Chapter 13 Our Environment

Introduction

→ Everything that surrounds us is environment. It includes both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic)
components.
→ Interaction between these biotic and abiotic components form an ecosystem.
→ In an ecosystem living components depend on each other for their food which give rise to food chains and
food webs in nature.
→ Human activities lead to environmental problems such as depletion of ozone layer and production of huge
amount of garbage.
1. Biodegradable Wastes: Substances that are broken down by the biological processes are said to be
biodegradable. These substances are decomposed through the actions of fungi, bacteria, and other
living organisms. Temperature and sunlight also play an important role in the decomposition of
biodegradable substances.
For Examples: Food waste, trees leaves, urine and fecal matter, sewage agricultural residue, paper,
wood, cloth, cow-dung etc.
2. Non-Biodegradable Wastes: Substances that are not broken down by biological
processes. These substances may be in solid, liquid or gaseous form. These substances are inert and
simply persist in the environment for a long time or may harm the various members of the ecosystem.
For Examples: These includes DDT (Di-chloro-di phenyl trichloro ethane-in-pheneyle the cheoro
ethane), insecticides, pesticides, mercury, lead, arsenic aluminum, plastics, polythene bags, glass,
radioactive wastes. These non-biodegradable wastes are major pollutants of the environment.

Harmful effects of biodegradable and Non-Biodegradable Substance

• The waste destroys the natural beauty and our surroundings become dirty.
• Decomposition of these wastes results in the production of foul smell, which spreads to the
surrounding areas.
• These wastes may also block the drains creating pools of waste, which becomes the breeding sites
of mosquitoes. The latter is carriers of diseases like malaria and dengue.

Ecosystem
→ All the interacting organisms in an area together with the non-living constituents of the
environment form an ecosystem. E.g., forest, pond etc.
Types of ecosystem
It is of two types
(i) Natural ecosystem: The ecosystem which exist in nature on its own.
Example: forest, lake, ocean.
(ii) Artifical ecosystem: Man-made ecosystems are called artificial ecosystem.
Example: crop field, aquarium, garden.
Components of Ecosystem: There are two components of an ecosystem :
(i) biotic component and (ii) abiotic component.

(i) Abiotic Components: All the non-living components such as air, water, land, light, temperature etc.
form the abiotic components.
(ii) Biotic Components: All the living components such as plants, animals, bacteria, fungi etc. form
the biotic components.
On the basis of nutrition biotic components are further divided into:
→ Producers: All green plants and blue-green algae can produce their own food using abiotic
components (photosynthesis), hence called producers.
→ Consumers: Include all animals which depend on producers directly or indirectly for their food.

1. Biotic component: It includes three types of organisms :

(a) Producers: All green plants, blue green algae can produce their food (Sugar and starch) from
inorganic substance using light energy (Photosynthesis). Therefore, all green plants are called
producers. They are also called autotrophs.
 Planktons are very minute or microscopic organisms freely floating on the surface of water in a
pond, lake, river or ocean. Planktons are of two types : Phytoplanktons and Zooplanktons.
The microscopic aquatic plants freely floating on the surface of water are called phytoplanktons.
The microscopic aquatic animals freely floating on water are called zooplanktons. The freely floating
protozoa are an example of zooplankton.

(b) Consumers: They are organisms which consume other organisms or their products as their food.
All animals belong to this category. The consumers depend upon producers for their food directly or
indirectly. They get their food by eating other organisms or their products. For example, man, goat,
deer, fish, lion, cow, buffalo, etc., are common consumers.
The consumers can be classified into the following types :
• Herbivores.
• Carnivores.
• Parasite.
• Omnivores.

(i) Herbivores: These are organisms (animals) which get their food by eating the
producers (or plant) directly. Herbivores are also called first order consumers.
Some common examples of herbivores are : deer, rabbit, rat, squirrel, goat, cattle,
etc.
(ii) Carnivores: These are organisms (animals) which consume other animals.
Therefore, carnivores feed on the flesh of herbivores. These are also called
primary carnivores or second order consumers. Some common examples are
snake, wild cat, jackal, frog, some birds, fishes, etc.
There are animals which prey upon primary carnivores. They are called second
order consumers or third order consumers. For example, owl, peacock, tiger, lion,
etc., are some second order carnivores and may be eaten by third order
carnivores. The carnivores which are not preyed upon further are called top
carnivores. For example, lion is a top carnivore.
(iii) Omnivores: The organisms which feed on both plants and animals are called
omnivores. Human beings are common example of omnivores because they eat
both plants (For example; pulses, grams, oilseeds, fruit, etc.) and animal products
(milk, meat, egg, etc.).

