Unit 2 Ecosystems

Definition and concept of Ecosystem

• Structure of ecosystem
Biotic and
Abiotic components

Functions of Ecosystem:
• Physical (energy flow),
• Biological (food chains, food web, ecological succession),
• Biogeochemical (nutrient cycling) processes,
• Concepts of productivity,
• ecological pyramids and homeostasis
• Types of Ecosystems: Tundra, Forest, Grassland, Desert, Aquatic
(ponds, streams, lakes, rivers, oceans, estuaries); importance and
threats with relevant examples from India

• Ecosystem services (Provisioning, Regulating, Cultural, and

Supporting); Ecosystem preservation and conservation strategies;
Basics of Ecosystem restoration.
 Desert ecosystem Tropical rainforest

Tundra ecosystem
 What is an ecosystem?
➢ The term ecosystem was first coined by A G Tansley in 1935.
➢ An ecosystem is a basic functional unit of organisms and their environment.
➢ An ecosystem is composed of living community of plants and animals in any
area together with the non-living components of the environment such as
soil, air and water. A pond, lake, desert, grassland, forest etc. are common
examples of ecosystems.
➢ Thus, ecosystem is a unit or a system which is composed of a number of
subunits, that are all directly or indirectly linked with each other.

Basic properties of all ecosystems are:

▪ Flow of energy in an ecosystem is a continuous process
▪ Trapping of sunlight by the green plants, known as producers, these plants
then form food for animal called consumers
▪ The input of energy in an ecosystem is equal to the consumed energy
▪ Thus a state of “dynamic equilibrium” is formed in an ecosystem also called
as ecosystem “homeostatic”
Ecology is the branch of science which deals with study of organisms
in their natural home interacting with their surroundings or it is the
study of ecosystems.

The term Ecology was coined by Earnst Haeckel in 1869. It is derived

from the Greek words Oikos- home + logos- study.

There are two types of ecosystems,

1. Closed
2. Open

Closed ecosystems are ones that do not have any inputs (exchanges of
energy from the surrounding environment) or outputs (exchanges of
energy from within the ecosystem). Examples, man-made bottle
gardens and aquarium.

Open ecosystems are ones that have both inputs and outputs.
Examples, backyard, forest.
Structure of an Ecosystem:
Each ecosystem has two main components:
1. Biotic
2. Abiotic

Biotic Components:
Biotic component is composed of all the living organisms including
plants, animals and micro-organisms (Bacteria and Fungi) that are
present in an ecosystem.

On the basis of their role in the ecosystem; how do they get their
food, the biotic components can be classified into three main
groups:

(A) Producers
(B) Consumers
(C) Decomposers
Structure of an Ecosystem

All the living

organisms
• Producer
• Consumers
• Decomposers
(A) Producers: They are mainly the green plants. They can synthesize
their own food in the presence of sunlight by using carbon dioxide (CO2)
present in the air and water.

▪ Plants make their own food by the process known as photosynthesis.

They have chlorophyll, the green pigment present in the leaves, with
the help chlorophyll plants trap solar energy and change it into
chemical energy of carbohydrates using simple inorganic compounds
water and carbon dioxide.

▪ As the green plants manufacture their own food they are known as
Autotrophs or Photo autotrophs (i.e. auto = self, trophos = feeder,
photo=light).

▪ There are some microorganisms also which can produce organic matter
through oxidation of certain chemicals in the absence of sunlight. They
are known as chemosynthetic organisms or chemo-autotrophs.
(B) Consumers:

The animals lack chlorophyll and are unable to synthesise their own food.
Therefore, they depend on the producers for their food. They are known as
heterotrophs (i.e. heteros = other, trophos = feeder)

The consumers are of following types, namely:

(i) Primary Consumers or Herbivores:

Animals which feed on green plants and tress (herbivores) or the producers.
They are called herbivores. Examples are rabbit, deer, goat, cattle etc.
(ii) Secondary Consumers or Primary Carnivores:
Animals which feed on primary consumers. Examples are cats, foxes, tiger,
snakes etc.
(iii) Tertiary Consumers:
Animals that feed on both primary and secondary consumers are known as
tertiary consumers. Example are lions, hawks, wolves, etc.
(iv) Omnivores:
These are the consumers that eats both plants and animals. Examples
are human beings, crows, dogs etc.
(v) Detritivores (Detritus feeders or Saprotrophs): They feed on the
parts of dead organisms, wastes of living organisms, and partially
decomposed matter e.g. beetles, termites, ants, crabs, earthworms etc.

(C) Decomposers are a group of organisms consisting of small animals

like worms, insects, bacteria and fungi, which break down dead organic
material into smaller particles and finally into simpler substances that
are used by plants as nutrition.

