ECOSYSTEMS
Definition: The living community of plants and animals in any area together with the non-
living components of the environment such as soil, air and water constitute the ecosystem.
An ecosystem may be as small as a drop of pond water (micro ecosystem) or as large as an
ocean. It can be of temporary nature, e.g., a fresh pool or a field of cultivated crops, or
permanent, e.g., a forest or an ocean
Structure of an ecosystem:
Composition and organization of biological communities and abiotic components constitute the
structure of an ecosystem.
1. Biotic components: The plants, animals and microorganisms present in an ecosystem form
the biotic component, where living organisms are distinguished on the basis of their
nutritional relationships.
a. Producers (autotrophic component): These are mainly the green plants, which can
synthesize their food themselves by making use of carbondioxide present in the air and
water in the presence of sunlight by involving chlorophyll, through the process of
photosynthesis. They are also known as photoautotrophs.
There are some microorganisms which can produce organic matter to some extent
through oxidation of certain chemicals in the absence of sunlight. They are known as
chemo-autotrophs. Ex: In the ocean depths, where there is no sunlight, chemo-
autotrophic sulphur bacteria make use of the heat generated by the decay of radioactive
elements present in the earth’s core and released in ocean’s depths. They use this heat to
convert dissolved H2S and CO2 into organic compounds.
b) Consumers (heterotrophic component): All organisms which get their organic food by
feeding upon other organisms are called consumers, which are of the following types:
i. Herbivores: They feed directly on producers and hence also known as primary
consumers. Ex: Rabbit, insect, man.
ii. Carnivores: They feed on other consumers. If they feed on herbivores they are called
secondary consumers. Ex: Frog. If they feed on other carnivores (snake, big fish, etc)
they are known as tertiary consumers.
iii. Omnivores: They feed on both plants and animals. Ex: Humans, rat, fox, many
birds.
iv. Detritivores: They feed on the parts of dead organisms, wastes of living organisms,
their cast-offs and partially decomposed matter. Ex: Beetles, termites, ants, crabs,
earthworms, etc.
c) Decomposers: They derive their nutrition by breaking down the complex organic
molecules to simpler organic compounds and ultimately into inorganic nutrients. Various
bacteria and fungi are decomposers.
In all the ecosystems, this biotic component prevails.
2. Abiotic components: The physical and chemical factors of an ecosystem constitute its
abiotic component. It includes climatic factors, edaphic (soil) factors, geographical factors,
energy, nutrients and toxic substances.
a. Physical factors: The sunlight and shade, intensity of solar flux, duration of sun hours,
maximum-minimum temperature, average temperature, annual rainfall, wind, latitude and
altitude, soil type, water availability, etc are some of the important physical features
which have a strong influence on the ecosystem.
b. Chemical factors: Availability of major essential nutrients like carbon, nitrogen,
phosphorus, potassium, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur, level of toxic substances, salts
causing salinity and various organic substances present in the soil or water largely
influence the functioning of the ecosystem.
All the biotic components of an ecosystem are influenced by the abiotic components and vice-
versa, and they are linked together through energy flow and matter cycling