ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Environmental science is the scientific study of the environmental system and the status of
the inherent or induced changes on organisms. It includes not only the study of physical and
biological characteristics of the environment but also the social, cultural factors and the
impact on the environment. The branch of science concerned with plants and animals, their
relationship with the environment (abiotic), is called ecology or environmental biology.
Ecology can also be based on varied habitats such as freshwater, grassland, forest, etc.
Further, ecology is broadly divided into: Autoecology and Synecology. The study of
individual organisms is known as autoecology, whereas the ecology of a group of organisms
is known as synecology, i.e., the ecology of different species living in the same habitat and
their relations with one another.

Plants, animals, and microorganisms together with the environment in which they live make
up an independent unit called an ecosystem, a term proposed by British ecologist A.G.
Tansley in 1935. It is also defined as the system resulting from the integration of all living
and non-living factors of the environment and interacting with each other. Such interactions
are able to sustain the system and allow the system to respond to the changing environment.
An ecosystem is a functional unit of ecology that provides information about available solar
energy, nutrients, and their utilization and recycling in an area.

Classification of Eco systems

An ecosystem is a collection of living organisms and the non-living environment which

interact with each other to form a natural unit. Thus, an ecosystem is the total community of
interacting populations of different species of plants and animals and their habitat. Habitat
refers to the physical and chemical factors of the place where the organisms live. Ecosystems
are classified based on habitat. There are two major ecosystems: (i) Natural ecosystems, (ii)
Artificial ecosystems.
The classification of natural ecosystems:

Natural ecosystems are self-regulatory in nature and are solar-driven. They include:

Aquatic Ecosystems: In all aquatic ecosystems, the medium in which the organisms live is
water. These can be fresh water, salt water (marine), or a mixture of both (estuarine). There
are two categories of freshwater ecosystems based on water movement and size: (a) Lentic
and (b) Lotic. In lotic ecosystems, water moves at a constant pace in a uniform direction. In
lentic or standing-water ecosystems, the water remains in the same area for a longer duration.
They have a low percentage of dissolved salts and fluctuating physical and chemical factors
affecting the flora and fauna. Ponds and lakes are examples of lentic freshwater ecosystems,
while rivers are examples of lotic (running water) systems.

Estuarine Water Ecosystem: The meeting place of the river and the sea is called an estuary.
It is a narrow passage or the mouth of a river or lake where the tide meets the current. It is the
ecotone of marine and freshwater habitats, with salinity intermediate between fresh water and
sea water.

Marine Ecosystems: This is the largest ecosystem on Earth.

Terrestrial Ecosystem: Terrestrial habitat refers to the land where the organisms live. Land
is characterized by a variety of climates, diversity of abiotic factors, and heterogeneity of
biotic communities. Ecologically, terrestrial habitat is subdivided into a number of subunits
called biomes. A biome is defined as a major terrestrial community characterized by
distinctive plants and animals. Examples include the forest biome, grassland biome, tundra
biome, coniferous biome, cave biome, and desert biome.

 Forest Biome: Forests are well-known ecosystems on land. The soil, sunlight,
temperature, humidity, and gases are the non-living or abiotic substances essential for
the normal growth of green plants, the producers in the forest. Herbivorous animals
such as rabbits, deer, and bison are the primary consumers that eat green plants.
Wolves, foxes, and wild dogs are the secondary consumers that depend on primary
consumers for their diet. Larger carnivorous mammals like lions, tigers, and panthers
prey upon herbivores and secondary consumers, making them the tertiary consumers
of the forest ecosystem. Bacteria and fungi are decomposers in the ecosystem.
 Desert Biome: Deserts occur in regions with less than 10 cm of annual rainfall or
sometimes in hot regions with more rainfall, but evenly distributed in the annual
cycle. Deserts cover about 17 percent of the total land. Important deserts include the
Sonoran Desert (America and Mexico), the Sahara (North Africa), the Thar Desert
(India), and the central portion of Australia.

