ECOSYSTEM
An ecosystem is a functional unit of nature, where living organisms
interact among themselves and also with the surrounding physical
environment.
Types of Ecosystems –
• Terrestrial - Forest, Grassland and Desert
• Aquatic – Pond, Lake, Wetland, River and Estuary
• Man-Made – Crop-fields, Aquarium
Ecosystem – Structure:
• Interaction of biotic and abiotic components result in a physical
structure that is characteristic for each type of ecosystem.
• Biotic Components - Identification and enumeration of plant
and animal species of an ecosystem give its species
composition.
• Stratification - Vertical distribution of different species
occupying different levels is called stratification.
• For example, trees occupy top vertical strata or layer of a forest,
shrubs the second and herbs and grasses occupy the bottom
layers.
Ecosystem – Functions
The components of the ecosystem function as a unit when
considering the following aspects:
(i) Productivity
(ii) Decomposition
(iii) Energy flow
(iv) Nutrient cycling
Example, Pond as an ecosystem –
Abiotic component - is the water with all the dissolved inorganic and
organic substances and the rich soil deposit at the bottom of the
pond. In addition, the solar input, the cycle of temperature, day-
length and other climatic conditions regulate the rate of function of
the entire pond.
Biotic component –
Autotrophic components -
(i) The phytoplankton, some algae
(ii) The floating, submerged and marginal plants found at the
edges.
Consumers –
(i) The zooplankton
(ii) The free swimming and bottom dwelling forms.
Decomposers –
(i) Fungi
(ii) Bacteria
(iii) Flagellates especially abundant in the bottom of pond.
This system performs all the functions of any ecosystem and of the
biosphere as a whole, i.e.,
(i) conversion of inorganic into organic material with the help of
the radiant energy of the sun by the autotrophs;
(ii) consumption of the autotrophs by heterotrophs;
(iii) decomposition and mineralisation of the dead matter to
release them back for reuse by the autotrophs.
These events are repeated over and over again.
There is unidirectional movement of energy towards the higher
trophic levels and its dissipation and loss as heat to the
environment.
PRODUCTIVITY –
The rate of biomass production is called productivity.
It is expressed in terms of gm–2 yr–1 or (kcal m–2) yr–1.
PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY SECONDARY PRODUCTIVITY
The amount (rate) of biomass or
organic matter produced per unit area The rate of formation of new organic matter by
over a time period by plants during consumers.
photosynthesis.
GROSS PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY (GPP) NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY (NPP)
The rate of production of organic matter Gross primary productivity minus respiration losses (R),
A during photosynthesis. A GPP – R = NPP
A considerable amount of GPP is utilised NPP is the available biomass for the consumption
B by plants in respiration. B to heterotrophs (herbivores and decomposers).
Primary productivity -
• Primary productivity depends on the plant species inhabiting
a particular area.
• It also depends on a variety of environmental factors,
availability of nutrients and photosynthetic capacity of
plants.
• Therefore, primary productivity varies in different types of
ecosystems.
Example –
• The annual net primary productivity of the whole biosphere is
approximately 170 billion tons (dry weight) of organic matter.
• Of this, despite occupying about 70 per cent of the surface, the
productivity of the oceans are only 55 billion tons. Rest of
course, is on land.
Decomposition –
The process of breaking down complex organic matter into inorganic
substances like carbon dioxide, water and nutrients and the process
is called decomposition.
RAW MATERIAL FOR DECOMPOSITION –
Detritus – (i) Dead plant remains like leaves, bark, flowers
(ii)Dead remains of animals
(iii)Fecal matter
Important steps in Decomposition –
1. Fragmentation
2. Leaching
3. Catabolism
4. Humification
5. Mineralisation
1. Fragmentation – Break down detritus into smaller particles
by detritivores. (e.g. earthworm and cockroach)
2. Leaching – Water-soluble inorganic nutrients go down into
the soil horizon and get precipitated as unavailable salts.
3. Catabolism - Bacterial and fungal enzymes degrade detritus
into simpler inorganic substances.
4. Humification –
(i) accumulation of a dark coloured amorphous substance
called humus.
(ii) It is highly resistant to microbial action and undergoes
decomposition at an extremely slow rate.
(iii) Being colloidal in nature it serves as a reservoir of
nutrients.
5. Mineralisation –
The humus is further degraded by some microbes and
inorganic nutrients are released from it by the process
known as mineralisation.
Factors affecting Decomposition-
Decomposition is largely an oxygen-requiring process.
The rate of decomposition is controlled by
(i) chemical composition of detritus
(ii) climatic factors
Effects of climatic factors –
(i) Temperature
(ii) Soil moisture
Both regulate decomposition through their effects on the
activities of soil microbes.
• Warm and moist environment – favour decomposition.
• Low temperature and anaerobiosis – inhibit
decomposition (resulting in build-up of organic materials)
Effects of chemical composition of detritus –
In a particular climatic condition,
• If detritus is rich in lignin and chitin – decomposition rate is
slower.
• If detritus is rich in nitrogen and water-soluble substances like
sugars - decomposition rate is faster.
ENERGY FLOW
Sun is the only source of energy for all ecosystems on Earth.
• Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)
Of the incident solar radiation less than 50 per cent of it is
photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).
• Utilisation by plants
Plants capture only 2-10 per cent of the PAR and this small amount of
energy sustains the entire living world.
• Unidirectional flow of energy –
➢ The solar energy captured by plants flows through
different organisms of an ecosystem.
➢ All organisms are dependent for their food on producers,
either directly or indirectly.