(c) Decomposers: Fungi and bacteria which break down (decompose) the dead plants, animals
complex compounds into the simpler one. The decomposers help in the replenishment of natural
resources. These are also known as microorganism or saprotrophs. These are also called reducers.
Importance of Decomposers
• Decomposers help in disposing of the wastes and dead bodies of plants and animals. Therefore, they
clean the environment and create space for a living of newer generations of organisms.
 • The decomposers release minerals and other raw materials trapped in organic matter. These are
picked up by plants. This also helps to maintain the fertility of soil.
• The decomposers produce some acids which are useful in solubilization of some minerals.
• Decomposers help in recycling the materials in the biosphere so that, the process of life may go on
and on like an unending chain.

2. Abiotic Components: These are non-living components of an ecosystem. These include the physical
environment.

• Edaphic factors like soil texture, topography, water, and air.

• Inorganic substances like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, water, phosphorus, sodium, potassium,
and calcium. These are involved in the cyclic of materials in the ecosystem.
• Organic compounds like proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. These largely form the living body and
link the abiotic and biotic components.

Climatic factors: These are sunlight temperature, pressure humidity, moisture, rainfall, etc. these factors
affect the distribution of the organisms.

Functions of an Ecosystem

• Ecosystem indicates available solar energy and the efficiency of an ecosystem to trap the same.
• It gives information about the available essential minerals and their recycling periods.
• It provides knowledge about the web of interactions and inter-relationship among the various
population as well as between the population and the abiotic environment.
• It helps human beings to know about conservation of resources, protection from pollution and inputs
required for maximizing productivity.
• In the ecosystem, two processes of energy flow and biogeochemical cycles (nutrients movement)
proceed side by side. The energy flow is unidirectional while the movement of nutrients is cyclic.

FOOD CHAIN: → Food chain is a series of organisms in which one organism eats another organism as
food. For example:

• Grass → Deer → Lion

→ In a food chain various steps where transfer of energy takes place is called a trophic level.
Examples of Food Chains:

Simple food chain operating in a grass land or forest

Grass(Producer) → Deer(Herbivore) → Lion(Carnivore)
In this food chain, grass represent the producers (first tropic level). Grass synthesize their own food by the
process of photosynthesis. Grass is eaten up by deer, which represents the herbivores or the primary
consumers. Deer in turn is consumed by lion, the carnivores or the secondary consumers.
A food chain in grassland which has four steps is :
Grass(Producers) → Insect(Herbivores) → Frog(Carnivores) → Eagle(Secondary Carnivore)

Significance of Food Chains

• The study of food chains helps in understanding food relationships and interactions among the
various organisms in an ecosystem. The food chains, transfer energy and materials between various
living components of an ecosystem.

• The food chains transfer energy and materials between various living components in an ecosystem or
biosphere.

• The food chains give dynamicity to an ecosystem or biosphere.

• The movement of toxic substances like pesticides, weedicides, etc., through food chains, can prove
very harmful.

Food Web: The inter-connected food chains operating in an ecosystem which establish a network of
relationship between various species, are called a food web.
In a food web, one organism may occupy a position in more than one food chain. An organism can obtain
its food from different sources and in turn, may be eaten up by different types of organisms.
Energy Flow and its Unidirectional Nature

• The energy flow through an ecosystem is unidirectional, meaning it moves from producers to
consumers and decomposers, never returning to the previous level.

• Once autotrophs capture energy from sunlight, it is progressively passed on but diminishes at each
trophic level.

• As a result, energy becomes less available as it moves up the food chain.

• In addition to energy loss, harmful chemicals can also travel up the food chain in a process known as
biological magnification.

• Chemicals used in agriculture, such as pesticides, can be absorbed by plants and eventually
consumed by animals and humans.

• Since these chemicals are non-biodegradable, they accumulate in increasing concentrations at each
trophic level, posing serious health risks to those at the top, including humans.

Trophic Levels: The various steps in the food chain at which the transfer of food (or energy) takes place is
called trophic levels.
There is a gradual decrease in the amount of energy transfer from one trophic level to the next trophic level
in a food chain.

So only 10% of energy is transferred to next trophic level while 90% of energy is used by present trophic
level in its life processes.
The various trophic levels are given below :

• The plant or the producers constitute the first trophic level.

 • The herbivores or primary consumers form the second trophic level.

• Carnivores or secondary consumers make up the third trophic level.

• Large carnivores or the tertiary consumers which feed upon the small carnivores constitute the
fourth trophic level.

Ten Percent law

• It was put forth by Lindeman (1942). It is also termed as the second law of thermodynamics or law
of entropy.

• According to this law, transfer of energy from one trophic level to another trophic level is never 100
percent.

• It is so because most of the energy gets lost as heat in the environment during each transfer. On an
average, about 10% of energy is actually available to the next trophic level.

Ten percent law states that only 10 percent of the energy entering a particular trophic level of organisms is
available for transfer to the next higher trophic level.

