CHAPTER-14

ECOSYSTEMS
ECOSYSTEMS :
 The interaction between the living organism and the non-living environment is
called ecosystem.

ECOSYSTEM – STUCTURE AND FUNCTION :

 Interaction of biotic and abiotic components results in a physical structure that is
characteristic of each type of ecosystem.
 Identification and description of plant and animal species of an ecosystem gives
its species composition.
 Vertical distribution of different species occupying different levels is called
stratification.
 The components of the ecosystem are seen to function as a unit:
o Productivity.
o Decomposition.
o Energy flow and
o Nutrient cycle.
 Description of pond as an ecosystem:
o The abiotic components include all dissolved inorganic and organic
substances and the rich soil deposit at the bottom of the pond.
o The solar input, cycle of temperature, day length, regulates the rater of
function of the entire pond.
o The producer (autotrophic) includes phytoplankton, some algae and the
floating, submerged and marginal plants found in edge of pond.
o The consumers are represented by zooplankton, free swimming and
bottom dwelling animals.
o The decomposers are the fungi, bacteria especially abundant at the bottom
of the pond.
 Basic events (in terms of function) in an ecosystem:
o Conversion of inorganic into organic material (photosynthesis) by
producers.
o Consumption of the autotrophs by heterotrophs.
o Decomposition and mineralization of the dead organic matter to release
them back for reuse by the autotrophs
o There is unidirectional flow of energy towards the higher trophic levels and
its dissipation and loss as heat to the environment.

PRODUCTIVITY :
 Primary productivity:
o The amount of biomass or organic matter produced per unit area over a
time period by plants during photosynthesis.

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 o It is expressed in terms of weight (g-2) or energy (kcal m-2)
o The rate of biomass production is called productivity.
 Gross primary productivity: (GPP) is the rate of production of organic matter
during photosynthesis.
 Net primary productivity:
o A considerable amount of energy is utilized by plants in respiration.
o Gross primary productivity minus respiration losses (R) is the net primary
productivity.
o GPP – R = NPP.
 Net primary productivity is the available biomass for the consumption to
heterotrophs (herbivore and decomposers.
 Secondary productivity: is defined as the rate of formation of new organic
matter by the consumer.

DECOMPOSITION :
 Earthworm is said to be ‘friends’ of farmer :
o Breakdown the complex organic matter.
o Loosening of the soil helps in aeration and entry of root.
 The decomposers break down complex organic matter into inorganic substances
like carbon dioxide, water and nutrients, called decomposition.
 Dead plant remains such as leaves, bark, flowers and dead remains of animals,
including fecal matter, constitute the detritus.
 The process of decomposition completed in following steps:
o Fragmentation : Break down of detritus into smaller particles by
detritivore (earthworm).
o Leaching: Water soluble inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon
and get precipitated as unavailable salts.
o Catabolism : Bacterial and fungal enzymes degrade detritus into si
mple inorganic substances.
o Humification: Accumulation of dark coloured amorphous substances
called humus.
o Importance of humus:
o Highly resistance to microbial action.
o Undergo decomposition at an extremely slow rate.
o Being colloidal in nature, it serves as reservoir for nutrients.
o Mineralization: The humus is further degraded by some
microbes and release of inorganic nutrients occur.
Factor affects rate of decomposition:
 Decomposition is largely an oxygen-requiring process.
 Detritus rich in chitin and lignin has slow rate of decomposition.
 Detritus rich in nitrogen and water-soluble substance like sugar has faster
decomposition.
 Temperature and soil moisture are most important climatic factor that regulate
decomposition.
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  Warm and moist environment favours decomposition.
 Low temperature, dryness and anaerobiosis inhibit decomposition.

ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEM:

 Except for deep sea hydrothermal ecosystem, sun is the only source of energy for
all ecosystems on earth.
 Less than 50% of incident solar radiation is photosynthetically active radiations
(PAR).
 Plants capture 2-10 % of PAR and used in photosynthesis.
 All organisms depend on the producers, either directly or indirectly.
 Energy flow in the ecosystem is unidirectional i.e. energy transferred from
producer to consumers.
 Energy transfer is not absolute, spontaneous; unless energy is degraded it can’t
be transfer. When energy transferred from one trophic level to another, lot of
energy lost in the form of heat to the environment.
 Only 10% of energy transferred from one trophic level to other.

Food chain:
 Grazing food chain: it extends from producers through herbivore to carnivore.
 Detritus food chain: Begins with dead organic matter (detritus) and pass
through detritus feeding organism in soil to organisms feeding on detritus-
feeders.
 In aquatic ecosystem GFC is the major conduit for energy flow.
 In terrestrial ecosystems a much larger fraction of energy flows through the
detritus food chain than through GFC
 Different food chains are naturally interconnected e.g.- a specific herbivore of
one food chain may serve as food of carnivores of other food chains. Such
interconnected matrix of food chains is called food web.
 Trophic level: A group of organism irrespective of their size having same source
of energy or similar food habit constitute a trophic level.
 Standing crop: each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a
particular time called as the standing crop.
 The standing crop is measured as the mass of living organisms (biomass) or the
number in a unit area.
 The number of trophic levels in a food chain is restricted by 10 % flow of energy,
less amount of energy available to the last trophic level.

ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID:
 The base of the pyramid is broad and it narrows down at the apex. The similar
shape is obtained when food or energy relationship between organisms at
different trophic level.
 The relationship can be expressed in terms of number, energy or biomass.
 The base of the pyramid represented by producer and apex is the top consumer;
other trophic levels are in between.
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  In most ecosystems, all the pyramids, of number, of energy and biomass are
upright.
 The pyramid of number in a tree ecosystem is inverted.
 The pyramid of biomass in sea also inverted because the biomass of fishes is far
exceeding that of phytoplankton.
 Pyramid of energy is always upright, can never be inverted, because when
energy flows from a particular trophic level to the next, some energy is always
lost as heat at each step.

Limitations of ecological pyramids:

 It does not take into account the same species belonging to two or more trophic
levels.
 It assumes a simple food chain; it never exits in nature.
 It does not accommodate food web.
 Saprophytes are not given place in ecological pyramids.

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION:
 The gradual and fairly predictable change in the species composition of a given
area is called ecological succession.
 Composition and structure of the community constantly change in response to
changing environmental condition.
 This change is orderly and sequential, parallel with the changes in the physical
environment.
 All the changes lead finally to a community that is in near equilibrium with the
environment and that is called climax community.
 During succession some species colonize and area and their populations become
more numerous, whereas populations of other species decline and even disappear.
 The entire sequences of communities that successively change in a given area are
called sere.
 The individual transitional communities are termed as seral stages.
 In the successive seral stages there is a change in the diversity of species of
organisms, increase in number of species and total biomass.
 Primary succession: Succession that starts where no living organisms are there.
These could be areas where no living organism ever existed may be a bare rock
or new water body.
 Secondary succession: Succession that starts in areas that somehow, lost all the
living organisms that existed there.
 Primary succession occurs in :
o newly cooled lava,
o bare rock,
o Newly created pond or reservoir.
 Secondary succession begins in areas where natural biotic communities have
been destroyed such as :
o In abandoned farm lands.
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 o Burned or cut forest,
o land that have been flooded
 Since some soil or sediment is present, secondary succession is faster than
primary succession.
Succession in plants:
 Based on the nature of habitat – whether it is water or it is on very dry areas-
succession of plants is called hydrarch or xerarch.
 Hydrarch succession takes place in water areas and the successional series
progress from hydric to mesic condition.
 Xerarch succession takes place in dry areas and the series progress from xeric
to mesic conditions.
 Both hydrarch and xerarch successions lead to medium water conditions (mesic)
i.e. neither too dry (xeric) nor too wet (hydric).

