Environment and Ecology 2022: Special Edition

UPSC Exam Partner
environment And
ecology 2022
Volume No. 21 | March 2022
Special Edition
Lucid Presentation
For Quick Revision
Contents
1� INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENT.
Definition
Ecology
History of Ecology
Scope
Importance of Environment
Ecosystem
2�ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS
Energy Flow
Food Chain
Food Web
Ecological Pyramid
B0i-Geochemical Cycle
Ecological Efficiency
Pollutants and Tropical Level
Biotic Interaction
Bi0-Accumulation
Bi0-Magnification
Ecological Succession
3� TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM
Tundra
Forest Ecosystem
Indian Forest Types
Deforestation
Grassland Ecosystem
Desert Ecosystem (Thar & Cold)
Desertification
State of forest report, 2017
4� AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM�
Aquatic Organism
Lake Ecology
Eutrophication
Harmful Algal bloom
Wetland Ecosystem
National Wetland Conservation Programme
Contents
5�Environmental Pollution
Water Pollution .
Waste water treatment .
Case Study of Ganga Pollution
Land Pollution
Noice Pollution
Air Pollution
Acid Rain
Ozone Hole
Radio Active waste E
-waste
Solid Waste
Plastic Pollution
Pollution and Public Health Issues
6� TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM
Tundra
Forest Ecosystem
Indian Forest Types
Deforestation
Grassland Ecosystem
Desert Ecosystem (Thar & Cold)
Desertification
State of forest report, 2017
1.1DEFINITION
What is Environment and why do we now notice so much interest in
Environmental Studies in recent years?
Environment is the sum total of all conditions and influences that affect the
development and life of all organisms on earth . The living organisms vary
from the lowest micro-organisms such as bacteria, virus, fungus, etc. to the
highest, including man. Each organism has its own environment (physical
and biological).
The word “environment ” originates from “environ ” which means things
that surround . As per definition of the Environment Protection Act,
environment includes all the physical and biological surroundings and
their interactions.
The study of environment or rather environmental studies is a multi-
disciplinary subject which needs knowledge interest from physical
sciences (physics , chemistry , mathematics ), biological sciences (
botany , zoology , microbiology , biochemistry ), social sciences ,
economics , sociology , education , geography ) etc . Obviously ,
environmental studies has a broad base , which requires integrated
approach for dealing with the various aspects.
1.2 ECOLOGY
The word “Ecology ” was coined by a German biologist in 1869 and is
derived from the Greek word , “Oikos ” meaning “House ”. Ecology is the
branch of science that deals with the study of interactions between living
organisms and their physical environment. Both are closely inter-related and
they have continuous interaction so that any change in the environment has
an effect on the living organisms and vice-versa. Any unit of biosystem that
includes all the organisms which function together (biotic community ) in a
given area where they interact with the physical environment is known as
ecosystem.
The ecosystem is the functional unit in ecology as it consists of both the
biotic community (living organisms) and the abiotic environment. The latter
has close interaction essential for maintenance of life processes . The
interaction is conducted by energy flow (solar energy ) in the system and
cycling of materials (natural cycles).
From the biological point of view, the ecosystem has the following constituents:
(i) Inorganic substances (carbon, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water, etc.)
involved in natural cycles.
(ii) Organic compounds (proteins, carbohydrates, humic substances) etc.
(iii) Air, water and substrate environment including the climatic regime and
other physical factors.
(iv) Producers, autotrophic (i.e., self-sustaining organisms) green plants that can
manufacture food from simple inorganic substances.
( v ) Heterotrophic ( i.e ., that depend on others for nourishment )
organisms , mainly bacteria , fungi and animals which live on other
organisms or particulate organic matter.
(vi) Micro -consumers , decomposers , mainly bacteria , fungi which obtain their
energy by breaking down dead tissues or by absorbing dissolved organic matter
, extracted from plants or other organisms . The decomposers release
inorganic nutrients that are utilised by producers . They also supply food for
macro-consumers or heterotrophic organisms. Bacteria, fungi (and animals)
often excrete hormone -like substances that inhibit or stimulate other biotic
components of the ecosystem.
1.1. HISTORY OF ECOLOGY

The roots of ecology lie in Natural History , which is as old as human
civilization itself . Since early history , man has indulged in ecology in a
practical sort of way , knowingly and unknowingly . In primitive societies
every individual was required to have an intimate knowledge of his envi-
ronment for their survival, i.e., about the forces of nature and of plants and
animals around him/her.
Our ancient Indian texts have references to ecological prin - ciples . The
classical texts of the Vedic period such as the Vedas , the Samhitas , the
Brahmanas and the Aranyakas - Upanishads contain many references to
ecological concepts . The Indian treatise on medicine, the Charaka-Samhita
and the surgical text Sushruta-Samhita, show that people during this period
had a good understanding of plant and animal ecology.
These texts contain classification of animals on the basis of habit and
habitat , land in terms of nature of soil , climate and vegetation ; and
description of plants typical to various localities. Charaka- Samhita contains
information that air, land , water and seasons were indispensable for life
and that polluted air and water were injurious to health.
1.3 SCOPE
Environmental studies as a subject has a wide scope. It encompasses a large
number of areas and aspects, which may be summarized as follows.
Natural resources — their conservation and management
Ecology and biodiversity
• Environmental pollution and control
• Social issues in relation to development and environment
• Human population and environment
These are the basic aspects of environmental studies which have a direct
relevance to every section of the society. Environmental studies can also be
highly specialized concentrating on more technical aspects like
environmental science , environmental engineering or environmental
management.
In the recent years , the scope of environmental studies has expanded
dramatically the world over. Several career options have emerged in this field
that are broadly categorized as:
(i) Research & Development (R & D) in environment: Skilled environmental
scientists have an important role to play in examining various
environmental problems in a scientific manner and carry out R& D
activities for developing cleaner technologies and promoting
sustainable development.
There is a need for trained manpower at every level to deal with
environmental issues. Environmental management and environmental
engineering are emerging as new career opportunities for
environmental protection and management. With the pollution control
laws becoming more stringent, industries are finding it difficult to
dispose off the wastes produced. In order to avoid expensive
litigation, companies are now trying to adopt green technologies, which
would reduce pollution. Investing in pollution control technologies
will reduce pollution as well as cut on costs for effluent treatment.
Market for pollution control technology is increasing the world over.
Cleaning up of the wastes produced is another potential market.
It is estimated to be more than $100 billion per year for all American business
. Germany and Japan having more stringent laws for many years have gained
more experience in reducing effluents. Still there is a $ 200 billion market for
cleaning up the former East Germany alone . In India also the Pollution
Control Boards are seriously implementing pollution control laws and
insisting on upgradation of effluents to meet the prescribed standards
before they are discharged on land or into a water body . Many companies
not complying with the orders have been closed or ordered to shift.
(ii) Green advocacy: With increasing emphasis on implementing
various Acts and laws related to environment, need for environmental
lawyers has emerged, who should be able to plead the cases related to
water and air pollution forest, wildlife etc.
(iii) Green marketing : While ensuring the quality of products with ISO
mark, now there is an increasing emphasis on marketing goods that are
environment friendly . Such products have ecomark or ISO 14000
certification . Environmental auditors and environmental
managers would be in great demand in the coming years.
(iv) Green media : Environmental awareness can be spread amongst masses
through mass media like television , radio , newspaper , magazines ,
hoardings , advertisements etc. for which environmentally educated
persons are required.
(v) Environment consultancy : Many non - government organizations (
NGOs), industries and government bodies are engaging environmental
consultants for systematically studying and tackling environment
related problems.
1.4 IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENT
Environment belongs to all and is important to all. Whatever be the
occupation or age of a person, he will be affected by environment and
also he will affect the environment by his deeds . That is why we
find an internationally observed environment calender to mark some
important aspect or issue of environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL CALENDER
World Wetland Day February 2

World Forest Day March 21
World Day for Water March 22
World Meteorological Day March 23
Earth Day April 22
International Biodiversity Day May 22
Anti-tobacco Day May 31
World Environment Day June 5
World Ocean Day June 8
World Population Day July 11
Ozone Week Sept. 16–23
World Car-free Day Sept. 22
Green Consumer Day Sept. 28
World farm Animal’s Day Oct. 2
World Habitat Day Oct. 3
World Animal Welfare Day Oct. 4
Wildlife Week Oct. 1–7
World Conservation Day Oct. 24
International Day for Natural
Disaster Reduction Oct. 13
International Day for Biological Diversity Dec. 29
Global Vs. Local Nature of Environment

Environment is one subject that is actually global as well as local in
nature.Issues like global warming, depletion of ozone layer, dwindling
forests and energy resources, loss of global biodiversity etc. which are
going to affect the mankind as a whole are global in nature and for that we
have to think and plan globally.
However , there are some environmental problems which are of
localized importance. For dealing with local environmental issues, e.g
impact of mining or hydro-electric project in an area, problems of disposal
and management of solid waste, river or lake pollution , soil erosion, water
logging and salinization of soil , fluorosis problem in local population ,
arsenic pollution of groundwater etc., we have to think and act locally.
In order to make people aware about those aspects of environment with
which they are so intimately associated , it is very important to make
every one environmentally educated.
Individualistic Nature of Environment

Environmental studies is very important since it deals with the most
mundane problems of life where each individual matters , like dealing
with safe and clean drinking water , hygienic living conditions , clean and
fresh air, fertile land , healthy food and sustainable development . If we
want to live in a clean , healthy , aesthetically beautiful , safe and secure
environment for a long time and wish to hand over a clean and safe earth to
our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren , it is most essential to
understand the basics of environment.
1.6 ECOSYSTEMS
Ecosystems of the world are studied on the basis of their principal
habitats . Among the environmental segments , litho - sphere and
hydrosphere are the major habitats for a wide variety of flora and fauna.
Land-based Ecosystem
Land (terrestrial ) ecosystems depend largely on the climate and soil.
Higher plants and animals have evolved on land . For example , seed
plants, insects, warm-blooded vertebrates and micro-organisms dominate
on land now . The major terrestrial communities consist of herbaceous
plants , shrubs , grass and also woody trees besides numerous insects ,
arthropods, birds, etc.
Marine Ecosystem
Oceans occupy 70 per cent of earth ’s surface , offering habitat to
numerous plants (mainly algae ), animals like zoo plankton , shrimps ,
oysters, fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals. They serve as the sink of a
large quantity of runoff and wastes from land.
Marine water has a high salt content (about 3.5% by weight ) and poor
fertility due to lack of nitrates and phosphates as compared to
freshwater . Marine life is abundant near the shore and in the
continental shelf . The species include commercial fishes , large sea
mammals like whales and seals.
Freshwater Ecosystem
Freshwater bodies (ponds , lakes , rivers , springs ) are rich in nutrients (
nitrates , phosphates ) and provide good habitat for phytoplankton ,
zooplankton, aquatic plants and fishes
Wetland Ecosystems
Wetlands are transitional lands between terrestrial and eco -systems
where water stands at 2.5 to 300 cm during most of the year. They include
valuable natural ecosystem harbouring a wide variety of plants , animals ,
fishes and micro - organisms . They are at present in danger due to
increasing urbanization as in the case of eastern part of Kolkata.
Mangroves (Forest between Land and Sea)
Mangroves are important forest communities in tidal zones or
equatorial and tropical coasts . For example , the Sunderbans in the
Gangetic estuarine delta touching the Bay of Bengal offer important
mangroves , habitat of wild animals including Royal Bengal Tiger and of
interesting plant species.
SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM
The developing countries face today critical situation on economic and
environmental fronts . For economic growth they have to give priority to
agricultural industrial bases but at the cost of environment . The resource
base, once depleted, sets in chain of environmental degradation which finally
weakens the economy. Our population explosion remains the core issue. Our
development policy should be such that the ecosystem is sustainable , i.e., it
contains the element of renewability . This requires sound management
strategy which ensures the continuation of socio-economic development in
the long run.
The important components of sustainable development/ ecosystem are:
• Population stabilisation
• Integrated land use planning
• Conservation of biodiversity
• Air and water pollution control
• Renewable energy resources
• Recycling of wastes and residues
• Environmental education and awareness at all levels.
ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING
The function of an ecosystem is a broad, vast and complete dynamic system. It can be
studied under the following three heads.
• Energy flow
• Nutrient cycling (biogeochemical cycles)
• Ecological succession or ecosystem development
2.1 ENERGY FLOW