Decomposition is a vital process in nature, as without this, all the

nutrients would be tied up in dead matter and no new life could be
produced.
Abiotic components are mainly of two types:

• Physical and
• Chemical components

They includes climatic factors, edaphic (soil) factors, geographical factors,

energy, nutrients and toxic substances.

(a)Physical factors: The sunlight and shade, intensity of solar flux, duration
of sun hours, average temperature, maximum-minimum temperature,
annual rainfall, wind, latitude and altitude, soil type, water availability,
water currents etc. are some of the important physical factors.
The striking differences in solar flux, temperature and precipitation (rainfall,
snow etc.) pattern can be clearly seen in a desert ecosystem, in a tropical
rainforest and in tundra ecosystem.

Desert ecosystem Tropical rainforest

Tundra ecosystem
(b) Chemical factors: Availability of major essential nutrients like carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur, level of
toxic substances, salts causing salinity and various organic substances
present in the soil or water largely influence the functioning of an
ecosystem.
 Functions of an Ecosystem
• Every ecosystem performs under natural conditions in a
systematic way.

• It receives energy from the sun and passes it on through various

biotic components. Even all life depends upon this flow of
energy.

• Besides energy, biotic components also exchange various

nutrients and water within themselves and with their abiotic
components within or outside the ecosystem.
The functions of an ecosystem include:
Biological
▪ Trophic levels
▪ Food chain
▪ Food web
▪ Ecological succession

Physical
▪ Energy flow
▪ Biogeochemical cycles

Concepts of productivity
▪ Primary production
▪ Secondary production

Ecological pyramids and Homeostasis

 Trophic structure

• In an ecosystem the producers and consumers are arranged in a

definite manner and their interaction along with population size are
expressed together as trophic structure.
• Each step in a food chain or food web is called a “trophic level”.

• Primary producers always make up the first trophic level.

• So, each food level is known as trophic level and the amount of living
matter at each trophic level at a given time is known as standing crop
or standing biomass.
Trophic levels Decomposers

Secondary
Fourth trophic level
carnivores

Primary
Third trophic level
carnivores

Herbivores
Second trophic level
(primary
consumers)

Producers First trophic level

The sequence of eating and being eaten in an ecosystem is known as food
chain.
• All organisms, living or dead, are potential food for some other organism
and thus, there is no waste in the functioning of a natural ecosystem.

• A grasshopper eats grass, a sparrow eats the grasshopper, a snake eats

the sparrow and when they all die, they are all consumed by
microorganisms like bacteria or fungi (decomposers) which break down
the organic matter and convert it into simple inorganic substances that
can again be used by the plants the primary producers.
Food chains are of two types:

1. Grazing food chain

2. Detritus food chain

I. Grazing food chain: It starts with green plants

(primary producers) and end in carnivores.

Grass → Rabbit → Fox

II. Detritus food chain: It starts with dead organic

matter, go through detritivores and decomposers
(fungi, bacteria, insects, earthworm etc. ) and end
inorganic compounds.

Dead organic matter → Detritivores → CO2 + H2O

 FOOD WEB

Food chains in ecosystems are interconnected and usually form a complex

network with several linkages and are known as food webs.
Thus, food web is a network of food chains where different types of
organisms are connected at different trophic levels, so that there are a
number of options of eating and being eaten at each trophic level.
 Significance of food chains and food webs
▪ Food chains and food webs play a very significant role in the ecosystem
because the two most important functions of energy flow and nutrient
cycling take place through them.

▪ The food chains also help in maintaining and regulating the population
size of different animals and thus, help maintain the ecological balance.

▪ Food chains show a unique property of biological magnification of

some chemicals.

There are several pesticides, heavy metals and other chemicals which are
non-biodegradable in nature. Such chemicals are not decomposed by
microorganisms and they keep on passing from one trophic level to
another. And, at each successive trophic level, they keep on increasing in
concentration. This phenomenon is known as bio magnification or
biological magnification.
Zooplanktons are the tiny animals found near the surface in aquatic environments
The animals who are occupying the higher trophic levels are at a
greater risk of bio magnification of toxic chemicals.

