I Ee UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENT Everything that surrounds and affects living organisms i “Environment ’is derived from the French word ‘E environment yironner’, which m or surround. All the biological and non-biological entities surrounding us a environment. 4.1.1 DEFINITIONS @ Declaration of the UN Conference on Human Environment, Stockholm 1972, defined environment as comprising of air, land and water especially representative sample of natural ecosystems. (i) As per the definition given in Environment Protection Act, 1986, environment includes all the physical and biological surroundings of an organism along with their interactions. Environment is thus defined as, “The sum total of water, air and land and the inter-relationships that exist among them and with the human beings, other living organisms and materials”. (iii) The English Environment Protection Act, 1990 defines the environment as “consisting ofall or any of the (media) the air, water and land. The medium ofair includes the air within buildings and the air within other natural or man-made structures above or below ground.” Other definitions of Environment (i) Anastasi: The environment is everything that affects the individual except his genes. (ii) Boring: A person’s environment consists of the sum total of the stimulation, which he receives from his conception until his death. (ii) Holland: The term, ‘environment’ is used to describe in the aggregate, all the external forces, influences and conditions, which affects the life, nature, behaviour and the growth, development and maturity of living organisms. 1.1.2 COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL sTuDlES Leis The environment provides all the things necessary t0 nourish life in ee a forms like air, water, land, food, shelter and so on. There are four ee ee oa the environment lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosP _ correspond to rocks, water, air and life respectively. ) encircle included inPMLIIBOS So clike stTuC = y oper! nosP eks and the mantle, which exteng, Is jy Lithon ere 2 it pelow the crus Pertiie : calle ot Ek ‘ayer of the Earth along with the crust f ti thacore pe a The crus made up of different minerals and shéed apatt of Litho depth ofthe crust ranBee upto 100 kms. Lithosphere can a compu! et ocean. It exists in the oceans beds and is called the oceaia caps en ‘and is the continental crust of the lithosphere. ni, cond me td tectonic plates can be found in the lithosphere. ‘There are ten m, dead ie Er his comprising the continents and the Pacific Ocean, ‘ajo, from w frateler "Hydro" is a Greek word for water and the word ‘sphere’ reg 413 cLA y Earth where water Is found in all forms, under and inside ¥ bet the oceans, seas, lakes, pong fiving andn to the zones On planet falls under the Hydrosphere. It includes t rivers and streams. The hydrosphere covers about 70% of the surface of. Earth and is the home for many plants and animals. 97.5% of water founds he form of salt water. Only 2.5 % of water on Eargd Earth is in the oceans intl freshwater. Out of this, 30.8% is available as groundwater and 68.9% is in froz, formsas in glaciers. Amount of 0.3% is available in ri ire eens nee rivers, reservoirs and lake : En (ii) Atmosphere: The word "atmos" i werdamogpre refers aes ese ain = ssshhamae hence, isunigueto planet Barth and sustains life. Itis ikea blanks pace aie a and isheld in place by the surfa i et enveloping the Eat ice gravity. The atmosphi Land light of the solar spectrum more than the othe eee onect tel — when viewed from space. eo oumeydtinsintaking the Ea = ~ ‘he composition of the various . gase: a nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% on = a is as follows: 78.08% = .038% mee caegenen emcees fm ere: There eae f near thi i are distin 5 ofpl ithe Egurand i Ssurface is the — inthe atmosphe® (ili) Soci ¥Pt0 50 kms. It inch kan at the poles. Next i Phere, which extends up! Poli Stratosphere ludes the O; is the Stratosphi ich exte® : layer when . The Mesosnhen on aves and w ere, wy mate they Para hast extends upto 85 ete balloons float * peor a Fe, Whicl 's atmos . Meteors burn up i? cong ; Place and 4, hextends upto ee es the Mesosphere, comes? onth aut at the eee ionisation of solar radio” ed the Karman i, ta height of 100 km fo begins line j Sat 690 km le is drawn to separate the exists, ide eas '10,000 Be vNe Teg Understanding the Environment ” 7 6. e te (iv) Biosphere - "Bio" is a Greek word for life: ‘teng, OM all the regions on Earth where life e- 3) hence, the word biosphere refers to xists. The ecosystems that support life could Ust 4, tiy be in soil, air, water or land. Geologist Edward Suess coined this word and “hem; referred this to the place on Earth where life can be found. Biosphere refers to Can May the sum total ofall living matter, the biomass or biota. It extends from the polar ice ons caps to the equator, with each region harbouring some life form suitable to the ani, conditions there, All the biological components of the Earth living as well sg the ; dead fall in the category of biosphere. It survives on the solar energy received " Mhajy, from the sun and the heat from deep inside the Earth 4.1.3 CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENT ©" Tefey Environment is composed of physical and biological components. It includes both Side ty. living and non-living components, > Pond ENVIRONMENT e Of th y Und oy Natural Social arth jy Environment Environment 1 froze 1d lakes Physical Biological Cultural Political Economie Environment Environment ioti iotic ace, he (abiotic) (biotic) —— eEatt Land Air Water Animals Plants Man ne blue Physical Environment : On the basis of physical characteristics and state, the ys! Physi : physical environment is sub-divided into three broad cate; ories, i.e., (a) Land ys) g (solid), (b) Water (liquid), (c) Air (gas). They are also called ‘abiotic 3.08% components’. joes (i) Biological Environment : The biological component of the environment consists i of plants (flora) and animals (fauna) including man as an important factor. ered (ii) Social Environment : Social environment includes cultural norms and values. pio! Political, &conomic and religious institutions Constitute an important part of the Social milieu and often decide how the environmental resources will be utilised by People and for whose benefit these will be utilised. As such, these factors put onthe bagi eee utilisation, The cultural environment on the Earth is formed basis of language, religious customs, life-style etc.ORTHE LIFE i, yu" stence of life on earth. Without