ECOSYSTEM

CLASS XII
Ecosystems: patterns, components; productivity and decomposition; energy flow;
pyramids

• Definition and types of ecosystems; structure of ecosystem (brief idea about biotic and
abiotic components).
• Structure and function of pond ecosystem; ecosystem functions: (i) Productivity –
gross primary productivity (GPP), net primary productivity (NPP) and secondary
productivity (ii) Decomposition (fragmentation, leaching, catabolism, humification
and mineralization), factors affecting rate of decomposition (iii) Energy flow. Various
types of food chains – grazing and detritus, food webs, trophic levels, ecological
pyramids – energy, number and biomass.
• Definition of PAR, 10% Law, standing crop and standing state.
 ECOSYSTEM
It is a functional unit of nature, where living
organisms interact among themselves and with their
surrounding physical environment.
Ecosystem receives input in the form of solar energy
and inorganic nutrient which results in productivity or
synthesis of food. Food with its contained energy
passes through various components of ecosystem
through food chain/web and nutrients cycling. As the
matter circulates in the ecosystem, it gives out
energy as well as matter as output.
The word 'Ecosystem' was coined by Sir AG4
Tansley (1935). Ecosystem is considered as
an interactive system, where biotic and abiotic
components interact with each other via
energy exchange and flow of nutrients. An
ecosystem can be either natural or artificial.
TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM
An ecosystem has following types

1. Natural Ecosystem These are capable of maintaining and operating

themselves, without interference of man. They are further classified as

(i) Terrestrial Ecosystem Forest, grassland, desert, etc.

(ii) Aquatic Ecosystem Pond, lake, river, etc.

2. Artificial Ecosystem These are maintained and manipulated by human

for different purposes. Artificial or Man-made ecosystem have little
diversity, little recycling of minerals and no self-regulatory mechanism, e.g.
croplands, artificial lakes, aquarium etc.
 COMPONENTS OF ECOSYSTEM
An ecosystem has two major components:
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS: The abiotic or non-living components consist of
temperature, water, light, etc.
BIOTIC COMPONENTS : The various biotic or living components of an
ecosystem are further classified as
1. Producers All green plants are called producers in ecosystem. In
terrestrial ecosystem, herbaceous and woody plants are producers. In aquatic
ecosystem, phytoplanktons and some algae are producers. They are also
called as autotrophs.
2. Consumers All animals which depend directly or indirectly on plants
(autotrophs) for their food requirements are called consumers. They are also
called as heterotrophs.
3. Decomposers These are the organisms which feed upon the dead plants
 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF ECOSYSTEM
Interaction of biotic and abiotic components results in physical structure that is
calculated by the characteristic of each type of ecosystem. The two important
structural features of an ecosystem are
1. Species Composition: It is calculated by the identification and
enumeration of plant and animal species of an ecosystem.
2. Stratification: It is the vertical distribution of different species occupying
different levels in an ecosystem, e.g. trees occupy top vertical strata or
layer of a forest, shrubs the second and herbs and grasses occupy the
bottom (third) layers.
The important functional aspects of an ecosystem are
(i) Productivity (iii) Energy flow(ii) Decomposition(iv) Nutrient cycling.
 POND ECOSYSTEM
• A pond is a self-sustainable unit, that explains even the complex interactions that
exist in an aquatic ecosystem. It is a shallow water body in which all the above
mentioned basic structural and functional components are present.
• The pond water (abiotic component) contains all the dissolved inorganic and
organic materials and soil deposited at its bottom. The solar input, the cycle of
temperature, day-length and other climatic conditions regulate the rate of function
of the entire pond.
• Autotrophic components are phytoplanktons, some algae and the floating,
submerged and marginal plants found at the edges.
• Consumers are zooplanktons, which are free-swimming and bottom dwellers.
• Decomposers are the fungi, bacteria and flagellates found abundantly in the
bottom of the pond.
 Presentation title 9

