ECOSYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION:

• The term ecology is originated from two Greek words (eco) – means “house” (or)
place of living and “ology” means “the science of (or) the study of. Hence, ecology is
the branch of science that deals with the study of the pattern of relations between the
organism and their environment.

• Ecology is the study of interactions among organisms (or) group of organisms with
their environment.

• Ecology is the study of ecosystems.

 ECO SYSTEM:

 The term “eco system” is made up of two Greek words. “Eco” means ecological sphere
(or) house (or) place of living (or) surroundings (or) Environment, where living organism
does exist while “system” means “group of organisms joined in regular and interdependent
manner. Hence,
 A group of organisms interacting among themselves and with environment is known as
ecosystem.

 A system of interaction of organisms with their surroundings (i.e., environment) is called

as “ecosystem”.

Examples: lake, ocean, forest and desert…. Etc are some of the examples of the ecosystems.
FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ECOLOGY
STRUCTURE:
 Living /Biotic
 Non-Living /Abiotitic

PROCESS:
 Energy flow
 Cycling of matter

CHANGE:
 Dynamic (Not static)
 Succession etc.

FUNCTION:
 Food chain
 Food web
 Ecological pyramids
 Energy Flow
 Cycling of matter
 CHARACTERISTICS OF ECOSYSTEM

 Eco system is the basic functional unit of ecology.

 It contains both biotic and abiotic components.
 The function of ecosystem is related to the cycling of matter (materials) and flow of
energy.
 The amount of energy needed to maintain an ecosystem depends on its structure.
 Ecosystem passes from a less complex state to more complex state, which is called as
“ecological succession”.

 The amount of energy needed to maintain an ecosystem depends on its structure.

 CLASSIFICATION OF ECOSYSTEM:

 The ecosystem can be generally classified into two types:

1. Natural Ecosystem
2. Artificial Eco system
1. NATURAL ECOSYSTEM:
 A natural ecosystem is developed and governed by nature.
 These are capable of operating and maintaining themselves without any
major interference by man.
 The following are the two types of natural ecosystem based on their habitat.

1. Terrestrial Ecosystem.
2. Aquatic Ecosystem.
1) Terrestrial Ecosystem:
 This ecosystem is related to land.
Examples: Grassland ecosystem.
Forest ecosystem, and
Desert ecosystem etc.

2) Aquatic Ecosystem:
 This ecosystem is related to water, it is further sub divided into two types based on salt content.

i. Fresh Water Ecosystem:

a. Running Water Ecosystems

Examples: Rivers, streams (small narrow rivers)

b. Standing Water Ecosystems

Examples: Pond, lake & well, etc

ii. Marine Ecosystem:

Examples: seas and sea shores <land along the edges of sea
2. MAN MADE (OR) ARTIFICIAL ECOSYSTEM:

An artificial ecosystem is created and maintained by man for his different needs.
Examples: Reservoirs, Artificial lakes and gardens, etc.
 STRUCTURE (OR) COMPONENTS OF AN ECOSYSTEM:

 The term structure refers to various components. So, the structure of an

ecosystem explains the relationship between the abiotic (non-living) and the biotic
(living) components.

 Each and every ecosystem has two major components are:

1. Biotic (living) components.
2. Abiotic (Non-living) components.
 STRUCTURE (OR) COMPONENTS OF AN
ECOSYSTEM:

1. Biotic Components: The living component of an ecosystem is called “Biotic

component”.
Examples: Plants (Producers)

Animals (Consumers) and

Micro Organisms (Decomposers)
The biotic components of an ecosystem are classified into three types based on how they get their food.
A. Producers : Plants
B. Consumers : Animals
C. Decomposers : Micro organisms.

A. Producers
 Self food producing organisms are known as autotrophs.

Examples: All green plants and trees.

 Producers synthesize their food themselves through photosynthesis. Hence they are also called “Photo
autotrophs”. (photo = light)

B. Consumers
 Consumers are organisms, which cannot prepare their own food and depend directly (or) indirectly on the
producers.
Examples: Plant Eating Species: Insects, rabbit, goat, deer, cow, etc.
Animals Eating Species: Fish, lions, tigers, etc.
 Depending upon the food habits the consumers are divided into four types.
i. Herbivores (or) Primary Consumers (Plant Eaters)
ii. Carnivores (or) Secondary Consumers (Meat Eaters)
iii. Omnivores (or) Tertiary Consumers (With plant & meat eaters)
iv. Detritivores (dead organism eaters)

i. Herbivores: (Herbi = the green plant & Vorare = to devour)

 Animals that eat only plants are called Herbivores.
 They directly depend on the plants for their food. So they are called Plant eaters.