Artificial Ecosystems: These are human-engineered ecosystems. They are not self-regulated
and depend on human interventions to meet energy requirements, e.g., paddy fields, cash crop
plantations, and aircraft. In this system, humans try to control the biological and
physiological properties of the ecosystem. E.g. Aquaria, gardens, dams etc. They have
distinct boundaries, having fewer food choices.

Structure of an Ecosystem
The structure of any ecosystem, whether natural or artificial, is composed of two chief
components: biotic and abiotic.

A. Biotic Components

Biotic components of an ecosystem are categorized into three types according to the specific
role they play in operating the system: producers, consumers, and decomposers.

(a) Producers: They are autotrophic organisms that can manufacture their own food material.
They are the only organisms that can take energy from the non-living environment and make
it available to all other living organisms which cannot prepare their own food.

 Examples: (a) Green plants, (b) Photosynthetic bacteria, (c) Chemosynthetic bacteria.

The chief producers vary from one type of ecosystem to another.

Types of Ecosystems:

 Ocean
 Lake / Pond
 Grassland
 Forest

Eg. Producers

 Phytoplankton
 Rooted and floating plants
 Grasses
 Trees

Structural and Functional Components of Ecosystem

Each ecosystem has two main components:

1. Abiotic Components
2. Biotic Components
Consumers: They are heterotrophic organisms, primarily animals, which consume the
producers directly or indirectly. They are of various types depending on the nature of the food
they consume.

 Primary Consumers: Herbivores that directly eat producers.

 Secondary Consumers / Carnivores: Flesh eaters that feed upon primary
consumers, e.g., dogs, cats, wolves. Omnivores are also included in this category.
 Tertiary Consumers: Carnivores that feed upon secondary consumers, e.g., lions
which feed upon cats and dogs.
 Quaternary Consumers: Top predators that feed upon tertiary consumers.

Decomposers: They are heterotrophic organisms which are saprotrophs. They consume food
by absorption, not by ingestion. They are mainly fungi, bacteria, and certain protozoa. They
attack dead bodies and secrete enzymes which break down complex organic substances into
simple, absorbable forms. This process is called decomposition.

Some of the absorbed products are used for their own growth, while others such as inorganic
nutrients, minerals, and gases like ammonia are released back into the environment. This
recycling process makes these nutrients available again to autotrophs for the synthesis of
food.

B. Abiotic Component:

Abiotic factors can be categorized into physical and chemical factors.

Physical Factors:

1. Light: Necessary for photosynthesis.

2. Temperature: Controls climate and directly influences the distribution of organisms.
3. Gravity: Controls the cascade systems of rock materials and hydrology, determining
the movement of materials within ecosystems. It also affects the structures,
orientation, and distribution of animals.
4. Pressure: Limits the distribution of organisms at high altitudes and different depths in
the sea.
5. Humidity: Influences transpiration in plants and water absorption by animals.

Chemical Factors:

1. Oxygen (O2): Considered the pulse of the environment, used in respiration by

organisms and replenished through photosynthesis.
2. Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Used for photosynthesis and balanced by respiration.
3. Minerals: Essential nutrients for maintaining life, including macro molecules such as
C, H, N, S, P, Ca, K, and Na. These occur in simple compounds like CO2 and nitrates.
Micronutrients such as Fe, Mn, Mg, Zn, and others are integrated into biological
systems through absorption.
4. Organic Matter: Includes carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, etc., dispersed in non-living
forms.

Limiting Factors: Certain factors restrict the growth of populations in any ecosystem.
Availability of food, water, and space can influence species populations. In terrestrial
ecosystems, limiting factors include temperature, water, light, and nutrients. In aquatic
systems, factors like salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients play crucial roles.

Functions of an Ecosystem

To thoroughly understand an ecosystem, one must grasp its functions and what maintains its
balance. The interactions between biotic and abiotic components, along with the ecological
processes of energy and nutrient cycling, are fundamental to ecosystem dynamics. The
functions of an ecosystem can be explained through the following:

1. Food Chain and Food Webs

2. Energy Flow
3. Mineral Nutrient Cycles

Food chain

Transfer of energy and nutrients from one feeding group of organisms to another in a series is
called food chain. It is the sequence of eater being eaten or who eats whom.

