Ecosystem
Very Short Answer
1. Write the difference between net primary productivity and gross productivity.
2. Write the equation that helps in deriving the net primary productivity of an ecosystem.
3. State what 'standing crop' of a trophic level represents.
4. How is 'stratification' represented in a forest ecosystem?
5. Consists of two statements, Assertion (A) and Reason (R).
Assertion (A): Decomposition process is slower if detritus is rich in lignin and cutin.
Reason (R): Decomposition is largely an oxygen-requiring process.
Answer the question selecting the appropriate option given below:
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is true, but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false, but (R) is true.
6. How are productivity, gross productivity, net primary productivity, and secondary
productivity related?
Mention four significant services that a healthy forest ecosystem provides.
OR
Substantiate with the help of one example that in an ecosystem mutualists:
(i) tend to co-evolve
(ii) are also one of the major causes of biodiversity loss.
7. How is humus formed? Mention any three characteristics of humus.
8. Write what do phytophagous insects feed on.
9. Identify the type of the given ecological pyramid and give one example each of pyramid of
number and pyramid of biomass in such cases.
10. Why is the pyramid of energy always upright? Explain.
11. Construct an age pyramid which reflects a stable growth status of human population.
12. Apart from being part of the food chain, predators play other important roles. Mention any
two such roles supported by examples.
13. Construct an age pyramid which reflects an expanding growth status of human population.
14. Explain the carbon cycle with the help of a simplified model.
15. Decomposition is faster if detritus is rich in nitrogen and water-soluble substances like
sugars. When is the decomposition process slower?
16. If we count the number of insects on a tree and the number of small birds depending on those
insects, as also the number of larger birds eating the smaller, what kind of pyramid of
numbers would we get?
17. Differentiate between Sere and Seral communities.
18. Who are generally the pioneer species in a Xerarch succession and in a Hydrarch succession?
19. Which metabolic process causes a reduction in the Gross Primary Productivity?
20. What percentage of photosynthetically active radiation is captured by plants?
21. Name the pioneers of primary succession in water.
22. Name any two man-made ecosystems.
23. Define stratification.
24. Name the ecological pyramid that is always upright.
Short Answer
1. Describe the inter-relationship between productivity, gross primary productivity, and net
productivity.
2. Differentiate between two different types of pyramids of biomass with the help of one example of
each.
3. Study the graph given and answer the questions that follow:
(i) Status of food and space in curves (a) and (b)
(ii) In the absence of predators, which one of the two curves would appropriately depict the prey
population?
(iii) Time has been shown on the X-axis, and there is a parallel dotted line above it. Give the
significance of this dotted line.
4. (i) What is primary productivity? Why does it vary in different types of ecosystems?
(ii) State the relation between gross and net primary productivity.
5. "In a food-chain, a trophic level represents a functional level, not a species." Explain.
6. State the function of a reservoir in a nutrient cycle. Explain the simplified model of the carbon
cycle in nature.
7. What is the shape of the pyramid of biomass in the sea? Why?
8. Give an example of an ecological pyramid which is always upright. Justify your answer.
9. Differentiate between primary succession and secondary succession. Which one occurs faster?
10. Gaseous nutrient cycle and sedimentary nutrient cycles have their reservoir. Name them. Why is a
reservoir necessary?
11. Differentiate between Hydrarch and Xerarch succession.
12. Why is secondary succession faster than primary succession?
13. Distinguish between upright & inverted pyramids.
14. Explain with an example, why is the length of a food chain in an ecosystem generally limited to 3-
4 trophic levels?
Long Question
1. Describe the advantages of keeping the ecosystems healthy.
2.(a) Explain how does a primary succession start on a bare rock and reach a climax community?
(b) How do algal blooms eventually choke the water body in an industrial area?
3. It is often said that the pyramid of energy is always upright. On the other hand, the pyramid of
biomass can be both upright and inverted. Explain with the help of examples and sketches.
4. Discuss the role of healthy ecosystem services as a pre-requisite for a wide range of economic,
environmental, and aesthetic goods and services.
5. (a) What is an ecological pyramid? Compare the pyramids of energy, biomass, and numbers.
(b) Write any two limitations of ecological pyramids.
15. (a) What is a trophic level in an ecosystem? What is 'standing crop' with reference to it?
(b) Explain the role of the 'first trophic level' in an ecosystem.
(c) How is the detritus food chain connected with the grazing food chain in a natural ecosystem?
16. (a) What is hydrarch succession?
(b) Compare the pioneer species and climax communities of hydrarch and xerarch succession
respectively.
(c) List the factors upon which the type of invading pioneer species depends in secondary hydrarch
succession. Why is the rate of this succession faster than that of primary succession?
[Link] the carbon cycle with the help of a simplified model.
Here is the alignment with continuous question numbers:
18. Briefly describe the biotic components of an ecosystem.
19. Give an account of factors affecting the rate of decomposition.
20. Sometimes due to biotic/abiotic factors, the climax remains in a particular serai stage (pre-climax)
without reaching climax. Do you agree with this statement? If yes, give a suitable example.