it, ther, 1 our e exis are other big planets put, have no lif, e ib whi re 5 ha 4 4 ad ife on it as it has some Bcc For’ nt for life & existence sop for ce for various role, Bs “iro only M jars to create 1 ofthe environme! ance of the environment ‘eneeds fresh air (free of pollution), Ag gurroundings. If air and water are polluted and gnvit onme prone to fatal health disorders. Therefore, we sav eryh ronment in terms Of pollution and disposal of garbage, survive air for survival. The air mostly composes and drous other gases. Of them, oxygen is the key displace rat n from the food consumed with They can tne Siang components Ne importance spreading (Deter Water: Water compri . Ok ee reer ic 80 per cent of total ody mass, It is the inthe nad toxins contaminate the: ionand physiological processes in the body. If - then that wateris a very water or even disease-causing microb: ly. filth or andthen Newt tien icrobes like bacteria, activity nhl the wil on Oe SPS hnodifiyis vt Tate ME on the earth, | Societies = a5 green vegetation around whichis !ndustriz nae presence aa now ha ts, treesand Rttiliser w [etter Breath: llliving things breathe sfitragen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and. forthe body asithelpsinthe generation of energy but can} ® us an ) Dr. it sy tanding the Environment ‘ity. 15 HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIP tt, the, 114 Our environment means our physical surroundings and the characteristics ¢ fthe eNO lig. inwhich we live. Italso refers to the wider natural world. land, sea and atrn ied i ‘atmosphere one have been interacting with their environment sing © People first walked the Hu For example, humans have been cutting down forests to clear the land to grow ae centuries and by doing so we have altered the sivironment. Conversely, the USTOles | .,yironment affects us in many different ways as wel ple is the way we env our clothes in response to cold or hot weather, ° ‘ Uti ak ood climate, accessible clean water, fertile soil, etc : on), a that enable people to live and thrive, However, ae shot climate, limited water and infertile land, make it We eae arealso affected by major environmental events such as earthquakes, floods ‘ ca drought that damage homes, Property and agriculture. These can lead to the Poses le and can cause injury, loss of life and destruction of livelihoods 1¢ key displacement of peopl eta ; ; i with Theycanalso damage water sources and pipelines, Causing water contamination and ns spreading waterbome diseases. Ourrelationship with the environment changed with industrialisation, which began is the inthe I 8th century in the UK, shortly followed by e! ‘Isewhere in Europe and ‘North America, th or and then spreading across the world. Prior to industrialisation, the impacts of human echnologies used were not capable of a imple exarn, are aspects of the physical harsh environments, such More difficult for People to The links between human Patcanbe grouped into two ma 9 “se of natural resources activity and the environment in types of activity: Such as land, food, water, soils, are complex and varied, minerals, plants and Wi) p anton of wastes from a Tange of activities including agriculture, industry 2, 8S Well as Wastes from our own bodies. aig at aiere-water, pure-land, carl re-alr, pul a iw ol re development of the livin, soit of 3 elped in the de bist ms anlig! Nature through its own cycles has readij, is err nd man atural-cycles water-cycle, oxygen-cyc|_ con! an a joted in harmony with environment, Int, env a e at but over the years this equilibrium wa, @ yo : Pecience a sis life style with the help ofscience and technolog , which increased the need for more and mor g 2 Joitation of natural resource, wil eds led to the explom’ ‘i _ ae and world-wide crisis threatening huma, _— ii) Ne : wi r country since the Bhopaj which cams renvironme! at r savval 984, It is oe urgently felt that the public in general and the studen na Disaster of 1 Tar should be made aware ofall aspects of human environment. (ii) En con ee ‘cand cultural in order to handle current environmental ev peal eey Te si fall these aspects comprise Environmenta! Sidics mii on istpeooming important more than ever before in the new century and particularly so, for (jy) Es the student community. co MEANING TI Environmental studies deals with every issue that affects a living organism. Itis th essentially multidisciplinary approach that brings about an appreciation of our natural de ‘world and human impact on its integrity. G tis an applied science, as it seeks practical answers to the increasingly important w ‘question of how ivilizati i i a tomake human civilization sustainable on the finite resources thatar (vy) T The need fc i for SeaTac and education was strongly felt in the Westem countries s and they introduced environmental courses in the ‘universities. In India it i happened in the 1980s and seriously from the 1990s, In view 0! the Honbk about envi i uaenetial degradation and threat to mankind, the Supreme Coun; of India stepped forward and in their landmark judgement in 1991 urge’ (BA,BS common: i . Se and B.Com, steams) Accord se co onment for undergraduate studen among 1998 oeepatndnc a orate geconcanen ees toc te , = Of suitable hone Scenario was full of confusio" ) ilnes could nox Various disciplines Aon the subject and of teacher hour ‘be moti , i ur for Green Syllabus coy, te: This book i °s. As a result, the students of various simple non-technical lang Y €enerating eine to fulfil the need of the Order to sustaj : Awareness and educatio! 'nlerest of the students bel as | ll et OeSY yrner meen reragy moo aon Md, 4.1.7 SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES the } *” Recause of environmental studies has been seen to be multi-dise iplinary in nature, s considered to be a subject with great scope, Environmental age not limited ig ont I eof anitation and health, but it is now concemed with pollution control, bio. diversity : ste ement and conservation of natural resouree nt 2 conservation, waste management and conservation of natural resoure Ss, th Environmental science can be applied inthe following sphe Wy (i) Beosystem : The study of ecosystems mainly consists of the stud ‘hn Hoos) y of the processes Oy that link the living organism or in other words, biotic component to the non-living ad ganism orabiotic component, So, forthe study of environment, we should awme Ott vith biotic and abiotic components, hua, (i) Natural Resource Conservation : For managing and maintenance of forests, hop, which are natural resources and for the maintenance of