Examples: Insects, goat, deer, cow, horse, etc.

ii. Carnivores: (Carne = flesh meat & Vorare = to devour)
 Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores.
They directly depend on the herbivores for their food.

Examples: Frog, cat, snake & foxes, etc.

iii. Omnivores: (Omni = whole comes from “ohm” & Vorare = to devour)
 Animals that eat both plants and animals are called omnivores.
 They depend on both herbivores and carnivores for their food.

Examples: humans, tigers, lions, rats and fox etc.

iv. Detritivores: (Detritifeeder)
 Animals that eat dead organisms and waste of living are called detritivores.

Examples: beetles, termites, ants, crabs, earthworms, etc.

C. Decomposers (or) Saptrotrophs: (Sapros = Rotten, trophos = feeder)
 Decomposers attack the dead bodies of producers and consumers and decompose them into simple
compounds. During the decomposition inorganic nutrients are released.
 The organisms which break down the complex compounds into simple products are called decomposers (or)
reducers.

Examples: micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi, etc.

2. Abiotic Components:
 The non-living component of an ecosystem is called “abiotic component”
 These non-living components enter the body of living organism, take part in metabolic
activities and then return to the environment. The abiotic component of the ecosystems
divided into three portions.
1. Climate factors : Solar radiation, temperature, wind, water current, rainfall, etc.
2. Physical factors : light, fire, soil, air, etc.
3. Chemical factors : Organic and Inorganic substances.
 FUNCTION OF AN ECOSYSTEM:
 The function of an ecosystem is related to the cycling of materials (matter) and flow of
energy.

2.6.1 Types of functions:

 Functions of an ecosystem are of three types:
1. Primary Function: The producers (plants) can make their food themselves through
photosynthesis. This process is called primary function of eco system.

Examples: All green plants and trees.

2. Secondary Function: The consumers (animals and humans) cannot make their own food.
They are always depending upon the producers for their energy. This is called secondary
function of eco system.
3. Tertiary Function: Decomposers attack the dead bodies of consumers and producers and
decompose them into simpler compounds. During the decomposition inorganic nutrients are
released.
A. Food chains
B. Food webs
C. Food pyramids (or) Energy pyramids
D. Energy and material flow.
A. Food Chain:
 Anything which we eat to live is called food.
 Food contains energy.
 Food can be transferred from one organism to the other.
 The process of transfer of food (energy) from one organism to a series of organisms is called as
“food chain”.
 A food chain always starts with a plant life and end with animal life. Thus, a food chain is a picture
(or) model that shows the flow of energy from autotrophs (producers) to series of organisms in an
environment, as shown in the following figure.
Infact, all the food chains starts with the sun. The sun provides energy for plants.

 The producers (plants) can make their food themselves with the help of the sunlight, water and air. The
consumers, including animals and humans, cannot make their own food. They are always depending upon the
producers for their energy.

 Decomposers are the micro-organisms that break down the dead animals and plants and release nutrients that
become part of the soil, which are re-used by new plants, back to the starting point of the food chain.
 Food Web:

 Web means “network” such as spider’s web, World Wide Web (WWW)
etc.

 So, food web is a network of food chains.

 In a food web many food chains are inter connected, where different types
of organisms are connected at different tropic levels, so that there are a
number of options of eating and being eaten at each tropic level. Thus, there
is a inter connecting of various food chains are called food webs
These linear food chains are inter connected with other food chains operating in the
eco system to form a food web. The grazing food chains are as follows:
 Grains Mouse Cat
 Grains Mouse Hawk
 Grains Mouse Snake Hawk
 Grains Insect Sparrow Hawk
 Grass Insect Lizard Snake Hawk
 Grass Insect Sparrow Snake Hawk

The above food web is a simple one. Much more complex food webs do exist in
nature.
 Ecological Pyramids:

 The concept of ecological pyramids was first developed by British ecologist Charles
Elton in 1927.

 Ecological pyramids are the diagrammatic representation of tropic structures in which the
tropic levels (i.e., tiers) are depicted in successive stages.

