UNIT – 2

CONCEPT OF AN ECOSYSTEM DEFINITION

Natural ecosystems include the forests, grasslands, deserts, and aquatic ecosystems such
as ponds, rivers, lakes, and the sea.
Man modified ecosystems include agricultural land and urban or industrial land
use patterns.
ECOLOGY:
Ernst Haeckel (1866) defined ecology “as the body of knowledge concerning
the economy of nature-the investigation of the total relations of animal to its inorganic
and organic environment.
Frederick Clements (1916) considered ecology to be “the science of community.
Taylor (1936) defines ecology as “the science of the relations of all organisms to all
their environments.”
ECO-SYSTEM:
The terms ecosystems is most preferred, where ‘eco’ implies the environment, and
‘system’ implies an interacting, inter-dependent complex.
The living community of plants and animals in any area together with the non-living
components of the environment such as soil, air and water, constitute the ecosystem.
Ecosystems are however frequently disrupted by human actions which lead to
the extinction of species of plants and animals that can live only in the different
natural ecosystems.
Some species if eliminated seriously affect the ecosystem.
Every region of our earth has different ecosystems based on its climatic conditions and
geographical feature.
There are terrestrial ecosystems on land and aquatic ecosystems in water.
Most traditional societies used their environment sustainably.
Though inequality in resource utilization has existed in every society, the number of
individuals that used a large proportion of resources was extremely limited.
In recent times the proportion of ‘rich’ people in affluent societies, grew rapidly.
Inequality thus became a serious problem.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF AN ECOSYSTEM
STRUCTURAL ASPECT:
The structural aspects of ecosystem include a description of the arrangement, types
and numbers of species and their life histories, along with a description of the
physical features of the environment.
Components that make up the structural aspects of an ecosystem include:
Inorganic aspects – C, N, CO2, H2O.
Organic compounds – Protein, Carbohydrates, Lipids – link abiotic to biotic aspects.
Climatic regimes – Temperature, Moisture, Light & Topography.
Producers – Plants.
Macro consumers – Phagotrophs – Large animals.
Micro consumers – Saprotrophs, absorbers – fungi.
FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS:
The functional aspects of the ecosystem include the flow of energy and the cycling of
nutrients.
MAJOR FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS :
Energy cycles.
Food chains.
Diversity interlinkages between organisms.
Nutrient cycles-biogeochemical cycles.
Evolution.
Since each ecosystem has a non-living and a living part that are linked to each other,
one needs to look around us and observe this closely.
This is an important aspect that is a vital part of our lives.
The non-living components of an ecosystem are the amount of water, the various
inorganic substances and organic compounds, and climatic conditions such as rainfall
and temperature, which depend on geographical conditions and location which is also
related to the amount of sunlight.
The living organisms in an ecosystem are inseparable from their habitat.
The living component of plant life ranges from extremely small bacteria, which live in air,
water and soil, algae which live in fresh and salt water, to the terrestrial plants
which range from grasses and herbs that grow after the monsoon every year, to the
giant long-lived trees of the forest.
The plants convert energy from sunlight into organic matter for their growth.
They thus function as producers in the ecosystem.
The living component of the animal world ranges from microscopic animals, to small
insects and the larger animals such as fish, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Man is just one of the 1.8 million species of plants and animals that inhabit the earth.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ECO-SYSTEM:
The ecosystem is a major structural and functional unit of ecology.
The structure of an eco-system is related to its species diversity; as such the
more complex ecosystem has high species diversity.
The relative amount of energy required to maintain an ecosystem depends on its
structure.
The more complex the structure, the lesser the energy it requires to maintain itself.
 PRODUCERS, CONSUMERS AND
DECOMPOSERS
Every living organism is in some way dependent on other organisms.
Plants are food for herbivorous animals which are in turn food for carnivorous animals.
Thus there are different tropic levels in the ecosystem.
Some organisms such as fungi live only on dead material and inorganic matter.
Plants are the ‘producers’ in the ecosystem as they manufacture their food by using
energy from the sun.
In the forest these form communities of plant life.
The component is constituted mainly by green plants, including photosynthetic bacteria.
Members of the autotrophic component are known as eco-system producers
because they capture energy from non-organic sources, especially light, and store
some of the energy in the form of chemical bonds, for the later use.
Herbivores are also known as primary consumers.
Secondary and tertiary consumers, if preset, are carnivores of omnivores.
They all Phagotrophs that include mainly animals that ingest other organic and
particulate organic matter.
The herbivorous animals are primary consumers as they live on the producers.
In a forest, these are the insects, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals.
The herbivorous animals include for example hare, deer and elephants that live on
plant life.
They graze on grass or feed on the foliage from trees.
In grasslands, there are herbivores such as the blackbuck that feed on grass.
In the semiarid areas, there are species such as the chinkara or Indian gazelle.
At a higher tropic level, there are carnivorous animals, or secondary consumers,
which live on herbivorous animals.
In our forests, the carnivorous animals are tigers, leopards, jackals, foxes and small wild