Energy is the basic force responsible for all metabolic activities . The flow of energy
from producer to top consumers is called energy flow which is unidirectional.
The study of Trophic level interaction in an ecosystem gives an idea about the energy flow
through the ecosystem.
2�1�1� Trophic level interaction
Trophic level interaction deals with how the members of an ecosystem are connected
based on nutritional needs.
Trophic levels (Trophe = nourishment)

I Autotrophs Green plants (producers)
II Heterotrophs Herbivore
(primary consumers)
III Heterotrophs Carnivores
(secondary consumers)
IV Heterotrophs Carnivore
(tertiary consumers)
V Heterotrophs Top carnivores
(Quarternary consumers)
Energy flows through the trophic levels: from producers to subsequent trophic levels.
This energy always flows from lower (producer) to higher (herbivore, carnivore etc.)
trophic level. It never flows in the reverse direction that is from carnivores to
herbivores to producers.
There is a loss of some energy in the form of unusable heat at each trophic level so that
energy level decreases from the first trophic level upwards.
As a result there are usually four or five trophic levels and seldom more than six as
beyond that very little energy is left to support any organism . Trophic levels are
numbered according to the steps an organism is away from the source of food or
energy, that is the producer.
The trophic level interaction involves three concepts namely:-
1. Food Chain
2. Food Web
3. Ecological Pyramids
FOOD CHAIN
Organisms in the ecosystem are related to each other through feeding mechanism
or trophic levels, i.e. one organism becomes food for the other. A sequence of organ-
isms that feed on one another, form a food chain. A food chain starts with producers
and ends with top carnivores
The sequence of eaten and being eaten , produces transfer of food energy and it is
known as food chain. The plant converts solar energy into chemical energy by
photosynthesis.
Small herbivores consume the plant matter and convert them into animal matter.
These herbivores are eaten by large carnivores.
2�2�1� Types of Food Chains
In nature, two main types of food chains have been distinguished:
i) Grazing food chain
The consumers which start the food chain, utilising the plant or plant part as their
food, constitute the grazing food chain. This food chain begins from green plants at
the base and the primary consumer is herbivore.
For example, In terrestrial ecosystem, grass is eaten up by caterpillar, which is eaten
by lizard and lizard is eaten by snake.
In Aquatic ecosystem phytoplanktons (primary producers ) is eaten by zoo planktons
which is eaten by fishes and fishes are eaten by pelicans.
ii) Detritus food chain
It starts from dead organic matter of decaying animals and plant bodies consumed by
the micro -organisms and then to detritus feeding organism called detrivores or
decom- poser and to other predators.
The distinction between these two food chains is the source of energy for the first
level consumers . In the grazing food chain the primary source of energy is living plant
biomass while in the detritus food chain the source of energy is dead organic matter
or detritus. The two food chains are linked. The initial energy source for detritus food
chain is the waste materials and dead organic matter from the grazing food chain.
FOOD WEB
A food chain represents only one part of the food or energy flow through an ecosystem
and implies a simple, isolated relationship, which seldom occurs in the ecosystems. An
ecosystem may consist of several interrelated food chains. More typically, the same
food resource is part of more than one chain, especially when that resource is at the
lower trophic levels.
“A food web illustrates , all possible transfers of energy and nutrients among the
organisms in an ecosystem, whereas a food chain traces only one pathway of the food”.
If any of the intermediate food chain is removed, the suc- ceeding links of the chain will
be affected largely. The food web provides more than one alternative for food to most of
the organisms in an ecosystem and therefore increases their chance of survival.
For example , grasses may serve food for rabbit or grass - hopper or goat or cow .
Similarly a herbivore may be food source for many carnivorous species . Also food
availability and preferences of food of the organ - isms may shift seasonally e.g. we eat
watermelon in sum - mer and peaches in the winter . Thus there are
interconnected networks of feeding relationships that take the form of food webs.
ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS
An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation of the relationship
between different organisms in an ecosystem.The food producer forms the base
of the pyramid and the top carnivore forms the tip. Other consumer trophic levels are in
between. The pyramid consists of a number of horizontal bars de- picting specific trophic
levels which are arranged sequen - tially from primary producer level through
herbivore , carnivore onwards . The length of each bar represents the total number of
individuals at each trophic level in an ecosystem.
The number, biomass and energy of organisms gradually decrease with each step from
the producer level to the consumer level and the diagrammatic representation as-
sumes a pyramid shape.
The ecological pyramids are of three categories.
1. Pyramid of numbers,
2. Pyramid of biomass, and
3. Pyramid of energy or productivity.
Pyramid of Numbers
In this type of ecological pyramid , the number of organisms in each trophic level
is considered as a level in the pyramid. The pyramid of numbers is usually upright
except for some situations like that of the detritus food chain , where many
organisms feed on one dead plant or animal.
Pyramid of Biomass
In order to overcome the shortcomings of pyramid of num - bers , the pyramid of
biomass is used . In this approach individuals in each trophic level are weighed
instead of being counted. This gives us a pyramid of biomass, i.e., the total dry weight of
all organisms at each trophic level at a particular time.
Pyramid of biomass is usually determined by collecting all organisms occupying each
trophic level separately and measuring their dry weight. This overcomes the size dif-
ference problem because all kinds of organisms at a trophic level are weighed. Biomass is
measured in g/m2.
Pyramid of Energy
To compare the functional roles of the trophic levels in an ecosystem , an energy
pyramid is most suitable. An energy pyramid, reflects the laws of thermodynamics ,
with conversion of solar energy to chemical energy and heat energy at each trophic
level and with loss of energy being depicted at each transfer to another trophic level.
Hence the pyramid is always upward, with a large energy base at the bottom.
Let us explain this with an example. Suppose an ecosystem receives 1000 calories
of light energy in a given day. Most of the energy is not absorbed; some is reflected
back to space ; of the energy absorbed only a small portion is utilised by green
plants , out of which the plant uses up some for respiration and of the 1000
calories, therefore only 100 calories are stored as energy rich materials.
Importance of Ecological Pyramid

The importance of ecological pyramid can be explained in the following points:
1.They show the feeding of different organisms in different ecosystems.
2. It shows the efficiency of energy transfer.
3.The condition of the ecosystem can be monitored, and any further damage
can be prevented.
Limitations of the Ecological Pyramid
1.More than one species may occupy multiple trophic levels as in case of the
food web. Thus, this system does not take into account food webs.
2.The saprophytes are not considered in any of the pyramids even though
they form an important part of the various ecosystem.
3.These pyramids are applicable only to simple food chains, which usually do
not occur naturally.
4.These pyramids do not deliver any concept in relation to variations in
season and climate.
5.They do not consider the possibility of the existence of the same species at
different levels.
BIO-GEOCHEMICAL CYCLE
• A pathway by which a chemical substance moves through biotic (
biosphere ) and abiotic (lithosphere , atmosphere , and hydrosphere )
compartments of Earth.
• There are two basic types of biogeochemical cycles, gaseous and
sedimentary.
• In the gaseous type of biogeochemical cycle there is a prominent
gaseous phase . Cycling of carbon and nitrogen represents gaseous
biogeochemical cycles.
• In sedimentary cycles the main reservoir is the lithosphere from
which the nutrients are released largely by weathering of rocks. The
sedimentary cycle is exemplified by phosphorus and sulphur.
•Biogeochemical cycles are either perfect or imperfect.
• A perfect nutrient cycle is one in which the nutrients are replaced as
fast as they are used up . Most gaseous cycle ’s arc generally
considered perfect.
•In contrast, sedimentary cycles are considered relatively imperfect, as
some nutrients are lost' from the cycle into the soil and sediments
and become unavailable for immediate cycling.
ECOLOGICAL NICHE
• It represents the range of conditions an organism can tolerate , the
resources it utilizes and its functional role in the ecological system.
• A habitat may contain many ecological niches and support a variety
of species.
• Each species has a distinct niche and no two species are believed to
occupy exactly the same niche.
EDGE EFFECT AND ECOTONE
• Edge effect is an ecological concept that describes how there is a
greater diversity of life in the region where the edges two adjacent
ecosystems overlap, such as land/water, or forest/grassland.
• Ecotone is a transition area between two biomes . It is where two
communities meet and integrate. For ex -
• Grassland (between forest and desert),
• Estuary (between fresh water and salt water)
• Riverbank or Marshland (between dry and wet)
• Mangrove forests (between terrestrial and marine ecosystems)
SENTINEL SPECIES
•They are organisms, often animals, used to detect risks to humans by
providing advance warning of a danger . They serve as indicators of
ecosystem health.
• Ex . Canaries are birds die early in odorless Carbon Monoxide
environment is present in a high concentration, this gives miners time
to escape.
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
• A process of directional change in vegetation on an ecological time scale.
• In this process , a series of communities replace one another due to large
scale natural or anthropogenic destructions.
TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
• Primary Succession: When a terrestrial site is first colonised by the

pioneer species.
• Secondary Succession: Sequential development of biotic
communities after disturbance/destruction
• Examples of succession:
For terrestrial land: Bare rocks – Lichens -- Annual Plants -- Perennial
Plants and Grasses – Shrubs – Softwood Tress , Pines – Hardwood
trees
POLLUTANTS AND TROPHIC LEVEL

Pollutants especially nondegradable ones move through the various trophic levels in an
ecosystem.
Nondegradable pollutants mean materials , which cannot be metabolized by the living
organisms.
Example: chlorinated hydrocarbons.
We are concerned about these phenomena because, together they enable even small
concentrations of chemicals in the environment to find their way into organisms in high
enough dosages to cause problems.
Movement of these pollutants involves two main processes:
i) Bioaccumulation
ii) Biomagnification.
� Bioaccumulation
• It refers to how pollutants enter a food chain.
• In bioaccumulation there is an increase in concentration of a pollutant from the
environment to the first organism in a food chain.
• Bioaccumulation is the accumulation of substances , such as pesticides , or other
chemicals in an organism.
• Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance at a rate faster
than that at which the substance is lost by catabolism and excretion.
•The toxic substances like pesticides , methyl mercury etc. move into the bodies of
organisms from the medium in which these organisms live. Example : DDT are
not water soluble and have affinity for body lipids . These substances tend to
accumulate in the organism’s body.
Biomagnification
• Biomagnification refers to the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move
from one trophic level to the next.
• Thus in biomagnification there is an increase in concentration of a pollutant from
one link in a food chain to another.
In order for biomagnification to occur, the pollutant must be: long-lived, mobile,
soluble in fats, biologically active. If a pollutant is short-lived, it will be broken down
before it can become dangerous. If it is not mobile, it will stay in one place and is
unlikely to be taken up by organisms. If the pollutant is soluble in water, it will be
excreted by the organism. Pollutants that dissolve in fats, however, may be retained
for a long time.
It is traditional to measure the amount of pollutants in fatty tissues of organisms
such as fish. In mammals, we often test the milk produced by females, since the milk
has a lot of fat in it are often more susceptible to damage from toxins (poisons). If a
pollutant is not active biologically , it may biomagnify , but we really don ’t worry
about it much, since it probably won’t cause any problems Examples: DDT
TERESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM
The type of ecosystems which are predominantly found on land are called
the terrestrial ecosystems. Terrestrial ecosystems cover approximately 140
to 150 million km2, which is about 25 to 30 percent of the total earth surface
area.
Terrestrial ecosystems are distinguished from aquatic ecosystems by the

lower availability of water and the consequent importance of water as a
limiting factor.
Terrestrial ecosystems are characterized by greater temperature fluctuations
on both a diurnal and seasonal basis than occur in aquatic ecosystems in
similar climates, because water has a high specific heat, a high heat of
vaporization, and a high heat of fusion compared with the atmosphere, all of
which tend to ameliorate thermal fluctuations.
The availability of light is greater in terrestrial ecosystems than in aquatic

ecosystems because the atmosphere is more transparent than water. Gases
are more available in terrestrial ecosystems than in aquatic ecosystems .
Those gases include
1.carbon dioxide that serves as a substrate for photosynthesis,

