UNIT II

ECOSYSTEM
According to Odum (1963) ecosystem is the basic functional unit of nature including both
organisms and their non-living environment, each interacting with other and influencing
each other properties, necessary for maintenance and development of the system.
 ECOSYSTEM

• An ‘Ecosystem’ is a region with a specific and recognizable landscape form such as forest,
grassland, desert, wetland or coastal area. The nature of the ecosystem is based on its
geographical features such as hills, mountains, plains, rivers, lakes, coastal areas or islands.
• It is also controlled by climatic conditions such as the amount of sunlight, the temperature
and the rainfall in the region. The geographical, climatic and soil characteristics form its
nonliving (abiotic) component.
• These features create conditions that support a community of plants and animals that
evolution has produced to live in these specific conditions. The living part of the
ecosystem is referred to as its biotic component.
S . No. ABIOTIC BIOTIC

1 The non living factors or the physical environment prevailing in an ecosystem Biotic Components:
form the abiotic components. They have a strong influence on the structure, The living organisms including plants, animals and micro-organisms (Bacteria and Fungi)
distribution, behaviour and inter-relationship of organisms. Abiotic components that are present in an ecosystem form the biotic components. On the basis of their role in
are mainly of two types: the ecosystem the biotic components can be classified into three main groups:
a) Climatic Factors: Which include rain, temperature, light, wind, humidity etc. (A) Producers
(b) Edaphic Factors: Which include soil, pH, topography minerals etc. (B) Consumers
(C) Decomposers or Reducers.

2 PRODUCERS
As the green plants manufacture their own food they are known as Autotrophs (i.e. auto =
self, trophos = feeder)
In an ecosystem, producers are those organisms that use photosynthesis to capture energy
by using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to create carbohydrates, and then use that
energy to create more complex molecules like proteins, lipids and starches that are crucial
to life processes. Producers, which are mostly green plants, are also called autotrophs.

3 CONSUMER
Primary Consumers or First Order Consumers or Herbivores :
These are the animals which feed on plants or the producers. They are called herbivores.
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.

4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeK5-mJhWeg 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)
FUNCTIONS OF ECOSYSTEM -
The ecosystem’s function is to maintain its various parts working together. It is a natural
process of a transfer of energy in different biotic and abiotic elements of the world.
Ecosystems maintain all the important ecological processes, including nutrient cycling.
Ecosystem functions can be defined by “the ecological processes that control the fluxes of
energy, nutrients and organic matter through an environment .”
Productivity Decomposition
A constant input of solar energy is the basic requirement Decomposers break down complex organic matter into
for any ecosystem to function and sustain Primary inorganic substances like carbon dioxide, water and
production is defined as the amount of biomass or organic nutrients and the process is called decomposition . Eg:
matter produced per unit area over a time period by when Plants and animals die than the insects ,worms
plants during photosynthesis. decompose them and broke down into simple substance
which is easily absorb by the soil.

Food Web = Web of life

Different cycles in the Environment

Hydrologic or water Cycle

The water cycle is an extremely important process because it enables the availability of water for all living organisms
and regulates weather patterns on our planet.
If water didn't naturally recycle itself, we would run out of clean water, which is essential to life .
Water is essential to life on Earth. In its three phases (solid, liquid, and gas), water ties together the major parts of the
Earth’s climate system — air, clouds, the ocean, lakes, vegetation, snowpack and glaciers offsite link.
• The water cycle shows the continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere.
• It is a complex system that includes many different processes. Liquid water evaporates into water vapour,
condenses to form clouds, and precipitates back to earth in the form of rain and snow. Water in different phases
moves through the atmosphere (transportation).
• Liquid water flows across land (runoff), into the ground (infiltration and percolation), and through the ground
(groundwater).
• Groundwater moves into plants (plant uptake) and evaporates from plants into the atmosphere (transpiration).
• Solid ice and snow can turn directly into gas (sublimation).
• The opposite can also take place when water vapour becomes solid (deposition).
Different cycles in the Environment