wild-life forms task under SI natural resource conservation, It is also a scope of ‘environmental studies, Amen, (i) Environmental Pollution Control : With the knowledge of environmental science, Ment everybody can control the pollution. He/she can handle the waste management Which and also look for ways to control pollution on the aspect of pollution control. $0. far Gy) Environmental Management : There are several independent environmental consultants, who are working with Central and State Pollution Control Board. They offer advice to solve the problems of environment the optimum solution for n. Itis theupcoming problems. They give directions for controlling pollution due to industrial atural development. There are several current consultants, who are working with Government Pollution Control Board, involved in policy making, pollution control, yrtant maintenance of ecological balance, stare —_(v) The Scope of Environmental Studies in Industry : Environmental scientists work towards the maintenance of ecolo gical balance, they also work towards conservation of biodiversity and regulation of natural resources, as well as, on Preservation of natural resources, Most of the industries have a separate environmental research and developmental section. These sections govern the impact that their industry has on the environment. Our environment is being degraded by the rapid industrialisation, ‘To combat this menace, there is a growing ‘rend towards manufacture of "green" goods and products, So, we can say that there isa good scope in the field Of industry from environmental studies. (*) Research rete Development : Research and development have tremendous iVereities uerement in public awareness regarding the environment. Various ee Sovernmental organisations offer a scope for such research, These poe peace research studies in order to develop the methods towards icreasingtveat pe the source of environmental pollution. Due to an ion of greenh slobal warming, many steps are being undertaken for the Ouse gases and the adoption of renewable energy resources.Sow regarding the use of solar energy for varie @ awarene: ty They ne prov cope ofenvironmental history in the field of researg, Pp ant ric purposes. This year, : and develope ent : NGO (Non Governmental Organisations) help, ye” educate ie (in Social Dever. regarding the provecti” ofthe environment and making qe if we want creating Ware rious enV Me nmental issues. They also generate a public opin everyone environ” masses aW ee vrork towards disseminating information and in bringing aber {tis absolu inthis fel. Trey cies that personally effect the environment. The oom @ Rapidly ct changes in ric) gn inclues controlling population explosion tow developme aaa eavisory awareness camps technolog' isi 9 18 IMPORT “ANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES ee ‘ ars, « Environmental studies helps to maintain ecological balance by providing abasie = sale knowledge ofenvironmental systems and their processes. By giving information @ saab the changes that take place due to anthropogenic factors environmentally, camechi their study helps us. all these + Italsohelpsto gain skill in using techniques to analyse various environmental only inct systems and the effect ofhuman activities on that system. indirect » Environmental studies. applies economical methods and concepts to issues of the environmental management, environmental policy analysis. Environmental study includes diverse area, such as; property rights, economic instruments for pollution control, cost benefit analysis management ications with environmental policy. pol * Concepts from environmentally studied can be applied to the study of ‘agriculture and the design of sustainable production systems. + We need to a study of physical, iological, chemical and social processes that ly of phys gi P form the basis of the problem of environment. ‘Anenvironmental study provides skills necessary to raise the questions and too often obtain answers to some ofthe environmental problems from which our planet is facing today. Ve can use environmental studies. @ Insolving environmental problems like (2), Global warming (b) Depletion of Ozone layer (c) Dwindling forests (@) Reducing energy resources (€) Depletion in global bio-diversity. Gi). Solving approach for local environmental problems like (a) Solid waste management (b) | of mini _ (b) Public health (d) Providing clean drinking waterue, et understanding the Environment. (9) ese, bs Need for public awareness: There is a Chinese proverb, "If you plan for sh one year, plant rice, io vou plan for 10 years, plant trees, and if you plan for 100 educate people’ is in Se a ee and sustain our earth, we have no other option, but to make Dini’ everyone environmentally educated Baby , absolutely, essential to create awareness about environment, because: Socigh (i) Rapidly changing technologies lead to abandoned wastes: In modern-era of TOugh development, there is greater inclination for adopting the latest Product of technological advancement and discarding the older one as obsolete. People change their cars, mobile phones, computers, i-pads and electronic goods within a few years, thus, adding to the vast e-waste stream that af, (i) Itisa functional unit in which the biotic components (plants, animals, humans and abiotic components on ; and lchemicg, slain micro-organisms) and abiotic (i. physical environment like, air, water, land etc ), , etween ae components are intimately related to each other through a series of large-scale LIT 19sp cyclic mechanisms, (x) Ithas its own productivity which is the process of building organic matter. 