Green plants alone are able to trap the solar energy, which is the primary source of energy
and use it for production of carbohydrates, fats, proteins etc., and they are the primary
producers. Other organisms use and convert the chemical energy with various forms through
food chains.
Each successive level of nourishment as represented by links of the food chain is known as a
trophic level. The producers of an ecosystem form the first trophic level, the herbivores form
the second trophic level and the carnivores the third trophic level. Energy is transferred from
one trophic level to another.

Types of food chain:

The food chain may either start from producers or from decaying matter. Two major food
chains are:

(i) Grazing food chain

(ii) Detritus food chain

In most terrestrial and shallow water ecosystems with their high standing crop and relatively
low harvest of primary production, the detritus food chain is dominant. In deep water aquatic
ecosystems with their low biomass and high rate of turnover, the grazing food chain is
dominant.

Grazing food chain: It starts from living plants, goes through herbivores and ends with
carnivores.

Plants -> Herbivores -> Primary carnivores -> Secondary carnivores.

Grass -> Grasshopper -> Lizard -> Hawk (Grasslands) -> Phytoplankton -> Zoo plankton

-> Fish -> Snake (Pond)

Detritus Food Chain:

It starts from dead organic matter and ends in inorganic compounds. The organic wastes and
dead matter derived from grazing food chains are termed detritus. The energy contained in
the detritus is consumed by detrivores that form a detritus food chain in the ecosystem.
Detrivores, also known as saprophages or detritus feeders, are animals that consume detritus
(decomposing organic matter) and contribute to decomposition and the recycling of nutrients.

Certain groups of organisms such as algae, fungi, bacteria, protozoa, insects, earthworms,
millipedes, worms, and ducks, etc., feed exclusively on the dead bodies of animals and plants.
They ingest pieces of partially decomposed organic matter, partially digest them, and extract
chemical energy for their metabolism. They excrete the remainder in the form of slightly
simpler organic molecules. These are then used by another set of detrivores until the organic
compounds are converted into CO2 and H2O.

Example:

1. Dead organic materials -> Detrivores -> CO2 + H2O.

The detritus food chain differs from the grazing food chain as the organisms in the detritus
food chain are generally smaller (such as algae, bacteria, fungi, etc.) and the functional roles
of different organisms do not fall into categories as neatly as the trophic levels of the grazing
food chain. The two food chains cannot operate independently; they are interconnected at
various levels.

Significance of Food Chains

Food chains play several significant roles:

1. They maintain and regulate the population size of different species at various trophic
levels and are instrumental in maintaining ecological balance.
2. Additionally, food chains exhibit a unique property of accumulating chemicals. At
each successive trophic level, their concentrations keep increasing. This phenomenon
is known as biomagnification or biological magnification.
Interconnecting Between Grazing and Detritus Food Chains

Case Study on the Buildup of DDT Concentration:

A case of biomagnification of DDT (an insecticide) was observed when certain bird species,
such as Osprey, experienced a sharp decline in population. This decline was attributed to the
biomagnification of DDT through the food chain. Initially sprayed in low concentrations to
control pests, DDT accumulated as it moved from phytoplankton to zooplankton and then to
fish, which are commonly consumed by birds. The high concentration of DDT magnified
several times in birds, causing detrimental effects on their young ones.

Food Web

The food chains in nature never operate in isolated, linear sequences. Instead, they are
interconnected with each other to form a network called a food web. This is because each
organism may obtain food from more than one trophic level, and each organism may serve as
food for more than one organism of a higher trophic level. For example, a sparrow may feed
on primary producers (seeds of plants) or herbivores (leaf-eating insects). Similarly, in a
grassland ecosystem, grass may be eaten by grasshoppers, rabbits, and mice. Thus, many
food chains emerge from a single plant species, and the same organism may operate at more
than one trophic level and may be eaten by several organisms at higher levels.