• This pond system performs all the functions of an ecosystem and of the
biosphere as a whole, i.e. autotrophs convert inorganic materials into
organic material with the help of solar energy, heterotrophs consume
autotrophs and decomposers who decompose and mineralise dead
organic materials to release them back for reuse by the autotrophs.
These events are repeated over and over again, however energy flow is
unidirectional towards the higher trophic levels. At each trophic level, a part
of energy is dissipated and is lost as heat to the environment.
 PRODUCTIVITY 11

• A constant input of solar energy is the basic requirement for any

ecosystem to function and sustain.
• The rate at which radiant energy is fixed in the form of organic
food due to photosynthetic activity of producers is called
productivity.
• Productivity is the rate of biomass production.
• Productivity of an ecosystem can be categorised as primary and
secondary productivity.
P R I M A RY P R O D U C T I V I T Y:
It is the amount of biomass or organic matter produced per unit area over a
The primary productivity has two aspects as discussed below 12

1. Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

It is the rate of production of organic matter during photosynthesis. A
considerable amount of GPP is utilised by plants in respiration.

2. Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

It is the available biomass for the consumption by heterotrophs (herbivores
and decomposers). It is actually the amount of energy left in the producers
after utilisation of some energy during respiration.
Thus, Gross Primary Productivity minus the Respiration Losses gives the Net
Primary Productivity.
N P P = G P P - R (where, R = Respiration losses)
 FACTORS AFFECTING PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY
Primary productivity varies from ecosystem to ecosystem. This is because of the different factors
given below
(i) The plant species inhabiting a particular area.
(ii) Various environmental factors also contribute in affecting primary productivity. Some of them
are
(a)Light: Sunlight is the ultimate source of energy. Due to the less availability of light in an
aquatic ecosystem, here productivity is less than terrestrial ecosystem (Forest). Maximum
light is available in tropics and poles receive the minimum light therefore, productivity is
comparatively low on poles.
(b) Temperature: It regulates the activity of an enzyme. So, optimum temperature is required
for proper functioning of an enzyme.
c) Moisture: Rain (humidity) increases the productivity of the ecosystem, but it tends to
decrease with the scarcity of water. Therefore, deserts have the lowest primary productivity as
(iii) Nutrients availability Nutrients are essential for the growth of producers.
Thus, higher availability of nutrients ensures greater primary productivity.
(iv) Photosynthetic efficiency of plants (Producers) C4-plants are more
productive as compared to C3-plants.

S E C O N D A RY P R O D U C T I V I T Y:
• It refers to the rate at which consumers, such as herbivores and carnivores,
convert the organic material (food) they consume into their own biomass.
• It is essentially the energy stored in consumers that is available to organisms
at higher trophic levels
• It is small as compared to primary productivity and tends to decrease with an
increase in the trophic level.
 DECOMPOSITION

It is the process of breaking down of complex

organic matter into inorganic substances like
water, carbon dioxide and nutrients by
decomposers.
Detritus is the raw material for decomposition. It
includes dead remains of plants (leaves, bark and
flowers) and animals including faecal matter.
Different steps involved in the process of decomposition are :
1. Fragmentation It is process of breakdown of detritus into smaller particles
by detritivores (e.g. earthworm, maggots etc). This increases the surface
area for microbial action.
2. Leaching It is the process where water-soluble nutrients are dissolved and
washed away from the decomposing material into the soil. These nutrients
then become available to plants and other organisms.
3. Catabolism It is the process of degradation of detritus, where
microorganisms like bacteria and fungi secrete enzymes to break down
complex organic molecules (e.g., proteins, carbohydrates, fats) into simpler
compounds. This step involves the further conversion of organic matter into
simpler inorganic compounds (carbon dioxide, water, and energy).
4. Humification It is a process that leads to accumulation 17of a
dark coloured amorphous and colloidal substance called humus,
which is highly resistant to microbial action and undergoes
decomposition at a very slow rate. Being colloidal in nature, it
enriches the soil by holding onto nutrients and water.

