Our Environment
Biodegradable wastes-
o Wastes that can be broken down by biological processes are called Biodegradable.
o They are mainly produced mainly from plant and animal sources.
Decomposition of waste is accomplished by enzymes released by microbes in order digest
this organic waste and consume it.
Non-biodegradable wastes
o Wastes that cannot be broken by biological processes.
o They are usually man-made like plastic, metal etc.
Waste, is any unwanted, unused, and rejected material. Waste can be categorized according
to its source – municipal, agricultural, industrial etc.
In general, wastes are of three types – liquid, gaseous, and solid.
Management of solid wastes
Waste management includes collection, transport, processing, and disposal of waste
materials.
Measures for waste management
Separate bins (blue and green) can be used for disposing non-biodegradable and
biodegradable wastes respectively.
Reduction in the use of non-biodegradable products like plastic.
Separation of material, which can be reused or recycled.
The 7 principles of solid waste management i.e. Reuse, Refuse, Recycle, Rethink Reduce,
Research, Regulation and public awareness should be followed.
How can we reduce waste production?
Use of recyclable material reduces the generation of wastes to a large extent. Reduced
usage of materials, reusing of materials, and using recycled material will reduce the
generation of wastes.
Ozone
Ozone is a protective layer of gas in the stratosphere. Sunlight that reaches the Earth
consists of ultraviolet radiations, visible radiations and infrared radiations.
In recent years, the ozone layer has depleted rapidly. This is mainly due to an increased
concentration of chlorine in the stratosphere. One atom of chlorine can destroy around
100,000 molecules of ozone, which results in its depletion.
This chlorine is mainly produced by chlorofluorocarbons, commonly called freons, which
are widely used as refrigerants.
Ultraviolet light acts on CFCs in the stratosphere and releases chlorine atoms.
These chlorine atoms destroy the ozone molecules.
Consequences of Ozone depletion
Ozone depletion has occurred widely in the stratosphere, but is more prominent over the
Antarctic region. The depletion of ozone in this region has created an ozone hole.
It causes skin darkening, skin cancer, aging, and corneal cataracts in human beings. It can
even result in the death of many phytoplanktons.
Environment
Environment-natural surroundings and external conditions of an organism, which include
all living and non-living factors that affect the organism
Organism- is the basic unit of an ecological hierarchy, can be unicellular such
as Amoeba and paramecium or multicellular such as humans
Population- a group of individuals of the same species inhabiting a given geographical area
at a particular time and functioning as a unit
Community- includes all individuals of different species living within a certain
geographical area
Ecosystem- includes both living and non-living components of an area
Biosphere- The sum total of all ecosystems and their interactions
Components of an ecosystem
Abiotic factors- non living components like light, temperature, water, air etc.
Biotic factors-living organisms
Autotrophs or producers- organisms that can manufacture their own food from inorganic
raw materials, also known as producers
Heterotrophs-cannot synthesize their own food; dependent on other organisms for their
food requirements.
Herbivores or primary consumers - feed only on plants e.g., deer, horse, sheep etc.
Carnivores or secondary consumers - eat other animals e.g., frog, cat, spider etc.
Omnivores- feed on both plants and animals e.g. bear, man etc.
Decomposers-obtain nutrients by breaking down remains of dead plants and animals,
includes some bacteria and fungi.
Functions of an ecosystem
Productivity- rate of production of organic matter (food) by producers
Decomposition or recycling of nutrients - breakdown of organic matter or biomass with
the help of decomposers
Energy flow through an ecosystem
Trophic level - level of species in an ecosystem on the basis of the source of nutrition
Producers- form the first trophic level, they manufacture food trophic levels are connected
through food chains
Food chain- a linear sequence of organisms in which each organism is eaten by the next
member in the sequence e.g., plants → grasshopper → frog → eagle
Generalised Food chain
Producers → Herbivores or primary consumers → Carnivores or secondary
consumers → Omnivores or tertiary consumers → Decomposers
Food web-interconnected network of food chains
10% law of energy transfer- only 10% energy is transferred from a lower trophic level to
a higher trophic level, which means that energy keeps on decreasing as one moves up
different trophic levels
The graphical representation of energy exchange in the ecosystem is known as "Pyramid
of energy".
Since so little energy is available for the next trophic levels of consumers, food chains
generally consists of three or four trophic level.
Biomagnification-increase in the concentration of pollutants or harmful chemicals with
each step up in the food chain