➢ So there is a unidirectional flow of energy from the sun to
producers and then to consumers.
• Producers in different ecosystems –
➢ The green plant in the ecosystem are called producers.
➢ In a terrestrial ecosystem, major producers are herbaceous and
woody plants.
➢ In an aquatic ecosystem producers are various species like
phytoplankton, algae and higher plants.
FOOD CHAIN
➢ Starts from the plants (or producers)
➢ In it an animal feeds on a plant or on another animal and in
turn is food for another. The chain or web is formed because of
this interdependency.
➢ No energy that is trapped into an organism remains in it forever.
The energy trapped by the producer, hence, is either passed on
to a consumer or the organism dies.
➢ Death of organism is the beginning of the detritus food
chain/web.
Consumers –
All animals depend on plants (directly or indirectly) for their food
needs. They are hence called consumers and also heterotrophs.
Types of consumers: -
1. Primary consumers –
➢ They feed on the producers, the plants. They are
herbivores.
E.g. –
➢ In terrestrial ecosystem - common herbivores are insects,
birds and mammals.
➢ In aquatic ecosystem -molluscs.
2. Secondary consumer – (Primary carnivores)
The consumers that feed on herbivores are carnivores.
Animals that eat other animals which in turn eat the plant (the
producers) are called secondary consumers.
3. Tertiary consumers – (Secondary carnivores) –
Animals that depend on the primary carnivores for food are
secondary carnivores.
TROPHIC LEVELS –
Based on the source of their nutrition of food, organisms occupy a
specific space in the food chain, that is known as their trophic level.
Example –
Grazing food chain (GFC) -
(i) Aquatic food chain
(ii) Terrestrial food chain
Detritus Food Chain (DFC) –
➢ Begins with dead organic matter.
➢ It is made up of decomposers which are heterotrophic
organisms, mainly fungi and bacteria.
➢ They meet their energy and nutrient requirements by degrading
dead organic matter or detritus.
➢ These are also known as saprotrophs (sapro: to decompose).
➢ Decomposers secrete digestive enzymes that breakdown dead
and waste materials into simple, inorganic materials, which are
subsequently absorbed by them.
➢
GFC DFC
Starts with green plants
A (producers) A Starts with dead organic matter/ detritus
Decomposers are not
B involved. B It is made up of decomposers (saprotrophs)
It is the major conduit for A much larger fraction of energy flows through the
energy transfer in aquatic detritus food chain than through the GFC in
C ecosystem. C terrestrial ecosystem.
Detritus food chain may be connected with the grazing food chain at
some levels:
➢ some of the organisms of DFC are prey to the GFC animals,
➢ in a natural ecosystem, some animals like cockroaches, crows,
etc., are omnivores.
Food Web –
The natural interconnection of food chains makes a food web.
STANDING CROP –
Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a particular
time called as the standing crop.
The standing crop is measured as the mass of living organisms
(biomass) or the number in a unit area.
The biomass of a species is expressed in terms of fresh or dry weight.
(Measurement of biomass in terms of dry weight is more accurate).
The number of trophic levels in GFC is restricted –
• The amount of energy decreases at successive trophic levels.
Organisms at each trophic level depend on those at the lower
trophic level for their energy demands.
• The transfer of energy follows 10 per cent law – only 10 per
cent of the energy is transferred to each trophic level from the
lower trophic level. (Rest 90% is released to atmosphere as
heat).
• Therefore after 3rd or 4th trophic level, no energy is left for
transfer.
ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS:
Express the food or energy relationship between organisms at
different trophic levels.
Types – (i) Pyramid of Number
(ii)Pyramid of Biomass
(iii)Pyramid of Energy
The base of each pyramid represents the producers or the first
trophic level while the apex represents tertiary or top-level
consumer.
Examples –
a) Pyramid of numbers in a grassland ecosystem.
Only 3 top-carnivores are supported in an ecosystem based on
production of nearly 6 millions plants.
b) Pyramid of biomass shows a sharp decrease in biomass at higher
trophic levels.
• In most ecosystems, all the pyramids, of number, of
energy and biomass are upright, i.e., producers are more
in number and biomass than the herbivores, and
herbivores are more in number and biomass than the
carnivores.
• Also energy at a lower trophic level is always more than at
a higher level.
Exceptions – Inverted pyramids
1. Pyramid of numbers in forest ecosystem –
• The number of insects which feed on a big trees is more than
the number of trees.
2. Pyramid of biomass in aquatic ecosystem (pond, sea) –
• Biomass of fishes far exceeds that of phytoplanktons.
Q. A given species may occupy more than one trophic level in the
same ecosystem at the same time.
for example, a sparrow is a primary consumer when it eats seeds,
fruits, peas, and a secondary consumer when it eats insects and
worms.
Pyramid of energy is always upright, can never be inverted – Why?
Reasons –
➢ In an ecosystem, when energy flows from a particular trophic
level to the next trophic level, some energy is always lost as
heat at each step.
➢ Transfer of energy follows 10% law, i.e. 90% is lost to
environment as heat and only 10% is transferred to the next
higher trophic level.
➢ Therefore, energy present in one trophic level is always less
than that of the previous level and thus the pyramid is always
upright.
Limitations of Ecological Pyramids
➢ It does not take into account the same species belonging to two
or more trophic levels.
➢ It assumes a simple food chain, something that almost never
exists in nature;
➢ It does not accommodate a food web.
➢ Moreover, saprophytes are not given any place in ecological
pyramids even though they play a vital role in the ecosystem.