5. Mineralisation It is process of degradation of humus by

microbial action and release of inorganic nutrients such as nitrates,
phosphates, and other minerals, which can be absorbed by plants.
 FACTORS AFFECTING RATE OF DECOMPOSITION
Decomposition is largely an aerobic process, i.e. requires oxygen for its
processing. The rate of decomposition is controlled mainly by the following
two factors
1. Chemical composition of detritus The rate of decomposition is slower, if
detritus is rich in lignin and chitin while, it is quicker if it is composed of
nitrogen and water-soluble substances like sugars.
2. Climatic factors Temperature and soil moisture are the most important
climatic factors that control decomposition. Warm and moist environment
favours decomposition while, low temperature and anaerobiosis, i.e.
anaerobic conditions(unavailability of oxygen) inhibit decomposition
 ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEM

• Sun is the only source of energy for all the

ecosystems on the earth, except for deep sea
hydrothermal ecosystem. Of all the total incident
solar energy, less than 50% is Photosynthetically
Active Radiation (PAR). Plants utilise only 2-10%
of PAR to sustain the entire living world.
• Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is
light of wavelengths 400-700 nm and is the
portion of the light spectrum utilised by
plants for photosynthesis.
• Plants as well as photosynthetic and chemosynthetic bacteria

(autotrophs) fix sun's radiant energy to make food from simple

inorganic molecules. Thus, all organisms are dependent on

producers either directly or indirectly for their food.

• The flow of energy is unidirectional, i.e. it flows from the sun to

producers and then to consumers and decomposers, and

ultimately it disappears in space in the form of heat energy

which never returns to the source. This is called FLOW OF

ENERGY.
• The one way flow of energy is governed by the two laws of

thermodynamics.

• The first law, the law of conservation of energy, states that energy can

neither be created nor destroyed but only be transformed from one form into

another.

• The second law states that the total amount of usable energy in any system

tends to decrease with time, i.e., no energy conversion can be 100% efficient

and that some energy escapes as heat. The living organisms are energy

transformers and each time an energy transformation is carried out some

energy is lost as heat. Ultimately all the energy that enters the biotic
Presentation title 22
No energy that is trapped into an organism remains in it forever. The energy
trapped by the producer, is either passed on to a consumer or the organism
dies.
The consumers may be of following types
1. Primary consumers The consumers that feed on plants directly, are called
primary consumers or herbivores.
2. Secondary consumers Those animals, which eat herbivores are called
secondary consumers. These are also referred to as primary carnivores.
3. Tertiary consumers These are animals who feed on secondary consumers
for their nutrition. These are also referred to as secondary carnivores.
Therefore, due to this interdependence of food/energy between organisms, the
chains or webs are formed in the ecosystem.
 FOOD CHAIN
The transfer of energy occur from green plants
through a linear sequence of organisms, in
which each organism eats the one below it in
the chain and is eaten by the one above is
called a food chain. It is actually a feeding
chain of organisms in an ecosystem.
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TYPES OF FOOD CHAIN
There are mainly two types of food chain

1. Grazing Food Chain (GFC):

It begins with the producers (living green plants), goes to grazing
herbivores, and then to the carnivores. Ecosystems with such type of food
chain area directly dependent on an influx of solar radiation. Most of the
ecosystems in nature follow this type of food chain.

Grass → (Producer)  Goat(Primary consumer)  Man(Secondary consumer)

2. Detritus Food Chain (DFC):
• It begins with dead organic matter of decaying animals and plant bodies to micro-
organisms and then to organisms feeding on detritus (detritivores) and their predators.
• Such ecosystems are less dependent on direct solar energy and depend chiefly on the
influx of organic matter produced in another system.
• The detritus food chain generally operates in the decomposing accumulated litter in a
temperate forest.
Litter→ Springtail (insect) → Small spiders (carnivore)

