Republic of the Philippines

PALAWAN STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Community Resource and Development
Quezon Campus

LEARNING MODULE IN GE-ELECT: ES

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

©Google.com
 MODULE 4
ECOSYSTEM

©Google.com

©Google.com

Page 2 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
OVERVIEW

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals) in conjunction

with the non-living components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral
soil), interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are regarded as
linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

 Define ecosystem;

 Describe ecological succession;

 Illustrate biochemical cycle; and

 Familiarize the different ecosystem

Page 3 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Roles of organisms in the ecosystem

Ecosystem processes are broad generalizations that actually take place through
the actions of individual organisms. The nature of organisms-the species, functional
groups and trophic levels to which they belong-dictates the sorts of actions these
individuals are capable of carrying out and the relative efficiency with which they do so.
Thus, ecosystem processes are driven by the number of species in an ecosystem, the
exact nature of each individual species, and the relative abundance of organisms within
these species. Biodiversity plays an important role in ecosystem functioning.

Ecological succession

Is the observed process of change in the species structure of an ecological

community over time. The community begins with relatively few pioneering plants and
animals, and develops through increasing complexity until it becomes stable or self-
perpetuating as a climax community. It is a phenomenon or process by which an
ecological community undergoes more or less orderly and predictable changes
following disturbance or initial colonization of new habitat.

Factors influencing succession

The trajectory of successional change can be influenced by site conditions, by

the character of the events initiating succession, by the interactions of the species
present, and by more stochastic factors such as availability of colonists or seeds or
weather conditions at the time of disturbance. Some of these factors contribute to
predictability of succession dynamics; others add more probabilistic elements.

Types of succession

Primary and Secondary Succession

Successional dynamics beginning with colonization of an area that has not been
previously occupied by an ecological community, such as newly exposed rock or sand
surfaces, lava flows, newly exposed glacial tills, etc. are referred to as primary
succession.

Page 4 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Dynamics in secondary succession are strongly influenced by pre-disturbance
conditions, including soil development, seed banks, remaining organic matter and
residual living organisms.

An example of secondary succession by stages:

1. A stable deciduous forest community.

2. A disturbance, such as wild fire, destroys the forest.
3. The fire burns the forest to the ground.
4. The fire leaves behind empty, but not destroyed soil.
5. Grasses and other herbaceous plants grow back first.
6. Small bushes and trees begin to colonize the area.
7. Fast growing evergreen trees develop to their fullest, while shade-tolerant trees
develop in the understory.
8. The short-lived and shade intolerant evergreen trees die as the larger deciduous
trees overtop them. The ecosystem is now back to a similar state to where it began.

Causes of plant succession

Autogenic succession can be brought by the changes in the soil caused by the
organisms there. These changes include accumulation of organic matter in litter or
humid layer, alteration of soil nutrients, change in pH of soil by plants growing there.

Allogenic succession is caused by outside environmental influences and not by

the vegetation. For example, soil changes due to erosion, leaching or the deposition of
silt and clays can alter the nutrient content and water relationships in the ecosystems.

Biogeochemical cycles

A biogeochemical cycle or substance turnover or cycling of substances is a

pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic
(biosphere) and abiotic (lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere) compartments of
earth. The term “biogeochemical” tell us that biological, geological and chemical factors
are all involved.
Page 5 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
 Water cycle is always recycled through the water cycle. The water undergoes
evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, falling back to earth clean and fresh.

Oxygen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of

oxygen within its three main reservoirs: the atmosphere, the biosphere, and the
lithosphere. The main driving factor of the oxygen cycle is photosynthesis.

Carbon cycle is a biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among

the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the earth.
Along with nitrogen cycle and the water cycle, it comprises a sequence of events that
are key to making earth capable of sustaining life.

Nitrogen cycle is the process by which nitrogen is converted between its various
chemical forms. This transformation can be carried out through both biological and
physical processes. Nitrogen is present in the environment in a wide variety of chemical
forms including organic nitrogen, ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2-), nitrate (NO3-), nitrous
oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO) or inorganic gas (N2).