Human beings consuming milk, eggs and meat are at a higher trophic
level. So, we have to stop indiscriminate use of pesticides and heavy
metals if we wish to save ourselves from their biologically magnified
toxic levels.
 Energy flow in an Ecosystem
• The transfer of energy from
one trophic level to another
trophic level is known as
energy flow.
• The energy flow is
unidirectional, i.e. it never
takes place in a reverse
direction.
• Thus, energy is used only once
in the ecosystem.
• Sun is the ultimate source of
energy.
• Unlike the nutrients (like
carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus
etc.) which move in a cyclic
manner and are reused by the
producers after flowing through
the food chain, energy is not
reused in the food chain.
Also, the flow of energy follows the two laws of Thermodynamics:

• Ist law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor
be destroyed but it can be transformed from one form to another. The
solar energy captured by the green plants (producers) gets converted into
biochemical energy of plants and later into that of consumers.

• IInd law of Thermodynamics states that energy dissipates as it is used.

• As energy flows through the food chain, there occurs dissipation of
energy at every trophic level. The loss of energy takes place through
respiration, loss of energy in locomotion, running, hunting and other
activities.

At every level there is about 90% loss of energy and the energy transferred
from one trophic level to the other is only about 10%.

Lindeman (1942) proposed the ‘ten per cent law’ as only 10% of the food
energy is transferred to the next level of consumers, the rest is wasted.
Ten per cent law
At every level there is
about 90% loss of
energy and the energy
transferred from one
trophic level to the
other is only about
10%.
Ten per cent law
 ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS

• Graphic representation of the various trophic levels of an ecosystem

is referred to as the ‘ecological pyramid’
• Elton (1927) used the term ‘ecological pyramid’ for the first time.
• In an ecological pyramids producers constitute the base and the top
consumers make the apex.
Ecological pyramids are of three types:

1. Pyramid of numbers
2. Pyramid of biomass
3. Pyramid of energy
Pyramid of numbers: It represents the number of individual organisms at
each trophic level.

• Pyramid of numbers can be upright or inverted, depending upon the

type of ecosystem and food chain.

Pyramid of numbers (a) Grassland ecosystem (b) Pond ecosystem

Pyramid of numbers (c) Forest ecosystem
Parasitic food chain shows an
inverted pyramid of number.

• The producers like a few big trees

harbour fruit eating birds acting like
herbivores which are larger in
number.

• A much higher number of lice, bugs

etc. grow as parasites on these birds
while a still greater number of
hyperparasites like bugs, fleas and
microbes feed upon them, thus an
inverted pyramid is formed.

Parasite is an organism which lives in or on another organism (its

host) and benefits by deriving nutrients from the host.
Pyramid of biomass: Biomass is the total weight of a living matter per unit
area.
• It is based upon the total biomass (dry matter) at each trophic level in a
food chain.
• The pyramid of biomass can also be upright or inverted.
• The pyramid of biomass in a forest is upright in contrast to its pyramid of
numbers.
• The producers (trees) accumulate a huge biomass while the biomass of
consumers’ declines at higher trophic levels, resulting in broad base and
narrowing top.
• Pyramids of biomass measure the amount of energy converted into living
tissue at the different trophic levels.

Pyramid of biomass:
Forest ecosystem
The pond ecosystem shows an inverted pyramid of biomass.

• The total biomass of producers (phytoplanktons) is much less as

compared to herbivores (zooplanktons, insects), Carnivores (Small
fish) and tertiary carnivores (big fish).
• Thus the pyramid takes an inverted shape with narrow base and broad
apex.

Pyramid of biomass
Pond ecosystem
Pyramid of Energy: The pyramid of energy represents the amount of
energy flow at each trophic level.

• Pyramid of energy gives the best representation of the trophic

relationships.

• It is always upright in shape as energy decreases from producers' level

to consumers' level.

• At every successive trophic level, there is a huge loss of energy (about

90%) in the form of heat, respiration etc. Thus, at each next higher level
only 10% of the energy passes on.

• Hence, there is a sharp decline in energy level of each successive

trophic level from producers to top carnivores. Therefore, the pyramid
of energy is always upright.
 PRIMARY PRODUCTION

• Primary production is the production of organic compounds by living organisms.

The main source of this energy is sunlight.

• Primary production is principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis,

which uses sunlight as its source of energy, but it also occurs
through chemosynthesis, which uses inorganic chemical compounds as its source
of energy.

• The organisms that are responsible for primary production

are producers or autotrophs i.e. green plants and trees in terrestrial ecosystem and
in aquatic ecosystem it is green algae.

CO2 + H2O + light → CH2O (glucose) + O2

CO2 + O2 + 4 H2S → CH2O + 4 S + 3 H2O

Simplified reaction of photosynthesis and chemosynthesis

Primary productivity of an ecosystem is defined as the rate at which radiant
energy is converted into organic substances by photosynthesis or chemo-
synthesis by the primary producers.
▪ Gross primary production (GPP) is total amount of energy
as biomass that produced by primary producers in a given length of
time.