2.oxygen that serves as a substrate in aerobic respiration, and
3.nitrogen that serves as a substrate for nitrogen fixation.
Terrestrial environments are segmented into

1.a subterranean portion from which most water and ions are obtained, and
2.an atmospheric portion from which gases are obtained and where the
physical energy of light is transformed into the organic energy of carbon -
carbon bonds through the process of photosynthesis.
Terrestrial ecosystems are –
1.forests
2.grasslands
3.deserts
4.tundra
FOREST ECOSYSTEM
The forest ecosystem includes a complex assemblage of different kinds of biotic
communities . Optimum conditions such as temperature and ground moisture are
responsible for the establishment of forest communities.
The nature of soil, climate and local topography determine the distribution of trees and
their abundance in the forest vegetation. Forests may be evergreen or deciduous. They
are distinguished on the basis of leaf into broad -leafed or needle leafed coniferous
forests in the case of temperate areas.
The forest ecosystems have been classified into three major categories: coniferous forest,
temperate forest and tropical forest. All these forest biomes are generally arranged on a
gradient from north to south latitude or from high to lower altitude.
GRASSLAND ECOSYTEM
The grasslands are found where rainfall is about 25-75 cm per year , not enough to
support a forest, but more than that of a true desert.
Typical grasslands are vegetation formations that are generally found in temperate
climates.
In India, they are found mainly in the high Himalayas. The rest of India’s grasslands are
mainly composed of steppes and savannas.
The major difference between steppes and savannas is that all the forage in the steppe is
provided only during the brief wet season whereas in the savannas forage is largely from
grasses that not only grow during the wet season but also from the smaller amount of
regrowth in the dry season. Steppe formations occupy large areas of sandy and saline
soil; in western Rajasthan, where the climate is semi-arid, average rainfall is less than
200 mm a year with a dry season of 10 to 11 months, and a large variation in rainfall.
The soil is always exposed, sometimes rocky but more often sandy with fixed or
mobile dunes. Forage is available only during the brief wet season. The grass layer is
sparse and consists mainly of annual grass species.
In the central and eastern parts of Rajasthan, where the rainfall is about 500 mm per
year and the dry season is of six to eight months, dry savanna grazing ecosystems have
developed. The light shade cast by the sparse population of trees like khetri favours the
growth of the grasses.
DESERT ECOSYSTEM
• Deserts are formed in regions with less than 25 cm of annual rainfall , or
sometimes in hot regions where there is more rainfall, but unevenly distributed in
the annual cycle.
• Lack of rain in the mid latitude is often due to stable high pressure zones; deserts in
temperate regions often lie in “rain shadows”, that is, where high mountains block
off moisture from the seas.
• The climate of these biomes is modified by altitude and latitude. At high altitudes and
at greater distance from the equator the deserts are cold and hot near equator and
tropics.
• The perennial plant like creosote bush, cactus are scat- tered throughout the desert
biomes.
• In shallow depressed areas with salt deposits geese- wood, seepwood and salt
grasses are common.
• Because water is the dominant limiting factor, the productivity of a given desert
is almost directly dependent on the rainfall. Where soils are suitable, irrigation
can convert deserts into productive agricultural land.
• As the large volume of water passes through the irrigation system, salts may be
left behind that will gradually accumulate over the years until they become
limiting, unless means of avoiding this difficulty are devised.
TUNDRA
Tundra means a “barren land” since they are found where environmental conditions are
very severe. There are two types of tundra- arctic and alpine.
• Distribution : Arctic tundra extends as a continuous belt below the polar ice cap and
above the tree line in the northern hemisphere . It occupies the northern fringe of
Canada , Alaska, European Russia, Siberia and island group of Arctic Ocean. On the
south pole, tundra is very small since most of it is covered by ocean .
Alpine tundra occurs at high mountains above the with respect to Arctic mountains are
found at all latitudes therefore alpine tundra shows day and night temperature vari-
ations.
• Flora and fauna : Typical vegetation of arctic tundra is cotton grass , sedges , dwarf
heath , willows , birches and lichens . Animals of tundra are reindeer , musk ox, arctic
hare, caribous, lemmings and squirrel.
Most of them have long life e.g. arctic willow has a life span of 150 to 300 years. They are
protected from chillness by the presence of thick cuticle and epidermal hair. Mammals
of the tundra region have large body size, small tail and small ear to avoid the loss of
heat from the surface .The body is covered with fur for insulation . Insects have short
life cycles which are completed during favourable period of the year.
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
An aquatic ecosystem includes freshwater habitats like lakes, ponds, rivers

, oceans and streams, wetlands, swamp, etc. and marine habitats include
oceans, intertidal zone, reefs, seabed and so on. The aquatic ecosystem is
the habitat for water -dependent living species including animals , plants ,
and microbes.
Classification Based on Salt Concentration:

1. Freshwater Ecosystem: 5 ppt (Lakes, ponds, springs, streams, rivers).
2. Marine Ecosystem: Equals to sea level; Approx. 35 ppt (Ocean).
3. Brackish Water Ecosystem: 5-35 ppt; (Estuaries, Salt marshes,
mangrove swamps).
Aquatic Organisms:
Classification on Zone of occurrence and their ability to cross these zones,
1. Neuston: That rest or swim on the surface e.g. water striders.
2. Periphyton: That are attached or clinging to other plants or any other surface. e
.g. Algae.
3. Plankton: That float on the surface of the waters e.g. phytoplankton like algae
and zooplankton like rotifers.
4. Nekton: That swim on the surface e.g. fish.
5. Benthos: That are attached to bottom sediments e.g. sea grass.
Freshwater Aquatic Ecosystem
They cover only a small portion of earth nearly 0.8 per cent. Freshwater
involves lakes, ponds, rivers and streams, wetlands, swamp, bog and
temporary pools. Freshwater habitats are classified into lotic and lentic
habitats. Water bodies such as lakes, ponds, pools, bogs, and other
reservoirs are standing water and known as lentic habitats. Whereas lotic
habitats represent flowing water bodies such as rivers, streams.
Lotic Ecosystems
They mainly refer to the rapidly flowing waters that move in a unidirectional
way including the rivers and streams. These environments harbor numerous
species of insects such as beetles, mayflies, stoneflies and several species
of fishes including trout, eel, minnow, etc. Apart from these aquatic species,
these ecosystems also include various mammals such as beavers, river
dolphins and otters.
Lentic Ecosystems
They include all standing water habitats. Lakes and ponds are the main
examples of Lentic Ecosystem. The word lentic mainly refers to stationary or
relatively still water. These ecosystems are home to algae, crabs, shrimps,
amphibians such as frogs and salamanders, for both rooted and floating-
leaved plants and reptiles including alligators and other water snakes are
also found here.
Wetlands
Wetlands are marshy areas and are sometimes covered in water which has
a wide diversity of plants and animals. Swamps, marshes, bogs, black
spruce and water lilies are some examples in the plant species found in the
wetlands. The animal life of this ecosystem consists of dragonflies and
damselflies, birds such as Green Heron and fishes such as Northern Pike.
Marine Aquatic Ecosystem
Marine ecosystem covers the largest surface area of the earth. Two third of
earth is covered by water and they constitute of oceans, seas, intertidal zone,
reefs, seabed, estuaries, hydrothermal vents and rock pools. Each life form is
unique and native to its habitat. This is because they have adaptations
according to their habitat. In the case of aquatic animals, they can’t survive
outside of water. Exceptional cases are still there which shows another
example of adaptations (e.g. mudskippers). The marine ecosystem is more
concentrated with salts which make it difficult for freshwater organisms to live
in. Also, marine animals cannot survive in freshwater. Their body is adapted
to live in saltwater; if they are placed in less salty water, their body will swell (
osmosis).
Ocean Ecosystems
Our planet earth is gifted with the five major oceans, namely Pacific, Indian,
Arctic, and the Atlantic Ocean. Among all these five oceans, the Pacific and
the Atlantic are the largest and deepest ocean. These oceans serve as a
home to more than five lakh aquatic species. Few creatures of these
ecosystems include shellfish, shark, tube worms, crab small and large ocean
fishes, turtles, crustaceans, blue whale, reptiles, marine mammals, seabirds,
plankton, corals and other ocean plants.
Coastal Systems
They are the open systems of land and water which are joined together to
form the coastal ecosystems. The coastal ecosystems have a different
structure, and diversity. A wide variety of species of aquatic plants and algae
are found at the bottom of the coastal ecosystem. The fauna is diverse and it
mainly consists of crabs, fish, insects, lobsters snails, shrimp, etc.
Plants and animals in an aquatic ecosystem show a wide variety of
adaptations which may involve life cycle, physiological, structural and
behavioural adaptations. Majority of aquatic animals are streamlined which
helps them to reduce friction and thus save energy. Fins and gills are the
locomotors and respiratory organs respectively. Special features in
freshwater organisms help them to drain excess water from the body.
Aquatic plants have different types of roots which help them to survive in
water. Some may have submerged roots; some have emergent roots or
maybe floating plants like water hyacinths.
Factors Limiting the Productivity of Aquatic Habitats
Sunlight:
• Sunlight penetration rapidly diminishes as it passes down the column of water. The
depth to which light penetrates a lake determines the extent of plant distribution.
• Based on light penetration and plant distribution they are classified as photic and
aphotic zones
Photic zone:
• It is the upper layer of the aquatic ecosystems , up to which light penetrates and
within which photosynthetic activity is confined.
• The depth of this zone depends on the transparency of water.
• Both photosynthesis and respiration activity takes place.
• photic (or “euphotic ”) zone is the lighted and usually well -mixed portion that
extends from the lake surface down to where the light level is 1% of that at the
surface.
Aphotic zone:
• The lower layers of the aquatic ecosystems , where light penetration and plant growth
are restricted forms the aphotic zone.
• Only respiration activity takes place.
• aphotic zone is positioned below the littoral and photic zones to bottom of the lake
where light levels are too low for photosynthesis . Respiration occurs at all depths so the
aphotic zone is a region of oxygen consumption . This deep, unlit region is also known as
the profundal zone.
Dissolved Oxygen:
• Fresh water - 10 ppm. Oxygen enters through air water interface, and
photosynthesis.
• It is influenced by temperature - warm water - Less O2 and vice versa.
• If it falls to 5 ppm or below then organisms will die.
Transparency:
Turbidity because of suspended particulate matter like clay or silt can limit
productivity of life.
Temperature:
Water has higher specific heat than air. So temperature change will be slower.
Temperature fluctuation can be fatal to aquatic organisms.
Eutrophication
• Eutrophication is the ecosystem’s response to addition of artificial or natural
substances, mainly phosphates, through detergents, fertilisers, or sewage to an
ecosystem.
• Physical identification: Can see excess growth of green algae on the surface
due to enrichment of the aquatic system by the addition of nutrients.
• Reason: leaching of phosphates and nitrates containing fertilisers from
agricultural lands into lakes and rivers.
Results in:
• Algal bloom - unsustainable population explosion due to nutrient enrichment.
• Light penetration: This restricts the penetration of sunlight.
• Oxygen depletion: resulting in no/less photosynthesis since decomposition of
the dead algae uses more oxygen. This process results in suffocation and
death of aquatic animals.
• New anaerobic conditions: Clostridium botulinum, that produce toxins, come
up in these conditions.
• Degradation of aquatic ecosystem.
Eutrophication can be natural or manmade (waste water effluent, runoff from
agriculture).
Effects:
• Change in ecosystem - formation of Detritus layer, since algal blooms die
and settle at the bottom resulting in marshy land.
• Decreased biodiversity: Algal blooms decrease oxygen availability and
reduce penetration of sunlight.
• New species invasion: since aerobic conditions give way to anaerobic
conditions.
• Toxicity - Neuro and hepatotoxins, O2, loss of coral reefs, changes in
colour of water, and increases gelatinous zooplankton (toxic)
Mitigation
• Riparian buffer.
• Interfaces between a flowing body of water and land created near the
waterways, farms, roads, etc. in an attempt to fi lter pollution.
• Sediments and nutrients are deposited in the buf f er zones instead of
deposition in water.
• Minimizing the non-point pollution.
• Nitrogen testing & modeling.
• N-Testing is a technique to find the optimum amount of fertilizer required
for crop plants. It will reduce the amount of nitrogen lost to the surrounding
area.
• Treatment of Industrial effluents.
• Organic farming & Integrated Farming System.
• Reduction in livestock densities • Improving the efficiency of use of fertilizer
.
• Increase in efficiency of nitrogen & phosphorous removal from municipal
waste water.
Measurement of Quality of water

