1) What are all the Scope of Environmental Studies?

Environmental Protection Act (1986) defined “Environment as the sum total of water, air and land, their
interrelationship among themselves and with the human beings, other living beings and property.”

Environmental studies are the scientific study of the environmental system and the status of its inherent

or induced changes on organisms. It includes not only the study of physical and biological characters of
the environment but also the social and cultural factors and the impact of man on environment.

The disciplines included in environmental education are environmental sciences, environmental

engineering and environmental management.

(a) Environmental Science:

It deals with the scientific study of environmental system (air, water, soil and land), the inherent or

induced changes on organisms and the environmental damages incurred as a result of human
interaction with the environment.

(b) Environmental Engineering:

It deals with the study of technical processes involved in the protection of environment from the

potentially deleterious effects of human activity and improving the environmental quality for the health
and well beings of humans.

(c) Environmental Management:

It promotes due regard for physical, social and economic environment of the enterprise or projects. It

encourages planned investment at the start of the production chain rather than forced investment in
cleaning up at the end.

2) Explain food chain & food web.

Food chain is a linear sequence of organisms which starts from producer organisms and ends with
decomposer species. Food web is a connection of multiple food chains. Food chain follows a single path
whereas food web follows multiple paths. From the food chain, we get to know how organisms are
connected with each other. Food chain and food web form an integral part of this ecosystem.

Food Chain

In scientific terms, a food chain is a chronological pathway or an order that shows the flow of energy from
one organism to the other. In a community which has producers, consumers, and decomposers, the energy
flows in a specific pathway. Energy is not created or destroyed. But it flows from one level to the other,
through different organisms.

A food chain shows a single pathway from the producers to the consumers and how the energy flows in this
pathway. In the animal kingdom, food travels around different levels. To understand a food chain better, let
us take a look at the terrestrial ecosystem.

Food chain in a Terrestrial Ecosystem

The sun is the source of energy, which is the initial energy source. This is used by the producers or plants to
create their own food, through photosynthesis and grow. Next up, in this chain is another organism, which
is the consumer that eats this food, taking in the energy.

The primary consumers are the organisms that consume the primary producers. In a terrestrial ecosystem,
it could be a herbivore like a cow or a goat or it could even be a man. When a goat is consumed by man, he
becomes the secondary consumer.
As the energy goes one level up, the food chain also moves up. Each level in the food chain is called a
trophic level. The different trophic levels are Primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers,
tertiary consumers and quaternary consumers.

Example of food chain

Grass (Producer) —–Goat (Primary Consumer) —– Man (Secondary consumer)

When dead organic matter becomes the starting of a food chain, then it is called the detritus food
chain (DFC). The decomposers, which are the fungi and bacteria, feed on the organic matter to meet the
energy requirements. The digestive enzymes secreted by the decomposers help in the breakdown of the
organic matter into inorganic materials.

Food Web

Many interconnected food chains make up a food web. When you look at the larger picture, a food web
shows a realistic representation of the energy flow through different organisms in an ecosystem.

Sometimes, a single organism gets eaten by many predators or it eats many other organisms. This is when a
food chain doesn’t represent the energy flow in a proper manner because there are many trophic levels
that interconnect. This is where a food web comes into place. It shows the interactions between different
organisms in an ecosystem.

The following diagram shows the energy flow between various organisms through a food web.
3) What is the relation between DO and BOD?

Dissolved oxygen

The stream system both produces and consumes oxygen. It gains oxygen from the atmosphere and from
plants as a result of photosynthesis. Running water, because of its churning, dissolves more oxygen than
still water, such as that in a reservoir behind a dam. Respiration by aquatic animals, decomposition, and
various chemical reactions consume oxygen.

Oxygen is measured in its dissolved form as dissolved oxygen (DO). If more oxygen is consumed than is
produced, dissolved oxygen levels decline and some sensitive animals may move away, weaken, or die.