1€ OF mon (xi) ithas ascale dimension and its size may vary froma small cow-shed to the whole ySical ang of biosphere. "rg (1963) 4.2.3 TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM "8 With the There are so many ecosystems functioning in nature. The ecosystems are different ed trophit from each other in terms of, climate, soil, vegetation, water and land. Ecosystem is ecological mainly divided into two categories i.e, natural and man-engineered ecosystem um (1971) ECOSYSTEM within the nd Small d. animal Natural Ecosystem Man Engineered Ecosystem . tt (1975) intl ring # Terrestrial Ecosystem Aquatic Ecosystem Sd es ——_ “ithin i) Forest Grassland Desert Marine Freshwater _Wetland ee Ecosystem Ecosystem Ecosystem Ecosystem Ecosystem Ecosystem pO Te (198! sracrate Tropical Hot Cold sland Grassland Desert Deserti STEM ; _ emselves under natural commons NATUR: ECOSYSTEM axed by themselves under natural commons wigigy - Nat ecosystems are Based upon the particular kind of habitat, these cant wo » by man. Bas jor interference Be es : ah Be into the following By = ae i ndings ea ’ os sae ' s : Terres : bund " Tere pee aoe ses. The main parts of terrestrial ecosystems are,, ii) To ue rn heavily saturated I laces wt 01 y : est and most ecologically co well? follow : Forests repr sent the largest ar er y ooaga wala 1, Forest Ecosystem tide assortment of trees, plants, mammals, reptile, coi systems. ae ccretied s, insects and micro-organisms which vary depending «, “ amphibians, inve ~snact ecosystems are of three types -'s climates. Forest ecosys the zone's © rorests : Cold regions with high rainfall, strong seasonay © Oe Nae Tne and hott summers are characterised by bore) cant’ forest. These are characterised by evergreen plant species such . spruce, fir and pine trees etc and by animals such as the lynx, wolf bear, red fox, porcupine, squirrel and amphibians like ae Ranaetc. (b) Temperate Deciduous Forests : Temperate deciduous forests are a close relative of the Taiga forests and can be found in areas with a milder, shorter winter season. In addition to evergreens, trees in the temperate forest include ig maple, elm, oak, cedar and other trees, which shed their leaves in the fall. The 3. temperate forests’ soil is richer than that of the boreal forests' and featuresa sis larger assortment of forest floor’s plant life. tS (c) Tropical or Rainforest Forests : The rainforest is the most ecologically a rich of the world's forests. Rainforests are generally found at the equatorial : level of the planet. Daylight in the rainforest lasts for 12 hours, there is no ¢ winter and the seasons can best be described as rainy or dry, with little change in temperature. The rainforest is host to the largest variety of life forms inall ofnature, with thousands of different species of trees, plants, flowers, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, invertebrates and micro-organisms. yn Grassland Ecosystem : Grasslands are unaltered areas of land, where grass is e dominant plant life, as opposed to other terrestrial ecosystems, where trees occupy ost of the land surface. Grassland can be classified into two categories (@ Temperate Grasslands : The maj § Africa, the Pampas of South eee temperate grasslands include the Velds of i erica, the st f Eurasi sath North Am leppes of Eurasia, and the plains 0! (@) Prai rica, Temperate grassland falls within the following cate; - (a) Prairies : Prairies are gen ig categori There are very few trees erally humid and are densely covered in tall grass aiiUnderstanding the Environment n 7 — —— 43) ae With, ©) Steppes : These grassland are usually found in reas of the world, which are Se cant less prone to moisture. Steppe vegetation ia ve suited to this drier clinnma by and the grass is generally shorter than that Which is found on prairie gran rary ete Animal life on the steppe is comprised of grazing mammals such asthe antelope ty (i) Tropical Grasslands : Tropical grasslands are located ne ar the equator, between x the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, They come much of Africa as reply well as lange areas of Australia, South America and India Tropical grasslands are Ptileg dominated by grasses, often 3 to 6 feet tall at maturity Tropical grassland animals 8 on include giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, kangaroos, mices, moles. gophers, ground squirrels, snakes, worms, lions, leopards and elephants, “€S0nq) [Savanna bore Savanna are distinguished by their warmer drier climates and their seasonal euch J droughts. Savanna plant life is highly adapted to the hot and dry climate, with trunks Pbear | that can store water for days or special built in mechanisms allowing the plant to lie Gormant during periods of drought. Another variant of this grassland is the tropical Close _ | Savanna, which is perhaps the most ecologically diverse of the grasslands; here, several torte; _| species of animals including birds, mammals, reptiles and insects congregate and feed clude _ | upon the trees and grass or each other, . The 3. Deserts Ecosystem : Deserts cover about one-fifth of our planet and are caused resa by extremely low rainfall over an area. These are none the less home for many plants and animals, which have through the course of their evolution adapted to ally this dry environment. rial Desert ecosystem is divided into two pans ‘no @ Hot Desert : The hot deserts of the world are caused by the presence of age dry air and low precipitation from subtropical high pressure cells. The true all deserts are under the influence of the descending drying, and stable air of ls, high pressure system from 8 to 12 month of the year. A Few of the subtropical deserts like Atacama (Chile), Western Sahara Namibia (Africa), Arizona (USA) and Great Victoria Desert (Australia) are along the sea coast and are influenced by cold offshore ocean currents, f (ii) Cold Desert : The cold desert biomes occur at higher altitudes where Seasonal shifting of subtropical high pressure is of some influence less than six months of the years. Specifically, the interior locations are ary ‘because of their distance from moisture sources (oceans) or their locations in rain- shadow areas on the leeward side of mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, Andes and Rockies. The combination of interior location and ee Positioning, produces the cold deserts of the Great Basin sioner ae America, Patagonia, Ladakh, Central Asia, Gobi (Mongolia), Western China.nsistin; of water as the main habita,.~ _ ee broadly divided into aa) oy Grn » sare divided between coral ret 42! neo) e la nd most diverse of the ecosyates fo rain, which falls on the land regions, while most of? com x, Algae are also responsible for Sa tof ted by alga from our atmosphere. The deepest St pa vi ty, pehavion™ ‘nas y species of invertebrates ay y . ind fish sum , cons or arine regio’ large amounts of caFDON dioxide It is host to man eee iled the abyssal zone. y te crepes as the coelacanth prehistoric fish once thought extinct and foy, produc inthe depths of the Indian ‘Ocean, and other fish that glow in the dark via a proces @) hemsel called photoluminescence. 