In a food web, specific trophic species are introduced. Species in a food web with the same
diets and the same predators form trophic species and are classified as basal, intermediate,
and top species. Basal species include primary producers, secondary producers, and
consumers. Detritivores are at the bottom of the food web and feed on no other species. The
top species, occupying the apex of the food web, are those on which no other species feed.
Intermediate species are neither basal nor top; they may feed on more than one trophic level.
Predators are species that feed on other species in the web, and prey are species that are fed
on by some other species.

Example: In a grassland ecosystem, grass is eaten by grasshoppers, rabbits, and mice.

Grasshoppers are eaten by lizards, which are eaten by hawks. Rabbits are eaten by hawks.
Mice are eaten by snakes, which are eaten by hawks. Additionally, hawks directly eat
grasshoppers and mice. Thus, there are five interconnected food chains forming a food web.
This example illustrates a simple food web, but in any ecosystem, the food web is more
complex with several interlocking chains. For example, in a grassland ecosystem, in addition
to hawks, there are many other carnivores such as vultures, crows, wolves, foxes, and
humans.

Significance of Food Webs

Food webs are very important in maintaining the stability of an ecosystem. The complexity of
any food web depends on the diversity of species and their interconnectivity. Diversity of
species is based on their food habits, which determines the length of the chain. More
interconnectivity patterns in food webs suggest alternatives at different points for consumers
in the chain. Such complex food webs are more stable than simple ones because if a species is
removed, its position is taken by another species of similar trophic status, thereby
maintaining the ecosystem.

Energy Component: The main source of energy for an ecosystem is radiant energy or light
energy derived from the sun. Plants convert light energy into chemical energy through
photosynthesis. Energy flow involves the transfer of energy from producers to various
consumers and helps in maintaining diversity and order within ecosystems.
a) Primary Production:It refers to the amount and rate of energy produced by autotrophs in
an ecosystem. It is expressed in Kcal/sq meter per day or per year. The total amount of sugar
produced in plants through photosynthesis per unit area per unit time is called Gross Primary
Production (GPP). During respiration, some amount of energy is lost. Hence, Net Production
= Gross Primary Production - (Gross Respiration).

b) Secondary Production:Energy trapped by the producers is utilized by consumers. These

consumers store some amount of energy in their tissues. This energy stored by herbivores,
carnivores, etc., is called secondary production.

Energy Flow

The transfer of energy from one trophic level to another trophic level is called energy
flow. In an ecosystem, the flow of energy is unidirectional. The study of energy transfer
between different trophic levels in an ecosystem is known as BIOENERGETICS.

The flow of energy in any ecosystem depends on the following factors:

 Efficiency of producers to trap solar energy and convert it into chemical energy.
 Use of chemical energy present in the producers by the consumers.
 Amount of energy assimilated during metabolic activities.
 Loss of energy in the form of unused energy, dead organisms, and heat during
respiration.

Energy flow in ecosystems follows the laws of thermodynamics. Generally, 10% of the total
energy is retained in an organism's tissues, and 90% of the energy is used at each trophic
level. The flow of energy through an ecosystem can be represented diagrammatically in a
simplified manner by a Y shape.

Y-shaped Energy Flow Models

One arm represents the grazing food chain, and the other represents the detritus food chain. In
the grazing food chain, herbivores eat the plants and directly affect the plant population.
Whatever they do not eat is left as organic matter (detritus) and forms food for detritus
feeders after decomposition. Similarly, the undigested plant material (through feces) is also
available to detritus feeders after decomposition. The Y-shaped model indicates that these
two types of food chains are not isolated from one another; in fact, one is a continuation of
the other.

GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

The process of biogeochemical cycling operates continuously, circulating materials and water
between biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem. Despite an inexhaustible influx of
energy from the sun, the continuation of life depends on the recycling of essential chemical
elements, primarily carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and the compound water. The
cycling of nutrients within ecosystems is known as biogeochemical cycles. These cycles
involve both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems.
(a) Hydrologic (Water) Cycle

In the hydrologic cycle, freshwater evaporates and condenses on the earth. Oceans are the
greatest source of evaporated water, but water also evaporates from bodies of fresh water and
from land and plants (transpiration). Evaporation of water from the oceans leaves behind
salts. Rainfall or precipitation that permeates the earth forms a water table at the surface of
the ground water. An aquifer is an underground storage of freshwater in porous rock, trapped
by impervious rock strata.

