ECOSYSTEM — SHORT NOTES
1. Ecosystem — Basics
● Ecosystem: functional unit of nature where living organisms interact with each other and with the physical environment.
● Entire biosphere = global ecosystem.
● Components: biotic + abiotic, interacting as a unit.
● Stratification = vertical distribution of species at different layers (e.g., forest: trees → shrubs → herbs/grasses).
Types of Ecosystem
● Terrestrial: forest, grassland, desert, etc.
● Aquatic: pond, lake, wetland, river, estuary.
● Man-made: crop fields, aquarium.
Pond Ecosystem (example)
● Abiotic: water & soil. Climatic: solar input, temperature cycle, day-length.
● Autotrophs: phytoplankton, algae, floating/submerged/marginal plants.
● Consumers: zooplankton, free-swimming & bottom-dwelling animals.
● Decomposers: fungi, bacteria, flagellates.
2. Four Basic Components of Ecosystem Function
● Productivity, Decomposition, Energy flow, Nutrient cycling.
A. Productivity
● Primary production = biomass produced per unit area/time by plants via photosynthesis (g/m² or kcal/m²).
● Productivity = rate of biomass production (g/m²/yr).
● GPP = total rate of organic matter production in photosynthesis.
● NPP = GPP − Respiration losses (R); available to heterotrophs.
● Secondary productivity = rate of new organic matter formation by consumers.
● Depends on: plant species, environmental factors, nutrients, photosynthetic capacity.
● World annual NPP ≈ 170 billion tons; oceans (70% of surface) contribute only 55 billion tons.
B. Decomposition
● Breakdown of complex organic matter into inorganic substances (CO₂, water, nutrients); mostly oxygen-requiring.
● Raw material = Detritus (dead plant/animal remains, faecal matter).
● Steps: Fragmentation (by detritivores e.g. earthworm) → Leaching (nutrients dissolve into soil) → Catabolism (microbial
enzymes degrade detritus) → Humification (accumulation of humus, resists microbial action, nutrient reservoir) → Mineralization
(release of inorganic nutrients from humus).
● Faster with: nitrogen & water-soluble substances, warm & moist conditions.
● Slower with: lignin/chitin-rich detritus, low temperature, anaerobiosis (→ organic matter buildup).
C. Energy Flow
● Sun = only energy source (except deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystems).
● < 50% incident radiation is PAR (photosynthetically active radiation); plants capture only 2–10% of PAR.
● Ecosystems obey 2nd Law of Thermodynamics — need constant energy input to counter entropy.
● Producers: terrestrial → herbaceous/woody plants; aquatic → phytoplankton, algae, higher plants.
● Consumers: Primary (herbivores), Secondary (primary carnivores), Tertiary (secondary carnivores).
● Food chain = feeding sequence between organisms. Two types:
○ Grazing Food Chain (GFC): starts from living plants, e.g. Grass → Goat → Man.
○ Detritus Food Chain (DFC): starts from dead organic matter, e.g. Dead leaves → Woodlouse → Blackbird.
● Aquatic ecosystem: GFC dominant. Terrestrial ecosystem: more energy flows via DFC.
● Interconnected food chains = food web (omnivores like crow, cockroach, man link GFC & DFC).
● Trophic level = specific position in food chain (functional, not species-specific — a species may occupy >1 level, e.g. sparrow
eating seeds = primary consumer; eating insects = secondary consumer).
● Standing crop = amount of living material at a trophic level (measured as biomass — fresh/dry weight, or number).
● 10% Law: only ~10% of energy transfers to next trophic level → restricts number of trophic levels in GFC.
3. Ecological Pyramids
● Representation of food chain as a pyramid; base = producers, apex = top consumer.
● Three types: Pyramid of Number, Biomass, Energy.
● Pyramid of Number: usually upright (e.g. grassland); inverted for insects feeding on one big tree.
● Pyramid of Biomass: usually upright (sharp decrease at higher levels); inverted in sea — small phytoplankton biomass supports
larger zooplankton biomass.
● Pyramid of Energy: always upright — energy is lost as heat at every transfer, never reversed.
● Limitations: ignores a species at multiple trophic levels; assumes simple food chain (no food web); excludes
saprophytes/decomposers.
4. Ecological Succession
● Gradual, slow, predictable change in species composition of an area → climax community (in equilibrium with environment).
● Sere = entire sequence of changing communities; seral stages = individual transitional communities; pioneer species = first
colonizers.
● Succession → change in diversity, increase in number of species/organisms & total biomass. Succession & evolution are parallel
processes.
Primary vs Secondary Succession
● Primary succession: on areas where no life existed before (bare rock, new pond, cooled lava); needs soil formation first → very
slow.
● Secondary succession: after existing organisms are lost (abandoned farmland, burnt/cut forest, flooded land); soil already present
→ faster.
Succession in Plants
● Hydrarch: in wetter areas, hydric → mesic. Sequence: Phytoplankton → submerged plants → free-floating plants → reed-swamp
→ marsh-meadow → scrub → forest.
● Xerarch: in dry areas, xeric → mesic. Sequence: Lichens (pioneers, secrete acids to weather rock) → bryophytes → herbs/shrubs
→ forest.
● Both types converge to mesic climax community.
● Disturbances (deforestation, fire) can reset a seral stage to an earlier one.
5. Nutrient Cycling (Biogeochemical Cycles)
● Standing state = amount of nutrients (C, N, P, Ca) in soil at a given time; varies by ecosystem & season.
● Nutrients are never lost — continuously recycled.
● Two types: Gaseous cycle (reservoir = atmosphere; e.g. C, N) and Sedimentary cycle (reservoir = Earth's crust; e.g. S, P).
Carbon Cycle
● Reservoirs: atmosphere (~1%), organisms (49% dry wt), oceans (71% dissolved carbon — regulates atmospheric CO₂), fossil fuels.
● ~4×10¹³ kg carbon fixed annually via photosynthesis; returns via respiration & decomposition.
● Human activities (deforestation, fossil fuel burning) increase atmospheric CO₂ release.
Phosphorus Cycle
● Phosphorus needed for membranes, nucleic acids, energy transfer (ATP); animals use it for shells, bones, teeth.
● Natural reservoir = rock (phosphates); released by weathering → soil solution → uptake by plants → consumers → detritus →
decomposition (phosphate-solubilising bacteria).
● No significant gaseous phase (unlike carbon cycle).
6. Ecosystem Services
● Products of ecosystem processes = ecosystem services (e.g., purify air & water, mitigate floods/droughts, cycle nutrients, generate
fertile soil, provide habitat, maintain biodiversity, pollinate crops, carbon storage, aesthetic/cultural value).
● Robert Costanza & colleagues valued global ecosystem services at ~US $33 trillion/year (~2× global GNP of $18 trillion).
● Soil formation ≈ 50% of this value; recreation & nutrient cycling <10% each; climate regulation & wildlife habitat ~6% each.