7 presenc 2. Freshwater ecosystems = Freshwater ecosystems cover 0.78% of the Eartly leaves, surface and inhabit 0.009% ofits total water. They generate nearly 3% of its net prima e autotro production. Freshwater ecosystems contain 4 1% of the world's known fish species, " There 2 Basic types of freshwater ecosystems are Lentic and Lotil : extent @ Lentic: slow moving water, including pools, ponds, and lakes. known Lakes and Ponds Ecosystem : While it can ist i i the oce odiesof water such as ponds tend to dry up fairl Scorn other inlang gmake ie which See ne icker. Because of that factor, the ao ‘when major change is brought on my ht s, are often threatened by extinction, especial ae y human expansion. Lakes and ponds lik« 4 hydro¢ ivided into separate zones, whi Pi e the oceans ; , which are defined by their di e Gi) Lotic: faster moving water, f re: Pee comiheeeee River and Stream ae oe eae streams and rivers. organi tems : River . ae i. and akes because whilst the latter two e Spe aa ake Se ittecen poet 9 water is always flowi cosystems offer stagnant (stati t , ways flowing. That means that , (static) water, river ‘animals and plants s that these river eco: - ee that are best adapted to living in flowi systems are the homes of ple, as they use the flowing moti living in flowing water. Salm @ And, in general, motion ofa river to hel : jon are a key Se ep cresnins that prefer to migrate - new with their annual migration fiver suits their ie d in freshwater river econystama ve seeduotior nm 3. Wetlands Ecosyste ecause the motion of he ‘swamps and m : Other ; Gii) marshes areas of still w: _ a 88 sedges oe _ large variety of i or wetlands, such as glades wetlands ss, which are, mee the wetlands aa ¢ flora and fauna, Aside fre (iv) kek oe ly adapted to the hi ‘0 support a few types of trees of insects, from tevin ne high humidi re 2 reptiles, to ‘idity of these regions. Ti , (Oo mammals, to ‘ e regions. Man-Engineereg coo SY STEM »toamphibians and birds" (c ecosystem is that ) Dece develops coon YStm, Which i Mok ichis Var; ATi Scosystem such isingh aml gia 8 bsinlcoual tena $ lectualtechnolog the primaCepest the rates ang Or let and g Ish > shore. it to ponds ater, river homes of are a key nigration. to seeka ion of the s glades. ide from of trees: ons. birds, © olosic the primary producers which predominate (e.g., Forests, agro ecosystems), Understanding tne Environment us) 424 STRUCTURE OF AN ECOSYSTEM ‘An ecosystem structure includes both biological (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components. 'A. Biotic structure: The f animals and micro-organisms present in an ecosystem form the biotic component. These organisms have different nutritional behaviour and status in the ecosystems and are accordingly known as producers or consumers based on how do they get their food, (a) Producers: They are mainly the green plants, which can synthesise their food themselves by making use of carbon dioxide present in the air and water in the sence of sunlight by involving chlorophyll, the green pigment present in the , through the process of photosynthesis. They are also known as ‘photo- autotrophs’ (auto means self, troph means food and photo means light) There are some micro-organisms also which can produce organic matter to some extent through oxidation of certain chemicals in the absence of sunlight. They are known as chemosynthetic organisms or chemo-autotrophs. For instance in the ocean depths, where there isno sunlight, chemo-autotrophic sulphur bacteria make use of the heat generated by the decay of radioactive elements present in the earth’s core and released in ocean's depths. They use this heat to cover dissolved hydrogen sulphide (H,S) and carbon dioxide (CO,) into organic compounds. (b) Consumers: All organisms, which get their organic food by feeding upon other organisms are called ‘consumers’, which are of the following types. (@ Herbivores (Plant eaters): They feed directly on producers and hence also known as ‘primary consumers’. For example; rabbit, insect, man ete. (ii) Carnivores (Meat eaters): They feed on other consumers. If they feed on herbivores they are called ‘secondary consumers’ (eg. Frogs) and if they feed on other carnivores (eg. snakes, big fishes etc.), they are known as ‘tertiary carnivores / consumers’. (iii) Omnivores: They feed on both plants and animals. For example; Humans, tats, foxes, many birds etc. (iv) Detritivores (detritus feeders or saprotrophs): They feed on the part of dead organisms, wastes of living organisms, their cast-offs and partially decomposed matter. For example; beetles, termites, ants, crabs, earthworms, vultures, etc. (©) Decomposers: They derive their nutrition by breaking down the complex organic molecules to simpler organic compounds and ultimately into organic nutrients. Various bacteria and fungi are decomposers. Inall the ecosystems, this biotic structure prevails. However, in some, these are while in the decomposers predominate (e.g., Deep Ocean).nents OT aN ecosyste, edaphic (soil) facton mical compo! ic factors, stances. ensity of solar flux, duration g femperature, anny, ix shade, int jmum-minimum te oH availability, water currey, t ater: 18 je, soil type, W4 gun hours, ude and altituae * tures, which have a strong in| jnfll, wind at ant physical features, whick 8 inflUueng, eofthe - 4 ogo. are some ences in solar flux, temperature ang ” ) pattern ina desert ecosystem 1N a tropic, snow eer milarly, the type of grassland or fat ng upon its geographical location. f major essential nutrients, like; carbon 0) aa posphors, porassiul, hydrogen, oxygenand sulphur, level of toxiy = linity and various organic substances present jp substances, salts causing a} : the soilor water largely influence the functioning of the ecosystem. STRUCTURAL FEATURES Interaction of biotic and abiotic components results in physical structure that j calculated by the characteristic of each type of ecosystem. ‘The two important structural features of an ecosystem are : (9 Species Composition : It is calculated by identi: i ne sl eseheeract y the identification and enumeration of ‘Satication : tis the vertical distributi : ical distribution of diffe i F ‘erent species occupying differen: ‘man ecosystem, S occupy top ve oO levels ©8, tees occupy top vertical strata r layer of a forest, shrubs and 125 grasses occupy th x FUNCTIONS OF ECOSYSTEM bottom (third) layers, pag, Ms holistic na Ft a vii sag pit 8 he environment, biologi Mite aadeaegy 2% ls functions on Where the Reaeaeay” biological ayo i : on between the Beam oe Vey broad Section IO Move fron ft it ico Theme: from lesser cgn Pores the follow; e a OMPLEX to amore go ne asPects in Complex state throug! nthe ecosystem é ie ene the striking diffe jical factors: Availability 0! fi Teh ans ‘N fitute ise hash of, ofe, lated tStorical ge and the eye ela hen of mater ) ee flow int Te jonsti ‘The impo" (a) Produc (c) Energy To underst w Pond is fail that exist in an! above mentione Abiotic co Autotroph submerged