Generally, the steps include condensation, infiltration, runoff, evaporation, and precipitation.
Freshwater, which makes up only about 3 percent of the world's supply of water, is called a
renewable resource. Freshwater can become unavailable when consumption exceeds supply
or when it is polluted and becomes useless.

(b) Carbon Cycle

The carbon cycle involves short-term cycling through living organisms via photosynthesis,
respiration, and decay. In the long term, carbon cycles involve organic deposits such as fossil
fuels and inorganic deposits like limestone and dolomites.
The exchange pool for the carbon cycle is the atmosphere. Photosynthesis removes CO2 from
the atmosphere; respiration and combustion add CO2 to the atmosphere. CO2 from the air
combines with water to produce bicarbonate (HCO3-), which is a carbon source for aquatic
producers, primarily algae producing carbohydrates. Similarly, when aquatic organisms
respire, the CO2 they release combines with water to form HCO3. The amount of bicarbonate
in the water is in equilibrium with the amount of CO2 in the air. The reservoir for the carbon
cycle is largely composed of organic matter, calcium carbonate in shells and limestone, as
well as fossil fuels.

The carbon cycle involves:

 Short-term cycling of carbon through living organisms via photosynthesis, respiration,

and decay.
 Longer cycles involving reduced organic deposits (fossil fuels)
 Very long-term cycling via land and sea through crystalline folding and
sedimenta ons of limestone and dolomites
(c) Nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen gas (N2) comprises about 78 percent of the atmosphere, yet nitrogen deficiency
often limits plant growth. Atmospheric nitrogen is fixed (N2 is reduced and added to organic
compounds) primarily via soil bacteria, which make elemental nitrogen available to plants
and then other organisms. When these organisms die or leave waste products certain other
bacteria and fungi return the nitrogen to the soils and atmosphere. Nitrogen is often the
limiting factor in agricultural productivity. Agriculture quickly depletes soil nitrogen; so
nitrogen fertilizers are constantly being added. Eutrophication (over enrichment) results from
fertilizer runoff; when rampant algae dies off, decomposers use available oxygen during
cellular respiration, and this results in a massive fish kill.

Nitrogen fixation is the process of direct incorporation of atmospheric nitrogen into organic
'body' of the fixing organism. A number of bacteria and blue-green algae are able to fix
nitrogen. Generally, nitrogen fixing can be carried out by symbiotic nitrogen fixers and non-
symbiotic nitrogen fixers and other natural as well as industrial processes. The following are
the steps involved in nitrogen cycle:

1. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation: Symbiotic bacteria associated with roots of legumes

and flowering plants, e.g., Rhizobium, inhabit the nodules that develop on the roots as
seedlings grow and these bacteria convert nitrogen (N2) into organic nitrogen for their
own cells. When these organisms die or leave waste products, certain other bacteria
and fungi return the nitrogen to the soils and atmosphere.
2. Non-symbiotic nitrogen fixation: Both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria as well as
cyanobacteria. These occur in soils, marine and fresh waters.
3. Lightning storms: Convert atmospheric nitrogen into nitrate and reach the soil
through rainwater. They also can be converted to ammonia by denitrifying bacteria.
4. Nitrification process: Nitrifying bacteria use ammonia nitrogen as a source of energy
to synthesize their own protoplasm. Nitrosomonas convert ammonia to nitrite (NO2)
and Nitrobacter convert nitrite to nitrate. This nitrate is taken up by higher plants and
converted into protein and nucleic acids.
5. Discharge of excessive quantities of nitrogenous compounds into rivers and
lakes: Can result in excessive growth of algae and macrophytic plants. This
phenomenon is called eutrophication. These algae die and are degraded by decay
organisms which use the dissolved oxygen in the process.
6. Denitrifying bacteria: Release gaseous nitrogen back into the atmosphere.
(d) Phosphorus cycle

Weathering makes phosphate ions available to plants from the soil.