Xerarch succession (Succession in bare rock) :

 The species that invades bare area are called pioneer species.
 In primary succession on bare rock the pioneer species is the lichen.
 Lichen secretes acid to dissolve rock, helping in weathering and soil formation.
 The little soil, leads to growth of bryophytes (mosses).
 The mosses speed up the process of soil accumulation by trapping wind-blown
particles.
 Lichen moss carpet provides suitable substratum for the germination of seeds of
herbaceous plants.
 Gradually more soil is accumulated and herbaceous species make way for the
invasion of shrubs followed by trees.
 The climax community is generally dominated by trees.

Hydrarch (succession in aquatic environment) :

 In primary succession in water, the pioneer species are phytoplankton.
 Zooplanktons.
 Sub merged plant stage. (rooted hydrophytes)
 Sub merged and free-floating plant stage.
 Reed-swamp stage.
 Marsh-meadow stage.
 Shrub stage
 Trees
 The climax again would be the forest
 All the succession whether taking place in water or on land, proceeds to a similar
climax community i.e. the mesic.

NUTRIENT CYCLING:
 Organism needs constant supply of nutrients to grow, reproduce and regulate
various body functions.

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  Standing state : The amount nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus,
calcium etc. present in soil at any given time.
 Nutrient cycling : The movement of nutrient elements through the various
component of an ecosystem is called nutrient cycling.
 Another name of nutrient cycling is biogeochemical cycle.
 Nutrient cycles are of two types :
o Gaseous cycle
o Sedimentary cycle.
 The reservoir for gaseous type of nutrient cycle (nitrogen, carbon) exists in the
atmosphere.
 The reservoir for sedimentary cycle (sulphur, phosphorus) is Earth’s crust.
 Environmental factors like soil, moisture, pH temperature regulate the rate of
release of nutrient into the atmosphere.
 The function of the reservoir is to meet the deficit which occurs due to imbalance
in the rate of influx and efflux.

Ecosystem Carbon cycle :

 Carbon constitutes 49 percent of dry weight of organism.
 Out of total global carbon :
o 71% carbon found dissolved in ocean.
o About 1% in the atmosphere.
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 4x10 kg of carbon is fixed in the biosphere by photosynthesis annually.
 Large amount of carbon returned to the atmosphere as CO2 through respiration of
producers and consumers.
 Decomposers also return CO2 to reservoir during decomposition process.
 Some amount of Carbon is lost to sediments and removed from circulation.
 Burning wood, forest fire, combustion of organic matter, fossil fuel, volcanic
activities are additional sources for releasing CO2 to atmosphere.

Influence of human activity on Carbon cycling :

 Rapid deforestation.
 Massive burning of fossil fuel for energy and transport
 Increased the rate of release of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Ecosystem Phosphorus cycle :

 Phosphorus is a major constituent of biological membranes, nucleic acids and
cellular energy transfer system(ATP).
 Animals need phosphorus to make shell, bones and teeth.
 Reservoir pool of phosphorus is the rock which contain phosphorus in the form
of phosphates.
 During weathering of rock small amount of phosphates dissolved in soil solution
and are absorbed by the roots of the plants.
 Herbivore and other animals obtain organic form of phosphorus from plants.

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  The waste product and dead organisms are decomposed by phosphate-
solubilising bacteria releasing phosphorus.

How phosphorus cycle differs from carbon cycle?

 There is no respiratory release of phosphorus into atmosphere.
 Atmospheric inputs of phosphorus through rainfall are much smaller.
 Gaseous exchange of phosphorus between organism and environment are
negligible.

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES :
 The products of ecosystem processes are named as ecosystem services.
 Healthy forest ecosystems purify air and water.
 Mitigate droughts and flood.
 Cycle nutrients.
 Generates fertile soil.
 Provide wildlife habitat.
 Maintain biodiversity.
 Pollinate crops.
 Provide storage site for carbon
 Provides aesthetic, cultural and spiritual values.

