A unit composed of biotic components (i.e.

producers, consumers and decomposers)

and abiotic components (i.e. light, heat, rain, and humidity, inorganic and organic substances) is
called an ecosystem.

The source of energy for all ecosystems is the Sun.

Green plants absorb most of the energy falling on them and by the process of photosynthesis they
produce food for the consumers. Plants, being primary producers are of great importance in the
ecosystem. They also maintain the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide on earth.

Producers like plants and some bacteria are capable of producing its own food using the energy of
sun but consumers are not capable of producing their own food. They depend on producers for food.

The role of a decomposer is to break down dead organisms and then feed on them. The nutrients
created by the dead organisms are returned to the soil to be later used by the producers. Once
these deceased organisms are returned to the soil, they are used as food by bacteria and fungi by
transforming the complex organic materials into simpler nutrients. The simpler products can then be
used by producers to restart the cycle. These decomposers play an important role in every
ecosystem.

A food chain shows the feeding relationship between different living things in a particular
environment or habitat. Often, a plant will begin a food chain because it can make its own food using
energy from the Sun. In addition, a food chain represents a series of events in which food and
energy are transferred from one organism in an ecosystem to another. Food chains show how
energy is passed from the sun to producers, from producers to consumers, and from consumers to
decomposers.
Ecosystems maintain themselves by cycling energy and nutrients obtained from external sources. At
the first trophic level, primary producers (plants, algae, and some bacteria) use solar energy to
produce organic plant material through photosynthesis. Herbivores-animals that feed solely on
plants-make up the second trophic level. Predators that eat herbivores comprise the third trophic
level; if larger predators are present, they represent still higher trophic levels. Decomposers, which
include bacteria, fungi etc. break down wastes and dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil.
On average about 10 percent of net energy production at one trophic level is passed on to the next
level. Processes that reduce the energy transferred between trophic levels include respiration,
growth and reproduction, defecation, and non-predatory death.
The low rate of energy transfer between trophic levels makes decomposers generally more
important than producers in terms of energy flow. Decomposers process large amounts of organic
material and return nutrients to the ecosystem in inorganic forms, which are then taken up again by
primary producers.

The laws of thermodynamics govern the energy flow in the ecosystem.

According to the first law of thermodynamic, the energy can be transformed from one form to the
other form, but it can neither be created nor destroyed.
According to the second law of thermodynamics, when energy is put to work, a part of it is always
converted in un-useful form such as heat mainly due to friction and radiation.

The energy flow in ecosystem is linear i.e., it moves in a fixed direction. The solar energy is
absorbed by plants and a part of it is converted into food. These plants (or primary producers) are
then eaten by the primary consumers, which are consumed by secondary consumers and the
secondary by tertiary consumers. This cycle is unidirectional. The dead and decomposed are fed by
decomposers, which return the nutrients to the soil. At the end, the energy reaches the degraded
state. It does not return to the sun to make the process cyclic, thus energy flow is linear.
Plants absorb mineral elements from the soil and the atmosphere from where they are transferred to
different organisms. On decomposition of dead bodies of plants and animals by decomposers, they
are again released into the nutrient food. On re-absorption by plants, these elements again enter into
circulation. Thus a nutrient cycle is formed.

Energy flow in nature is linear i.e., it moves along a fixed direction but nutrient flow in nature is cyclic.
All the nutrients are absorbed by the plants from the soil and returned to the soil by the
decomposers.
Photosynthesis

Sun

Producers

Consumer

Every such matter (or substance) which is useful and significant for us is called a resource. The
resources are essential for our survival and flourishing.

The resources provided to us by earth or nature like air, water, soil, minerals, forests, fuels etc. are
called natural resources.

Classification of resources on the basis of utility and availability:

(i) Renewable resources: Examples-plants and animals.
(ii) Non- Renewable resources: Examples-coal and soil.

The resources that can be renewed along with their utilization are called renewable resources and
the resources that cannot be renewed or re-established practically, are called non-renewable
resources.

Conservation of resources means such a management of natural resources for all living beings by
which not only the needs of present generation are fulfilled, but also there may remain all possibility
of nurturing the future generations.
Four main natural resources are: water, wind, geo-thermal energy and solar energy.

Necessity for conservation of natural resources:

1. It aims at sustainable benefit to the present generation.
2. It maintains a potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations.
3. Proper, judicious and planned use of natural resources may sustain the environment.
4. Proper exploitation and conservation of renewable resources create fewer problems.
5. Over-exploitation causes damage of the existing environment.

Soil conservation can be done in following ways:

1. The erosion of soil by agents like wind, water etc. (which reduces its fertility) must be prevented.
This can be done by terrace farming, contour farming, planting more trees on open lands.
2. The land should be managed such that it can provide protection from the soil deterioration caused
by natural or human stimulating factors.
3. Practice no till farming: With no till farming, crops are allowed to remain rather than being plowed
under at the end of the season. This practice keeps soils anchored in place rather than having bare
ground exposed to wind and water.
4. Crop rotation: It helps to manage soil fertility and to help avoid or reduce problems with soil borne
diseases and some soil-dwelling insects, such as corn rootworms.

5. Restore wetlands: Wetlands are one of the most effective ways to prevent soil erosion. Wetlands
act as natural sponges, absorbing rainwater and preventing it from carrying the soil away.

Water Conservation: Water is a widely used natural resource. With increasing population and
industrialization, its demand and consumption is increasing day by day. Thus, conservation of water
is necessary. To conserve water, check dams, tanks etc. should be built to conserve rainwater. The
hillsides must be terraced to reduce the downward flow of rainwater. To collect the run-off water,
field bunds and contour trenches must be built. In human activities, much water should not be
wasted; water should be recycled and reused. Only judicious and thoughtful use of water can help
us to conserve water.
Mineral resources and their conservation: Minerals are natural resources found inside our earth.
These minerals fulfill our demands of energy. The quantity of the minerals is limited and their
distribution is not uniform, thus they are non-renewable resources, hence their conservation is must.
The conservations of minerals means that they are so consumed that it may cause less load on
mining and their reserves may last long. To conserve minerals, objects should be recycled and
reused repeatedly. The more available minerals should be used in place of less available minerals.

Conventional sources of energy are minerals, fossil fuels, soil.

Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead
organisms over years. Three main forms of fossil fuels are coal, petroleum and natural gas.

Renewable alternate sources of energy are solar energy, hydroelectric energy, wind energy, tidal
energy and geo-thermal energy.

The consumption of non-renewable resources of energy is increasing at a fast rate causing harmful
environmental effect. With technological progress, this demand for energy is increasing day by day.
Thus, it has become essential to find alternative energy sources.

The sun is an inexhaustible and pollution free source of energy. Hence, more efforts should be made
to put solar energy to practical use. For this, various solar equipments like solar cells, solar panels
and solar power plants can be directly used to convert sun's heat to electricity. Similarly, solar
cookers, solar heaters and solar turbines use sun's heat to boil water, to cook food and to run
machines. The domestic use of solar devices is, however, limited due to its high cost.

Biomass is fuel that is developed from organic materials (plants and animals), a renewable and
sustainable source of energy used to create electricity or other forms of power. The energy obtained
from biomass fuel is called biomass energy. Biomass energy is of three types - solid, liquid and gas.
The solid biomass (wood, animal dung) produces heat energy on being burnt.
The liquid biomass (methanol, ethanol) is used as source of energy in automobiles.
The gas biomass (biogas) is used to cook food and to produce light and electricity.
Energy Conservation is of great importance to all of us, since we rely on energy for everything we
do. Energy supplies are limited and, to maintain a good quality of life, we must find ways to use
energy wisely. Thoughtless use of energy has resulted in a depletion of available natural resources
of energy and their consumption at a fast rate has caused serious environmental effect like global
warming.
Two ways to save energy:
(i) Instead of fossil fuels, other renewable sources of energy such as the biogas prepared from
animal dung should be used.
(ii) The use of hydroelectric energy, wind energy etc. should be given priority.

Two main disadvantages of building large dams for generating hydro-electricity:

(i) Disturbance of the natural ecosystem in the surrounding forest area: For the construction of dam,
it requires large area of forest. Larger the land acquired for dam, more is the disturbance to the
natural ecosystem in the surrounding forest areas.
(ii) Displacement of the people on a large scale: For construction of a dam, people living in area
surrounding the reservoirs have to be displaced. People have strong emotional attachment to the
lands occupied by them and hence it is not easy to convince them to leave their shelters. This also
creates large-scale opposition and revolt against the construction of dam.

Three ways to use energy efficiently:

(i) The use of compact fluorescent lights (CFL) saves 67% energy and may last 6 to 10 times longer
than the incandescent lamps.
(ii) The use of advanced boilers and furnaces in industry can save sufficient amount of energy in
attaining high temperatures while burning less fuel. Such technologies are more efficient and less
polluting.
(iii) The fuel efficiency in the vehicles can be increased by reducing the weight of the vehicle, using
the advanced tyres and computer controlled engines.

Tree

Coal
Requirement to the society

Coal, petroleum and natural gas