 An ecological pyramid is shown in the following figure.

 TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS
1. FOREST ECOSYSTEM

Definition: It is a natural ecosystem consisting of dense growth of trees and wild animals
Types:
1. Tropical – evergreen, wet green
2. Sub tropical

Characteristics:
Abiotic: soil, sun light, temperature etc
Biotic : forest trees, shrubs and animals Structure:
Producer : Trees and shrubs
Consumer : Primary – elephants, deer etc.
Secondary – snakes, birds, lizards etc
Tertiary – lions, tigers etc
Decomposers : fungi, bacteria
2. AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM :-

Definition:
Deals with water bodies and biotic communities present in them-Classified as fresh water
and marine ecosystems. Fresh water systems are classified as lentic and lotic ecosystems.

Types:

A. Pond ecosystem: Small fresh water ecosystem – seasonal in nature – organisms: algae, aquatic plants,
insects, fishes etc. Ponds are very often exposed to anthropogenic pressure like cloth washing, bathing, cattle
bathing, swimming etc.
B. Lake ecosystem: Big fresh water ecosystem – Zonation or stratification, especially during summer is a
common one.

Top layer – shallow, warm, prone to anthropogenic activities – Littoral zone

Second layer – enough sunlight, high primary productivity – Limnetic zone
Third layer – very poor or no sunlight – Profundal zone
Eg. Dal lake in Srinagar, Naini lake in Nainital
 GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM:

Dominated by grass – few shrubs and trees are also found – rainfall average but erratic –
overgrazing leads to desertification.
Three types – depending on the climate

a. Tropical grass lands – found near the boarders of tropical rain forests. Eg. Savannas in
Africa. Animals – Zebra, giraffes etc. – fires are common in dry seasons – termite mounds
produce methane – leads to fire – high in photosynthesis – deliberate burning leads to
release of high CO2 – global warming.

b. Temperate grasslands – flat and gentle slopes of hills. Very cold winter and very hot
summer - dry summer fires do not allow shrubs and trees to grow – soil is quite fertile –
cleaned for agriculture.

c. Polar grasslands – found in arctic polar region – organism – arctic wolf, fox, etc. – A thick
layer of ice remains frozen under the soil surface throughout the year – known as permafrost
– summer insects and birds appear.
 BIODIVERSITY

 Biodiversity is the abbreviated word for ―biological diversity (bio-life or living

organisms, diversity-variety). Thus biodiversity is the total variety of life on our planet, the
total number of races, varieties and species. The sum of total of various types of microbes,
plants and animals (producers, consumers and decomposers) in a system.

 Biomes can be considered life zones, environment with similar climatic, topographic and
soil conditions and roughly comparable biological communities (Eg. Grassland, forest). The
biomes shelter an astounding variety of living organisms (from driest desert to dripping rain
forest, from highest mountain to deepest ocean trenches, life occurs in a marvelous
spectrum of size, shape, colour and inter relationship). The variety of living organisms, the
biodiversity, makes the world beautiful.
 LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY
 The concept of biodiversity may be analyzed in 3 different levels. They are
1. Ecosystem diversity
2. Species diversity
3. Genetic diversity
1. Community or Ecosystem diversity
 A set of biotic components (plants, animals and microorganisms) and abiotic components
(soil, air, water, etc) interacting with each other is known as an ecosystem.
 Ecosystem or ecological diversity means the richness and complexity of a biological
community, including tropic levels, ecological processes (which capture energy), food webs
and material recycling.

The diversity at an ecological level or habitat level is known as ecosystem diversity. Ex: River
ecosystem- Rivers include fish, aquatic insects, mussels and a variety of plants that have
adapted.
 Ecosystem diversity is the aggregate of different environmental types in a region.
 It explains the interaction between living organisms and physical environment in an
ecosystem.
2. Species diversity –

 A discrete groups of organisms of the same kind is known as species.

 Species diversity is the diversity between different species.
 The sum of varieties of all living organisms at the species level is known as
species diversity.
 Species diversity describes the number of kinds of organisms within individual
communities or ecosystems.
 The biotic component is composed of a large number of species of plants,
animals and microorganisms which interact with each other and with the abiotic
component of the environment.
Ex: The total number of species living on earth is approximately more than 2
million. However, only around 1.5 million are found and assigned scientific
names.
3. Genetic diversity –

 A species with different genetic characteristics is known as a sub-species or "genera".