Presence of organic and inorganic wastes in water decreases the dissolved
Oxygen (DO) content of the water.
Water having DO content below 8.0 mg L-1 may be considered as
contaminated. Water having DO content below. 4.0 mg L-1 is considered to
be highly polluted.
DO content of water is im-portant for the survival of aquatic organisms.
A number of factors like surface turbulence, photo-synthetic activity, O2
consumption by organisms and decomposition of organic matter are the
fac-tors which determine the amount of DO present in water.
• The higher amounts of waste increases the rates of decomposition and
O2 consumption, thereby de-creases the DO content of water. The
demand for O2 is directly related to increasing input of organic wastes and
is empressed as biological oxygen de-mand (BOD) of water.
• Water pollution by organic wastes is measured in terms of Biochemical
Oxygen Demand (BOD). BOD is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed
by bac-teria in decomposing the organic wastes present in water. It is
expressed in milligrams of oxygen per litre of water.
• The higher value of BOD indicates low DO content of water. Since BOD
is limited to biodegradable materials only. Therefore, it is not a reliable
method of measuring pollution load in water.
• Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a slightly better mode used to
measure pollution load in water. It is the measure of oxygen equivalent of
the require-ment of oxidation of total organic matter (i.e. bio-degradable
and non-biodegradable) present in water.
Coral Reefs
▪ These are submarine morphological creatures with organic calcium’s
structure.
▪ These are very beautiful, natural, wonder and among world’s oldest,
most diverse and most productive ecosystem.
▪ In terms of biodiversity, they are the marine equivalents of tropical
rainforest.
Mutualistic Relationship:
▪ They represent mutualistic relationship between coral animals and blue
green algae called zooxanthellae.
▪ Corals obtain part of their livelihood from seawater and the remainder
comes from the algae that live on the corals tissue.
▪ The coral provides the algae with a protected environment and
compounds they need for photosynthesis. In return, the algae produce
oxygen and help the coral to remove wastes. Most importantly,
zooxanthellae supply the coral with glucose, glycerol, and amino acids,
which are the products of photosynthesis. Corals live in huge colonies
and their body is attached to one another.
▪ When corals die, the other corals grow on the dead calcareous debris.
▪ The coral reefs form along coast, islands or sea mountains, winds
provide the foundation.
▪ Corals growth depends upon the calcium carbonate obtained from the
sea.
Ideal Conditions for their Growth:
▪ Temperature: 25°C to 30°C limited to tropical belt, less than 18°C
or 33°C - Corals tend to die
▪ Salinity: Corals need saline water. Average salinity 27 - 40 PPM (
parts per million)
▪ Need shallow water, less than 60-65 metres
▪ Need submarine platforms
▪ Need Sediment free, clear water.
▪ Water which is disturbed by currents and waves is beneficial and it
ensures supply of oxygen.
Benefits of Corals to Mankind:

▪ Coral reef provides sites for diverse variety of plants and animals.
▪ It is Storehouse of living resources like fish. Reef fish accounts for
about 15% of the worldwide fish catch
▪ They are a source of tourism revenue.
▪ Coral reefs help moderate atmospheric temperature by removing
CO2 from atmosphere.
▪ Coral reefs protect coastlines from wave erosion.
Types of Reefs:
1. Fringing Reef: A reef grows out from the land and is connected to it.
2. Barrier Reef: A reef which is separated from land by a lagoon (part of
sea which is cut off from rest of sea)
3. Atoll Reef: Formed away from coast in deep waters. Generally
elliptical or circular in shape as it uses top of sea mountains to grow.
Encloses a lagoon in the centre.
4. Patch Reef: Patch Reefs are isolated outcroppings (Patches) of coral
that are in close proximity to each other but are physically separated by
sand rings. They are typically found in shallow lagoons within a larger
collective reef, or atoll.
Coral Bleaching:
▪ Natural disturbances which cause damage to coral reefs include
violent storms, flooding, high and low temperature extremes, El Nino
Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, sub aerial exposures, predatory
outbreaks and epizootics.
▪ Coral reef bleaching is a common stress response of corals to
disturbances mentioned above.
▪ Bleaching occurs when,
• The densities of zooxanthellae decline and/or the concentration of
photosynthetic pigments within the zooxanthellae fall.
• If the stress-causing bleaching is not too severe and if it decreases
in time, the affected corals usually regain their symbiotic algae within
several weeks or a few months.
• If zooxanthellae loss is prolonged, i.e. if the stress continues and
depleted zooxanthellae populations do not recover, the coral host
eventually dies.
Causes of coral Bleaching:
• Increase in Ocean temperature due to climate change is causing
coral bleach.
• Runoff water and Polluted water can dilute ocean water and bleach
near shore corals.
• Overexposure to Sunlight and irradiance can bleach shallow corals
• Extreme Low tides causes corals get exposed to air and bleach.
Mangrove
• Mangroves are various large extensive types of trees up to medium
height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the
tropics and subtropics - mainly between latitudes 25 N and 25 S.
• Mangroves are salt tolerant trees (halophytes) adapted to live in
harsh coastal conditions. They contain a complex salt filtration system
and complex root system to cope with salt water immersion and wave
action. They are adapted to the low oxygen (anoxic) conditions of
waterlogged mud.
Characteristics of Mangroves:
▪ Evergreen land plants growing on sheltered shores (deltas, estuaries,
bays, creek, and barrier islands)
▪ Physiological adaptation to salinity stress and to waterlogged
anaerobic mud.
▪ Need abundant sunlight, has the ability to absorb fresh water from
saline water source.
▪ Pneumatophores (Blind Roots): They have special roots like Prop root,
pneuma-tophores, stilt roots which help to impede water flow and stabilises
the coastal shores.
▪ They act as breeding ground for fish.
▪ Moderates monsoonal tidal floods and reduces inundation of coastal
lowlands. Prevent coastal soil erosion.
▪ Protects coastal land from Tsunami, hurricane, floods etc.
▪ Enhances natural recycling of nutrients.
▪ Supports numerous flora, fauna, and avifauna. Edge effect can be seen
here.
▪ Supplies raw materials - wood, medicinal plants, edible plants
▪ Recreation and tourist attractions.
Threat from Human Interference:

▪ Approximately 35% of the mangrove area was lost during the last several
decades of the 20th century.
▪ The UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) & Hamilton (2013),
estimate that shrimp farming causes approximately a quarter of the
destruction of mangrove forests.
▪ Likewise, the 2010 update of the WMA (World Mangrove Atlas) indicated
a fifth of the world’s mangrove ecosystems have been lost since 1980.
▪ They are also destroyed for conversion of area for agricultural purposes,
fuel fodder, mining, oil spills, aquaculture (shrimp), use of fertiliser
industrial purposes.
Mangroves in India
Wetland Ecosystem
Is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally,
such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem.
Ramsar Convention Definition:
▪ Wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland, or water whether natural or

artificial, permanent, or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh,
brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low
tide does not exceed six metres.
▪ It’s an intermediate stage between deep water habitats and terrestrial

habitats.
▪ Habitat experience periodic flooding from adjacent deep-water habitat and

plants and animals are adapted to shallow flooding.
▪ For Ex: Lake littorals, floodplains, marshy, swampy areas, bogs, fens,
mangroves.
Functions of wetlands
• Habitat - for a variety of flora and fauna
• Filters sediments and nutrients from surface
water
• Nutrient recycling
• Water purification
• Flood mitigation
• Ground water recharging
• Controlling rate of runoff in urban areas
• Buffer shoreline against erosion
• Stabilisation of local climate
• Tourism, recreation and cultural heritage.
Reasons for depletion
• Conversion of lands for agriculture
• Overgrazing
• Removal of sand from beds
• Aquaculture
• Habitat destruction and deforestation
• Pollution
• Domestic waste
• Agricultural runoff
• Industrial effluents
• Climate change
Mitigation measures
• Proper survey and demarcation
• Protection process of natural
regeneration
• Artificial regeneration
• Afforestation
• Weed control
• Wildlife conservation
• Removal of encroachments
• Eutrophication abatements
• Environmental awareness
Environment Pollution
Man - made activities have caused environmental

degradation . We have degraded lands , destroyed forests at
suicidal rates , thrown tonnes of toxic waste into rivers
indiscriminately and poured toxic chemicals into the seas .
Furthermore , we discharged green -house gases into the
atmosphere leading to climatic changes. The net result is: we are
surrounded by pollution in our daily lives — we breathe , we
drink, we eat pollution.
We shall discuss water pollution , land pollution , noise
pollution and air pollution in this and the next chapters.
WATER POLLUTION
The normal uses of water for public supply are— recreation
(swimming , boating , etc .), fish , other aquatic life , and wildlife ,
agriculture (irrigation), industry, navigation, etc. Any change in the
dynamic equilibrium in aquatic ecosystem (waterbody /biosphere /
atmosphere) disturbs the normal function and properties of pure
water and gives rise to the phenomenon of water pollution . The
symptoms of water pollution of any water body/groundwater are:
• Bad taste of drinking water
• Offensive smells from lakes, rivers and ocean beaches
• Unchecked growth of aquatic weeds in waterbodies (
eutrophication)
• Dead fish floating on water surface in river, lake, etc.
• Oil and grease floating on water surface
The quality of water is of vital concern for mankind since it is directly
linked with human welfare. It is a historical fact that faecal (human
excreta or stool) pollution of drinking water caused water-borne diseases
, which wiped out entire populations of cities. In the developing
countries like India, everyday some 25,000 people die of water-borne
diseases, e.g., jaundice, hepatitis, cholera, dysentery, etc. In India about 2
lakhs out of 6 lakh villages have no access to safe drinking water—women
have to walk 1–14 km daily for collecting water for drinking and
cooking. In urban areas, 40 per cent people are without access to safe
water. The major sources of water pollution are domestic sewage from
urban and rural areas, agricultural run-off (wash water) and industrial
waste which are directly or indirectly discharged into waterbodies
Water Pollutants
The large number of water pollutants are broadly classified under
the categories:
1. Organic pollutants
2. Inorganic pollutants
3. Sediments
4. Radioactive materials
5. Thermal pollutants Organic Pollutants
These include domestic sewage , pesticides , synthetic organic
compounds , plant nutrients (from agricultural runoff), oil, wastes from
food -processing plants , paper mills and tanneries , etc . These reduce
dissolved oxygen (D.O.) in water . Dissolved oxygen (D.O.) is essential
for aquatic life, the optimum level being 4–6 ppm (parts per million ).
Decrease in D.O. value is an indicator of water pollution . The organic
pollutants consume D.O. through the action of bacteria present in
water.
Sewage and agricultural run-off provide plant nutrients in water giving
rise to the biological process known as eutrophication. Large input of
fertiliser and nutrients from these sources leads to enormous growth of
aquatic weeds which gradually cover the entire waterbody (algal bloom).
This disturbs the normal uses of water as the waterbody loses its D.O.
and ends up in a deep pool of water where fish cannot survive.
The production of synthetic organic chemicals (more than 60 million
tonnes each year since 1980 ) multiplied more than 10 times since 1950 .
These include fuels , plastic fibres , solvents , detergents , paints , food
additive, pharmaceuticals , etc. Their presence in water gives objectionable
and offensive tastes, odour and colours to fish and aquatic plants.
Oil pollution of the seas has increased over the years, due to increased
traffic of oil tankers in the seas causing oil spill and also due to oil losses
during off-shore drilling. Oil pollution reduces light transmission through
surface water and hence reduces photosynthesis by marine plants ,
decreases D.O. in water causing damage to marine life (plants , fish, etc.)
and also contaminates sea food which enters the human food chain.
Pesticides have been largely used for killing pests and insects harmful
for crops and thereby boosting the crop production. At present, there are
more than 10,000 different pesticides in use. They include insecticides (
for killing insects ), e.g., DDT (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane ),
herbicides (for killing weeds and undesirable vegetation ) and fungicides (
for killing fungi and checking plant disease).
It has been found that pesticide residues contaminate crops and then
enter the food chain of birds, mammals and human beings. The persistent
pesticide , viz ., DDT (which is not degraded in the environment )
accumulates in food chain, getting magnified in each step from seaweed to
fish and then to man by about ten thousand times (104). Thus, the average
level of DDT in human tissues is found to be 5–10 ppm , maximum
being among the Indians (25 ppm) compared to the Americans (8 ppm).
Inorganic Pollutants
This group consists of inorganic salts, mineral acids, metals, trace
elements, detergents, etc.
Acid mine drainage : Coal mines , particularly those which have been
abandoned , discharge acid (sulphuric acid ) and also ferric hydroxide
into local streams through seepage. The acid on entering the waterbody
destroys its aquatic life (plants, fish, etc.).
Sediments
Soil erosion , as a matter of natural process , generates sediments in
water. Solid loadings in natural water are about 700 times as large as the
solid loading from sewage discharge. Soil erosion is enhanced 5–10 times
due to agricultural and 100 times due to construction activities. Bottom
sediments in aquatic bodies (streams , lakes , estuaries , oceans ) are
important reservoirs of inorganic and organic matter , particularly
trace metals , e .g ., chromium , copper , nickel , manganese and
molybdenum.
Radioactive Materials
Radioactive pollution is caused by mining and processing of radioactive ores to produce radioactive substances
, use of radioactive materials in nuclear power plants , use of radioactive isotopes in medical , industrial
and research institutes and nuclear tests. The discharge of radioactive wastes into water and sewer systems
is likely to create problems in future.
Thermal Pollutants
Coal -fired or nuclear fuel -fired thermal power plants are sources of
thermal pollution . The hot water from these plants is dumped as waste
into nearby lake or river where its temperature rises by about 10°C.
This has a harmful effect on the aquatic life in the waterbody whose D.
O. is reduced and as a result, fish kill is quite common.
Groundwater Pollution/Arsenic Contamination