cats.
In the sea, carnivorous fish live on other fish and marine animals.
Animals that live in the sea range in size from microscopic forms to giant mammals such
as the whale.
Decomposers or detrivores 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 thus is a vital function in nature, as without this, all the nutrients would
be tied up in dead matter and no new life could be produced.
Most ecosystems are highly complex and consist of an extremely large number of
individuals of a wide variety of species.
In the species-rich tropical ecosystems (such as in our country), only a few species are
very common, while most species have relatively few individuals.
Some species of plants and animals are extremely rare and may occur only at a
few locations.
ENERGY FLOW IN THE ECOSYSTEM
Every ecosystem has several interrelated mechanisms that affect human life.
These are the water cycle, the carbon cycle, the oxygen cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the
energy cycle.
While every ecosystem is controlled by these cycles, in each ecosystem its abiotic and
biotic features are distinct from each other.
THE WATER CYCLE:
When it rains, the water runs along the ground and flows into rivers or falls directly
into the sea.
A part of the rainwater that falls on land percolates into the ground.
This is stored underground throughout the rest of the year.
Water is drawn up from the ground by plants along with the nutrients from the soil.
The water is transpired from the leaves as water vapour and returned to the atmosphere.
As it is lighter than air, water vapour rises and forms clouds.
Winds blow the clouds for long distances and when the clouds rise higher, the
vapour condenses and changes into droplets, which fall on the land as rain.
Though this is an endless cycle on which life depends, man’s activities are making
drastic changes in the atmosphere through pollution which is altering rainfall patterns.
THE CARBON CYCLE:
The carbon, which occurs in organic compounds, is included in both the abiotic and
biotic parts of the ecosystem.
Carbon is a building block of both plant and animal tissues.
In the atmosphere, carbon occurs as carbon dioxide (CO2).
In the presence of sunlight, plants take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through
their leaves.
The plants combine carbon dioxide with water, which is absorbed by their roots from
the soil.
In the presence of sunlight they are able to form carbohydrates that contain carbon.
This process is known as photosynthesis.
Plants use this complex mechanism for their growth and development.
In this process, plants release oxygen into the atmosphere on which animals depend
for their respiration.
Plants therefore help in regulating and monitoring the percentage of Oxygen and Carbon
dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere.
All of mankind thus depends on the oxygen generated through this cycle.
It also keeps the CO2 at acceptable levels.
THE OXYEGEN CYCLE:
Oxygen is taken up by plants and animals from the air during respiration.
The plants return oxygen to the atmosphere during photosynthesis.
This links the Oxygen Cycle to the Carbon Cycle.
Deforestation is likely to gradually reduce the oxygen levels in our atmosphere.
Thus plant life plays an important role in our lives which we frequently do not appreciate.
This is an important reason to participate in a forestation programs.
THE NITROGEN CYCLE:
Carnivorous animals feed on herbivorous animals that live on plants.
When animals defecate, this waste material is broken down by worms and insects
mostly beetles and ants.
These small ‘soil animals’ break the waste material into smaller bits on which
microscopic bacteria and fungi can act.
This material is thus broken down further into nutrients that plants can absorb and
use for their growth.
Thus nutrients are recycled back from animals to plants.
Similarly the bodies of dead animals are also broken down into nutrients that are used
by the plants for their growth.
Thus the nitrogen cycle on which life is dependent is completed.
THE ENERGY CYCLE:
The energy cycle is based on the flow of energy through the ecosystem.
Energy from sunlight is converted by plants themselves into growing new plant material
which includes leaves, flowers, fruit, branches, trunks and roots of plants.
Since plants can grow by converting the sun’s energy directly into their tissues, they
are known as producers in the ecosystem.
The plants are used by herbivorous animals as food, which gives them energy.
A large part of this energy is used up for day to day functions of these animals such
as breathing, digesting food, supporting growth of tissues, maintaining blood flow
and body temperature.
Energy is also used for activities such as looking for food, finding shelter, breeding and
bringing up young ones.
The carnivores in turn depend on herbivorous animals on which they feed.
Thus the different plant and animal species are linked to one another through food
chains.
Each food chain has three or four links.
However as each plant or animal can be linked to several other plants or animals
through many different linkages, these inter-linked chains can be depicted as a
complex food web.
This is thus called the ‘web of life’ that shows that there are thousands of
interrelationships in nature.
The energy in the ecosystem can be depicted in the form of a food pyramid or energy
pyramid.
The food pyramid has a large base of plants called ‘producers’.
The pyramid has a narrower middle section that depicts the number and biomass of
herbivorous animals, which are called ‘first order consumers’.
The apex depicts the small biomass of carnivorous animals called ‘second
order consumers’.
Thus to support mankind, there must be a large base of herbivorous animals and an even
greater quantity of plant material.
When plants and animals die, this material is returned to the soil after being
broken down into simpler substances by decomposers such as insects, worms, bacteria
and fungi so that plants can absorb the nutrients through their roots.