Some of this phosphate runs off into aquatic ecosystems where algae incorporate it into
organic molecules.

The phosphate that is not taken up by aquatic phototrophs is incorporated into sediments in
the oceans.

Sediment phosphate becomes available when a geological upheaval exposes sedimentary

rocks to weathering.

The phosphate taken up by producers is incorporated into a variety of organic compounds.

Animals eat producers and incorporate some of phosphate into teeth, bones, and shells that
take a long time to decompose.

Death and decay of organisms and decomposition of animal wastes make phosphate ions
available again.
Since available phosphate is generally taken up quickly, it is usually a limiting nutrient in
most ecosystems.

Ecological Pyramids

The relationship between the number of organisms/biomass and the energy content of
producers and consumers at different levels can be represented diagrammatically using
Ecological pyramids. Ecological pyramid is the graphical representation of the trophic
structure of an ecosystem where producers occupy the base and top consumers occupy the
apex of the pyramid. The number, biomass, and energy of organisms gradually decrease from
the production level to the consumer level. There are three types of ecological pyramids:
 (i) pyramid of number(ii) pyramid of biomass (iii) pyramid of energy.
6. (i) Pyramid of Number
7. The pyramid of number is the graphical representation of the number of individuals in
various trophic levels of a food chain per unit area at any given time. It shows the
relationship between producers, herbivores, and carnivores at successive trophic
levels in terms of their number. The organisms with the maximum population in the
ecosystem form the base of the pyramid, while those with the minimum population
form the apex. In other words, the number of individuals at each trophic level
decreases from the producer level to the consumer level. If the ecosystem contains
fewer numbers and biomass of producers than consumers, the apex of the pyramid is
directed downwards, known as an inverted pyramid.
8. Example of Upright Pyramid: In grassland as well as cropland ecosystem, the
number of herbivores is less than that of producers. Similarly, the number of
carnivores is lesser than that of herbivores. Hence the pyramid is upright. Typical
pyramid of number in a crop land ecosystem can be explained as: As crop plants are
more in number, the grasshoppers feeding on these plants are lesser in number. The
frogs feeding on grasshoppers are still lesser in number. The snakes feeding on frogs
are still fewer in number.

Example: Inverted pyramid: Inverted pyramid of number occurs in a tree ecosystem. A

single tree (producer) harbors many fruit-eating birds (primary consumers) and these birds in
their turn, host numerous parasites (secondary consumers).

(ii) Inverted pyramid of biomass occurs in a pond or lake ecosystem. Here, the biomass of
diatoms and phytoplankton is negligible as compared to that of either crustaceans or small
fish.
(b) The pyramid of biomass: Biomass refers to the total living material present in any
organisms. It is measured as the weight of living matter per unit area at a given time.

Example: In a grassland and forest ecosystem, the biomass decreases from the producer level
to the consumer level. However, in a pond, as the producers are small organisms, their
biomass is the least, and this value gradually shows an increase towards the apex of the
pyramid, thus making the pyramid inverted in shape.
(b) The pyramid of energy: It provides the best representation of the overall nature of an
ecosystem. Pyramid of energy shows the rates of flow of energy through the food chain,
while the pyramids of number and biomass represent standing situations. In terms of energy,
producers always possess greater energy compared to the herbivores. The energy transferred
to the next trophic levels is lesser; therefore, the energy flows from the producer level to the
consumer level. At each trophic level, a substantial portion of energy is lost. Hence, the
amount of energy decreases from the producer level to the consumer level. Since the flow of
energy is always unidirectional, the pyramid of energy is upright.
Limitations of ecological pyramids:

a) The pyramid of energy has no appropriate or easy place for locating the decomposers and
it does not allow to represent storage easily.

b) The pyramid of number equates all organisms as identical units.

c) The pyramid of biomass equates the unit weights of widely different groups.

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

In nature, the environment is always kept changing over a period of time due to variations in
climatic factors and activities of the species of communities themselves. These influences
bring about marked changes in the dominance of existing community which is sooner or later
replaced by another community at the same place. This process continues and successive
communities develop one after another over the same area until a final community becomes
stable for a longer period of time. This phenomenon called ecological succession.

