3) COLD DESERT :
 AQUATIC ECO SYSTEMS
• In aquatic ecosystems the water bodies and the
biotic communities present in them are either Fresh
water or Marine.
❖ FRESH WATER ECO SYSTEMS
❖ There are two types of fresh water eco systems.
1.. LENTIC standing type (Eg. Ponds / Lades), and
2. LOTIC Free flowing type (Eg. Rivers).

a) POND ECO SYSTEM :

b) LAKE ECO SYSTEMS :
 • STREAMS
❖ RIVER ECO SYSTEM : Rivers are large streams; Flow downwards from mountain high lands and flowing through the plains and
finally fall into the sea.
•
✔ THE MOUNTAIN HIGH LAND : This range of high land has cold, clear water rushing down as water falls with large amounts of
Dissolved Oxygen (DO).
✔ SECOND PHASE : In the second phase, there will be gentle slopes; where waters are warmer and support a luxuriant growth
of plants and less oxygen requiring for fishes.
✔ THIRED PHASE : In the third phase, the river waters are very rich in biotic diversity; they bring with them lot of silt rich in
nutrients; deposited in plains, and in the delta before reaching the ocean.
•

• OCEANS
• Oceans are the major sinks of carbon dioxide and regulates biogeochemical cycles, hydrological cycle and
regulate earth’s climate.
•
COASTAL ZONE : OPEN SEA :away from continental shelf. It is vertically divided into 3 regions.
1. EUPHOTIC ZONE: Receives abundant light and shows high photosynthetic activity.
2. BATHYAL ZONE : Receives dim light and is geologically active.
3. ABYSSAL ZONE : Dark zone, 2000 to 5000 meter deep. Has no solar energy.

• ESTUARY Estuary is the partially enclosed coastal area at the mouth

of a river where fresh water and salty sea water meets.
• The organisms present in estuaries show a wide range of tolerance to
temperature and salinity, known as Eurythermal and Euryhaline.
✔ The regions have a rich biodiversity; high productive eco systems.
✔ Estuaries are of much use to human beings due to their high food potential.