Groundwater is relatively free from surface contamination as
it is located more than about 50 ft below the land surface and the surface
water gets filtered or screened by the underlying layers of soil, sand and
stone pieces . But even then it gets contaminated due to leaching of
minerals below the earth’s surface.
An important case is that of Arsenic (As ) contamination of
groundwater . This arises from excessive pumping of groundwater by
shallow tube wells for irrigation in some West Bengal districts along the
Hooghly river course and also in Bangladesh along the Padma river course
. In this process , air (oxygen ) is injected into groundwater bed which
leaches the overlying mineral , iron pyrites (iron , arsenic , sulphide ),
oxidises it and releases arsenic into groundwater.
More than one million people in six districts of West Bengal drink arsenic
-contaminated groundwater from tube wells in the region. Among them,
20 lakh people suffer from various diseases related to arsenic poisoning
like loss of hair, brittle nails, bronchitis , gangrene , etc. Several hundred
deaths have also been reported. Similar calamity has threatened the lives
of Bangladesh in the districts along the Padma river course.
Case Study of Ganga Pollution
The most typical example of river pollution is the Ganga Pollution.
The Ganga originates from the Himalayan glacier and flows along a
stretch of some 2525 km before joining the Bay of Bengal. The Ganga
basin is fertile and home of about 40 per cent of population (400 million
people) of the country. The river has been hailed as the “Holy Ganga”
and regarded as the lifeline of the country. But in recent years it is
ranked as the most-polluted river of India and a killer in the highly-
polluted areas.
The Ganga basin carries water from 25 per cent of land . It is
responsible for agricultural prosperity of UP , MP , Haryana ,
Rajasthan , Himachal Pradesh , Bihar and West Bengal . Ganga is the
source of drinking water in the region and irrigation water for
agriculture —she also supplies fish to the local markets and water to
industries on both sides of the river . The Ganga basin provides
maximum population density—many class I (population 100,000 and
above), class II (pop. between 50,000 and 100,000) and class III (pop. 20,
000 to less than 50,000) cities have grown in this region. Both domestic
and industrial sewages join the Ganga river without any treatment and
thus causes terrible pollution.
Hooghly river (in West Bengal) near Kolkata presents the worst polluted zone. There are more than 150 industries
on both sides of the 125 km stretch river belt— there are about 270 outlets of untreated sewage to the river
Hooghly. The entire 140 sq. km metropolitan area covering both banks of the Hooghly river is exposed to ecological
disaster. Besides huge quantities of soil from soil erosion due to extensive deforestation are washed by rain water
into the river causing siltation. This reduces the flow of water in the Bhagirathi- Hooghly river with the result that
ultimately the river will be choked and dead. In 1919, the flow of water in the Ganga was 1,10,000 cusecs (1 cusec
= 1 cubic foot of water flowing per second) whereas in 1971 it was 40,000 cusecs only which during summer
drops to 20,000 cusecs. This should be enough to sound the alarm bell to the Government—Kolkata and Haldia
ports can survive only on 40,000 cusecs of water.
WASTE WATER TREATMENT
Water pollution is caused by domestic sewage (84 per cent ) and
industrial sewage (16 per cent ). Though the latter has less load on
waterbody , it contains toxic matter (inorganic and organic ) which are
more hazardous.
Domestic Waste Water Treatment

Sewage treatment plants, in general, depend on biological decomposition of
non-toxic organic wastes using bacteria . Such biological decomposition is
carried out under aerobic conditions , i.e., in the presence of plenty of
oxygen.
The process, commonly used for municipal waste water, is shown in Fig. 3.1.
In the first stage, solid wastes are removed from water by screening—any
scum (suspended matter) is removed and the sludge (muddy solid or
sediment) allowed to settle at the bottom. The residual liquid is exposed to
biological oxidation of soluble organic materials through a bed of microbes
in activated sludge. Then the solids are removed after sedimentation.
Finally the liquid effluent is subjected to chlorination for destroying
pathogenic micro- organisms. Now this effluent is fairly clean and suitable
for domestic use.
Drinking Water Supply

Treatment of drinking water supply is a matter of public health concern .
The water treatment plants, in general , are simpler than sewage treatment
plants. They operate in three steps—
(i) Aeration to settle suspended matter.
(ii) Coagulation of small particles and suspended matter by lime and ferric
chloride.
(iii) Disinfection by chlorination to kill viruses , bacteria , etc. The purified
water is then supplied by munici - palities through pipes for domestic
uses.
LAND POLLUTION
Land or soil is polluted by indiscriminate discharge of waste —domestic ,
commercial , municipal and industrial . Liquid waste is partly absorbed by
soil, partly seeps into underground water and the rest joins waterbodies in
the locality. It is solid waste which, when dumped into land, accumulates on
it and causes pollution.
NOISE POLLUTION
Noise is part of our environment. With progress in industrialisation, the
noise level has been rising continuously . In the 19th century the development
of the steam engines , petrol engines and machines in factories resulted in
increas - ingly noisy environment . In the 20th century this was fur - ther
accelerated by introduction of diesel engine, jet engines, turboprop , high-tech
machineries, construction site machineries and automobile traffic. Noise has
been recognised as one of the dimensions of pollution which brings about deg
- radation of the environment and creates health and communication hazards
.
Sound and Human Acoustics

Sound consists of wave motion in an elastic medium such as air, water or
solids (e.g., metals, plastics, wood, bricks, etc.). Sound waves travel through
the medium from the source to the recipient or listener . The rate of the
oscillation of the medium is known as the frequency of the sound , the unit
being hertz (Hz) or cycles per second. The frequency is a measure of the pitch of
the sound received by the listener . High frequencies mean high -pitched
sounds which are more irritating to the individual than low frequencies . The
second parameter of sound is sound pressure which is measured in newtons
per sq. metre (N/m2). The third parameter on sound is its intensity, expressed
in watts per sq. metre, i.e., the quantum of sound energy that flows through
unit area of the medium in unit time.
The human ear receives sound waves which set up oscillations in the
ear drum (tympanic membrane). These oscillations cause movement of
three small bones in the middle ear behind the ear drum. These then
pass through the fluid in the inner ear to the auditory nerve and finally
transmitted to the brain. The oscillations or sound are intensified and
interpreted in the brain, which can select sounds into different categories
—speech, music, noises, etc.
The sensitivity of the ear varies from person to person . With ageing ,
people lose hearing power gradually . A young person , 18-year-old, with
normal hearing , has audio range between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. The
audio sense is sharpest in the frequency range 2000–8500 Hz.
Noise Measurement Units

As mentioned before , sound pressure and sound intensity are the two
important parameters of noise. The common scientific acoustic unit is
the Decibel ( dB)1. It is not an absolute physical unit like volt, metre ,
etc. but is a ratio , expressed in logarithmic scale relative to a reference
sound pressure level.
The reference intensity used is the threshold of hearing which means
sound which can be first heard at a sound pressure of 2 × 10–5 newtons
per sq. metre or sound intensity of 10–12 watts per sq. metre.
Noise meters have been designed for noise measurement from low to
high frequencies , characteristic of human ear capacity . These meters
record the dB scale for routine mea - surement of general noise levels .
Refined noise meters have been developed to take care of peak noise levels,
duration of noise exposure and quality of noise which are aspects of speci-
fied noise situation.
L10 (18 hours) Index
This is used for road traffic measurement , adopted in UK for noise
legislation. The index is expressed in dB—it is the arithmetic average hourly
values of the noise level exceeded for 10 per cent of the time over 18 hours
between 6:00 and 24:00 hours on any normal weekday . It includes peak
noise values and fluctuation of noise depending on the type of vehicle and
traffic density.
Effective Perceived Noise Level (L epn)

This is recommended for aircraft by the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) as the standard for use in noise evaluation. The index
is based on the scale equivalent to the dB scale +13 and takes care of the
peak frequency of jet aircraft noise as well as duration of aircraft flyover.
Noise Classification
There are broadly three categories of noise:
(i) Transport noise
(ii) Occupational noise
(iii) Neighbourhood noise.
Transport Noise
Transport noise can be further sub-divided into (i) Road traffic noise, (ii)
Aircraft noise and (iii) Rail traffic noise.
Road Traffic Noise: Traffic noise is increasing over the years with increase
in the number of road vehicles . Traffic speed is the major cause of noise .
The noise volume is enhanced with increase in traffic speed . Modern
highways and traffic system encourage higher speeds.
In general , on urban roads there are distinct traffic peaks in the morning
and evening (10 a.m. and 6 p.m.) as people travel to and fro workplaces .
Heavy diesel-engined trucks are the noisiest vehicles on roads at present.
These limits are, however , violated in all big cities in India , Calcutta being
the worst case. The average noise levels in busy streets in Calcutta during
rush hours (between 10:30- 12:00 hrs and 18:00-19:30 hrs.) are 90 dB. People
live in an environment of noise generated by blasting horns , rumbling tyres
and screeching brakes. Awful road accidents contribute to the misery.
Aircraft Noise: The noise levels have peak values when aircraft fly low and
overhead or take off and land at airports. The noise limits prescribed by UK
airports for take-offs are 110 PNdB (1 PNdB = dB scale+13) during day
and 102 PNdB during night. These may be compared with the values in USA:
112 PNdB during day at New York.
Rail Traffic: It is less of a nuisance as compared to the previous types of
traffic noise.
Occupational Noise : Industrial workers are exposed to noisy working
environment for 48 hours a week (8 hrs. a day for 6 days a week ). Some
typical occupational noise levels are given in Table 3.3.
Millions of workers suffer from progressive hearing damage and
become prone to accidents under their working conditions . Their working
efficiency is also affected.
Neighbourhood Noise : Loud TV and radio sets , loud cassettes ,
loudspeakers in public functions , disco music , etc . are sources of
neighbourhood noise, which disturb and irritate the general public and also
harm the patients.
Noise Pollution Hazards