Ecological succession includes a series of changes that a biotic community undergoes in its
maturation towards a stable or climax condition. All these changes are progressive and
predictable. Hence the occurrence of relatively definite sequence of communities over a
period of time in the same area is known as ecological succession. It takes place in forests,
ponds, lakes or grasslands. There are several ecological changes that take place in a
community during the succession. The size of the individuals generally increases as we move
to climax stage. Two primary causes that may initiate the succession include the impact of an
established species as well as the impact of external natural forces which try to alter the
surroundings.
Kinds of succession

A. Based on Nature of habitat:

Ecological succession is of two types based on the nature of the habitat in which it begins.

Primary succession: If succession proceeds from an area which has not been changed
physically by organisms, then it is called primary succession. In other words it can start on
the environment which was devoid of any vegetation previously. The organisms that establish
their first are called Pioneers or primary colonizers. These initial or pioneer communities
gradually develop through a number of stages or seres to form final or climax community.

Examples:

 Primary Succession:
o Colonization on a newly exposed island.
o Development of a community on a rock.
o Development of a community in a newly formed water body such as a lake or
a pond.
 Secondary Succession:
o Development of a community in cut-over forests, abandoned crop lands.
o Land that is deprived of communities due to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes,
glacier movements, and natural fires, etc.

Types of Ecological Succession:

A. Based on Nature of Habitat:

 Primary Succession: Starts in an area devoid of vegetation, with pioneers

establishing and progressing through stages to a climax community.
 Secondary Succession: Occurs in previously colonized areas with enriched soil,
replacing an existing dominant plant community.

B. Based on Types of Organisms:

 Autotrophic Succession: Begins in an organic-rich environment, characterized by

early and continued dominance of autotrophic organisms like green plants.
 Heterotrophic Succession: Begins in an organic-rich environment, characterized by
early dominance of heterotrophs such as fungi, bacteria, and animals.

Trends in Ecological Succession:

 Change in species composition.

 Change in species diversity (species diversity tends to increase with succession).
 Progressive increase in biomass (both living and dead organic matter).
 Shift in community metabolism, such as a decrease in net community production (P)
and a corresponding increase in community respiration (R).
 PROCESS OF SUCCESSION
 The whole process of primary autotrophic succession is completed through a number
of sequential steps.
 (i) Nudation: The process of formation of a bare area is known as nudation or
denudation. Nudation is caused by humans for industrial and agricultural purposes or
by climatic and biotic disturbances such as floods, landslides. There are several agents
that cause nudation, including physiographic, climate, and biotic agents.
 (ii) Invasion: The process of successful establishment of new species in the bare area
is called invasion.
 (iii) Migration: Movement of organisms into a bare area is called migration. The
seeds, spores, or other propagules of the species invade the bare area and are generally
brought about by agents such as air and water.
 (iv) Colonization: Occupation of a bare area by the first or pioneer community is
called colonization.
 (v) Ecesis: After reaching the bare area, the new species start to establish themselves
in it. Establishment of a pioneer community is called ecesis. For example, the seeds of
the new species of plants germinate, seedlings grow, and adults start to reproduce.
Such pioneers interact with the medium (soil or water) and establish themselves.
 (vi)Aggregation: Aggregation is the final stage of invasion by pioneer group. The
species which have successfully settled on the new area reproduce and aggregate into
large populations in the new area.
 (vii)Competition and reaction: As the pioneer community becomes established,
various species compete among themselves for space, light and nutrients. This
competition results in a self-induced (autogenic) reaction on themselves and on the
habitat. Communities which cannot withstand competition and changing
environmental factors are replaced in succession by other communities till a climax
community is established.
 (viii)Climax or stabilization: This is the final stage in the process of ecological
succession in which a community resists and is called a climax community. The
climax community becomes more or less stabilized for a longer period of time and it
can maintain itself in equilibrium with the climate of that area. The species exist
incomplete harmony with the ecosystem as long as the environmental, climatic and
biotic conditions remain undisturbed, the climax community can even maintain itself
through years.