INTEGRATION OF CYCLES IN NATURE:

These cycles are a part of global life processes.
These bio geochemical cycles have specific features in each of the ecosystems.
These cycles are however linked to those of adjacent ecosystems.
Their characteristics are specific to the plant and animal communities in the region.
This is related to the geographical features of the area, the climate and the chemical
composition of the soil.
Together the cycles are responsible for maintaining life on earth.
 ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
Ecological succession is defined as an orderly process of changes in the community
structure and function with time mediated through modifications in the
physical environment and ultimately culminating in a stabilized ecosystem known as
climax.
Ecological succession is a process through which ecosystems tend to change over a period
of time.
Succession can be related to seasonal environmental changes, which create changes in
the community of plants and animals living in the ecosystem.
Other successional events may take much longer periods of time extending to several
decades.
If a forest is cleared, it is initially colonized by a certain group of species of plants and
animals, which gradually change through an orderly process of community development.
Developmental stages in the ecosystem thus consist of a pioneer stage, a series of
changes known as serel stages, and finally a climax stage.
The successive stages are related to the way in which energy flows through the biological
system.
Ecological successions starting on different types of areas or substrata are named
differently as follows:
Hydrarch or Hydrosere: Starting in watery area like pond, swamp, bog.
Mesarch: starting in an area of adequate moisture.
Xerarch or Xerosere: Starting in a dry area with little moisture.
They can be of the following types:
Lithosere : starting on a bare rock.
Psammosere : starting on sand.
Halosere : starting on saline soil.
PROCESS OF SUCCESSION:
The process of succession takes place in a systematic order of sequential steps as follows:
NUDATION: It is the development of a bare area without any life form.
The bare area may be caused due to landslides, volcanic eruption etc. (topographic
factor), or due to drought, glaciers, frost etc.
INVASION: It is the successful establishment of one or more species on a bare area
through dispersal or migration, followed by ecesis or establishment.
Dispersal of the seeds, spores etc. is brought about by wind, water, insects or birds.
COMPETITION & COACTION: As the number of individuals grows there
is competition, both inter-specific (between different species) and intra-specific
(within the same species), for space, water and nutrition.
They influence each other in a number of ways, known as coaction.
REACTION: The living organisms grow, use water and nutrients from the substratum,
and in turn, they have a strong influence on the environment which is modified to a
large extent and this is known as reaction.
STABILIZATION: The succession ultimately culminates in a more or less stable
community called climax which is in equilibrium with the environment.
Let us consider very briefly two types of succession.
HYDROSERE (Hydrarch): This type of succession starts in a water body like pond.
A number of intermediate stages come and ultimately it culminates in a climax
community which is a forest.
XEROSERE (Xerarch): This type of succession originates on a bare rock, which lacks
water and organic matter. Interestingly, here also the climax community is a forest,
although the intermediate stages are very different.
SOME IMPORTANT TERMS:
FOOD CHAINS:
The sequence of eating and being eaten in an ecosystem is called Food Chain.
All organisms, living or dead, are potential food for some other organism and thus, there
is no essentially no waste in a functioning of a natural ecosystem.
Example: Grass---Grasshopper---Frog---Snake---hawk.
TYPES OF FOOD CHAIN:
GRAZING FOOD CHAIN:
It starts with green plants and culminates in carnivores.
DETRITUS FOOD CHAIN:
It starts with dead organic matter which the detritivores and decomposers consume.
Partially decomposed dead organic matter and even the decomposers are consumed
by detritivores and their predators.
FOOD WEB:
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 bio-
degradable in nature.
Such chemicals are not decomposed by microorganisms and they keep on passing from
one tropical level to another.
ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS:
The Graphical representation of tropical structure and function of an ecosystem,
staring with producers at the base and successive tropical levels forming the apex is
known as Ecological Pyramid.
TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS:
PYRAMID OF BIOMASS:
It is based upon the total biomass 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.
PYRAMID OF ENERGY:
The amount of energy present at each trophic level is considered for this type of pyramid.
Pyramid of energy gives the best representation of the trophic relationships and it is
always upright.
PYRAMID OF NUMBER:
It represents the number of individuals organisms at each tropical level.
PRIMARY PRODUCTION:
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.
SECONDARY PRODUCTION:
The energy stored at consumer level for use by the next trophic level is thus defined as
secondary production.
MAJOR ECOSYSTEM TYPES:
FOREST ECOSYSTEM:
These are the ecosystems having a predominance of trees that are interspersed
with a large number of species of herbs, shrubs, climbers, lichens, algae and a
variety of wild animals and birds. wide
TPYES OF FOREST:
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST:
They are evergreen broadleaf forests found near the equator.
They are characterized by high temperature, high humidity and high rainfall, all of
which favour the growth of trees.
TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FOREST:
They are found a little away from the equator and are characterized by a warm climate
the year round.
Rain occurs only during monsoon.
TROPICAL SCRUB FOREST:
They are found in areas where the dry season is even longer.
Here there are small deciduous trees and shrubs.
TEMPERATURE RAIN FOREST:
They are found in temperate areas with adequate rainfall.
These are dominated by coniferous trees like pines, firs, redwoods etc.
They also consist of some evergreen broadleaf trees.
TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST :
They are found in areas with moderate temperatures.
There is a marked seasonality with long summers, cold but not too severe winter and
abundant rainfall throughout the year.
GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS:
Grasslands are dominated by grass species but sometimes also allow the growth of a few
trees and shrubs.
Rainfall is average but erratic.
Limited grazing helps to improve the net primary production of the grasslands but
overgrazing leads to degradation of these grasslands resulting in desertification.
Three types of grasslands are found to occur in different climatic regions:
TROPICAL GRASSLAND:
They occur near the borders of tropical rain forests in regions of high average
temperature and low to moderate rainfall.
In Africa, these are typically known as Savannas, which have tall grasses with scattered
shrubs and stunted trees.
The Savannas have a wide diversity of animals including zebras, giraffes, gazelle,
antelopes etc.
During dry season, fires are quite common.
TEMPERATE GRASSLAND:
They are usually found on flat, gentle sloped hills, winters are very cold but summers
are hot and dry.
Intense grazing and summer fires do not allow shrubs or trees to grow.

POLAR GRASSLAND:
They are found in arctic polar region where severe cold and strong, frigid winds along
with ice and snow create too harsh a climate for trees to grow.
In summers the sun-shines almost round the clock and hence several small annual
plants grow in the summer.
DESERT ECOSYSTEMS:
These ecosystems occur in regions where evaporation exceeds precipitation (rainfall,
snow etc.).
Deserts have little species diversity and consist of drought resistant or drought avoiding
plants.
The atmosphere is very dry and hence it is a poor insulator.
That is why in deserts the soil gets cooled up quickly, making the nights cool.
TYPES OF DESERT ECOSYSTEM:
TROPICAL DESERT:
Tropical deserts like Sahara and Namib in Africa and Thar desert, Rajasthan, India
are the driest of all with only a few species.
Wind blown sand dunes are very common.
TEMPERATE DESERT:
Temperate deserts like Mojave in Southern California where day time temperatures are
very hot in summer but cool in winters.
COLD DESERT:
Cold deserts like the Gobi desert in China has cold winters and warm summers.

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS:
Aquatic ecosystems dealing with water bodies and the biotic communities present
in them are either freshwater or marine.
Freshwater ecosystems are further of standing type (lentic) like ponds and lakes or free-
flowing type (lotic), like rivers.
In aquatic ecosystems, plants and animals live in water.
These species are adapted to live in different types of aquatic habitats.
The special abiotic features are its physical aspects such as the quality of the water,
which includes its clarity, salinity, oxygen content and rate of flow.
Aquatic ecosystems may be classified as being stagnant ecosystems, or running
water ecosystems.

TYPES:
POND ECOSYSTEM:
It is a small freshwater aquatic ecosystem where water is stagnant.
Ponds may be seasonal in nature i.e. receiving enough water during rainy season.
Ponds are usually shallow water bodies which play a very important role in the villages
where most of the activities center around ponds.
They contain several types of algae, aquatic plants, insects, fishes and birds.
LAKE ECOSYSTEM:
Lakes are usually big freshwater bodies with standing water.
They have a shallow water zone called Littoral zone, an open-water zone where
effective penetration of solar light takes place, called Limnetic zone and a deep bottom
area where light penetration is negligible, known as profundal zone.
OCEANS:
These are gigantic reservoirs of water covering more than 70% of our earth surface and
play a key role in the survival of about 2,50,000 marine species, serving as food
for humans and other organisms, give a huge variety of sea-products and drugs.
Oceans provide us iron, phosphorus, magnesium, oil, natural gas, sand and gravel.
STREAMS:
These are freshwater aquatic ecosystems where water current is a major controlling
factor, oxygen and nutrient in the water is more uniform and land-water exchange
is more extensive.
Although stream organisms have to face more extremes of temperature and action of
currents as compared to pond or lake organisms, but they do not have to face
oxygen deficiency under natural conditions.
 BOIDIVERSITY AND IT'S
CONVERSATION
Biodiversity refers to the variety and variability among all groups of living organisms and
the ecosystem complexes in which they occur.
In the Convention of Biological diversity biodiversity has been defined as the
variability among living organisms from all sources including inter alia, terrestrial,
marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a
part.

LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY:
GENETIC DIVERSITY:
It is the basic source of biodiversity.
The genes found in organisms can form enormous number of combinations each of
which gives rise to some variability.
Genes are the basic units of hereditary information transmitted from one generation
to other.
When the genes within the same species show different versions due to new
combinations, it is called genetic variability.
SPECIES DIVERSITY:
This is the variability found within the population of a species or between different
species of a community.
It represents broadly the species richness and their abundance in a community.
There are two popular indices of measuring species diversity known as Shannon-
Wiener index and Simpson index.

ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY:
This is the diversity of ecological complexity showing variations in ecological niches,
trophic structure, food-webs, nutrient cycling etc.
The ecosystems also show variations with respect to physical parameters like moisture,
temperature, altitude, precipitation etc.
Thus, there occurs tremendous diversity within the ecosystems, along these gradients.
BIOGEOGRAPHICAL CLASSIFICATION OF INDIA:
India has different types of climate and topography in different parts of the country and
these variations have induced enormous variability in flora and fauna.
India has a rich heritage of biological diversity and occupies the tenth position among
the plant rich nations of the world.
It is very important to study the distribution, evolution, dispersal and environmental
relationship of plants and animals in time and space.
Biogeography comprising of phytogeography and zoogeography deals with these aspects
of plants and animals.

VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY:
The value of biodiversity in terms of its commercial utility, ecological services, social and
aesthetic value is enormous.
We get benefits from other organisms in innumerable ways.
The multiple uses of biodiversity or biodiversity value has been classified as follows:
CONSUMPTIVE USE VALUE:
These are direct use values where the biodiversity product can be harvested and consumed
directly e.g. fuel, food, drugs, fibre etc.
PRODUCTIVE USE VALUE:
These are the commercially usable values where the product is marketed and sold.
It may include lumber or wild gene resources that can be traded for use by scientists for
introducing desirable traits in the crops and domesticated animals.
These may include the animal products like tusks of elephants, musk from musk deer, silk
from silk-worm, wool from sheep, fir of many animals, lac from lac insects etc, all of which are
traded in the market.
SOCIAL VALUE:
These are the values associated with the social life, customs, religion and psycho-spiritual
aspects of the people.
Many of the plants are considered holy and sacred in our country like Tulsi, Peepal, Mango,
Lotus, Bael etc.
The leaves, fruits or flowers of these plants are used in worship or the plant itself is
worshipped.
ETHICAL VALUE:
It is also sometimes known as existence value.
It involves ethical issues like .all life must be preserved.
It is based on the concept of Live and Let Live.
OPTIONAL VALUE:
These values include the potentials of biodiversity that are presently unknown and need
to be explored.
There is a possibility that we may have some potential cure for AIDS or cancer existing
within the depths of a marine ecosystem, or a tropical rainforest.
GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY:
Roughly 1.5 million species are known till date which is perhaps 15% or may be just 2% of
the actual number.
Tropical deforestation alone is reducing the biodiversity by half a percent every year.
Mapping the biodiversity has therefore, been rightly recognized as an emergency task in
order to plan its conservation and practical utilization in a judicious manner.
Terrestrial biodiversity of the earth is best described as biomes, which are the largest
ecological units present in different geographic areas and are named after the
dominant vegetation e.g. the tropical rainforests, tall grass prairies, savannas, desert,
tundra etc.
The tropical rainforests are inhabited by teeming millions of species of plants, birds,
amphibians, insects as well as mammals.
They are the earth’s largest storehouse of biodiversity.
Many of these species have developed over the time in highly specialized niches and that
makes them more vulnerable to extinction when their natural home or niche
is destroyed.
About 50 to 80% of global biodiversity lies in these rainforests.
More than one-fourth of the world’s prescription drugs are extracted from plants growing
in tropical forests.
Temperate forests have much less biodiversity, but there is much better documentation
of the species.
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AT NATIONAL LEVEL
Every country is characterized by its own biodiversity depending mainly on its climate.
India has a rich biological diversity of flora and fauna.
Overall six percent of the global species are found in India.
It is estimated that India ranks 10th among the plant rich countries of the world, 11th
in terms of number of endemic species of higher vertebrates and 6th among the centers
of diversity and origin of agricultural crops.
The total number of living species identified in our country is 150,000.
Out of a total of 25 biodiversity hot-spots in the world, India possesses two, one in the
north-east region and one in the western ghats.

REGIONAL OR LOCAL BIODIVERSITY:

Biodiversity at regional level is better understood by categorizing species richness into
four types, based upon their spatial distribution as discussed below:
Point richness refers to the number of species that can be found at a single point in a
given space.
Alpha richness refers to the number of species found in a small homogeneous area.
Beta richness refers to the rate of change in species composition across
different habitats.
Gamma richness refers to the rate of change across large landscape gradients.

NOTE:

Alpha richness is strongly correlated with physical environmental variables.

For example, there are 100 species of tunicates in arctic waters, 400 species in
temperate waters and 600 in tropical seas.
Thus, temperature seems to be the most important factor affecting a-richness of
tunicates.
Beta richness means that the cumulative number of species increases as more
heterogeneous habitats are taken into consideration.
 INDIA AS A MEGA-DIVERSITY NATION
India is one of the 12 mega diversity countries in the world.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India (2000) records 47,000 species
of plants and 81,000 species of animals which is about 7% and 6.5% respectively of
global flora and fauna.

ENDEMISM:
Species which are restricted only to a particular area are known as endemic.
India shows a good number of endemic species.
About 62% of amphibians and 50% of lizards are endemic to India.
Western ghats are the site of maximum endemism.
CENTER OF ORIGIN:
A large number of species are known to have originated in India.
Nearly 5000 species of flowering plants had their origin in India.
From agro-diversity point of view also our country is quite rich.
MARINE DIVERSITY:
Along 7500 km long coastline of our country in the mangroves, estuaries, coral reefs,
back waters etc.
There exists a rich biodiversity.
More than 340 species of corals of the world are found here.
The marine diversity is rich in mollusks, crustaceans (crabs etc.), polychaetes and corals.
Several species of Mangrove plants and seagrasses (Marine algae) are also found in
our country.
A large proportion of the Indian Biodiversity is still unexplored.
There are about 93 major wet lands, coral reefs and mangroves which need to be studied
in detail.
Indian forests cover 64.01 million hectares having a rich biodiversity of plants in the
Trans-Himalayan, north-west, west, central and eastern Himalayan forests,
western ghats, coasts, deserts, Gangetic plains, deccan plateau and the Andaman,
Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands.
Due to very diverse climatic conditions there is a complete rainbow spectrum of
biodiversity in our country.

HOT SPOTS OF BIODIVERSITY:

Areas which exhibit high species richness as well as high species endemism are termed
as hot spots of biodiversity.
There are 25 such hot spots of biodiversity on a global level out of which two are present
in India, namely the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats.
These hotspots covering less than 2% of the world’s land area are found to have about
50% of the terrestrial biodiversity.
About 40% of terrestrial plants and 25% of vertebrate species are endemic and found in
these hotspots.
The Indian hot spots are not only rich in floral wealth and endemic species of plants
but also reptiles, amphibians, swallow tailed butterflies and some mammals.
EASTERN HIMALAYAS:
They display an ultra-varied topography that fosters species diversity and endemism.
There are numerous deep and semi-isolated valleys in Sikkim which are extremely rich in
endemic plant species.
In an area of 7298 Km2 of Sikkim about 4250 plant species are found of which 60%
are endemic.
The forest cover of Eastern Himalayas has dwindled to about 1/3rd of its original cover.
Certain species like Sapria himalayana, a parasitic angiosperm was sighted only twice in
this region in the last 70 years.
WESTERN GHATS:
It extends along a 17,000 Km2 strip of forests in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala and has 40% of the total endemic plant species.
62% amphibians and 50% lizards are endemic to Western Ghats.
The major centers of diversity are Agastyamalai Hills and Silent Valley-the
New Amambalam Reserve Basin.
It is reported that only 6.8% of the original forests are existing today while the rest has
been deforested or degraded, which raises a serious cause of alarm, because it means
we have already lost a huge proportion of the biodiversity.
Some common plants include Ternstroemia japonica, Rhododendron and
Hypericum, while the common fauna includes laughing thrush, Fairy blue bird,
lizard hawk etc. indicating their common origin long back in the geological times.

 THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY:
Extinction or elimination of a species is a natural process of evolution.
In the geologic period the earth has experienced mass extinctions.

SOME MAJOR CAUSES:

LOSS OF HABITAT:
Destruction and loss of natural habitat is the single largest cause of biodiversity loss.
Billions of hectares of forests and grasslands have been cleared over the past 10,000 years
for conversion into agriculture lands, pastures, settlement areas or development projects.
These natural forests and grasslands were the natural homes of thousands of species
which perished due to loss of their natural habitat.
Sometimes the loss of habitat is in installments so that the habitat is divided into small
and scattered patches, a phenomenon known as habitat fragmentation.
There are many wild life species such as bears and large cats that require large territories
to subsist.
They get badly threatened as they breed only in the interiors of the forests.
Due to habitat fragmentation many song birds are vanishing.
With the current rate of loss of forest habitat, it is estimated that 20-25% of the global
flora would be lost within a few years.
Marine biodiversity is also under serious threat due to large scale destruction of
the fragile breeding and feeding grounds of our oceanic fish and other species, as a
result of human intervention.
POACHING:
Illegal trade of wildlife products by killing prohibited endangered animals i.e. poaching
is another threat to wildlife.
Despite international ban on trade in products from endangered species, smuggling of
wildlife items like furs, hides, horns, tusks, live specimens and herbal products
worth millions of dollars per year continues.
The developing nations in Asia, Latin America and Africa are the richest source of
biodiversity and have enormous wealth of wildlife.
The trading of such wild life products is highly profit making for the poachers who
just hunt these prohibited wild life and smuggle it to other countries mediated
through a mafia.
EXAMPLE:
The cost of elephant tusks can go up to $ 100 per kg; the leopard fur coat is sold at $
100,000 in Japan while bird catchers can fetch up to $ 10,000 for a rare hyacinth macaw,
a beautiful coloured bird, from Brazil.
MAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICTS:
sometimes we come across conflicting situations when wildlife starts causing
immense damage and danger to man and under such conditions it becomes very
difficult for the forest department to pacify the affected villagers and gain local
support for wild-life conservation.
Instances of man animal conflicts keep on coming to lime light from several states in
our country.
CAUSES:
Dwindling habitats of tigers, elephants, rhinos and bears due to shrinking forest
cover compels them to move outside the forest and attack the field or sometimes even
humans.
Usually the ill, weak and injured animals have a tendency to attack man.
Also, the female tigress attacks the human if she feels that her newborn cubs are in
danger.
The biggest problem is that if human-flesh is tasted once then the tiger does not eat any
other animal.
Very often the villagers put electric wiring around their ripe crop fields.
The elephants get injured, suffer in pain and turn violent.
The cash compensation paid by the government in lieu of the damage caused to the
farmers crop is not enough.
REMEDIAL MEASURES TO CURB CONFLICT:
Tiger Conservation Project (TCP) has made provisions for making available
vehicles, tranquillizer guns, binoculars and radio sets etc to tactfully deal with any
imminent danger.
Adequate crop compensation and cattle compensation scheme must be started, along
with substantial cash compensation for loss of human life.
Solar powered fencing should be provided along with electric current proof trenches
to prevent the animals from straying into fields.
Wild life corridors should be provided for mass migration of big animals during
unfavorable periods.
About 300 km2 area is required for elephant corridors for their seasonal migration.
 ENDANGERED SPECIES OF INDIA
In India, nearly 450 plant species have been identified in the categories of endangered,
threatened or rare.
Existence of about 150mammals and 150 species of birds is estimated to be threatened
while an unknown number of species of insects are endangered.
It may not be of direct relevance here to give a complete list of endangered flora and
fauna of our country.
A few species of endangered reptiles, birds, mammals and plants are given below:
Reptiles: Gharial, green sea turtle, tortoise, python.
Birds : Great Indian bustard, Peacock, Pelican, Great Indian Hornbill, Siberian
White Crane.
Carnivorous : Indian wolf, red fox, Sloth bear, red panda, Mammals tiger, leopard,
striped hyena, Indian lion, golden cat, desert cat etc.
Primates : Hoolock gibbon, lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Capped monkey,
golden Monkey.
Plants : A large number of species of orchids, Rhododendrons, medicinal plants like
Rauvolfia serpentina, the sandal wood tree Santalum, Cycas beddonei etc.
The Zoological Survey of India reported that Cheetah, Pink headed duck and mountain
quail have already become extinct from India.
A species is said to be extinct when it is not seen in the wild for 50 years at a stretch e.g.
Dodo, passenger pigeon.
A species is said to be endangered when its number has been reduced to a critical
level or whose habitats, have been drastically reduced and if such a species is not
protected and conserved, it is in immediate danger of extinction.
A species is said to be in vulnerable category if its population is facing continuous
decline due to overexploitation or habitat destruction.
Such a species is still abundant, but under a serious threat of becoming endangered if
causal factors are not checked.
Species which are not endangered or vulnerable at present, but are at a risk are
categorized as rare species.
These taxa are usually localized within restricted areas i.e. they are usually endemic.
Sometimes they are thinly scattered over a more extensive area.
 ENDEMIC SPECIES OF INDIA
India has two biodiversity hot spots and thus possesses a large number of endemic
species.
Out of about 47,000 species of plants in our country 7000 are endemic.
Thus, Indian subcontinent has about 62% endemic flora, restricted mainly to Himalayas,
Khasi Hills and Western Ghats.
Some of the important endemic flora include orchids and species like Sapria himalayana,
Uvaria lurida, Nepenthes khasiana, Pedicularis perroter etc.
Around 50% out of a total of 81,000 species of animals in our country are endemic.
The western ghats are particularly rich in amphibians (frogs, toads etc.) and reptiles
(lizards, crocodiles etc.).
About 62% amphibians and 50% lizards are endemic to Western Ghats.
Different species of monitor lizards (Varanus), reticulated python and
Indian Salamander and Viviparous toad Nectophhryne are some important endemic
species of our country.
Lion-Tailed Macaque (Western Ghats of South India)

Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiri Hills, Western Ghats in Western Tamil Nadu)

Nilgiri Blue Robin (Bird, Western Ghats)

Nilgai or Blue Bull (Indian Subcontinent)

Gooty Tarantula (Spider)- Andhra Pradesh. First spotted in 1899.

Cochin Cane Turtle

One-Horned Rhinoceros
CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY
The enormous value of biodiversity due to their genetic, commercial, medical, aesthetic,
ecological and optional importance emphasizes the need to conserve biodiversity.
A number of measures are now being taken the world over to conserve biodiversity
including plants and wildlife.
TYPES OF APPROACHES:
IN SITU CONSERVATION:
This is achieved by protection of wild flora and fauna in nature itself. e.g. Biosphere
Reserves, National Parks, Sanctuaries, Reserve Forests etc.
At present we have 7 major Biosphere reserves, 80 National Parks, 420 wild-life
sanctuaries and 120 Botanical gardens in our country covering 4% of the geographic area.
BIOSPHERE RESERVE:
Takes into consideration the entire ecosystem.
Size range over 5670 sq. km.
Boundaries marked by legislation.
Disturbance only limited to buffer zone.
Attention is paid.
NATIONAL PARK:
Associated to the habitat of wild animal species like rhino, tiger, lion etc.
Tourism allowed.
Scientific management is lacking.
The size range is 0.04-3162 sq.km.
No attention is paid to gene pool conservation.
SANCTUARY:
Limited disturbance.
Tourism allowed.
These are species oriented as pitcher plant, Great Indian Bustard.
Size range is 0.61-7818 sq. km.
Boundaries not sacrosanct.
No attention is paid to gene pool conservation.
EX SITU CONSERVATION:
It can he defined as the conservation of plants and animals away from their natural
habitats, which includes collection of samples of genetic diversity and their treatment in
the laboratory, where they are cultured.
The concept of ‘gene banks’ has primarily become the talk for ex-situ conservation as it
is important for conservation of agricultural crops and forestry based
afforestation programmes.
Genetic resource centres fall under this category and include botanical gardens, zoos etc.
INSTITUTIONS FOR “EX-SITU” CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY:
NBPGR: National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.
The set up was established in 1976 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) New Delhi for “Ex-Situ” conservation of plant genetic resources for agri
horticultural and agri silvicultural activities.
NBAGR: National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources.
It was established in the 1980’s in Kamal, Punjab: for preservation of germless of
improved varieties of cattle’s-cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep, camels and oxen and
their various breeds found in different parts of India.
ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF IN SITU:
ADVANTAGES:
Advantageous for long term protection.
Natural ecosystems spread in a large area provide a good opportunity for conservation as
well as evolution.
It is cheaper means to protect the species in natural habitat.
LIMITATIONS:
Proper protection against environmental pollution may not be enough in natural types of
ecosystem.
ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF EX SITU:
ADVANTAGES:
Advantageous for long term conservation.
Due to controlled supervision, assured food, better shelter and security the species can
survive longer and may breed more offsprings than usual.
Breeding of hybrid species is possible.
LIMITATIONS:
Not v iable option for protection of rare species due to human interference.
Can be adopted for only a few kinds of species.
Over protection may result in loss of naturality.
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 ROLE OF MEDIA IN SENSITISING MASSES TOWARDS ECOSYSTEM
Until fairly recently mankind acted as if he could go on forever exploiting the ecosystems
and natural resources such as soil, water, forests and grasslands on the Earth’s
surface and extracting minerals and fossil fuels from underground.
But, in the last few decades, it has become increasingly evident that the global ecosystem
has the capacity to sustain only a limited level of utilization.
Biological systems cannot go on replenishing resources if they is over-used or misused.
At a critical point, increasing pressure destabilizes their natural balance.
The two most damaging factors leading to the current rapid depletion of all forms
of natural resources are increasing ‘consumerism’ on the part of the affluent sections
of society, and rapid population growth.
 In nations such as ours, which are both developing rapidly, and suffering from a
population explosion, we must ask ourselves if we have perhaps reached a critical
flash point, at which economic ‘development’ affects the lives of people more
adversely than the benefits it provides.
 As a Media Personality, We have to create awareness among the people regarding
all concern issues through Reporting, debate, discussions etc.
 A love and respect for Nature is the greatest sentiment that helps bring about a
feeling for looking at how we use natural resources in a new and sensitive way.
 Think of the beauty of a wilderness, a natural forest in all its magnificence, the
expanse of a green grassland, the clean water of a lake that supports so much life,
the crystal clear water of a hill stream, or the magnificent power of the oceans, and
we cannot help but support the conservation of nature’s wealth.
 If we respect this we cannot commit acts that will deplete our life supporting
systems.