 Genetic diversity is a measure of the variety of versions of same gene within individual
species.
 Within individual species, there are varieties, that are slightly different from one other.
These differences are due to differences in the combination of genes.
Genes are the basic units of hereditary information transmitted from one generation to the
other.
Ex: (i) Rice varieties - All rice varieties belong to the species "oryzasativa". However there
are thousands of rice varieties that show variation at the genetic level in the form of different
size, shape, colour and nutrient content.
(ii) Teak wood varieties: The various teak wood varieties available are - Indian teak, Burma
teak, Malaysian teak etc.
 FUNCTIONS OF BIODIVERSITY

Two main functions of biodiversity are

1. It is the source on which the entire human species depends on for food, fibre, shelter, fuel
and medicine.

2. It depends on biosphere which in turn leads to stability in climate, water, soil, air and
overall health of biosphere.
 VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY
Definition and estimation of the value of biodiversity is not easy. The value of biodiversity is classified into:
1. Direct Value and
2. Indirect Value

1. Direct value of biodiversity: It is of two types a. Consumptive use value and

b. Productive use value

a. Consumptive use value:

 The consumptive use value is the value placed on nature's products that are consumed directly, without
passing through a market. Some of them are firewood, food, and game meat.

 When direct consumption requires recreation, as in sport fishing and game viewing, the consumptive value
is the whole recreational experience. Consumptive value seldom appears in national income accounts, but
could be easily included in measures such as GDP. It is valued from the cost if resource was sold at market
value, rather than being consumed.

 High consumptive use values on resources may lead to the following problems:
 Loss of traditional controls on hunting and
 Loss of wildlife populations at productive levels.
 Consumptive use value benefits the communities closest to the resource if harvested
sustainably and managed efficiently.

b. Productive use value:

 Productive use value refers to products that are commercially harvested (sold in a
market).
 Its value is estimated at the production end rather than retail end by adding an inflated
cost to the finished product.
 Productive use value is often the only value of biological resource reflected in national
income accounts and may have a major impact on the national economy.
 Timber, fish, honey, construction materials, mushrooms, fruits, medicinal plants and
game meat sold in a market have productive use value.
2. Indirect value of biodiversity
 Indirect values provide economic benefits without being harvested and do not appear in
GDP. However, they are crucial to other natural products which influence the GDP.

 These values involve functions performed by biodiversity which are not of any use. Ex:
Ecological Processes etc.

 Direct values are often derived from indirect values because plants and animals are
supported by the services provided by their environments.

 Many classes of plant and animal species are consumed by tribal and non-tribal
communities.
 CLASSIFICATION OF INDIA

 India has different climate and topography in different parts and hence is termed as a mega
diversity country.

 India occupies 10th place among plant rich countries of the world.

 It is essential to acquire knowledge about the distribution and environmental interaction of

flora and fauna of India.

 Bio-geographers have classified India into ten bio-geographic zones with each zone
having characteristic climate, soil and biodiversity.

 These zones are described below:

1. Trans-Himalayas: The trans-himalayas is an extension to the Tibetean plateau. This
region harbors the high-altitude cold desert in ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) and Lahaul
Spiti (Himachal Pradesh). It accounts for 5.7% of the country's landmass.

2. Himalayas: The Himalayas are the northern boundaries of India. The entire mountain chain
is running from Kashmir in the North-west to Assam in the north-east. The Himalayas
comprise of a diverse range of biotic provinces and biomes. The himalayas cover 7.2% of the
country's landmass

3. Desert: The extremely dry area west of the Aravalli hill range, is comprising both the salty
desert of Gujarat and the sandy desert of Rajasthan. Deserts occupy around 6.9% of the
country's land mass.
The kinds of deserts found in India are:
a. The desert of western Rajasthan
b. The desert of Gujarat
c. The high-altitude cold desert of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The Indian
deserts have more diversified fauna.
4. Semi-arid: This zone lies between the desert and the Deccan plateau. It includes the
Aravalli hill range. It overs approximately 15.6% of the country's landmass.
5. Western Ghats: The western ghats are a mountain range that runs along the western cost
of India. They are a range extending north-south from southern tip of Gujarat in the north to
Kanyakumari in the [Link] mountains cover an area of about 160,000 sq. km. This ghat
section covers an extremely diverse range of biotic provinces and biomes. It covers about
5.8% of the country's landmass.