DO levels fluctuate seasonally and over a 24-hour period. They vary with water temperature and
altitude. Cold water holds more oxygen than warm water (Table 5.3) and water holds less oxygen at
higher altitudes. Thermal discharges, such as water used to cool machinery in a manufacturing plant or a
power plant, raise the temperature of water and lower its oxygen content. Aquatic animals are most
vulnerable to lowered DO levels in the early morning on hot summer days when stream flows are low,
water temperatures are high, and aquatic plants
have not been producing oxygen since sunset.
Temperature DO Temperature DO Table 5.3
(°C) (mg/l) (°C) (mg/l)

0 14.60 23 8.56
Maximum
1 14.19 24 8.40 dissolved
oxygen
2 13.81 25 8.24 concentrates
vary with
3 13.44 26 8.09 temperature

4 13.09 27 7.95

5 12.75 28 7.81

6 12.43 29 7.67

7 12.12 30 7.54

8 11.83 31 7.41

9 11.55 32 7.28

10 11.27 33 7.16

11 11.01 34 7.16

12 10.76 35 6.93

13 10.52 36 6.82

14 10.29 37 6.71

15 10.07 38 6.61

16 9.85 39 6.51

17 9.65 40 6.41

18 9.45 41 6.41
 19 9.26 42 6.22

20 9.07 43 6.13

21 8.90 44 6.04

Wastewater from sewage treatment plants often 22 8.72 45 5.95

contains organic materials that are decomposed by
microorganisms, which use oxygen in the process.
(The amount of oxygen consumed by these organisms in breaking down the waste is known as the
biochemical oxygen demand or BOD.) Other sources of oxygen-consuming waste include stormwater
runoff from farmland or urban streets, feedlots, and failing septic systems.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand or Biological Oxygen Demand, is a measurement of the amount of

dissolved oxygen (DO) that is used by aerobic microorganisms when decomposing organic matter in
water.

IMPORTANCE OF BOD

Biochemical Oxygen Demand is an important water quality parameter because it provides an index to
assess the effect discharged wastewater will have on the receiving environment. The higher the BOD
value, the greater the amount of organic matter or “food” available for oxygen consuming bacteria. If
the rate of DO consumption by bacteria exceeds the supply of DO from aquatic plants, algae
photosynthesis or diffusing from air, unfavourable conditions occur. Depletion of DO causes stress on
aquatic organisms, making the environment unsuitable for life. Further, dramatic depletion can lead to
hypoxia or anoxic environments. BOD is also used extensively for wastewater treatment, as
decomposition of organic waste by microorganisms is commonly used for treatment.

Regulations for BOD will vary by country and region. In general, maximum allowable concentration for
direct environmental wastewater discharge fall around 10 mg/L BOD and maximum allowable
concentrations for discharge to sewer systems around 300 mg/L BOD.

4. Explain physiochemical and biological factors in environment.

Physicochemical factors (physical and chemical conditions) are abiotic factors that affect
the environment for geomicrobes. Examples of physicochemical factors are:

Temperature, PH, Redox potential, O2, CO2, Resource availability – nutrients, Fe2+, Fe3+, Inhibitors,
Heavy metals, Turbidity, Salinity, Light
Biological factors are microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi and microscopic parasites), cell cultures,
human endoparasites and components from microorganisms that can cause damage to health in
humans.

5. What is meant by ecological succession?

Ecological succession, the process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time.
Two different types of succession—primary and secondary—have been distinguished. Primary
succession occurs in essentially lifeless areas—regions in which the soil is incapable of sustaining life as a
result of such factors as lava flows, newly formed sand dunes, or rocks left from a
retreating glacier. Secondary succession occurs in areas where a community that previously existed has
been removed; it is typified by smaller-scale disturbances that do not eliminate all life
and nutrients from the environment.

Primary and secondary succession both create a continually changing mix

of species within communities as disturbances of different intensities, sizes, and frequencies alter the
landscape. The sequential progression of species during succession, however, is not random. At every
stage certain species have evolved life histories to exploit the particular conditions of the community.
This situation imposes a partially predictable sequence of change in the species composition of
communities during succession. Initially only a small number of species from surrounding habitats are
capable of thriving in a disturbed habitat. As new plant species take hold, they modify the habitat by
altering such things as the amount of shade on the ground or the mineral composition of the soil. These
changes allow other species that are better suited to this modified habitat to succeed the old species.
These newer species are superseded, in turn, by still newer species. A similar succession of animal
species occurs, and interactions between plants, animals, and environment influence the pattern and
rate of successional change.

Secondary succession Secondary succession follows a major disturbance, such as a fire or a flood. The
stages of secondary succession are similar to those of primary succession; however, primary succession
always begins on a barren surface, whereas secondary succession begins in environments that already
possess soil. In addition, through a process called old-field succession, farmland that has been
abandoned may undergo secondary succession.

In some environments, succession reaches a climax, which produces a stable community dominated by
a small number of prominent species. This state of equilibrium, called the climax community, is thought
to result when the web of biotic interactions becomes so intricate that no other species can be
admitted. In other environments, continual small-scale disturbances produce communities that are
a diverse mix of species, and any species may become dominant.