and 1 are free swimm flagellates foun This pond : asa whole, i.e. ¢ help of solar enc_— Eh ca, 8 Soy jerstanding the Environment. a7) Ste, | Yt sAactaotin ; " ; . fact (x) tcontains abiotic and biotic components through which nutrients are cycled and "8, energy flow. ratio, (4) Tomaintain these cycles and flows, the ecosystem provides a numberof structural ange relationships between soil, water, nutrients, producers, consumers and decomposers. ma The important functional aspects of an ecosystem are: flue (a) Productivity (b) Decomposition “Ry (©) Energy flow (d) Nutrient cycling Ire a, To understand the concept of an aquatic ecosystem, let us take a small pond ‘opi Be ecosystem as an example, ; foreg, Pond Ecosystem Pond is fairly a self-sustainable unit that explains even the complex interactions Arbon, that exist in an aquatic ecosystem. A pond is a shallow water body in which all the Ftoxjy [above mentioned basic structural and functional components are present. Abiotic component is the water with all the dissolved inorganic and organic materials and soil deposited at the bottom of pond. The solar input, the cycle of temperature, day-length and other climatic conditions regulate the rate of function of the entire pond. Autotrophic components are phytoplanktons, some algae and the floating, submerged and marginal plants found at the edges. Consumers are zooplanktons, which are free swimming and bottom dwellers. Decomposers are the fungi, bacteria and on of | flagellates found abundantly in the bottom of the pond. This pond system performs all the functions of an ecosystem and of the biosphere rent | asa whole, 7.e. autotrophs convert inorganic materials into organic material with the ‘ubs |help of solar energy, heterotrophs consume autotrophs and decomposers decompose and mineralise dead organic materials to release them back for reuse by the autotrophs. These events are repeated over and over again, however, energy flow is call unidirectional towards the higher trophic levels. At each trophic level, a part of energy the} US dissipated and is lost as heat to the environment. tof (A) Productivity | : A constant input of solar energy is the basic requirement for any ecosystem to it fiction and sustain, The rate of synthesis of energy containing organic matter or biomass gh byany trophic level per unit area in unit time is called its productivity. It is expressed in ermsofg? yr? or (kcalm~) yr", Productivity of an ecosystem can be categorised as ys Primary and secondary productivity, ent in hat is ne ii aaa3) . —_ 8 — productivity oc orgtleM tQHMBUE OE 7 prima! fbioma: 7 axpress* ep ce itisthe amoun T otosyntbesi This ex?" pees y OY i i " ate’ period py plants during: pects aS di scussed below: raw oN 7 am”) productivity has two aspert® ao , ‘The primary Proce” morn ap primary PY ty rganio matter UTNE photosynthesis. Acomsidery “gy FF or the rate of production of orgat ration é ae ants in resp" vpp js utilised by P'4 st yunt of GPP isutlls® Ay i nate ry Productivity oe. -sonsumption bY heterotrophs (herbivores, oa s ailable biomass De ai i ducers after utilisati B.C: : atl * sul the amount of energy leftin ae ae rae hal tion (iii) Cc: decompose juin respiration. Thus, GAY Primary Produc! pitty OS eeneng ges a A Be gives the Net primary Productivity: Ae (nates : bo Gpp-R= NPP where, R= Respiration losses. ) i a Factors Affecting Primary Productivity saa, . Primary productivity varies from ecosystem to ecosystem. This 1s because oft different factors given below: @)! articular area, (@ The plant species inhabiting a ps so contribute in affecting primary productivity @ Various environmental factors al Some of them are: (@) Light: Sunlight is the ultimate source of energy. Dueto the less availabilitye light in an aquatic ecosystem, here productivity is less than terrestrial ecosystet g Es ee light is available intropics and poles receive the minimu: em fore, productivity is comparatively low on poles. femperature : It regulates the activity ofan enzym i iperatut is required for proper functioning ide enzyme. Pe ae sopede (©) Moisture : Rain (humidity) increases the a ivi it tends to decrease with the scarcity of eee econ i iene Primary productivity as soil is de oe “ Gib Nutrient avatabitity : Nut fe efsientnasisturs us, hi . eis ents are es: i (iv) Ph igher available nutrients ensure sential for the growth of product i soe efficiency of plants ean rue eee pared - 3 fi sunlight. So, a because some an a Plants are more productY Secondary Productivity ulate more productivity S have morte efficiency t0 ¥ Itis the rate ofassimilati 5 small as mation and format compared to mation of new or; all : ett and tends ee ater by consume * senile :Sens te ema = mposition y . payee of breaking down like water, carbon dioxide and nutrient for decomposition Itincludes dead remains of pl is including faecal matter Different steps involved in the p 1 of complex organic matter into inorganic ts by decomposers. Detritus is the ants (leaves, bark and rocess of a raw material flowers) and animal composition are: terapy, a, Fragmentation: py detritivores (©.8: earthworm). ) Leaching + Ttis the hich water-soluble inorganic nutrients go * horizon and get precipitated as unavailable salts. is into simple organic material ess of degradation of detritu: d then their further conversion itis the process of breakdown of detritus into smaller particles ' process by W down ‘ @ ©S ang into the tion of qi) Catabolism : It isthe proc: by the action of bacterial and fungal enzymes ani into simpler inorganic compounds. vy) Humification : It is a process that leads to accumulation of a dark coloured ‘sand colloidal substance: called humus, whichis! highly resistant to microbial action and undergoes decomposition at a very slow rate. Being’ colloidal in nature, sa reservoir of nutrients. Of the robial action it serves a @) Mineralisation : It is the process 0! and release of inorganic nutrients. f degradation of humus ‘by mic! A tree grows in the soil Some are eaten by insects and other lity of —_ animals, nutrients and energy enter food web A ee leaf falls t i the ground ve the Leaves partially consumed by decomposers such as fungi cers peal chy Dees lose form and become litter. Some nutrients leach into soil by ‘chemical actionmj sition aa requires OXYBS™ 1UF 1S PLOGG, 50 “ty porte t ic Li the following two factors: ‘th 4main - decomposition is 8 1 ate bo jo" porate of d200mnPOST jon of detritus ¢ a rate oat Ce apoeed ca ei e108 jeat composition ° gn while it aU" " “toy, jyuntiné and detritus nces like Suga! | are the most importa ener! and water