Nitrogen Fixation Atmospheric nitrogen must be processed or “fixed”, to be

used by plants. Some fixation occurs in lightning strikes, but most fixations are done by
free-living or symbiotic bacteria. These bacteria have the nitrogenase enzyme that
combines gaseous nitrogen with hydrogen to produce ammonia, which is then further
converted by the bacteria to make their own organic.

Assimilation

Plants take nitrogen from the soil, by absorption through their roots in the form of
either nitrate ions or ammonium ions. All nitrogen obtained by animals can be traced
back to the eating of plants at some stage of the food chain.

Ammonification

When a plant or animal dies, or an animal expels waste, the initial form or
nitrogen is organic. Bacteria or fungi in some cases, convert the organic nitrogen within
the remains back into ammonium (NH4+), this process is called ammonification or
mineralization.

Page 6 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Environmental impacts

Additional risks posed by increased availability of inorganic nitrogen in aquatic

ecosystems include water acidification, eutrophication, and toxicity issues for
animals, including humans. Eutrophication often leads to lower dissolved oxygen
levels in the water column.

Types of Ecosystems

Aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem in a body of water. Communities of

organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment live in aquatic
ecosystems. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems are:

1. Marine ecosystem- it covers approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface and contains
approximately 97% of the planet’s water. They generate 32% of the world’s net primary
production. They are distinguished from freshwater ecosystems by the presence of
dissolved compounds, especially salts in the water. Approximately, 85% of the
dissolved materials in seawater are sodium and chlorine. Sea water has an average
salinity of 35 parts per thousand (ppt) of water.

©Google.com

Figure 1: Marine Ecosystem

Page 7 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
2. Freshwater ecosystem-it covers 0.80% of the earth’s surface and inhabits 0.009%
of its total water. They generate nearly 3% of its net primary production. Freshwater
ecosystems contain 41% of the world’s known fish species.

Figure 2: Freshwater Ecosystem ©Google.com

There are three basic types of freshwater ecosystems:

1. Lentic: slow moving water, including pools, ponds and lakes.

2. Lotic: faster moving water such as rivers and streams.
3. Wetlands: areas where the soil is saturated or inundated for at least part of the time.

Littoral zone is the part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. It
extends from high water mark which is rarely inundated to shoreline areas that are
permanently submerged. Littoral is derived from the latin word litus, litoris meaning
“shore”.

Riparian zone is the interface between land and a river or stream. It is also the
proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen (15) terrestrial biomes of the earth. Riparian
zones are significant in ecology and environmental management because of their role in
soil conservation, their habitat biodiversity and the influence they have on fauna and
aquatic ecosystems.

Page 8 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
 Terrestrial ecosystem is an ecosystem found only on land forms. Terrestrial
ecosystems are characterized by greater temperature fluctuations on both a diurnal and
seasonal basis than occur in aquatic ecosystems because the atmosphere is more
transparent than water.

©Google.com

Figure 3: Terrestrial Ecosystem

FOREST

Also referred to as wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. It
is usually an area filled with different trees but any tall densely packed area of
vegetation may be considered a forest, even underwater vegetation such as kelp
forests. Tree forests cover approximately 9.4 percent of the Earth’s surface (or 30% of
total land area), though they once covered much more (50% of the total land area). they
function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers,
constituting one of the most important aspects of the biosphere.

Page 9 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
 MODULE 5
HUMAN IMPACT IN THE ENVIRONMENT

©Google.com

Page 10 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
OVERVIEW

The Human population is growing rapidly. Population growth and other factors
such as emerging technologies of every nation have had detrimental effect to the
environment. Humans threaten to make the earth inhabitable as the population
increases, more waste materials are being produced, thus, rapidly polluting the soil, air
and water. This makes human activity increasingly destroying the natural habitats,
risking biodiversity and endangering future species.