The Carbon cycle

The carbon cycle is nature's way of recycling carbon atoms. Carbon is the foundation for all life on Earth.
• It is the most fundamental element of all organic molecules and serves as their building block. It is primarily the
conversion of carbon dioxide that is the focus of the carbon cycle, which is begun by the absorption of carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis.
• The conversion results in the formation of carbohydrates, glucose, which may then be transformed into other
organic molecules such as sucrose, starch, cellulose, and various sugars and starches, among others
• Some of the carbs are used immediately by the plant to fuel its growth and development. A greater amount
of carbon dioxide is produced during this process, which is then released via the plant’s roots or stems during the
day
• In addition to being part of the plant tissue that is consumed by herbivorous animals, the residual sugars are also
degraded by microbes
• Some of the carbohydrates ingested by herbivores are converted into carbon dioxide, which is then released into
the atmosphere via respiration
• Following the death of the animal, the microorganisms break down the carbohydrates that were left behind.
Afterwards, the carbohydrates digested by the microorganisms are oxidized into carbon dioxide and released back
into the environment
Different cycles in the Environment

The Oxygen cycle

• The most important by-product of photosynthesis is oxygen. It plays a role in the oxidation of carbohydrates,
which results in the release of energy, carbon dioxide, and water into the atmosphere and the process is known as
the Oxygen cycle.
• The oxygen cycle is a very complicated process that takes place in the atmosphere
• Oxygen may be found in a wide variety of chemical forms and combinations. It reacts with nitrogen to generate
nitrates. It reacts with a wide range of other minerals and elements to form a variety of oxides, including iron
oxide, aluminium oxide, and other metal oxides
• Much of the oxygen we breathe comes from the disintegration of water molecules caused by sunlight during
photosynthesis. A significant amount of oxygen is released into the atmosphere through the transpiration and
respiration processes of plants
Stages of the Oxygen Cycle
The steps involved in the oxygen cycle are:
Stage-1: All green plants during the process of photosynthesis, release oxygen back into the atmosphere as a by-
product.
Stage-2: All aerobic organisms use free oxygen for respiration.
Stage-3: Animals exhale Carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere which is again used by the plants during
photosynthesis. Now oxygen is balanced within the atmosphere.
Different cycles in the Environment
The Nitrogen cycle
The circulation of nitrogen in various forms through nature. Nitrogen, a component of proteins and nucleic acids, is essential
to life on Earth. Approximately 78% of the atmosphere’s gases are composed of nitrogen, making it a significant part of the atmosphere.
It is a necessary component of many organic molecules, including amino acids, nucleic acids, proteins, vitamins, and pigments. It is also a
component of certain inorganic compounds. The nitrogen cycle is an essential aspect of the ecology.
• Currently, only a few kinds of organisms, such as specific species of soil bacteria and blue-green algae, are capable
of using it in its gaseous state
• In biology, the nitrogen cycle is a biogeochemical process in which nitrogen is transformed into various forms and
then passed from the atmosphere to the soil to the organism and back into the atmosphere in a continuous cycle
• Nitrogen can only be used when it has been fixed. 90% of the nitrogen that has been fixed is biological
• The activity of soil microorganisms and related plant roots on atmospheric nitrogen present in the pore spaces of
the soil is the most important source of the free nitrogen cycle in the environment.
• Lightning and cosmic radiation are both capable of causing nitrogen to be fixed in the atmosphere
• Some aquatic organisms in the waters have the ability to repair the damage
• Green plants may absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere when it has been fixed into a form that is readily
accessible.
• Herbivorous animals that eat on plants, in turn, devour part of the plant material.
• The activity of bacteria present in the soil results in the conversion of dead plants and animals, excretion of
nitrogenous wastes, and other nitrogenous wastes into nitrites.
• Some bacteria can even convert nitrites into nitrates, which may then be used by green plants
• In addition, many species of bacteria can decompose nitrates into nitrogen gas, and this process is known as de-
nitrification. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5EOZenSSB8
The Energy flow in the Ecosystem

Energy flow is the flow of energy through living things within an ecosystem. All living organisms can be organized
into producers and consumers, and those producers and consumers can further be organized into a food chain. Each
of the levels within the food chain is a trophic level.