▪ Gross Primary productivity is the rate at which photosynthesis or

chemosynthesis occurs.

▪ Some fraction of this fixed energy is used by primary producers

for cellular respiration and maintenance of existing tissues (i.e.,
"growth respiration" and “maintenance respiration").

▪ The remaining fixed energy (i.e., mass of photosynthate/organic

matter) is referred to as net primary production (NPP).

NPP = GPP - respiration [by plants]

▪ Net primary productivity is the rate at which all the plants in

an ecosystem produce net useful chemical energy.
Net Primary Productivity (NPP) is the amount of carbon uptake after
subtracting Plant Respiration from Gross Primary Productivity (GPP).

GPP is the total rate at which the ecosystem capture and store carbon as plant
biomass, for a given length of time.

NPP = GPP – respiration [by plants]

• Primary production of an ecosystem depends upon the solar radiations,
availability of water and nutrients and upon the type of the plants and their
chlorophyll content

Annual average of gross primary production of some major ecosystems

Ecosystem Gross Primary Productivity (K Cal/m2/yr)

Deserts and Tundra 200
Open Oceans 1,000
Grasslands 2,500
Moist Temperate Forests 8,000
Agro-ecosystems 12,000
Wet Tropical Forests 20,000
Estuaries 20,000

• Productivity of tropical forests and estuaries are the highest. This is

because tropical forests have abundant rainfall, warm temperature
good for growth, abundant sunlight and a rich diversity of species.
• An estuary is where a river meets the sea. There, saltwater mixes
with freshwater.

• Estuaries are usually filled with shallow waters, and sunlight reaches all
levels of the water.

• Marsh grasses, algae, and other kinds of plants live in estuaries and
provide food for a variety of fish, crabs, oysters, and shrimp.

• Estuaries are especially important since they act as nurseries for many
different types of young fish and other animals before they head out
toward the open ocean. Many sea birds also nest in estuaries.
▪ Estuaries get natural energy subsidies in the form of wave currents that
bring along with them nutrients required for production.

▪ Deserts on the other hand, have limitations of adequate water supply

while Tundra have very low temperature as limiting factor and hence
show low primary production.

▪ Agro-ecosystems get lots of energy subsidies in the form of irrigation

water, good quality seeds, fertilizers and pesticides and show a high
productivity of 12,000 K Cal/m2/yr. Still, their productivity is less than
that of tropical forests which are not receiving any artificial energy
subsidies.

▪ Nature itself has designed its species composition, structure, energy

capture and flow, and a nutrient cycling system that ensures a high
primary production of 20,000 K Cal/m2/yr.
Major Estuaries in Indian coastal states
 Secondary Production (SP)

The amount of organic matter stored by the herbivores or carnivores is

known as secondary production.
The energy stored at consumer level for use by the next trophic level is
defined as secondary production.
Secondary production represents the energy assimilated by an individual or
population that is not lost to respiration and is therefore available to other
trophic levels.
ECOSYSTEM REGULATION

• Under a set of environmental conditions, all ecosystems regulate and

maintain themselves.
• Any environmental stress tries to disturb the function of a normal
ecosystem.
• Under environmental stress conditions, ecosystem, by itself, tries to
resist the change and maintains equilibrium with the environment and
this property of ecosystem is known as homeostasis.
• Homeostasis is the inherent property of all living systems to resist
change.
• The systems ability to tolerate or resist any stress is only within a
maximum and a minimum range, and this range of tolerance is known as
homeostatic plateau.
• Within this range, if any stress tries to cause a deviation, then the system
has its own mechanisms to counteract these deviations which are known
as negative feedback mechanisms.
• Thus, negative feedback mechanisms are deviation counteracting
mechanisms which try to bring the system back to its ideal conditions.

• But, if the stress is too high and beyond the range of homeostatic
plateau, then positive feedback mechanisms start operating.

• Positive feedback mechanisms accelerates the deviation that ultimately

lead to collapsing of an ecosystem.

• Thus, positive feedback mechanisms add to the stress conditions and

tend to take the system away from the optimal conditions.

• Human beings should try to keep the ecosystems within the

homeostatic plateau.

• They should not contribute to positive feedbacks otherwise the

ecosystems will collapse.
 Ecosystem regulation by homeostasis
On application of a stress, the negative feedback mechanisms start
operating, trying to counter the stress to regulate the system.
But beyond the homeostatic plateau, positive feedback starts which
further accelerate the stress effects causing death or collapse of the
organism/system.
 NUTRIENT/BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLING

▪ Nutrient cycling is another important functional attribute of an ecosystem.

