WHAT IS

ECOSYSTEM?
ECOSYSTEM
The ecosystem comprises of the biotic community
and the non-living environment. An ecosystem is a
structural and functional unit of ecology where the
living organisms interact with each other and the
surrounding environment exchanging energy and
matter for the survival and maintenance of life.
ECOSYSTEM
"No ecosystem can stand without its surroundings."

A pond is surrounded by some other ecosystem say field.

Organic matter may be added to the pond from the field.
Human intervention is always there to disturb the identity of
an ecosystem. Sewage is discharged in a pond lake or the
river and ultimately the sea. These complex feeding
relationships often results in biological transfer of nutrients
and energy between the ecosystems. So it is not possible to
study an ecosystem in isolation and one has to take care of
their continuousness.
 STRUCTURE OF
ECOSYSTEM
The structure of an ecosystem is characterized by the
organization of both biotic and abiotic components. This
includes the distribution of energy in our environment.
It also includes the climatic conditions prevailing in that
particular environment.
STRUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEM
BIOTIC COMPONENT
Biotic components refer to all living components in an ecosystem.
Based on nutrition, biotic components can be categorized into
autotrophs, heterotrophs and saprotrophs (or decomposers).

Producers include all autotrophs such as plants. They are called

autotrophs as they can produce food through the process of
photosynthesis. Consequently, all other organisms higher up on the
food chain rely on producers for food.

Consumers or heterotrophs are organisms that depend on other

organisms for food. Consumers are further classified into primary
consumers, secondary consumers and tertiary consumers.

Decomposers include saprophytes such as fungi and bacteria. They

directly thrive on the dead and decaying organic matter.Decomposers
are essential for the ecosystem as they help in recycling nutrients to
be reused by plants.
CONSUMERS

PRIMARY CONSUMER

are always herbivores as they rely on producers for

food. Example: cows, buffaloes, deer, sheep, etc.

SECONDARY CONSUMER

depend on primary consumers for energy. They

can either be carnivores or omnivores. Example:
snakes, lizard, birds, fox, etc.

TERTIARY CONSUMER

are organisms that depend on secondary consumers

for food. Tertiary consumers can also be carnivores or
omnivores. Example: hawks, eagles, etc.

QUATERNARY CONSUMER
are present in some food chains. These organisms prey on
tertiary consumers for energy. Furthermore, they are
usually at the top of a food chain as they have no natural
predators.
STRUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEM
ABIOTIC COMPONENT
Abiotic components are the non-living component of an ecosystem. It
includes physical components and chemical components

Physical components
They include energy, climate, raw materials and living space that the
biological community needs. They are useful for the growth and
maintenance of its member.
Examples: Air, water, soil, sunlight, etc.

Chemical components
They are the sources of essential nutrients.
Examples:
organic substances: protein, lipids, carbohydrates, etc.
inorganic substances: all micro and macro elements and few
other elements
 CYCLIC OPERATION
OF ECOSYSTEM

Earth is a closed system as far as mass is concerned. Energy is open system, everyday added up,
depending upon the distance from equator. These are the main components of the cyclic operations in
an ecosystem:

Geophysical Hydrological Chemical

The earth’s physical cycles are the It deals with water after touching the There are many chemical cycles like
geophysical cycles. surface, thats how it makes a cycle carbon, nitrogen, etc.
 GEOPHYSICAL

The core of the earth is a molten mass and

the crust has land sea and ice. Movement,
i.e. drifting of crust takes place. Millions of
years ago Himalaya was in Africa. 5
cm/year we are moving far away from
equator. Some say that landslides in
Himalayas is due to deforestation but
actually it is a natural process. Volcanoes
come out. Aggradations is building up of
mountains, degradation is leveling up.
Fluvial geomorphology suggests that the
tendency is to come to a mean level. The
various morphological agents are the
tectonic movements, earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, water, wind and temperature.
The combined effect is cyclic in nature.
 HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
Sun is the main source of energy in the hydrological
cycle. The rainfall takes place in many forms like
orographic, cyclonic (coastal areas) and convective
(only in hours) depending upon many climatic factors.
The rainfall infiltrates the earth and percolates to meet
the groundwater. A large portion of it flows on the earth
known as the surface run-off and appears as the rivers.
Some of the water flows below the ground surface and
depending upon the levels sometimes comes out as
the falls etc. The streams and rivers meet the sea that
is a large storage of water though saline. The water
evaporates from every surface wherever it is exposed
to sun rays or the heat produced by it. The subsoil
water is pumped through the roots of the trees and
then by the transpiration from its leaves etc. to the
atmosphere. The clouds so formed travel due to the
difference in air pressure levels throughout the earth
for the whole year. Depending upon the various climatic
factors the precipitation (rainfall) again occurs for the
new cycle. Trees play a very important role so let us
have some more emphasis on the trees.
 IMPORTANCE OF TREES

(I) (II) (III)

THEY ABSORB THE SUBSOIL MOISTURE

THEY CONSUME THE CARBONDIOXIDE IN THAT IS OF NO USE AND PUMP IT TO THE
THE PRESENCE OF SUNLIGHT AND MAKE ATMOSPHERE BY TRANSPIRATION. THIS
THEY PRODUCE MANY USEFUL
OXYGEN. OXYGEN IS ALREADY ABUNDANT INCREASES THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY (R.H.).
PRODUCTS LIKE FRUITS, WOOD,
IN THE ATMOSPHERE BUT THIS REDUCTION RELATIVE HUMIDITY IS THE RATIO OF
TIMBER, FIBER, GUM, HERBS, AND
OF CO2 IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT AS THE AVAILABLE MOISTURE PRESENT AT ANY
OTHER EATABLES.
CO2 IS THE MAIN CULPRIT OF GLOBAL TEMPERATURE TO THE MAXIMUM
WARMING. MOISTURE THE AIR CAN CONTAIN (HOLD)
AT THAT TEMPERATURE.
 IMPORTANCE OF TREES

(IV) (V) (VI)

AT THE TIME OF RAINFALL THE
ROOTS OF THE TREES HOLD THE SOIL CANOPY OF THE TREES HOLD THE
FIRMLY. IN DESERT AREAS WHERE HIGH DROPS OF THE RAINFALL AND
THEY ABSORB THE AIR POLLUTING GASES
VELOCITY WIND BLOWS THE TREES STOP REDUCE THEIR MOMENTUM AND
LIKE SOX AND NOX AND THE S.P.M. THE
THE MOVEMENT OF SOIL BY HOLDING IT THUS REDUCE THE EROSION OF SOIL.
LEAVES OF THE TREES GET DAMAGED BY
FIRMLY AND BY DECREASING THE VELOCITY THEY ALSO DELAY THE RAIN FROM
THESE AIR POLLUTANTS BUT THEY CLEAN
OF WINDS. THUS THE TREES STOP REACHING TO THE EARTH AND THUS
THE AIR AND THUS HELP US.
DESERTIFICATION REDUCE THE FLOOD INTENSITY. AT
THE TIME OF FLOOD THEY REDUCE
THE VELOCITY OF STORM WATER
AND THUS THE SOIL EROSION AND
OTHER DESTRUCTIONS.
 IMPORTANCE OF TREES

(VII) (VIII) (IX)

THE INCREASED MOISTURE DUE TO
TRANSPIRATION REDUCES THE
THE TREES PROVIDE A SMOOTHENING
THEY CONSUME THE SOUND WAVES AND TEMPERATURE SUBSTAN?TIALLY AND
EFFECT TO OUR EYES. IT REDUCES THE
THUS REDUCE THE NOISE POLLUTION. THUS GIVES RELIEF TO US IN HOT
ATMOSPHERIC GLARE AND GIVES US A
NOISE POLLUTION HAS BECOME A MENACE AND DRY CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. THE
FEELING OF PROTECTION AND COMFORT.
THESE DAYS AND TREES PROVIDE A SIMPLE COVER OF TREES ON THE WEST SIDE
THE GREEN CANOPY OF THE TREES
SOLUTION TO IT. OF A HOUSE RESTRICTS THE DIRECT
ASSURE US ABOUT THE FOOD, SHELTER
SUNLIGHT TO THE WALLS AND THUS
AND PROSPERITY.
REDUCES THE HEAT TRANSFER TO
THE INSIDE OF HOUSE AND THUS
REDUCES THE AIR CONDITIONING
LOAD.
 IMPORTANCE OF TREES

(X)

TREES PROVIDE SHELTER TO EVERY TYPE

OF ANIMAL AND BIRDS PARTICULARLY. THE
BIRDS AND OTHER ANIMALS ARE THE PARTS
OF DIFFERENT CHAINS AND THE TREES ARE
THE NATURAL HABITAT FOR THEM.
CHEMICAL CYCLE
(i) CARBON CYCLE
THE CARBON DIOXIDE ENTERS THE LIVING WORLD THROUGH PHOTOSYNTHESIS. PLANTS SYNTHESIZE THE ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS AND THE CONSUMERS USE THEM. THE PLANTS, ANIMALS RELEASE CARBON BACK TO THE ATMOSPHERE
IN THE FORM OF CARBON DIOXIDE. THE DEAD BODIES OF ANIMALS AND ROTTEN PLANTS ALSO RELEASE CARBON
DIOXIDE BY AEROBIC DECOMPOSITION
CHEMICAL CYCLE
(ii) NITROGEN CYCLE
NITROGEN OF THE ATMOSPHERE CAN NOT BE USED BY THE PLANTS DIRECTLY. IT HAS TO BE COMBINED WITH OTHER
ELEMENTS (FIXED) AND THEN USED BY THE PLANTS. THE DENITRIFYING BACTERIA RELEASES IT TO THE AIR AND IT
COMES BACK THROUGH THE ACTION OF LIGHTENING AND ELECTRIFICATION
CHEMICAL CYCLE
(iii) SULFUR CYCLE (iii) PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
 Ecosystem and Human
Being
An ecosystem is a biotic assemblage of plants, animals and micro-
organisms, taken together with their physico-chenical environment.
The biological cycling of materials takes place by the producers,
consumers and decomposers. various bacteria like aerobic, anaerobic,
facultative bacteria and fungi decompose the organic matter of
producers and consumers into inorganic matter that can be reused as
manure (food) by the producers. Thus, decomposers are the recycler of
the biosphere. Sun is the ultimate source of energy and nature is
capable of maintaining the producer-consumer-decomposer cycle for
indefinite time with the sun's energy. unfortunately human activities
disturb the natural cycles. The major human activities are:
01. Production activities like energy production (fossil fuel),
manufacturing and growing foods
02. Consumption of the produced energy, goods and the food by the
human beings and the domestic animals
03. Decomposing or recycling activities like treatment of wastewater,
recycling of metals and solid waste
 BIOME AND ECOSYSTEM
AS STATED EARLIER A BIOME IS A LARGE AREA WITH SIMILAR FLORA,
(PLANTS) FAUNA (ANIMALS) AND MICRO-ORGANISMS. FOLLOWING ARE
SOME OF THE MAJOR BIOMES OF THE EARTH:

Mountains Tundra Marine/Island

Desert Temperate Forest

 BIOME AND ECOSYSTEM
AS STATED EARLIER A BIOME IS A LARGE AREA WITH SIMILAR FLORA,
(PLANTS) FAUNA (ANIMALS) AND MICRO-ORGANISMS. FOLLOWING ARE
SOME OF THE MAJOR BIOMES OF THE EARTH:

Tropical Dry Forest Tropical Rainforest Cold Climate Forest

Grassland Savannah
 BIOME AND ECOSYSTEM
THE EXISTENCE OF AN ECOSYSTEM DEPENDS UPON THE
BALANCE BETWEEN THE AVAILABLE FOOD, WATER AND
SHELTER AND THE DEMAND OF THE ORGANISMS. FOOD
AND TERRITORY ARE OFTEN BALANCED BY NATURAL
BALANCING PHENOMENA SUCH AS FIRE, DISEASE,
EPIDEMIC, DISASTERS AND THE NUMBER OF PREDATORS.
IN MAINTAINING THIS BALANCE EVERY ORGANISM HAS
ITS ROLE TO PLAY AND AS SUCH EVEN IF A SINGLE
SPECIES IS EXTINCT THE WHOLE CHAIN GETS DISTURBED.
THAT IS WHY WE HAVE TIGER AND OTHER SANCTUARIES
TO SAVE THE ENDANGERED SPECIES. BUT WE HAVE
DISRUPTED THE NATURAL CYCLES AND FOOD CHAIN IN
WANT OF THE URBANIZATION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION
THAT MOST OF THE ECOSYSTEMS ARE IN DANGER.
ENERGY FLOW IN THE
ECOSYSTEM
Sun is the basic source of energy. All the
biological activities involve the radiant
energy of the sun. The solar energy is
transformed from the radiant to the
chemical form in photosynthesis and
gets converted from chemical to
mechanical and ultimately heat form in
cellular metabolism.
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