TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM

Any unit that includes all the organisms i.e. the communities in a given area
interact with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to a
trophic structure, biodiversity and material cycle within the system is known
as ecosystem. Different types of ecosystem of biosphere are:

Natural ecosystems

These ecosystems operate by themselves under natural conditions without any major
interference by man. Based upon the particular kind of habitat, these are further
divided as

 Terrestrial: Forest, grassland, desert

 Aquatic (water-open) which may be further divided into
a) Fresh water: may be lentic (standing waters as lake, pond, pools, swamp etc.),
lotic (running water as spring, stream or rivers).

b) Marine: as an ocean or shallow ones like sea or estuary etc

Artificial ecosystems

These are maintained artificially by man where, by addition of energy and planned
manipulation natural balance is disturbed regularly. They also can be two types,

 Terrestrial: A crop field, garden etc.

 Aquatic: A man made pond, dams, aquarium etc

Forest ecosystem: Forests occupy 40% of the land. In India it is 1/10th of the total
land area. Forests are formed by a community of plants, i.e. tress, shrubs, climbers and
ground cover. There is a gradual decrease in biomass of organisms at successive levels
from producers to the carnivores. Thus, pyramid is upright. Forest ecosystem is formed
by abiotic and biotic components.

1. Abiotic components: These are the inorganic as well as organic substances

present in the soil and atmosphere. Light conditions are different due to complex
stratification in the plant communities. Forest type depends upon the abiotic
factors such as climate and soil conditions of a region.
 2. Biotic component: The living organisms present in the food chain occur in the
following order.
1. Producers: These are mainly trees with species diversity depending upon
the kind of forest formation developing in that climate. Besides trees, there
are also several climbers, shrubs and a ground vegetation
2. Consumers :
Primary consumers: These are the herbivores that include the animals
feeding on tree leaves as ants, flies, beetles, leafhoppers, bugs and spiders etc.
and larger animals grazing in shoots and or fruits of the producers, the
elephants, deer, squirrels, flying foxes, fruit bats etc.
Secondary consumers: These are the top carnivores like snakes, birds,
lizards, fox etc. feeding on the herbivores.

Tertiary consumers: These are the top carnivores like lion, tiger etc. that eat
carnivores of secondary consumers level.

3. Decomposers: These are wide variety of microorganism including fungi,

bacteria and actinomycetes. They actively participate in biogeochemical
nutrient recycling
Forest Utilization

1. Direct uses:

 Provide food like fruits, roots and herbs.

 Provide medicines
 Fuel wood is used for cooking food
 Small timber is used for building huts and houses
 Wood for farm implements
 Bamboo and cane for baskets
 Grass for grazing and stall feeding livestock

2. Indirect uses:

Provide building material for construction and furniture for the urban

sector
 Medicinal products collected and processed into drugs
 Gums and resins processed into a variety of products
 Raw material for industrial products and chemicals
 Paper from bamboo and softwoods
Threats to the forest ecosystem

Mining, construction of dams, rapid population growth, urbanization,

industrialization, increasing use of consumer goods lead to the over utilization of
forest produce. The forest cover is rapidly being reduced to meet the need of
agriculture land. India’s forest cover is declined from 40% to 19%
 Grassland ecosystem

It occupies 19% of the earth’s surface. It covers areas where rainfall is

low and or the soil depth and quality is poor. This area comprises of
different types of grasses with a little amount of shrubs and trees.
Main vegetation is grasses, legumes and members of composite
family. Many grazing animals, herbivores and insectivores are
found in grasslands

Abiotic components: These are the nutrients present in soil and aerial
environment. Thus the elements like C, H, O, N, P, S etc are supplied by
carbon dioxide, water, nitrates, phosphates and sulphates etc. present in air
and soil of the area
Biotic component:

1. Producers: They are mainly grasses. Besides them a few shrubs also
contribute to primary production.

2. Consumers:
Primary consumers: Grazing animals such as cows, buffaloes, deers, sheep,
rabbit, mouse etc. feed on the leaves of grasses. Besides them, there are also some
insects, termites and millipeds.

3. Secondary consumers: These include herbivore consuming animals like fox,

jackal, snakes, frogs, lizards, birds etc.
Tertiary consumers: Hawks and some insects feed on the secondary
consumers.

4. Decomposers: Fungi and bacteria were active in the decay of dead organic
matter of different forms of higher life and bring about the minerals back to the
soil, thus making them available to the producers

Grassland ecosystem

It occupies 19% of the earth’s surface. It covers areas where rainfall is low and or the
soil depth and quality is poor. This area comprises of different types of grasses with a
little amount of shrubs and trees. Main vegetation is grasses, legumes and members of
composite family. Many grazing animals, herbivores and insectivores are found in
grasslands
Abiotic components: These are the nutrients present in soil and aerial
environment. Thus the elements like C, H, O, N, P, S etc are supplied by
carbon dioxide, water, nitrates, phosphates and sulphates etc. present in air
and soil of the area.
Biotic component:

1. Producers: They are mainly grasses. Besides them a few shrubs also
contribute to primary production.

2. Consumers:
Primary consumers: Grazing animals such as cows, buffaloes, deers, sheep,
rabbit, mouse etc. feed on the leaves of grasses. Besides them, there are also some
insects, termites and millipeds.

