Concept of an Ecosystem:

Living organisms cannot live isolated from their non-living environment because the
latter provides materials and energy for the survival of the former i.e. there is
interaction between a biotic community and its environment to produce a stable
system; a natural self-sufficient unit which is known as an ecosystem.

An ecosystem is, therefore, defined as a natural functional ecological unit comprising

of living organisms (biotic community) and their non-living (abiotic or physio
chemical) environment that interact to form a stable self-supporting system. A pond,
lake, desert, grassland, meadow, forest etc. are common examples of ecosystems.

Structure and Function of an Ecosystem:

Each ecosystem has two main components:
(1) Abiotic

(2) Biotic

(1) Abiotic Components:

The non living factors or the physical environment prevailing in an ecosystem form
the abiotic components. They have a strong influence on the structure, distribution,
behaviour and inter-relationship of organisms.

Abiotic components are mainly of two types:

(a) Climatic Factors:
Which include rain, temperature, light, wind, humidity etc.

(b) Edaphic Factors:

Which include soil, pH, topography minerals etc.?

The functions of important factors in abiotic components are given below:

Soils are much more complex than simple sediments. They contain a mixture of
weathered rock fragments, highly altered soil mineral particles, organic matter, and
living organisms. Soils provide nutrients, water, a home, and a structural growing
medium for organisms. The vegetation found growing on top of a soil is closely
linked to this component of an ecosystem through nutrient cycling.

The atmosphere provides organisms found within ecosystems with carbon dioxide
for photosynthesis and oxygen for respiration. The processes of evaporation,
transpiration and precipitation cycle water between the atmosphere and the Earth’s
surface.

Solar radiation is used in ecosystems to heat the atmosphere and to evaporate and
transpire water into the atmosphere. Sunlight is also necessary for photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis provides the energy for plant growth and metabolism, and the
organic food for other forms of life.

Most living tissue is composed of a very high percentage of water, up to and even
exceeding 90%. The protoplasm of a very few cells can survive if their water content
drops below 10%, and most are killed if it is less than 30-50%.

Water is the medium by which mineral nutrients enter and are trans-located in plants.
It is also necessary for the maintenance of leaf turgidity and is required for
photosynthetic chemical reactions. Plants and animals receive their water from the
Earth’s surface and soil. The original source of this water is precipitation from the
atmosphere.

(2) Biotic Components:

The living organisms including plants, animals and micro-organisms (Bacteria and
Fungi) that are present in an ecosystem form the biotic components.

On the basis of their role in the ecosystem the biotic components can be
classified into three main groups:
(A) Producers

(B) Consumers

(C) Decomposers or Reducers.

(A) Producers:
The green plants have chlorophyll with the help of which they trap solar energy and
change it into chemical energy of carbohydrates using simple inorganic compounds
namely water and carbon dioxide. This process is known as photosynthesis. As the
green plants manufacture their own food they are known as Autotrophs (i.e. auto =
self, trophos = feeder)

The chemical energy stored by the producers is utilised partly by the producers for
their own growth and survival and the remaining is stored in the plant parts for their
future use.

(B) Consumers:
The animals lack chlorophyll and are unable to synthesise their own food. Therefore,
they depend on the producers for their food. They are known as heterotrophs (i.e.
heteros = other, trophos = feeder)

The consumers are of four types, namely:

(a) Primary Consumers or First Order Consumers or Herbivores:
These are the animals which feed on plants or the producers. They are called her-
bivores. Examples are rabbit, deer, goat, cattle etc.

(b) Secondary Consumers or Second Order Consumers or Primary Carnivores:

The animals which feed on the herbivores are called the primary carnivores.
Examples are cats, foxes, snakes etc.

(c) Tertiary Consumers or Third Order Consumers:

These are the large carnivores which feed on the secondary consumers. Example
are Wolves.

(d) Quaternary Consumers or Fourth Order Consumers or Omnivores:

These are the largest carnivores which feed on the tertiary consumers and are not
eaten up by any other animal. Examples are lions and tigers.

(C) Decomposers or Reducers:

Bacteria and fungi belong to this category. They breakdown the dead organic
materials of producers (plants) and consumers (animals) for their food and release to
the environment the simple inorganic and organic substances produced as by-
products of their metabolisms.

These simple substances are reused by the producers resulting in a cyclic exchange
of materials between the biotic community and the abiotic environment of the
ecosystem. The decomposers are known as Saprotrophs (i.e., sapros = rotten,
trophos = feeder)

Function of Ecosystem:
An ecosystem is a discrete structural, functional and life sustaining environmental
system. The environmental system consists of biotic and abiotic components in a
habitat. Biotic component of the ecosystem includes the living organisms; plants,
animals and microbes whereas the abiotic component includes inorganic matter and
energy.

Abiotic components provide the matrix for the synthesis and perpetuation of organic
components (protoplasm). The synthesis and perpetuation processes involve energy
exchange and this energy comes from the sun in the form of light or solar energy.

Thus, in any ecosystem we have the following functional components:

(i) Inorganic constituents (air, water and mineral salts)

(ii) Organisms (plants, animals and microbes), and

(iii) Energy input which enters from outside (the sun).

These three interact and form an environmental system. Inorganic constituents are
synthesized into organic structures by the green plants (primary producers) through
photosynthesis and the solar energy is utilized in the process. Green plants become
the source of energy for renewals (herbivores) which, in turn become source of
energy for the flesh eating animals (carnivores). Animals of all types grow and add
organic matter to their body weight and their source of energy is complex organic
compound taken as food.

They are known as secondary producers. All the living organisms whether plants or
animals in an ecosystem have a definite life span after which they die. The dead
organic remains of plants and animals provide food for saprophytic microbes, such
as bacteria, fungi and many other animals. The saprobes ultimately decompose the
organic structure and break the complex molecules and liberate the inorganic
components into their environment.

These organisms are known as decomposers. During the process of decomposition

of organic molecules, the energy which kept the inorganic components bound
together in the form of organic molecules gets liberated and dissipated into the
environment as heat energy. Thus in an ecosystem energy from the sun, the input is
fixed by plants and transferred to animal components.

Nutrients are withdrawn from the substrate, deposited in the tissues of the plants and
animals, cycled from one feeding group to another, released by decomposition to the
soil, water and air and then recycled. The ecosystems operating in different habitats,
such as deserts, forests, grasslands and seas are interdependent on one another.
The energy and nutrients of one ecosystem may find their way into another so that
ultimately all parts of the earth are interrelated, each comprising a part of the total
system that keeps the biosphere functioning.

The principal steps in the operation of ecosystem are as follows:

(1) Reception of radiant energy of sun,

(2) Manufacture of organic materials from inorganic ones by producers,

(3) Consumption of producers by consumers and further elaboration of consumed

materials; and.
(4) After the death of producers and consumers, complex organic compounds are
degraded and finally converted by decomposers and converters into such forms as
are suitable for reutilization by producers.

The principal steps in the operation of ecosystem not only involve the production,
growth and death of living components but also influence the abiotic aspects of
habitat. It is now clear that there is transfer of both energy and nutrients from
producers to consumers and finally to decomposers and transformers levels. In this
transfer there is a progressive decrease of energy but nutrient component is not
diminished and it shows cycling from abiotic to biotic and vice versa.

The flow of energy is unidirectional. The two ecological processes—energy flow and
mineral cycling which involve interaction between biotic and abiotic components lie
at the heart of ecosystem dynamics.