so}? emperature ane goil moisture are POTTANE cing y chimatic factors = i) Clima scomposition. a at control decomp : le, low tempera the P' fctors that O° vironment favours decomposition whi temperatures efert' envirot of oxygen) inhibit decomposi rel No Warm and moist ¢ ailability js, Le. anacro! resulting in build of organic " in the Ecosystem ; (ce) ee ‘nan ecosystem takes place through the es chain and itis, energy flow, W hich keeps the ecosystem. going. The most important feature of this ene flow is that it is unidirectional. Unlike the nutrients (like carbon, nitrogen, phosphor, etc.), which move in a cyclic manner and are reused by the producers after flowis through the food chain, energy is not reused in the food chain. This means that ener captured by autotrophs does not revert back to the solar input and it passes toe nerbivores. It moves progressively through various trophic levels. Green plants capture 1% of the energy ofthe sunlight that falls on their leaves sonvert it into food energy. When green plants are eaten by primary consumers, a ge jeal of energy is lost as heat to the environment. On average 10 % of food eaten! « umed into its own body and made available for next level of consumers. As verylé . ee a ie . next level of consumer, food chain consists of only thre: us . stem, generally, the producers are maximum. in number. Ast “ move along the food chai eater | ape : chain, the number of individuals at each trophic level decreas co one in an ecosystem follows the two laws of thermodynamics. be fist ba ; Zr It states that energy can neither be created” captured by the green cates from one form to another. The solar et : _ ro 4 : Plants and later into that eee. gets converted into bio-chemical ene?! The total amount: of energy and matter j frac bnedar tects oor ae nee 5 cs system (environm, ese is always conservered. In other wo! — ‘ ) is constant. This is also known as j pic conditions (unavi ger obi0S! a materials. ‘ 4‘Thermodynamics: It states that energy dissipates as it jg used or it converted from a more concentrated to dispersed form. As ing i NS perwords it ro oan, here occurs dissipation of energy at every trophic level, is Slo Bs throu! sh the akes place through respiration, loss of energy in locomotion, Ties dof OM, 085 eneray KES PPS every level, there is about 90% loss of energy and the tivities tr hic level to the other is only about 10%, ® te ee trop! punting 2 ferred from one es fang Clitn, _ eneBY trans words, “Inall energy exchange, ifno energy enters or leaves the system my Inother 11 always be less than that of the initial state” itisalsg "era sential energy of state wi ome ferred 10 88 entropy sit y : year oi) pe nd it ig 5 iat hosp * flows at ene ses to te aves ax) *-28% (p) Biogeochemical/Nutrient Cycle very les The cycling, at various scales, of minerals and compounds through the ecosystem threels isknown as biogeochemical cycle. The cycle (carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle) involves Ase phase of weathering of rocks, uptake and storage by organisms and return to the pool of ‘: the soil, the atmosphere or ocean sediments. (Indetail on next, pages) 1.26 ENERGY FLOW MODELS ted 0 For better understanding of energy flow in an ecosystem, there are three typesof a energy flow model: -enett! ’ oe y models () Single Channel Energy flow models (i) Y - shaped energy flow mode ere” (ii) Universal model @ Single Channel Energy flow models (Linear food chain) These models depi i lepict two things clearly, wate (@) Unidirectional flow of energy : The energy that is captured beh a jms as does not revert back to solar input. Itpasses to herbivore an SE (b) Progressive decrease of energy at each trophic level. i oes oe of energy as heat and energy which remains unutilized. Hence easel food chain, greater would be the available food enerBY 85° neray the length of the food chain there is corresponding more loss of enereyai 1UMQULLd Oy Radiation i Decomposition De poe” Sn 05 rin Fatotrophs leross Production) (GP) ili t utilised not puilleed) Pe not " irati Respiration R Retg3.0) (45 og Figu : Energy Flow diagram for a Lake (Single Channel) Tesh Witaneee eta? in geal / cm?yr (modified from Lindeman, 154 1,2, 3 Represents Trophic Levels; I : Total Energy Input PG: Gross Primary Production; A: Assimilation P —_: Secondary (Consumer) Production NU : Energy Not Used F NA_: Energy Not Assimilated (Egested) R : Respiration 7 (ii) Y-Shaped Energy Flow Model Or 2-channel energy flow model: ty pattern scribed by H.T. Odum (1957). Y shaped energy flow model given by Odum shy are inte ationship between detritus and grazing food chain. comple The important point in Y-shaped model is that the two food chains are notisi# 1-2.7 E m each other. Thus Y-shaped model is more realistic and practical working! T gle channel model because of the following reasons : Haeck @) Y-shaped model confirms or shows the basic stratified structure of ecoss® 8 deriv : eas the grazing and detritus food chain in both time and space. Baie sity dace nes (bacteria, fungi) and the macro-consumers (phagor? Definii greatly in size metabolism relations, i on me i anil i (iii) iv)rowth, aerate — ‘ ict’ _f' eee juction 3 agent? (Output eneray hang, : available to the from Uy ee next trophic level) Energy a Dilation ey Standing | By N Respiration StU Figure : Universal energy flow model applicable : ration To sum up energy flow it must be remembered that these models depict the basic low mode, fenergy flow in ecosystem. In practice under natural conditions the organisms sts by Oda ‘are interrelated in a way that: several food chains become interlocked and this result in to complex food-web. ‘Thus in nature there is multi channel flow of energy. iains arentiy 1.2.7 ECOLOGY ctical works The term ecology is believed to have been coined by a German Biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1869, though its first authentic use was made by Reiter in 1885. The term rure of econ is derived from the Greek word, ‘Oikos’ meaning ‘house’ and ‘logy’ means ‘study of". and spae ‘Thus, ecology refers to the science that deals with the inter-relationship amongst organisms ‘and interaction between living organisms and their physical environment. mers Definitions : o poe is the study of relation of the animal to its organic as well as ganic environment." -Ernst Haecker (1869) en (ii) "Ecology is the study of organisms in relation to their environment." ; " A - Warming (18 (ii "Ecology may be defined as the science of the community," con pe rederick Clements (1916) concerned with sociology and -Charles Elton (1927) all