3. Secondary consumers: These include herbivore consuming animals like fox,

jackal, snakes, frogs, lizards, birds etc.
Tertiary consumers: Hawks and some insects feed on the secondary
consumers.

4. Decomposers: Fungi and bacteria were active in the decay of dead organic
matter of different forms of higher life and bring about the minerals back to the
soil, thus making them available to the producers

Types of grasslands in India

Grasslands form a variety of ecosystems that are located in different climatic conditions
ranging from near-desert conditions, to patches of shola grass lands that occur on hill-
slopes alongside the extremely moist evergreen forest in south India.

Use of grasslands:

 These are the grazing areas of many rural communities. Domestic animals like
cattle, goats, sheep etc. are grazed in the common land of the village.
 Fodder is collected and stored to feed cattle when there is no grass left for them
to graze in summer.
 Grass is also used to thatch houses and farm-sheds.
 The thorny bushes and branches of the few trees in grasslands are used as a
major source of fuel wood.
Threats to the grassland ecosystem

The grassland cover in the country is 3.7% of the total land. Over utilization or
overgrazing has lead to degradation. Most grassland ecosystems are highly modified by
human activities. Changing the grasslands to other forms of land use such as
agriculture, tree plantations and industrialization poses a serious threat to this system.
When fires are lit in the grasslands in summer too frequently, the grasslands begin to
deteriorate

Desert ecosystem

It occupies 17% of the land, occurring in the regions with an annual rainfall of less
than 25 cms. The deserts and semi-arid areas are mainly located in Western India and
the Deccan Plateau. Eg: Thar desert in Rajasthan. The climate in these tracts is
extremely dry. Thar has sand dunes; and covered with sparse grasses and a few
shrubs, which grow if it rains. In most areas of the Thar, the rainfall is scanty and
sporadic. In the adjoining semi-arid tract, the vegetation consists of a few shrubs and
thorny trees such as Kher and Babul.

The Great and Little Rann of Kutch are extraordinarily specialized arid ecosystems. In
the summers, they are similar to a desert landscape. As these are low-lying areas near
the sea, they get converted to salt marshes during the monsoons. During this period,
they attract an enormous number of aquatic birds such as ducks, geese, cranes etc.
The Great Rann is famous for Flamingos and Little Rann is famous for Wild Ass in
India

Biotic components are

 Producers: These are shrubs, especially bushes, some grasses and a few trees.
Sometimes a few succulents like cacti and xerophytic mosses are also present.
 Consumers: The ship of desert, camels are herbivores feed on tender shoots of
the plants. Reptiles, wolf, desert cat, desert fox and insects are secondary
consumers. Vultures are the tertiary consumers.
 Decomposers: These are (fungi and bacteria) very few, due to poor vegetation
and the amount of dead organic matter are less
Aquatic Ecosystems

The aquatic ecosystems comprise of the marine environments of the seas and the
freshwater systems in lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands. In aquatic ecosystems, plants
and animals live in water. The special abiotic features are its physical aspects such as
the quality of water which includes its clarity, salinity, oxygen content and rate of flow.
Aquatic ecosystems may be classified as stagnant ecosystems or running water
ecosystems. The aquatic ecosystems are also classified into freshwater, brackish and
marine ecosystems, which are based on the salinity levels
Freshwater ecosystems

Freshwater ecosystems are of two types

1. Lentic ecosystem: The ecosystems which have running water are streams and
rivers known as lotic ecosystem.
2. Lotic ecosystem: Ponds, tanks and lakes are ecosystems where water does not
flow which are known as lentic ecosystems.
Wetlands are special ecosystems in which the water level fluctuates dramatically in
different seasons. They have expanses of shallow water with aquatic vegetation, which
forms an ideal habitat for fish, crustaceans and water birds.
Marine ecosystems are highly saline, while brackish areas have less saline water such
as in river deltas.
Coral reefs are very rich in species and are found in only a few shallow tropical seas. A
coral reef is a type of biotic reef which develops in tropical waters. The richest coral
reefs in India are around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in the Gulf of Kutch

Pond ecosystem(Lentic)

It is a fresh water ecosystem. It exhibits a self sufficient and self-regulating system. In

this system producers are small organisms, hence their biomass is least, thus pyramid
is inverted in shape

 Abiotic component: The chief substances are heat, light pH value of water and
the basic inorganic and organic compounds such as water, CO2, O2, Ca, N,
phosphates, aminoacids, humic acid etc.