For example, Suppose 1000 J of solar energy is received by green plants, then only 1% of solar energy
available on earth is utilized by plants. So only 10 J (1% of 1000 J) is trapped by plants and the rest 990 J of
energy is lost to the environment. So, plants utilizes only 10 J of energy. Next, only 10% of the 10 J energy
of plant, that is, 1 J, is available to the herbivore animal while 9 J is lost to the environment. Again, just 10%
of the 1 J of energy of herbivore animals is utilized by carnivore animals. Thus, carnivore animals have only
0.1 J of energy while 0.9 J is lost to the environment.

• Biological magnification: The concentration of harmful chemicals increases with every next trophic level
in a food chain. This is called biological magnification.

→ Maximum concentration of such chemicals get accumulated in human bodies as human occupy the top
level in any food chain.

HUMAN IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

• Humans are an integral part of the environment, and our activities significantly impact it.

• Environmental degradation due to pollution, deforestation, and industrial waste has been well-
documented.

Changes in the environment affect us and our activities change the environment around us. This led to the
slow degradation of the environment that arose many environmental problems. For Example; depletion of
the Ozone Layer and waste disposal.

Ozone layer

• This is a protective shield in the upper atmosphere, and is critical in blocking the Sun's harmful
ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

• UV radiation can cause severe health issues, including skin cancer.

 • The ozone layer is formed when UV radiation reacts with oxygen molecules (O2), breaking them
apart into individual oxygen atoms. These atoms combine with other oxygen molecules to form
ozone (O3).

• However, human-made chemicals, especially chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), have caused significant

depletion of the ozone layer.

• CFCs, used in refrigeration and fire extinguishers, release chlorine atoms when they reach the upper
atmosphere. They react with ozone and break it down.

• Recognising the threat posed by CFCs, the international community agreed to limit their production
under the Montreal Protocol in 1987. Since then, efforts have been made to phase out CFCs and
manufacture CFC-free products to protect the ozone layer.

→ Ozone layer is a protective blanket around the earth which absorbs most of the harmful UV (ultraviolet)
radiations of the sunlight, thus protecting living beings from many health hazards such as skin cancer,
cataract, destruction of plants etc.

→ Ozone (O3) layer is present at higher levels of atmosphere (i.e. stratosphere). It is a deadly poison at
ground level.

Formation of ozone molecule

(i) The high energy UV radiations break down the O2 molecules into free oxygen (O) atoms.

O →(UV) O + O (atoms)

(ii) These oxygen atoms then combine with oxygen (O2) molecule to form the ozone molecule.

O2 + O → O3 (ozone)

Depletion of ozone layer

→ The decrease in the thickness of ozone layer over Antarctica was first observed in 1985 and was termed
as ozone hole.

→ This decrease was linked to excessive use of synthetic chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which
are used in refrigerators, ACs, fire-extinguishers, aerosols sprays etc.

→ United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) succeeded in forging an agreement to stop CFC
production at 1986 levels (KYOTO PROTOCOL) by all countries.

Garbage Disposal:

→ Improvements in lifestyle have resulted in accumulation of large amounts of waste materials.

Industrialization and rise in demand of consumer goods have created a major problem in the form of
wastes/garbage accumulation and its disposal especially in urban areas.

Types of materials in Garbage

(i) Biodegradable: Substances which can be decomposed by the action of micro-organisms are
called biodegradable wastes.
Example: fruit and vegetable peels, cotton, jute, dung, paper, etc.
 (ii) Non-biodegradable wastes: Substances which cannot be decomposed by the action of micro-
organisms are called non-biodegradable wastes.
Example: plastic, polythenes, metals, synthetic fibres, radioactive wastes, pesticides etc.
→ Micro-organisms release enzymes which decompose the materials but these enzymes are
specific in their action that’s why enzymes cannot decompose all the materials.

The disposal of waste should be done in a scientific way. There are different methods of waste disposal. The
method to be used depends on the nature of the waste. Some of the important modes of waste disposal
are :

• Incineration: Burning of waste on high temperature to form ash is called incineration. This process
is carried out in an incinerator. Incineration is used to destroy household, chemical and biological
wastes.

• Open dumping: A conventional method in which solid waste are dumped in selected areas of a
town. It actually cause pollution

• Land fillings: Wastes are dumped in low living areas and are compacted by rolling with bulldozers

• Composting: Organic wastes are filled into a compost pit (2m × 1m × 1m). It is then covered with a
thin layer of soil. After about three months the same garbage filled inside the pit changes into
organic manure.

• Recycling: The solid wastes is broken down into its constituent simpler materials. These materials
are then used to make new items. Even non-bio degradable solid wastes like plastic, metal can be
recycled.

• Reuse: A very simple conventional technique of using an item again and again. For example; paper
can be reused for making envelops, etc…