organisms to their ~Taylor (1936) to all living components. (iy) "Ecology is the scienti seientific life nat is meonomics of animals," oo Pe () "Ecology is the science of environments," ; all the relations ofanisms to the other group through a series Of Ste] Ae transfer of food energy from one group of organism ‘trophic level’ or ‘step’. The linear food chain and energy fl Ow OF Green plants being producers are always first trophic chain, Afterwards herbivores constitute the secondary eee producers directly. The second trophic level is constituted by secondary consumers. In some food chains carnivores are s constituting fourth trophic level of food chain, Some common. chains are : (@) Grass — Grasshopper — Frog > Snake > Hawk (@) Phytoplanktons —> Water fleas —> Small fish >Tuna ii) Lichens > Reindeer Man ‘an Types of food chain: There are two mai (a) Grazing food chain: It starts from gre and on to carnivores. Most of the chain and depend on an influx of solar radi ations. The grazing food chain be illustrated as Autotroph > Herbivore — Pri Carnivore > Secondary Carnivore. The grazing food chain is also called ‘predator food chain’ because one (predator) captures and devours another, animal (prey). (b) Detritus food chain: This food chain Starts from dead organic matter and go ‘o micro-organisms and then to detritivores (detritus feeding organisms). The organic matter like leaves, decaying roots etc, are acted upon by the organi: detritivores and decomposers, The decomposers include bacteria and latter are in turn, preyed upon by several small animals including example: (i) Leaflitter > Algae Crabs > Small carnivorous fish large can (i) Dead organic matter Fungi > Bacteria,| , various Regace ms organi: man as depend wholly on ses Pe peer anne ni an lit pers and intersect each other to form “ogy food chains are lin og called ‘food web’. 4 ha of eq a Uh if Ina single ecosystem more than one food chai yf isinvolved in more than one food chain. A food web provides more than one way for an sg tBanism to be utilised, Stability of community depends or increases as number of altemative Pathways for an organisms are increased. So, a complex ecosystem is more f f Stable and complex food webs should be compressed of organisms, It is dependent upon the factors, (For. example; @) Grass Grasshopper > Hawk (i) Grass Grasshopper > Lizard + Hawk ii) Grass Mouse/rat Hawk iv) Grass Mouse/rat Snake Hawk ins exist same time and one organismexam res Tiger Lions Mans sede aby WOME errs sanxton, Grasshioper, Cow p 200 Grass, Trees Phytoplankton spied by carnivore: vy green plants and gets C0! levels. For example: nverted different trophic Rats Plants ae imary Consumers Produce’ i . law states thatthe i law was proposed by Lindeman in 1942. he 1 Then further e cceive only | % of the total solar energy coming to them. 1. Rest of th heel eeives only 10% energy from the previous trophic level: Rest OSs ‘Jost as heat in the environment, Some amount is utilised for digestion, worl and development. 133 ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS The relation between producers and consumers in an ecosystem 2 *spreseated in the form ofa pyramid called “Ecological Pyramid’. Py campru, ees by British Ecologist Chi $0 ci “onlan pyramids’. An ecologic: Pek pein} towards the tip) or inverted (widens owen roader in the middle and narrow Y above and below), Types of Ecological Pyramid:Ecological Pyramids are stud (1) Pyramid of Numbers, (I!) Pyramid of Biomass (I) P (D) Pyramid of Number; gr presentation of y ‘s: i Present in various trophic | ofe fate : am Per unit area at levels ofa Pyramid of number is a straight Pyeami tchain in Inapredatory food chain, Pyrai the siza.a terresu sarc yramid, in and there is prog shows that biomass IS jiomass from ecosystem (eg. Pond ecosystem), ere the biomass ofa trophic level ty of the members because the biomass ons, which is less than that ofsecondary consumers. sentation of amount of energy trap (U1) Pyramid of Energy: It graphic repre n nd area in different trophic levels of ‘a food chain. The energy conte, {in kcal/m*/yeat. Tertis a Secondary i tr Primary Producers 1,000,000 J Energy of Sunlight which decrease in bi But in aquatic orspindle shaped, W’ potential and longev than that of zooplankt per unit time al generally expressed 10,000 J Pyramid of Energy According to Second Law of Thermo: lynamics, there is a ; ‘ 1 ermod) i i energy at successive trophic levels (Lindeman’s 10% percent im, maximum energy content is present in the Producers, a vent of energy availabl 0.20% (i e leat lower trophic k i ‘ cecal, isavailable to ieee as heat and only nergy is ALWAYS the growth of organisms a evel Oy : {AN UPRIGHT orstraightpyean sa ints Pyrami about ecological oral ‘ few exceptions to thé(31) rally inverted because the biomass of fishes far ~ - in seals gene! ss in |S jd of biom plankton. ‘ey ee inatofPhytOP!™” ig indicates the amount of energy present at each exe! er! pyran ae the em Sen orannually per unit area. » gach bal | a) Ba Jina \ rop! ic leve! ) re Krecoogical Pyramids rer aitel Ns ig is 4 into account the same species be longing to two or more trophic gy Ienever take: , rs Je food chain, something that almost never exists in nature. J Trassumes @ simp! ate @ Itdoes not accommodate & food web. ‘ @ are not given at any place in ecological pyramids even though, they yytes playan important role the ecosystem. “ECOLOGICAL NICHE erm describing the relational position of a species or In ecology, 4 niche is a t pocue population in an ecosystem more formally the niche includes howa population responds to the abundance ofits resources ‘and enemies. It is the description of all the biological, physical and chemical factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy and reproduce. The abiotic or physical environment isalso part of the niche because it influences how populations affect and is affected by resources and enemies. The description ofa niche may include descriptions of the organism's life history, habitat and place in the food chain. According to the competitive exclusion principle, no two species can occupy the same niche in the same environment for a long time. In order to conserve species in ts native habitat, we should have knowledge about the niche requirements of the species. of Niche oe ate four types of ecological niche ; peters is the places where species live. ae means what the species eat and decompose. oats are Niche means when and how these species pues ae He ttland Chemical Niche refers to the physical and chemical perature, land types, slopes, humidity and other needs. ee