 Biotic component:
1. Producers: These are autotrophic, green plants and some photosynthetic
bacteria. The producers fix radiant energy and with the help of minerals derived
from water and mud, they manufacture complex organic substances as
carbohydrates, proteins, lipids etc. Producers are of the following types:

1. Macrophytes: They are mainly large rooted plants which include partly
or completely submerged, floating and emergent hydrophytes.
2. Phytoplankton: These are minute, floating or suspended lower plants

1. Consumers

1. Primary consumers: These are herbivores feeding directly on living

plants. They are of two types:
Benthos: These are the animals associated with living plants and bottom
forms which feed upon the plant remains lying at the bottom of pond. Eg:
Fish, insect larvae, mites, mollusks, crustaceans etc. Besides these, some
 mammals as cows, buffaloes etc., and some birds, visit the pond casually
and feed on marginal < rooted macrophytes.
Zooplankton: They feed chiefly on phytoplankton.
2. Secondary consumers: These are chiefly insects and fish, which feed
on zooplankton.
3. Tertiary consumers: Some large fish like game fish and kingfishers feed
on the smaller fish.

2. Decomposers: They are also known as micro consumers, since they absorb only
a fraction of the decomposed organic matter. Eg; bacteria, fungi and
actinomycetes
Lake ecosystem

It functions like a giant permanent pond. A large amount of its plant material is the
algae, which derives energy from the sun. Microscopic animals feed on the algae. The
small animals such as snails are eaten by small carnivorous fish, which in turn are
preyed upon by larger carnivorous fish. Catfish feed on the detritus on the muddy bed
of the lake and are called bottom feeders

Stream and river ecosystems (lotic)

In these ecosystems, all the living forms are specially adapted to different rates of
flow. Snails and other burrowing animals, can withstand the rapid flow of the hill-
streams. Water beetles and skaters, can live only in slower moving water. Some
species of fish go upstream from rivers to hill-streams for breeding. The various
components of a riverine and stream ecosystems can be arranged as follows

Producers: The chief producers are green algae.

Consumers: The consumers show certain features as permanent attachment to firm substrate,
presence of hooks and suckers, sticky undersurfaces, streamlined bodies, and flattened bodies. A
variety of animals are found, which are freshwater sponges and caddis-fly larvae, snails and
flatworms, fish and stonefly

Decomposers: Various bacteria and fungi like actinomycetes are present which acts as
decomposers

Marine ecosystem

In coastal area, sea is shallow, while further away, it is deep. Producers vary from
microscopic algae to large seaweeds. There are zooplankton and a variety of
invertebrates which fish, turtles and marine mammals. Marine ecosystem is used by
coastal fisher folk for fishing as their livelihood. Coral reefs are very rich in species and
are found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in the Gulf of Kutch. Brackish water
ecosystems in river deltas are covered by mangrove forests and are among the world’s
most productive ecosystems. The largest mangrove swamps are in the Sunderbans in
the delta of the Ganges River

Estuarine ecosystem

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water which has a free connection with
the open sea, thus strongly affected by tidal action and within which sea water is
mixed with freshwater form land drainage. The various trophic components are:

 Producers: There are three types of producers, the macrophytes (sea-weeds, sea
grass and marsh grasses), benthic microphytes and phytoplankton.
 Consumers: A number of zooplankton, crabs, crustaceans and some native
species of fishes capable of surviving in estuarine conditions form primary,
secondary and tertiary consumers of the estuarine ecosystem.
 Decomposers: include bacteria and fungi

Seashore ecosystems

Beaches can be sandy, rocky, shell-covered or muddy. There are several specific
species occupied separate niches in these different habitats. Crustaceans such as crabs
make holes in the sand. Various shore birds feed on their prey by probing into the
sand or mud on the seashore. Several different species of fish are caught by fishermen

Uses of aquatic ecosystems

It provides clean water to drink and for other domestic uses. It also provides water for
agriculture. Fisher folk use the aquatic ecosystems to earn a livelihood. People catch
fish and crabs; they also collect edible plants. These are used locally as food or for sale
in the market. Marshes and wetlands are of great economic importance for people
who live on their fish, crustaceans, reeds, grasses and other produce. Agriculture and
industry are highly dependent on large quantities of water. Dams are built across
rivers to generate electricity.

Threats to aquatic ecosystem

Water pollution occurs from sewage and poorly managed solid waste in urban areas.
Sewage leads to Eutrophication which destroys life in the water as the oxygen content
is severely reduced. Fish and crustaceans can’t breathe and are killed; a foul odour is
produced; natural flora and fauna is destroyed. In rural areas, excessive use of
fertilizers causes an increase in nutrients – leads to eutrophication. Pesticides used in
adjacent fields, chemical pollution from industry kills a large number of life-forms in
aquatic eco-systems.