Abbreviation:
 PAR : Photosynthetically Active Radiation
 GAP : Gross Primary Productivity
 NPP : Net Primary Productivity
 DFC : Detritus Food Chain
 GFC : Grazing Food chain

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 CHAPTER-15
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
Biodiversity:
 The term biodiversity refers to the totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a
region.
 Types of biodiversity described by Edward Wilson :
 Genetic diversity: A single species might show high diversity at the
genetic level over its distributional range.
 Medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria of Himalayan range produces
active chemical reserpine shows genetic variation.
 India has more than 50000 different strain of rice.
 1000 varieties of mango.
 Species diversity: different species of a single animal like frog.
 Ecological diversity: diversity in the ecosystem level like desert, rain
forest, mangroves, coral reef, wetlands, estuaries etc.

How many species are there on Earth and How many in India?
 According to IUCN (2004), 1.5 million of plants and animals are in our
biosphere.
 Robert May places global species diversity at about 7 millions.
 More than 70 percent of all the species recorded are animals.
 All plants constitute about 22 percent.
 Among animals insects constitute 70 percent.
 India has only 2.4% of the world’s land area, its share of global species diversity
is impressive 8.1%.
 India is considered one of the mega diversity countries of the world.

Pattern of Biodiversity :
Latitudinal gradients:
 Species diversity decreases as we move away from the equator towards the pole.
o o
 Tropic (23.5 N to 23.5 S) harbors more species than temperate and pole
 The largely tropical Amazonian rain forest in South America has the greatest
biodiversity on earth:
 40,000 species of plants.
 3000 species of fishes.
 1300 of birds.
 427 amphibians
 378 reptiles
 More than 1,25,000 invertebrates.

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Why tropical rain forest has greater biodiversity:
 Unlike temperate regions subjected to frequent glaciations in the past, tropical
latitudes have remained relatively undisturbed for millions of years. Thus, this
had taken a long evolutionary time for species diversification.
 Tropical environments: Unlike temperate ones, these are less seasonal,
relatively more constant and predictable, promotes niche specialization and lead
to greater species diversity.
 There is more solar energy available in the tropics, which contribute to higher
productivity.

Species area relationship:

 Alexander Von Humboldt observed within a region species richness increased
with increasing explored area but only up to a limit.
 The relation between species richness and area for a wide variety of taxa turns
out to be a rectangular hyperbola.
 On a logarithmic scale the relationship is a straight line describe by the
equation Log S = log C + Z log A
Where, S= species richness
A = Area
Z = slope of the line (regression coefficient)
C = Y-intercept.
 It has been noted that regardless of the taxonomic group or region the slope of the
regression line is amazingly similar. However, for a very large area like the entire
continent the slope of the line is steeper.

Importance of species diversity to the Ecosystem:

 Community with more species generally tends to be more stable than those with
less species.
 A stable community should not show too much variation in productivity from
year to year, it must be resistant or resilient to occasional disturbances (natural or
man-made).
 Stable community must be resistant to invasion by alien species.
 David Tillman’s long-term field experiment finds that :
o Plots with more species showed less year to year variation in biomass
o Increased diversity contributed to higher productivity.
 The rivet popper hypothesis :
o In an airplane (ecosystem) all parts are joined together by thousands of
rivets (species).
o If every passenger starts popping a rivet to take home (species extinct), it
may not affect flight safety initially but as more and more rivets are
removed the plane becomes dangerously weak.
o Furthermore, which rivet is removed may also be critical.

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 o Loss of rivets on the wings (key species) is obviously a more serious threat
to flight safety than loss of a few rivets on the seats or windows inside the
plane.

Loss of Biodiversity:
 The IUCN Red List (2004) documents the extinction of 784 species.
 Recent extinction includes :
o Dodo (Mauritius).
o Quake (Africa)
o Thylacine (Australia)
o Stiller’s cow (Russia)
o Three subspecies of tiger (Bali, Java, Caspian).
 Since the origin and diversification of life on earth there were five episodes of
mass extinction of species.
 The sixth mass Extinctions in progress now.

How the ‘sixth Extinction’ is different from the previous five extinctions?
 The current extinction rate is 100 to 1000 times faster.
 All others are pre-human period, this one is anthropogenic.