Food Chain : It can be defined as a chain consisting of producers , consumers, decomposers, each at a different
trophic level. During this biological process, light energy is converted into chemical energy and is passed on through
successive trophic levels. The flow of energy from a producer, to a consumer and eventually, to an apex predator is
called the food chain

Grasshopper →Mouse→ Cobra → Brown Snake Eagle

Food Web : In an ecosystem, there are a very large number of interlinked chains, together these form a food web
Energy Flow
The energy in the ecosystem can be depicted in the form of a food or energy pyramid
• Plant are the
The apex depicts the small biomass of
carnivorous animals (second order
consumers)
FOOD
WEB
Each steps of
The pyramid has a narrower middle section that the food web
depicts the number or the biomass of is called
herbivorous animals.(first – order consumers) trophic level

Plants are large base of food pyramid (producers)

Types of Ecosystems
Serial Terrestrial ecosystems Forest Ecosystems
No.

Terrestrial ecosystems their natural state are found in different types of forests, grasslands, The forest type depends upon the abiotic factors
semiarid areas, deserts and sea coasts. Where the land is intensively used, these have been such as climate and soil characteristics of a region.
gradually modified over several thousand years into agricultural and pastoral regions. In the Forests in India can be broadly divided into
recent past they have been rapidly converted into intensively irrigated agricultural ecosystems Coniferous forests and Broadleaved forests.
or into urban and industrial centers. They can also be classified according to the nature
of their tree species – evergreen, deciduous,
xerophytic or thorn trees, mangroves, etc

When our human population was small, most ecosystems could supply all our needs. Resources 1. Coniferous forests grow in the Himalayan
were thus used ‘sustainably’. As industrial ‘development’ led to a very great increase in mountain region, where the temperatures are
consumption of resources, the short term economic gains for people became an indicator of low. These forests have tall stately trees with
progress, rather than long term ecological benefits. This has resulted in an ‘unsustainable of needlelike leaves and downward sloping
natural resources. Forests thus disappear, rivers run dry, deserts begin to spread, and air, water branches so that the snow can slip off the
and soil become increasingly polluted as by-products of development. Human well being itself is branches. They have cones instead of seeds
then seriously affected. and are called gymnosperms.
2. Broadleaved forests have several types, such
The following are the different types of ecosystems as evergreen forests, deciduous forests, thorn
A Forest Ecosystems forests, and mangrove forests. Broadleaved
B Grassland Ecosystems forests have large leaves of various shapes.
C Tundra Ecosystems 3. Evergreen forests grow in the high rainfall
D Desert Ecosystem areas of the Western Ghats, North Eastern
India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBm0o5s9XW8 These forests grow in areas where the
monsoon lasts for several months. Some even
get two monsoons, such as in Southern India .
1.Coniferous forest , 2. Broadleaved forest , 3. Evergreen forest , 4.Deciduous forest,
5.Thorn forest and 6.Mangrove forest
Types of Ecosystems
Forest Types
B. Grassland Ecosystem

4. The deciduous trees shed their leaves during the winter and hot In a grassland ecosystem, the vegetation is dominated by grasses and
summer months. In March or April they regain their fresh leaves just herbs. Temperate grasslands, savanna grasslands are some of the
before the monsoon, when they grow vigorously in response to the examples of grassland ecosystems. Grassland ecosystems are
rains. Thus, there are periods of leaf fall and canopy regrowth. The forest important mechanisms of ecological communities on Earth, and
frequently has a thick undergrowth as light can penetrate easily onto the perform key functions in carbon (C) cycling, climate regulation, and
forest floor. the maintenance of biological diversity. However, since the middle of
the 20th century, these ecosystems have been subjected to major
environmental fluctuations because of climate change and
strengthened human activities. These ongoing changes have affected
grass growth and the functioning of constituent ecosystem.

5.Thorn forests are found in the semi-arid regions of India. The trees, Grasslands form a diversity of ecosystems that are situated in
which are sparsely distributed, are surrounded by open grassy areas. different climatic conditions ranging from near desert conditions, to
Thorny plants are called xerophytic species and are able to conserve patches of shola grasslands that occur on hill slopes alongside the
water. Some of these trees have small leaves, while other species have extremely moist evergreen forests in South India. In the Himalayan
thick, waxy leaves to reduce water losses during transpiration. Thorn
forest trees have long or fibrous roots to reach water at great depths. mountains there are the high cold Himalayan pastures .
Many of these plants have thorns, which reduce water loss and protect
them from herbivores.

6. Mangrove forests grow along the coast especially in the river deltas.
These plants are able to grow in a mix of saline and fresh water. They
grow luxuriantly in muddy areas covered with silt that the rivers have
brought down.
Types of Ecosystems
Tundra Ecosystems Desert Ecosystem

The tundra ecosystem has a relatively low biological diversity due to the Deserts are found throughout the world. These are regions with very
incredibly harsh cold conditions that occur in these ecosystems during little rainfall. The days are hot and the nights are cold.
much of the year. Typical plant species include low-lying grasses, plants, Desert and semi arid lands are highly specialized and sensitive
and shrubs, which are designed to withstand the frequent winds and ecosystems that are easily destroyed by human activities. The species
heavy snowfalls that occur. of these dry areas can live only in this specialized habitat.
Any trees are coniferous and found in slightly warmer parts of the
tundra. The ecosystem is well-timed so that, during the short summer,
the tundra bursts into life—plant species bloom and grow, insect
pollination takes place, and animals give birth to their young. Many
migratory bird species call the tundra their home during the summer.

1.Permafrost: Tundra regions have a layer of permanently frozen subsoil There are also cold deserts such as in Ladakh, which are located in the
called permafrost. high plateaus of the Himalayas. The most typical desert landscape
2. Low vegetation: Tundra vegetation consists of hardy plants like that is seen in Rajasthan is in the Thar Desert. This has sand dunes.
mosses, lichens, and dwarf shrubs that can tolerate cold temperatures There are also areas covered with sparse grasses and a few shrubs,
and short growing seasons. which grow if it rains. In most areas of the Thar the rainfall is scanty
3. Migration and hibernation: Many tundra animals, such as caribou and and sporadic. In an area it may rain only once every few years. In the
Arctic foxes, undertake long-distance migrations to find food during the adjoining semi arid tract the vegetation consists of a few shrubs and
brief summer months. Others, like bears, enter a state of hibernation to thorny trees such as babul. The Great and Little Rann of Kutch are
conserve energy and survive the harsh winters. highly specialized arid ecosystems. In the summers they are similar to
a desert landscape.
Types of Ecosystems
Aquatic Ecosystems
An aquatic ecosystem is defined as a community of organisms that live and interact with each other in a water-based
environment. This encompasses a wide range of environments, including (but not limited to) marshlands, lakes, rivers, estuaries,
seas, and oceans.
However, aquatic ecosystems have become increasingly threatened in recent decades due to pollution, vegetation removal and
over-fishing. It can be classified as being still-water ecosystem (LENTIC ) or flowing water (LOTIC) ecosystems.

Aquatic ecosystem
1. Freshwater Ecosystem - The freshwater ecosystem is an aquatic ecosystem that includes lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and
wetlands. These have no salt content in contrast with the marine ecosystem. A freshwater ecosystem has low salinity levels,
providing a good environment for a variety of plants and animals. The sizes of freshwater resources range from small ponds
to very large rivers. Freshwater resources vary from one another in terms of how they travel. While some freshwater bodies
are constantly moving, like rivers, whereas other are still water, like ponds.
2. Marine Ecosystem -The marine ecosystem includes seas and oceans.
o These have a more substantial salt content and greater biodiversity in comparison to the freshwater ecosystem. Marine
ecosystems are highly saline, while brackish areas have less saline water such as in river deltas.
o Coral reefs are very rich in species and are found in only a few shallow tropical seas. The richest coral reefs in India are around
the Andaman and Nicobar islands and in the gulf of Kutch.
o Brackish water ecosystems in river deltas are covered by mangrove forests and are among the world’s most productive
ecosystems in terms of biomass production. The largest mangrove swamps are in the Sunderbans in the delta of the Ganges.