▪ Nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus

etc. move in circular paths through biotic and abiotic components and are
therefore known as biogeochemical cycles.

▪ Water also moves in a cycle, known as hydrological cycle. The nutrients

too move through the food chain and ultimately reach the detritus
compartment (containing dead organic matter) where various micro-
organisms carry out decomposition.

▪ Various organically bound nutrients of dead plants and animals are

converted into inorganic substances by microbial decomposition that are
readily used up by plants (primary producers) and the cycle starts afresh.
 Nitrogen cycle
• Nitrogen is present in the atmosphere as N2 in large amount (78%) and it
is fixed either by the physical process of lightening or biologically by
some bacteria and/or cyanobacteria (blue green algae).

• The nitrogen is taken up by plants and used in metabolism for

biosynthesis of amino acids, proteins, vitamins etc. and passes through
the food chain.

• After death of the plants and animals, the organic nitrogen in dead
tissues is decomposed by several groups of ammonifying and nitrifying
bacteria which convert them into ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, which
are again used by plants.

• Some bacteria convert nitrates, into molecular nitrogen or N2 which is

released back into the atmosphere and the cycle goes on.
Ammonifying and nitrifying bacteria which convert them into
ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
 Carbon cycle
Carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide is taken up by green plants as a raw
material for photosynthesis, through which a variety of carbohydrates and
other organic substances are produced.

Through the food chain it moves and ultimately organic carbon present in
the dead matter is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide by
microorganisms.

Respiration by all organisms produces carbon dioxide, while the latter is

used up by plants.

In the recent years carbon dioxide levels have increased in the atmosphere
due to burning of fossil fuels etc. which has caused an imbalance in the
natural cycle and the world today is facing the serious problem of global
warming due to enhanced carbon dioxide emissions.
Carbon cycle
 Phosphorus cycle

Phosphorous cycle is another important nutrient cycle.

The reservoir of phosphorus lies in the rocks, fossils etc. which is dig up by man for
using it as a fertilizer.

Farmers use the phosphate fertilizers indiscriminately and as a result excess

phosphates are lost as run-off, which causes the problem of eutrophication or over-
nourishment of lakes leading to algal blooms.

A good proportion of phosphates moving with surface runoff reaches the oceans and
are lost into the deep sediments.

Over-exploitation of phosphorus lying in the phosphate rocks and then wastage of a

large part of phosphorus taken out into oceans making the phosphorous cycle
acyclic.

Sea birds are playing an important role in phosphorus cycling. They eat sea-
fishes which are phosphorus rich and the droppings or excreta of the birds return the
phosphorus on the land. The Guano deposits on the coasts of Peru are very rich
sources of phosphorus.
Algal boom- Sudden shoot of algal growth, which can affect water quality
adversely and indicate potentially hazardous changes in local water.
 Eutrophication
Presence of excessive amounts of nutrients in a lake or other water body due
to run-off from the land causes a dense growth of plants which is known as
eutrophication.

Cause of Eutrophication :
The main cause of eutrophication is the discharge of phosphate
containing detergents, fertilizers, or sewage, into an aquatic system.

Ecological effects of eutrophication :

1. Decreased biodiversity-Biomass of phytoplankton and zooplankton rises

although growth of other aquatic plants and animals decreases due to
decreased levels of dissolved oxygen.
2. Changes in species composition and dominance-Dissolved
oxygen depletion results into increased incidences of fish kills, loss of
desirable fish species.
3. Toxicity effects- Decreases in water transparency (increased turbidity),
colour, smell, and water treatment problems
 1. Excess nutrients are applied to the soil.
2. Some nutrients leach into the soil where
they can remain for years. Eventually, they
get drained into the water body.
3. Some nutrients run off over the ground
into the body of water.
4. The excess nutrients cause an algal
bloom.
5. The algal bloom blocks the light of the
sun from reaching the bottom of the water
body.
6. The plants beneath the algal bloom die
Algal bloom and Eutrophication because they cannot get sunlight to
photosynthesize.
7. Eventually, the algal bloom dies and
sinks to the bottom of the lake. Bacteria
begins to decompose the remains, using up
oxygen for respiration.
8. The decomposition causes the water to
become depleted of oxygen. Larger life
forms, such as fish, suffocate to death.
This body of water can no longer support
life.
Sea birds are playing an important role in phosphorus cycling. They eat sea-fishes
which are phosphorus rich and the droppings or excreta of the birds return the
phosphorus on the land. The Guano deposits on the coasts of Peru are very rich
sources of phosphorus.
Guano – Accumulated or deposited excrement of sea birds and bats. Rich in
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Form highly effective fertilizers.
Phosphorus cycle