The human ear drum is struck by noise in the form of air -borne
mechanical energy . While the tolerable conversation level is 65 dB at a
distance of 1 metre, 125 dB gives the sensation of pain in the ear and 150
dB might be a killer.
High-intensity noise for continuous periods is the major cause for ear
damage. If a noise level exceeding 90 dB in the mid-frequency range
reaches the ear for more than a few minutes, then the sensitivity of the
ear will be reduced.
Noise pollution can cause pathological or psychological disorders. High
frequencies or ultrasonic sound above the audible range can affect the
semi-circular canals of the inner ear and make one suffer from nausea
and dizziness. Mid- audible frequencies can lead to resonance in the
skull and thereby affect the brain and nervous system. Moderate
vibration can also cause pain, numbness and cyanosis (blue colouration)
of fingers while severe vibration results damage to bones and joints in the
hands with swelling and stiffness.
In industrial and other establishments the general impact of noise
pollution is lower efficiency , reduced work rate and higher potential for
accidents and injuries.
In residential areas , even low-frequency noise of 50–60 dB at night
disturbs sleep, particularly among the aged people, causing adverse effect
on health.
Children , exposed to excessive noise , show signs of behavioural
disorder which in later age develop into destructive nature and
neurotic disorders in the adult.
Excessive noise is one of the major factors for chronic exhaustion
and tension in our daily lives. This may explain why more and more
people tend to become addicted to alcohol, tobacco and drugs.
Noise pollution has also impact on travel of migratory birds from
winter to tropical climate . Thus , the increase of noise pollution in
Kolkata and construction of high-rise buildings near Alipur Zoological
Garden have led to decline in the number of migratory birds from CIS (
former USSR) from 15,000 in 1980 to 2000 in 1990.
Permissible Noise Levels

In this age, many people work and live in environment where the
noise level is not hazardous . But over the years they suffer from
progressive hearing loss and psychological hazards . The maximum
permissible noise levels are summarized in Table 3.4.
Control of Noise Pollution
Noise pollution is closely related to increase in
industrialisation and urbanisation . It cannot be entirely eliminated
but it can be kept at a safe level through adoption of some measures:
(a) Control of noise intensity at the source itself.
(b) Noise absorption measures placed between the noise source and
the recipient.
(c) Use of protective measures by the recipient so that the ear drum
is saved.
The common noise generation sources are: generators (for power
supply), water pumps, loud speakers, cassette playing shops, blowing of
air horns in motor vehicles, landing and take off by aeroplanes, noise of
machines in factories, etc. The specific laws in this respect should be
strictly enforced . This must be backed by public awareness and
vigilance.
AIR POLLUTION
Pure air is colourless and odourless . But various pollutants from
natural and man-made sources are entering the atmosphere daily and
these disturb the dynamic equilibrium in the atmosphere. This leads to
air pollution when the normal properties of air are upset and both man
and environment suffer.
Natural sources of air pollution are:
• Volcanic activity , vegetation decay , forest fires emitting carbon
monoxide , sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide and tiny
particles of solids or liquids sprayed from the seas and land by wind.
Man-made sources are:
• Gases , mists , particulates and aerosols emitted by industries and
other chemical and biological processes used by man.
Primary Pollutants
There are five primary pollutants which together contribute to
more than 90 per cent of global air pollution:
Carbon monoxide, CO Nitrogen oxides, NOX
Hydrocarbons, HC Sulphur oxides, SOX
Particulates.
Transportation accounts for more than 46 per cent of
the total pollutants produced per year and hence remains
the principal source of air pollution. Carbon monoxide is
the major industrial pollutant , with a tonnage matching that of all other
pollutants together . However , particulate pollutants , though minor ,
are the most dangerous among the primary pollutants (100 times more
harmful than carbon monoxide).
The above data are taken from those in USA (1990). As a matter of fact,
USA and other developed countries contribute most to air pollution.
Carbon Monoxide, CO
It is a colourless , odourless and tasteless gas which is injurious to our
health. Each year 350 million tonnes of CO (275 million tonnes from human
sources and 75 million tonnes from natural sources ) are emitted all over the
world in which USA alone shares 100 million tonnes . Transportation
accounts for 70 per cent of CO emission . That is to say, diesel and petroleum
engines in automobiles are primarily responsible for about 70 per cent of CO
emissions.
Sinks
Part of carbon monoxide is lost in the upper atmosphere . The major sink is
soil micro -organisms . A potting soil sample weighing 28 kg can completely
remove in 3 hours 120 ppm carbon monoxide from ambient air. The same soil
sample on sterilization failed to remove carbon monoxide from air.
Control of CO Pollution
The petroleum and diesel-fed automobiles account for major share of carbon
monoxide emission . Hence , efforts for carbon monoxide pollution control are
mainly aimed at automobiles . Use of catalytic converters in the internal
combustion engines of automobiles helps in cleaning up the exhaust emissions .
Such converters built into the automobile engines promote oxidation-reduction
cycles and ensure complete combustion of carbon monoxide , nitrogen oxides
and hydrocarbons . The following figure illustrates the action of catalytic
converters: use of catalytic converters in two stages helps in the elimination of
pollutants from exhaust gases before they are discharged into the atmosphere.
In the first converter, nitrogen oxides are reduced to nitrogen (+ ammonia)
in the presence of finely-divided catalyst platinum, and the reducing gases,
carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. The production of ammonia is kept at a
minimum under carefully controlled conditions. In the second converter, air is
introduced to provide an oxidizing atmosphere for complete oxidation of
carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon into carbon dioxide and water in the
presence of finely-divided platinum catalyst.
Thus by means of platinum catalytic converters,

autoexhaust emissions are cleaned up through reduction - oxidation
reactions . In all developed countries , it is mandatory by law for all
automobiles to fit their engines with catalytic converters . In India some
automobile companies have plans to fit their automobile engines with
catalytic converters.
Nitrogen Oxides, NOX

It consists of mixed oxides , nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide (NO
and NO 2, respectively )—the former is a colourless and odourless gas
but the latter (NO2) has a reddish brown colour and pungent smell.
The formation of NO and NO2 is based on the chemical reactions:
These reactions occur inside the automobile engines so that the
exhaust gases consist of NO X . The latter concentration in rural
air is much less than that in urban air.
In air NOX is converted into nitric acid (HNO3) by natural processes:
This nitric acid is one of the constituents of acid rain discussed in a

subsequent section. From auto-exhaust emissions NOx is removed as
discussed above by means of catalytic converters.
Hydrocarbons and Photochemical Smog

Natural processes, particularly in trees, emit large quantities of hydrocarbons
into air . Methane , CH 4 , is a major hydro - carbon . It is generated in large
quantities by bacteria formed by anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in
water, sediments and soil.
Domestic animals (cattle, buffaloes, etc.) contribute about 85 million tonnes
of methane to the atmosphere each year. Automobiles are the significant
source of hydrocarbons.
In the presence of ozone , carbon monoxide , nitrogen oxides and
hydrocarbon participate in photochemical reactions (in the presence of
sunlight ). A chain reaction proceeds in which the free radical R CH 2• is
generated in the first step. Other free radicals which are formed are: R CH2O
2• in the second step by reaction with oxygen, R CH2O•; R CH2O• in the
third step by reaction with nitric oxide; HO 2• in the fourth step by reaction
with oxygen—a stable aldehyde, R CHO is another product at this stage; HO•
is formed in the fifth step by reaction with nitric oxide (nitrogen dioxide is
another product here ); and finally , the initial free radical R CH 2• is
regenerated by reaction with hydrocarbon , R CH 3 thereby sustaining the
chain reaction.
The harmful products in the chain reaction are NO 2 and aldehyde , R
CHO. A side reaction also follows by another route through the aldehyde,
R CHO ; it gives an injurious end product , peroxyacyl nitrate (PAN )
which is a strong eye irritant . These reactions lead to photochemical
smog formation , which is characterized by brown hazy fumes which
irritate the eyes and lungs and also cause serious damage to plants.
Photochemical smog occurs in coastal cities in winter climate , e.g., in
Los Angeles, USA, which have the heaviest vehicular traffic.
Sulphur Dioxide, SO2

Sulphur dioxide is a colourless gas with a pungent odour . It is produced
from the combustion of any sulphur-bearing material. Sulphur dioxide, SO2
, is always associated with a little of sulphur trioxide, SO3.
Man-made sources—coal-fired power stations and other industries—
contribute about 33 per cent of SOX pollution while natural sources, viz.
volcanoes, provide about 67 per cent of SOX pollution.
Soot particles containing metal oxides catalyze the oxidation of
sulphur dioxide to trioxide.
The first reaction above occurs in the presence of ozone and water vapour
. The product, sulphuric acid, is formed on aerosol (fine particle suspended
in air as in smoke, fog, mist, etc.) droplet. Sulphuric acid is one of the
constituents of acid rain.
In winter , sulphur oxides from thermal power plants along with other
gases lead to smog formation , e.g., London smog . This is known as
reducing smog in contrast with photochemical smog which is
known as oxidising smog (consisting of hydrocarbons , nitrogen oxides
and ozone). London smog (1952) is well-known for its disastrous effect.
Heavy smog (SO 2) conditions prevailed in London for five days which
killed about 4,000 people . The causes of death were bronchitis ,
pneumonia , and other respiratory troubles particularly among aged
people.
Control of SOx Pollution
SOx (sulphur oxides) from flue gases of industrial plants can be removed by
means of chemical scrubbers. The flue stack gases are led through a bed of (
slurry) limestone, CaCO3 (calcium carbonate) which absorbs sulphur
dioxide quite efficiently.
The method is economical but the disposal of solid waste, calcium sulphate is
a problem.
Alternatively, sulphur oxide in aqueous solution is treated with citric acid
salt and the resulting solution is exposed to a stream of hydrogen
sulphide gas whereby sulphur is deposited . This sulphur can then be
recovered and utilised.
Thermal power plants , major sources of man-made SOX pollution , are
normally constructed with tall chimneys to disperse the emissions over a
wide area. This reduces the local problem but creates problems for far away
areas through acid rains
Acid Rain
It has been described above that much of nitrogen oxides (NOx ) and
sulphur oxides (SOx ) entering the atmosphere are transformed into nitric
acid (HNO 3 ) and sulphuric acid ( H 2 SO 4 ), respectively . These
combine with hydrogen chloride (HCl) from HCl emissions (both by man
-made and natural sources) and generate acidic precipitation, known as acid
rain.
Acid rain is a major environmental issue as it badly damages the
environment . It damages buildings and structural materials of marble,
limestones, slate and mortar. These materials become structurally weak
as calcium carbonate reacts with sulphuric acid to form soluble sulphate ,
which is leached out by rain water:
In Greece and Italy, invaluable stones and statues have been partly
dissolved by acid rain. Besides these, acid rain damaged forests in Germany
and lakes in Sweden and Canada. Acid rain originated from U.K., but far
away in Sweden it damaged some 8,000 lakes of which 4,000 are dead.
Similarly, acid rain from USA damaged lakes and forests in Canada. In India,
the Taj Mahal is threatened by acid rain from Mathura Refinery and other
industries.
OZONE HOLE
In the stratosphere , the second layer of the atmosphere , ozone is
present in small quantities as a protective shield for the earth . Ozone
strongly absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun (295–320 nm) which
is injurious to life on earth. Thus, it protects living species on earth. But
recent human activities have injected some dangerous chemicals into
the stratosphere which consume ozone and reduce its
concentration. This is the phenomenon of ozone hole in the stratosphere.
Exhaust gases from jet aircraft and artificial satellites discharge
nitric oxide (NO ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), etc . which immediately
react with ozone.
Chloroflourocarbons (CFC) are used as coolants in refrigerators and

air-conditioners. These slowly pass from troposphere to stratosphere
and once there, they stay there 100 years. In the presence of ultraviolet
radiation (200 nm) from the sun, CFC breaks up into chlorine-free
radical (Cl) which readily consumes ozone.
The free radical (Cl•) is regenerated and continues the chain reaction.
It is estimated that one molecule of CFC consumes one lakh molecules
of ozone. The damage by CFC continues for 100 years. Even if CFC
production is stopped now all over the world, the CFC that is already
there in the stratosphere will continue to damage the ozone layer for the
next 100 years.
In 1979, ozone hole was observed in the sky over Antarctica—
here ozone layer thickness was reduced by 30 per cent. Later on ozone
hole was discovered in the sky over the thickly populated northern
hemisphere. Here in winter ozone thickness was reduced by 4 per
cent and in summer by 1 per cent.
Ozone hole allows passage of ultraviolet radiation to the earth where it

causes skin cancer, eye-sight defect, genetic disorder, etc. in the
biosphere (man, animal and plant). In Europe and USA there is an
increase in the cases of skin cancer among people while some million
people are suffering from eye cataract.
In Montreal Conference (Montreal Protocol , 1987 ) and London
Conference (1992), it was decided that the developed countries would
totally ban CFC production by 2000 and the developing countries by
2010 AD . But as stated above, even after the ban is enforced, the CFC
and Cl shall continue their havoc for another 100 years. Researches are
on for the development of CFC-substitutes as coolants for refrigerators
and air-conditioners.
RADIO ACTIVE WASTE
• Radioactivity is a phenomenon of spontaneous emission of proton (a-particles),
electrons (ß-particles ) and gamma rays (short wave electromagnetic waves)
due to disintegration of atomic nuclei of some elements. These cause radioactive
pollution and deposited Radio active materials in environment is called Radio
active waste.
Types of Radiations
1. Non-ionising radiations affect only those components which absorb them and
have low penetrability.
2. Ionising radiations have high penetration power and cause breakage of macro
molecules.
Types of radiation particles

1. Alpha particles, can be blocked by a piece of paper and human skin.
2. Beta particles can penetrate through skin, while can be blocked by some pieces
of glass and metal.
3. Gamma rays can penetrate easily to human skin and damage cells on its way
through, reaching far, and can only be blocked by a very thick, strong, massive
piece of concrete.
Sources
Natural
• They include cosmic rays from space and terrestrial radiations from radio-nuclides
present in earth ’s crust such as radium -224, uranium -238, thorium -232, potas -
sium-40, carbon-14, etc.
Man – made
• Nuclear power plants

• Nuclear weapon
• Transportation of nuclear material
• Disposal of nuclear waste
• Uranium mining
• Radiation therapy
Effects
• The effects of radioactive pollutants depend upon
i. half-life
ii. energy releasing capacity
iii. rate of diffusion and
iv. rate of deposition of the pollutant.
v. Various environmental factors such as wind, temperature, rainfall also influence
their effects.
Period of Radioactivity
• Each radioactive nuclide has a constant decay rate. Half-life is the time needed for half
of its atoms to decay . Half-life of a radio nuclide refers to its period of radioactivity .
The half-life may vary from a frac- tion of a second to thousands of years. The radio
nuclides with long half -time are the chief source of environmental radioactive
pollution.
Radiations are of two types with regard to the mode of their action on cells.
1� Non-ionising radiations:
• They include short-wave radiations such as ultraviolet rays, which forms a part of
solar radiation.
• They have low penetrating power and affect the cells and molecules which absorb
them.
• They damage eyes which may be caused by reflections from coastal sand, snow (
snow blindness) directly look- ing towards sun during eclipse.
• They injure the cells of skin and blood capillaries pro- ducing blisters and
reddening called sunburns.
2� Ionising radiations�
• They include X-rays, cosmic rays and atomic radiations (radiations emitted by
radioactive elements).
• Ionising radiations have high penetration power and cause breakage of macro
molecules.
• The molecular damage may produce short range (immediate) or long range (
delayed) effects.
i. Short range effects include burns, impaired metabo- lism, dead tissues and
death of the organisms.
ii. Long range effects are mutations increased incidence of tumors and cancer ,
shortening of life-span and de- velopmental changes.
iii. The mutated gene can persist in living organisms and may affect their
progeny.
• The actively dividing cells such as Embryo, foetus, cells of skin, intestinal lining
, bone marrow and gamete forming cells are more sensitive to radiations.
• Some species of animals and plants preferentially ac - cumulate specific
radioactive materials. For example, oysters deposit 65Zn, fish accumulate 55Fe,
marine animals selectively deposit 90Sr.
Control Measures
• Prevention is the best control measure as there is no cure available for radiation
damage.
i. All safety measures should be strictly enforced. Leak- age of radioactive elements
should be totally checked.
ii. Safe disposal of radioactive waste.
iii. Regular monitoring through frequent sampling and quantitative analysis.
iv. Safety measures against nuclear accidents.
v. Nuclear explosions and use of nuclear weapons should be completely banned.
vi. Appropriate steps should be taken to protect from occupational exposure.
E – WASTE
• The discarded and end -of-life electronic products rang - ing from computers ,
equipment used in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), home
appli - ances , audio and video products and all of their periph - erals are
popularly known as Electronic waste (E-waste).
• E-waste is not hazardous if it is stocked in safe storage or recycled by scientific
methods or transported from one place to the other in parts or in totality in the
for- mal sector. The e-waste can, however, be considered hazardous if recycled
by primitive methods.
E – Waste in India
• “The Global E-Waste Monitor 2014”, 17 lakh tonnes of e-waste generation was
reported in the country in 2014. No comprehensive State-wise inventorization of
e-waste generation in the country has been done.
• In India , among top ten cities , Mumbai ranks first in generating e-waste
followed by Delhi, Bangalore, Chen- nai, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Pune
, Surat and Nagpur.
• The 65 cities generate more than 60% of the total generated e-waste, whereas,
10 states generate 70% of the total e-waste.
• Most of the e-waste is recycled in India in unorganized units , which engage
significant number of manpower . Recovery of metals by primitive means is a
most hazardous act.
• The recycling process, if not carried out properly, can cause damage to human
being through inhalation of gases during recycling , contact of the skin with
hazard - ous substances and contact during acid treatment used in recovery
process.
• Proper education , awareness and most importantly alternative cost effective
technology need to be provided so that better means can be provided to those
who earn the livelihood from this.
• A holistic approach is needed to address the challenges faced by India in e-waste
management . A suitable mech - anism needs to be evolved to include small
units in unorganized sector and large units in organized sector into a single
value chain.
Plastic Pollution
• Plastics are considered to be one of the wonderful inven- tions of 20th Century. They
are widely used as packing and carry bags because of cost and convenience . But
plastics are now considered as environmental hazard due to the “Throw away
culture”.
5�8�2� Source of generation of waste plastics
• Household
• Health and medicare
• Hotel and catering
• Air/rail travel
Effects
• The land gets littered by plastic bag garbage and becomes ugly and unhygienic.
• Conventional plastics have been associated with reproductive problems in both
humans and wildlife.
• Dioxin (highly carcinogenic and toxic) by-product of the manufacturing process is one
of the chemicals believed to be passed on through breast milk to the nursing
infant.
• Burning of plastics , especially PVC releases this dioxin and also furan into the
atmosphere . Thus , conventional plastics , right from their manufacture to their
disposal are a major problem to the environment.
• Plastic bags can also contaminate foodstuffs due to leaching of toxic dyes and
transfer of pathogens.
• Careless disposal of plastic bags chokes drains , blocks the porosity of the soil and
causes problems for groundwater recharge.
• Plastic disturbs the soil microbe activity. The terrestrial and aquatic animals
misunderstand plastic garbage as food items, swallow them and die.
• Plastic bags deteriorates soil fertility as it forms part of manure and remains in the
soil for years.
• These bags finding their way in to the city drainage system results in blockage
causing inconvenience , difficult in maintenance , creates unhygienic environment
resulting in health hazard and spreading of water borne diseases.
• Designing eco-friendly, biodegradable plastics are the need of the hour.
SOLID WASTE
• Solid wastes are the discarded (abandoned or consid - ered waste -like) materials .
Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant,
or air pollution control facility and other discarded materials including solid ,
liquid , semi -solid , or con - tained gaseous material , resulting from industrial ,
commercial , mining and agricultural operations , and from community activities .
But it does not include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage , or solid or
dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges.
Types
• Solid wastes are classified depending on their
source:
a) Municipal waste,
b) Hazardous waste and
c) Biomedical waste or hospital waste.
a) Municipal solid waste

• Municipal solid waste consists of household waste , con - struction and demolition
debris, sanitation residue, and waste from streets.
• With rising urbanization and change in lifestyle and food habits, the amount of
municipal solid waste has been increasing rapidly and its composition changing.
• In 1947 cities and towns in India generated an estimated 6 million tonnes of solid
waste , in 1997 it was about 48 million tonnes . More than 25% of the municipal
solid waste is not collected at all.
• 70% of the Indian cities lack adequate capacity to trans - port it and there are no
sanitary landfills to dispose of the waste. The existing landfills are neither well
equipped and are not lined properly to protect against contamination of soil and
groundwater.
• Over the last few years , the consumer market has grown rapidly leading to
products being packed in cans , aluminium foils , plastics , and other such
nonbiode- gradable items that cause incalculable harm to the environment.
b) Hazardous waste
• Industrial and hospital waste is considered hazardous as they contain toxic
substances . Hazardous wastes could be highly toxic to humans , animals , and
plants and are corrosive, highly inflammable, or explosive.
• India generates around 7 million tonnes of hazardous wastes every year, most of
which is concentrated in four states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and
Tamil Nadu.
• Household waste that can be categorized as hazardous waste include old batteries,
shoe polish, paint tins, old medicines, and medicine bottles.
• In the industrial sector , the major generators of hazard - ous waste are the metal ,
chemical, paper, pesticide, dye, refining, and rubber goods industries.
• Direct exposure to chemicals in hazardous waste such as mercury and cyanide
can be fatal.
c� Hospital waste
• Hospital waste is generated during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of
human beings or animals or in research activities or in the production or testing
of biologicals.
• These chemicals include formaldehyde and phenols , which are used as
disinfectants , and mercury , which is used in thermometers or equipment that
measure blood pressure.
• It may include wastes like soiled waste, disposables, anatomical waste, cultures,
discarded medicines , chem - ical wastes , disposable syringes , swabs , bandages ,
body fluids, human excreta, etc.
• These are highly infectious and can be a serious threat to human health if not
managed in a scientific and dis- criminate manner.
• Surveys carried out by various agencies show that the health care
establishments in India are not giving due attention to their waste management.
• After the notification of the Bio-medical Waste (Han- dling and Management )
Rules , 1998 , these establish - ments are slowly streamlining the process of
waste segregation, collection, treatment, and disposal.
Treatment and disposal of solid waste

i) Open dumps
• Open dumps refer to uncovered areas that are used to dump solid waste of all kinds.
The waste is untreated , uncovered , and not segregated . It is the breeding ground for
flies, rats, and other insects that spread disease . The rainwater run-off from these
dumps contaminates nearby land and water thereby spreading disease. Treat- ment by
open dumps is to be phased out.
ii) Landfills
• Landfills are generally located in urban areas. It is a pit that is dug in the ground. The
garbage is dumped and the pit is covered with soil everyday thus preventing the
breeding of flies and rats. Thus, every day, garbage is dumped and sealed. After the
landfill is full, the area is covered with a thick layer of mud and the site can there- after
be developed as a parking lot or a park.
• Problems - All types of waste are dumped in landfills and when water seeps through
them it gets contami - nated and in turn pollutes the surrounding area . This
contamination of groundwater and soil through landfills is known as leaching.
iii) Sanitary landfills
• Sanitary landfill is more hygienic and built in a me - thodical manner to solve the
problem of leaching . These are lined with materials that are impermeable such as
plastics and clay, and are also built over impermeable soil. Constructing sanitary
landfills is very costly
iv) Incineration plants

• The process of burning waste in large furnaces at high temperature is known as
incineration . In these plants the recyclable material is segregated and the rest of the
material is burnt and ash is produced.
• Burning garbage is not a clean process as it produces tonnes of toxic ash and
pollutes the air and water. A large amount of the waste that is burnt here can be
recovered and recycled. In fact, at present, incineration is kept as the last resort and is
used mainly for treating the infectious waste.
v) Pyrolysis
• It is a process of combustion in absence of oxygen or the material burnt under
controlled atmosphere of oxygen . It is an alternative to incineration . The gas and
liquid thus obtained can be used as fuels . Pyrolysis of carbo - naceous wastes like
firewood , coconut , palm waste , corn combs , cashew shell , rice husk paddy straw
and saw dust, yields charcoal along with products like tar, methyl alcohol, acetic acid,
acetone and a fuel gas.
vi) Composting
• Composting is a biological process in which micro -organisms , mainly
fungi and bacteria, decompose degradable organic waste into humus like
substance in the presence of oxygen.
• This finished product , which looks like soil, is high in carbon and nitrogen
and is an excellent medium for growing plants.
• It increases the soil ’s ability to hold water and makes the soil easier to
cultivate. It helps the soil retain more plant nutrients.
• It recycles the nutrients and returns them back to soil as nutrients.
• Apart from being clean, cheap, and safe, composting can significantly reduce the
amount of disposable garbage.
vii) Vermiculture
• It is also known as earthworm farming . In this method , Earth worms are added to
the compost . These worms break the waste and the added excreta of the worms
makes the compost very rich in nutrients.
Waste Minimization Circles (WMC)