6. Deccan plateau: It is a large triangular plateau south of the Narmada valley. Three sides
of the plateau are covered by mountains slopes towards east. Satpura mountains cover the
north while western ghats cover the west side and eastern ghats cover the eastern side of the
plateau. It is the one of largest zones covering the southern and south-central plateau with
mostly deciduous trees. It covers 4.3% of the country's land mass.

7. Gangetic plain: This plain covers the area between the south himalayas to the tropic of
cancer. These plains were formed by the Ganges river system and are relatively
homogeneous. This region experience 600 mm rainfall annually. Sunderbans forests are
located in this region and it covers 11% of the country's land mass.
8. North-east India These are pains and non-himalayan ranges of northeastern India and
have a wide variety of vegetation. It covers around 5.2% of the country's land mass.

9. Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal has almost 300 big and
small islands. Among these, only five islands are inhabited. Only tribes are found in the
island of Nicobar. These islands have a highly diverse set of biomes and occupy 0.03% of
the country's biomass.

[Link] India has a large coastline distributed both to the east and west with distinct
differences between the two. The Lakshwadeep islands are included in this but the area of
these islands is negligible.
 THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

1. Habitat loss Deforestation activities (cutting trees for timber, removal of medicinal
plants)

2. Production of hybrid seeds requires wild plants as raw material, farmers prefer hybrid
reeds, many plant species become extinct.

3. Increase in the production of pharmaceutical companies made several number of

medicinal plants and species on the verge of extinction.

4. Removal of forest-cover for road laying and also due to soil erosion.

5. Illegal trade of wild life.

6. Population explosion, construction of dam, discharge of industrial effluents use of

pesticides.
 Poaching of wild life
 Due to poaching, illegal trade and smuggling activities most of our valuable fauna are under threat
organized crime has moved into illegal wild life smuggling because of huge profit Eg. Tiger, Deer for hides,
Rhinoceros – for horns, Elephant – for ivory tusk, Sea Horse, Star turtle – sold to foreign market.

 The elimination of species, is a normal process of the natural world. Species die put and are replaced by
others as part of evolutionary change.

 Human caused reduction: The climate change caused by our release of green house gases in the atm. could
have catastrophic effects. Human disturbance of natural habitat is the largest single cause pf loss of
biological diversity. Woodlands and grasslands are converted now use about 10% of the world’s land surface
for crop production and about twice the amount for pasture and grasslands.)

 Hunting: Over harvesting is responsible for depletion or extinction of many species.

 Fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation reduces the biodiversity because many animals like bears and large
cats require large territories to subsist. Some forest birds reproduce only in deep forest or
habitat far from human settlement. A large island for example, can support more individuals
of given species and therefore less likely to suffer extinction due to genetic problems and
natural catastrophes.

Commercial products:
Smuggling of fuels, hides, horns and folk medicines also affect the biodiversity in an abrupt
manner.
 CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY
The following measures should be taken to conserve biodiversity
1. Illegal hunting and trade of animals and animal products should be stopped immediately

2. People-at-large should boycott purchasing coats, purse or bags made of animal skin

3. Bio-diversity laws should be strengthened.

4. Adequate crop and cattle compensation schemes must be started

5. Solar powered fencing must be provided with electric current proof trenches to prevent animals from
entering fields.

6. Cropping pattern should be changed near the forest borders

7. Adequate food and water should be made available for wild animals within forest zones.

8. Development and construction work in and around forest region must be stopped.

 Biodiversity is one of the important tools for sustainable development. The commercial, medical, genetic,
aesthetic, and ecological importance of biodiversity emphasizes the need for its conservation.
Factors affecting biodiversity:
1. Biodiversity is disturbed by human activity
2. Poaching of animals, over-exploitation of natural sources and degradation of habitats
affect biodiversity.
3. Marine ecosystems are disturbed due to oil spills and discharge of effluents
4. Climatic factors like global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain also affect
biodiversity

Need for biodiversity

1. It provides recreation and tourism
2. Drugs, herbs, food and other important raw materials are derived from plants and
animals
3. It preserves the genetic diversity of plants and animals
4. It ensures sustainable utilization of life supporting systems on earth.
5. It needs to conservation of essential ecological diversity and life supporting systems
Thank You