Effect of biodiversity loss:

 Decline in plant production.
 Lowered resistance to environmental perturbations such as drought.
 Increased variability in certain ecosystem processes such as plant productivity,
water use and pest & disease cycle.

Causes of biodiversity loss:

 The present loss is all due to human activity (anthropogenic)
 There are four major causes “The Evil Quartet” are as follows :
 Habitat loss and fragmentation:
 Most important cause driving animals and plants to extinct.
 The tropical rain forest reduced to 6 % from 14 % of earth land surface.
 The Amazonian rain forest is called as ‘lungs of the planet ‘is being cut cleared
for cultivating soya beans.
 Degradation of many habitat by pollution is also threatens the loss of diversity.
 Large areas are broken into figments also the cause of diversity loss.

 Over-exploitation:
 When ‘need’ turns to ‘greed’ it leads to over-exploitation of natural resources.
 Many species extinctions in the last 500 years (Stiller’s cow, passenger pigeons)
were due to over-exploitation.
 Many marine fish populations around the world are over harvested.

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  Alien species invasion:
 The alien species became invasive and cause decline or extinction of indigenous
species.
 Nile perch introduced into Lake Victoria in east Africa led to extinction of 200
species of cichlid fish in the lake.
 Parthenium (carrot grass), Lantana and water hyacinth (Eichornia) posed a
threat to indigenous species.
 African cat fish Clarias gariepinus for aquaculture purposed is posing a threat to
indigenous catfishes in our rivers.
 Co-extinction:
 When a species becomes extinct, the plant and animal species associated with it
and obligatory way also become extinct.
 Extinction of Host species leads to extinction of the parasite also.
 Co-evolved plant-pollinator mutualism where extinction of one invariably lead
to the extinction of the other.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION :
Why should we conserve Biodiversity?
 Reason for conservation biodiversity is grouped into three categories :
o Narrowly utilitarian.
o Broadly utilitarian
o Ethical

Narrowly utilitarian:
 Human derive countless direct economic benefits from nature.
 Food (cereals, pulses, fruits), firewood, fiber, construction material.
 Industrial products (tannins, lubricants, dyes, resins, perfumes)
 Products of medicinal importance.
 Bio-prospecting : Exploring molecular genetics and species-level diversity for
products of economic importance.

Broadly Utilitarian:
 Amazonian forest along produce 20% of oxygen during photosynthesis.
 Pollinator layer : Bees, bumblebees, birds and bat that pollinate the plant without
which seed cannot be produced by plants.
 Aesthetic pleasure we get from the biodiversity.

How do we conserve biodiversity?

In situ conservation:
 When we conserve and protect the whole ecosystem, its biodiversity at all level
is protected – we save the entire forest to save the tiger. This approach is called
in situ (on site) conservation.

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  Biodiversity hot spot : Regions with very high levels of species richness and
high degree of endemism (species confined to that region and not found
anywhere else).
 Hot spot in biodiversity is also regions of accelerated habitat loss.
 Out of 34 hot spot in the world, three hot spot located in India :
o Western Ghats and Sri lanka.
o Indo-Burma.
o Himalaya.
 Other protected area under in situ conservations are :
o 14 biosphere reserve
o 90 national park
o 448 wild life sanctuary
 Sacred groves : Tract of forest were set aside, and all the trees and wildlife within
were venerated and given total protection.

Ex situ conservation:
 Threatened animals and plants are taken out from their natural habitat and placed
in special setting where they can be protected and given special care.
 Zoological Park.
 Botanical garden
 Wildlife safari.
 Conservation of gamete by cryopreservation.
 Genetic strains are preserved in seed bank.

Convention on Biodiversity:
 “The earth Summit” held in Rio de Jeneiro in 1992 called upon all nations to
take appropriate measures for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable
utilization of its benefits.
 World Summit on Sustainable development held in 2002 in Johannesburg
(South Africa), 190 countries pledged their commitment to achieve by 2010 a
significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss at global, regional and
local level.

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