WMC helps Small and Medium Industrial Clusters in waste minimization in their
industrial plants.
• This is assisted by the World Bank with the Ministry of Environment and Forests
acting as the nodal ministry. The project is being implemented with the assistance of
National Productivity Council (NPC), New Delhi.
• The initiative also aims to realize the objectives of the Policy Statement for
Abatement of Pollution (1992), which states that the government should educate
citi - zens about environmental risks , the economic and health dangers of
resource degradation and the real economic cost of natural resources.
• The policy also recognizes that citizens and non-gov- ernmental organizations play a
role in environmental monitoring , therefore , enabling them to supplement the
regulatory system and recognizing their expertise where such exists and where
their commitments and vigilance would be cost effective.
POLLUTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES
Very few people have paid any attention to the dark side of
industrialisation , particularly to the growing dangers it poses to the
health of people . Hardly a day passes when hundreds do not
succumb to the accidents or diseases caused by growing pollution of
the environment in general and the increasing occupational hazards
or die in major industrial disaster as in Bhopal
Industrialisation is creating a high-risk environment for all. But it is

the poor labourers/workers who suffer the most. They get the dirtiest
and most hazardous job and are compelled to live in the dirtiest
environment in close proximity to the industries. The society
benefits from the industries but at the cost of the lives of the poor
workers who are most neglected.
Hazardous Products
During the last 50 years , about 6-million chemicals have been
synthesised at the rate of 10,000 new ones every month. Some 60,000–
70 ,000 chemicals are used extensively in millions of different
commercial products. The world produces chemicals—faster than it
can manage.
These chemicals include extremely toxic substances which can
cause allergies , damage vital organs of the human body like the eye,
brain , liver , kidney and reproductive organs , produce deformities in
babies during pregnancy and promote cancer. In the case of accidental
release into the environment in large quantities , as in the case of
Bhopal, they can lead to mass murder. What is amazing is that we know
nothing about the toxic effect of 80 per cent of the chemicals used.
Industries which produce potentially toxic and hazardous wastes are
pesticides, dyes and pigments, organic chemicals, fertilisers, non-
ferrous metals, steel and chlor-alkali manufacturing plants.
The major locations of such industries are Delhi , Udaipur , Kanpur ,
Chandipur , Bokaro , Jamshedpur , Rourkela , Kolkata , Raipur ,
Ahmedabad , Baroda , Mumbai , Hyderabad , Visakhapatnam ,
Bangalore , Chennai and Cochin . Bhopal is not included in the list ,
which shows that unlisted factories can cause major disasters.
Phosphatic fertiliser factories and thermal power plants generate large
quantities of conventional solid wastes which are stored near the sites.
Some 5 million tonnes of byproduct phosphogypsum are generated at
12 major phosphatic fertiliser plants. Twenty per cent of this waste
is used to produce ammonium sulphate, while the rest containing
thousands of tonnes of heavy metals and toxic metals such as
chromium, copper, lead, manganese and fluorides are dumped into
low lands for land filling or into lagoons in the form of slurry.
Thermal power plants , which produce more than 50 per cent of
electricity generated in India , are the other major sources of solid
wastes . Flyash , the solid waste , accumulates in mountainous heaps
near the power stations or carried as slurry into ponds and rivers
where it creates serious water pollution problems . Flyash itself
contains toxic metals such as beryllium , cadmium , zinc , arsenic ,
manganese, etc.
From pesticide industries, some 15 tonnes of DDT and 25 tonnes of

BHC (hexachlorobenzene ) are carried as wastes every year which
ultimately travel in the environment , enter our food chain and finally
enter our body tissues where they are retained . Indians have shown
maximum DDT content (25 ppm ) in body tissues in the world . For
the last 40 years, DDT has been banned in the western countries but it
is still being used as before in India.
Occupational Hazards
Workers in mines , factories , commercial firms , forestry and
agriculture are exposed to risks , high to low , which are called the
occupational hazards. According to the United Nations, some 2 lakh
workers die each year throughout the world due to accidents and
occupational diseases . Another 10 millions suffer from non -fatal
injuries.
Deadly Dust
The worst occupational diseases are caused by dust . These are
broadly termed lung diseases (pneumoconiosis) and their effect depends
on the nature of dust , its fineness , concentration , period of exposure
and the victim’s health.
Silicosis
It originates from dust containing free silica or silicon dioxide . It
was first reported in 1947 in India in the Kolar gold mines and then
found to occur in various other mines and industries—coal, mica, silver,
lead, zinc and manganese mines and pottery and ceramics , sand blasting,
metal grinding , building construction , rock mining , iron and steel
industry and others.
In Jharkhand’s mica mines, 33 per cent workers suffer from silicosis.
The slate pencil factories in MP villages employ the entire village
population where people do not survive beyond 40 years . Children
have to work to support their mothers and often succumb early to the
diseases . According to an NGO report , the workers “sign their own
death warrants for economic reasons.”
Asbestosis
Asbestos is the Greek expression for “unquenchable ”. Because of its
versatility — it resists heat and moisture — it is largely used in home
construction, insulation of buildings and ships and also in car-brake linings.
Besides, it finds some 3,000 different industrial applications where it has to
be processed into proper size. The finest fibres, invisible to the naked eye,
are the most dangerous as they find ready access to our respiratory tract
, line the air tubes and accumulate in the lungs.
The silica dust (from asbestos fibres ), deposits in the lungs , causes
pulmonary fibrosis leading to respiratory problems and death —in
severe cases, it causes cancer of the air tubes and gastrointestinal tract. In
UK, people living within 1 km of an asbestos factory were reported to be
suffering from cancer. What is really alarming is that cancer may strike 5–
10 years after exposure.
Byssinosis
Some 2 million textile and cotton mill workers are victims of
byssinosis. Cotton emits lots of dust in various stages of its processing
. The disease strikes 10 years after exposure. It progresses step by step,
starting from temporary sickness of wheezing and coughing to
permanent breathlessness which shortens life span . Incidence of
byssinosis from 6 to 20 per cent has been reported in cotton textile
mills in Ahmedabad , Mumbai, Delhi, Kanpur, Chennai, Madurai and
Nagpur.
Pneumoconiosis
It is commonly associated with mines and known as the source of “black
lungs”. Coal mine workers who are long exposed to coal dust lose their
capacity to work hard and succumb to the disease which leads to
tuberculosis and death.
Child Labourers
India has a bad image abroad for employing the largest number of child labourers (16–18 million/age group 8–14). The
International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports that the child labourers are underpaid (Rs 2.00–6.00 per day) for 12–16
working hours and they have to toil under inhuman conditions . The brass industries of UP, carpet industries of Kashmir
and match factories of Chennai mostly employ the child labourers . The “Sivkasi ” match factories (in Chennai ) employ
some 50,000 children (8–12 years old), 80 per cent being girls, who work for 14 hours a day under inhuman conditions .
Most of them are vulnerable to accidents and do not live beyond 40 years.
Epidemiology
Hippocrates ’ suggestion over 2000 years ago that environmental
factors can influence the occurrence of disease is believed to be the origin
of epidemiology. However, it was not until the middle of the 19th century
that the distribution of disease in specific human population groups was
measured to any great extent. The first epidemiological study was made by
Snow in 1854 . He identified that the risk of cholera in London was
related , among other things , to the drinking water supply by a
particular company in London . On the basis of epidemiological studies ,
Snow suggested that cholera was spread by contaminated water.
Following Snow ’s work , public health measures , such as improving
water supply and sanitation , have made notable contributions to the
health of populations . Since 1854 , epidemiological studies have
provided the information required to identify the measures to be taken.
Epidemiology may be defined as the study of the distribution and
determinants of health-related states of events in specified populations
and the application of this study to the control of health problems.
Hygiene
Hygiene is closely related to epidemiology . It is defined as the science
of health that includes all factors which contribute to healthy living .
The purpose of hygiene is to allow man to live in healthy
relationship with his environment.
Personal hygiene includes all those factors which influence the
health and well -being of an individual . It comprises day -to -day
activities for rigorously observing the elementary rules of hygiene
for keeping ourselves physically fit and mentally alert through neat
and clean habits as our way of life. Our daily routine should involve
maintaining regular habits, e.g., taking meals at regular hours, body
care (bath , wash , care of teeth , nails and hair, exercise , etc.), use of
neat and clean dresses , work and sleep at fixed hours , etc. In other
words, we should enforce strict discipline and hygiene in our daily
lives . Any disruption of such activities will affect our health . For
example , improper care or negligence of teeth leads to pyorrhoea
and dental caries (cavities ); dirty skin gives scabies , eczema ,
dermatitis and fungal infection ; lack of sleep causes loss of
concentration , mental depression and inability to work with vigour ;
dirty nails are home for ova of intestinal parasites , etc. The habit of
washing hands with soap and water before eating will reduce the
risks of diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, etc.
Health and Disease

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO ), health is a
state of complete physical, mental and social well- being and not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity.
Diseases are due to disturbances in the delicate balance between man
and his environment . Three ecological factors are responsible for a
disease—Agent, Host and Environment . The disease agent is identified
in a laboratory. For example, hepatitis can be identified by the presence
of antibodies in blood in a laboratory . The host (patient) is available
for clinical examination . But the environment from which the patient
comes is mostly unknown . The prevention and control of a
disease depends on the knowledge of environment . Without the
knowledge of environment, it is difficult to cure the disease.
Depending on the sources, diseases can be classified under the categories
—(i) Water-borne disease, (ii) Air-borne disease, (iii) Food-borne disease, and
(iv) Vector-borne disease, which have water, air and food, respectively as
the sources for (i)–(iii). In the case of vector-borne disease, it is
transmitted by various vectors such as mosquitoes, flies or animals.
Various agents like viruses, bacteria, parasites are responsible for the
diseases. Some common diseases are tabulated in Table 3.6.

Environment and Ecology 2022: Special Edition

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UPSC Exam Partner

Volume No. 21 | March 2022

1.1. HISTORY OF ECOLOGY

World Wetland Day February 2

Global Vs. Local Nature of Environment

Individualistic Nature of Environment

2.1 ENERGY FLOW

Trophic levels (Trophe = nourishment)

Importance of Ecological Pyramid

• Primary Succession: When a terrestrial site is first colonised by the

POLLUTANTS AND TROPHIC LEVEL

Terrestrial ecosystems are distinguished from aquatic ecosystems by the

The availability of light is greater in terrestrial ecosystems than in aquatic

1.carbon dioxide that serves as a substrate for photosynthesis,

Terrestrial environments are segmented into

An aquatic ecosystem includes freshwater habitats like lakes, ponds, rivers

Classification Based on Salt Concentration:

Measurement of Quality of water

Benefits of Corals to Mankind:

Threat from Human Interference:

Ramsar Convention Definition:

▪ Wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland, or water whether natural or

▪ It’s an intermediate stage between deep water habitats and terrestrial

▪ Habitat experience periodic flooding from adjacent deep-water habitat and

Man - made activities have caused environmental

Groundwater Pollution/Arsenic Contamination

Domestic Waste Water Treatment

Drinking Water Supply

Sound and Human Acoustics

Noise Measurement Units

Effective Perceived Noise Level (L epn)

Noise Pollution Hazards

Permissible Noise Levels

Thus by means of platinum catalytic converters,

Nitrogen Oxides, NOX

This nitric acid is one of the constituents of acid rain discussed in a

Hydrocarbons and Photochemical Smog

Sulphur Dioxide, SO2

Chloroflourocarbons (CFC) are used as coolants in refrigerators and

Ozone hole allows passage of ultraviolet radiation to the earth where it

Types of radiation particles

• Nuclear power plants

a) Municipal solid waste

Treatment and disposal of solid waste

iv) Incineration plants

Waste Minimization Circles (WMC)

Industrialisation is creating a high-risk environment for all. But it is

From pesticide industries, some 15 tonnes of DDT and 25 tonnes of

Health and Disease

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