The distinction between these two food chains is the source of energy for the first level
consumers. In the grazing food chain, the primary source of energy is living plant biomass
while in the detritus food chain the source of energy is dead organic matter or detritus.
 FOOD WEB
• In an ecosystem various food chains are linked together and intersect with
each other to form a complex network called food web.
• In nature, the same organisms may operate at more than one trophic levels,
i.e. it may derive its food from more than one source. Even the same
organism may be eaten by several organisms of a higher trophic level or an
organism may feed upon different organisms of a lower trophic level.
• The interconnected food chains operating in an ecosystem which
establish a network of relationships between various species is
called a food web. A food web is thus really a collection of food
chains.
 TROPHIC LEVEL
• All organisms occupy a particular place in their natural surrounding or in a
community according to their feeding relationship among the organisms.
• Based on the relationship among the organisms and the source of their
nutrition or food, organisms occupy a specific place in the food chain that
is known as their trophic level.
• Trophic literally means feeding, and hence trophic levels are the levels
or positions at which the species feed.
• Producers occupy the first trophic level, primary consumers (herbivores)
occupy the second, the secondary consumers (carnivores) occupy the
third level and the fourth level is occupied by the tertiary consumer
(top carnivores).
Standing Crop :
• It is the mass of living material at a particular trophic level at a specific
time.
• Standing crop is measured as the mass of living organisms (biomass) or
the number in an unit area. The biomass is expressed in terms of fresh or
dry weight.
• Example: The total mass of grasses in a grassland at a given time
represents the standing crop of that grassland.
 Presentation title 33

Standing state :
• The standing state refers to the amount of nutrients (e.g., carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus) present in different compartments of an
ecosystem at a particular time.- These nutrients are present in both
living organisms (biomass) and the abiotic components of the
ecosystem (such as soil and water).
• Like standing crop, standing state can fluctuate based on nutrient
cycling, decomposition, and other ecological processes.
• Example: The total amount of nitrogen available in the soil of an
ecosystem at a specific time is an example of the standing state.
 Presentation title 34

Ten Per Cent Law (10% Law) :

• It was given by Lindeman in 1942.
• According to this law, in each step of food chain when food energy is
transferred from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level, some
energy is lost as heat and only 10% of the energy is transferred to the
next level. Due to this, the number of trophic levels in the grazing food
chain is restricted as the transfer of energy follows 10% law.
 ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS

• These are the diagrammatic illustrations of

connection between different trophic levels in terms
of energy, biomass and number of organisms. The
base (broader) of each pyramid represents the
producers or the first trophic level. Apex (narrow)
represents tertiary or top level consumers.
There are three ecological pyramids that
are usually studied
1. Pyramid of Energy : It represents the
rate of energy flow and/or productivity
at successive trophic levels.
Pyramid of energy is always upright,
i.e. it can never be inverted, because
when energy is transferred from a
particular trophic level to the next trophic
level some energy is always lost as
heat at each step.
2. Pyramid of Number :
It represents the
relationship between
producers and consumers
at successive trophic levels
in terms of their number.
It is always upright, but in
a tree ecosystem, pyramid
of number is somewhat
different in shape.
3. Pyramid of Biomass :
The ecological pyramid constructed on the basis of biomass of the
organisms at each trophic level is called pyramid of biomass.
It represents total weight of the organisms in each trophic level.
It can be (i) Upright, e.g. in grasslands.(ii) Inverted, e.g.
in pond ecosystem.
Some important points about ecological pyramids are given below
(i) A trophic level represents a functional level, not a species as such.
(ii) A given species may occupy more than one trophic level in the same ecosystem at
the same time, e.g. a sparrow is primary consumer, when it eats seeds, fruits, peas,
etc., and a secondary consumer when it eats insects and worms.
(iii) In most ecosystems, all the pyramids of number, biomass, energy are upright,
i.e. producers are more in number and biomass than the herbivores and herbivores
are more in number and biomass than carnivores.
(iv) Energy at lower trophic level is always more than higher trophic level.
(v) Pyramid of biomass in sea is generally inverted because the biomass of
fishes far exceeds that of phytoplankton.
(vi) Each bar in the energy pyramid indicates the amount of energy present at each
trophic level in a given time or annually per unit area.
 LIMITATIONS OF ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS
(i) It never takes into account the same species belonging to two or more
trophic levels.
(ii) It assumes a simple food chain, something that almost never exists in
nature.
(iii)It does not accommodate a food web.
(iv)Saprophytes are not given at any place in ecological pyramids even
though, they play an important role in the ecosystem.