The impacts of human activities have had on biodiversity shows negative and
positive impact on natural ecosystem.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

 Describe the human impact in the environment;

 Identify the factors of human impact in the environment; and

 Appreciate the responsibility of human to protect the natural environment.

Page 11 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Negative Impact

The quality of the air determines how well we breathe and live. Air pollutants and
other compounds and particulates decrease air quality and make each breathe a hazard
to health.

One of the vital substances for the survival of living things is water. Water should
be free from polluting substances like pesticides, bacteria, heavy metals and
hydrocarbons. If water becomes contaminated, life would be improbable to proliferate
life.

Soil contamination also arises as it affects the growth and development of plants.
If there are pesticide dependencies or other potentially hazardous chemicals that may
be absorbed by plants, agricultural soils will definitely be contaminated.

Waste products from household, commercial and/or industrial processes are

deposited from soil and water that threatens the processes of soil resources and water
bearing diversity in marine life.

©Google.com

Figure 1: Tons of residual wastes dumped in a coastal area

Page 12 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Positive Impact

Human activities also show positive impact towards the natural environment.
Human beings as part of the earth’s ecosystem deliberately modify ecosystem as a
result of population growth, consumption and technology. Humans have recovery plans
on t reverse the effects of their negative impact. Humans acknowledge the importance
of other species in the ecosystem as part of the system for continued survival.

The variety of life on earth and the variation at every level of biological
organization from genes to species to ecosystem is called BIODIVERSITY. This
exhibits that the variability of all living organisms from all of its origin, whether marine,
terrestrial and other forms in the ecological parameters which they are part, includes
miscellaneous of every species of the ecosystem.

©Google.com

Figure 2: Tree planting activity conducted by various individuals as part of reforestation

program

Page 13 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Loss of Biodiversity

The different kinds of pollution and other human impacts on earth’s ecosystems are
already resulting in an enormous loss of biodiversity. Species that are under extinction
are mostly mammal, bird and amphibian. It is also emphasized that the loss of species
and genetic diversity decreases the flexibility of ecosystem.

©Google.com

©Google.com

Figure 3: Deforested area

Page 14 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
©Google.com ©Google.com

Figure 4: Effect of climate change

Causes of biodiversity Loss

The following are the identified causes of biodiversity loss:

1. Habitat change. The species habitat has been changed from environmental land of
agriculture t commercial, industrial and/or residential.

2. Deforestation. The greatest problem forest is facing today. It contributes to the loss
of biodiversity due to the temporary or permanent dissipation of forest for other uses.
Extreme loss of forest trees may lead to an increase in global temperature.

3. Climate Change. This affects the biodiversity and ecosystem when species change
in distribution, population, sizes and migration.

4. Industrialization. It brings an increased demand use of technological development

that depleted the environment.

5. Global Warming. Is the excessive burning of fossil fuels that has caused
concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane emission in the air to such high levels.

Page 15 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
6. Ozone depletion. The declining of ozone in the stratosphere and the thinning of the
layer develops as every chlorofluorocarbons and other similar chlorine and bromine -
containing compounds attack the ozone layer.

7. Toxins. These originated from the industries that have gotten into the food chain.

8. Eutrophication. Human activities can greatly accelerate the process of

eutrophication (a process in which a body of water receives sufficiently large inputs of
sediment, organic materials and inorganic nutrients from its surroundings to support
dense communities).

9. Open-ocean Pollution. There are different threats to this kind of pollution such as
depleting coastal resources, diminishing coral reefs, overfishing and other waste
materials and contaminants in the ocean.

10. Over Population. It increases destruction of natural habitats, as people convert

natural environment to commercial and residential land.

Page 16 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
REFERENCES

Environmental Guidelines for Selected Infrastructure Projects. Asian Development Bank, 1990.

Environmental Impact Assessment: Cutting Edge for the 21stCentury. Allan Gilpin, 1995.

Fundamentals of Environmental Science, 2015.

Page 17 of 17
MODULE: GE- ES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE