CHAPTER 2 STUDY PLAN

ECOSYSTEMS

2.1 INTRODUCTORY VIDEO ON ECOSYSTEM (VIDEO)

2.2 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF AN ECOSYSTEM (Article)
2.3 ENERGY FLOW IN THE ECOSYSTEM (Article)
2.4 FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEB (slide share)
http://www.slideshare.net/saksheebhaiswar/food-chainfood-web-and-ecological-
pyramids?related=1
2.5 ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION (Article)
2.6 BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES (Article)
2.7 IMPORTANCE OF ECOSYSTEMS (Article, video)
2.8 CASE STUDIES
 Forest ecosystem (pdf)
 Grassland ecosystem (pdf)
 Desert ecosystem (Article)
 Aquatic ecosystems (ponds, streams, lakes, oceans, estuaries) (pdf)

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2.1 INTRODUCTORY VIDEO ON ECOSYSTEM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWPj2IkeklI

2.2 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF AN ECOSYSTEM

On the basis of structure, an ecosystem can be classified in the following two components:

 Biotic components
 Abiotic components

Biotic components: The biotic components include all type of living beings. They are further
categorized into autotrophs and heterotrophs. Heterotrophes are further of two types -
consumers (herbivores and carnivores) and decomposers. Different biotic components are
connected to each other through food and other relations.

Food is synthesized by the plants only by chlorophyll in the presence of sunlight by the
absorption of water from soil through their roots and carbon-di-oxide from atmosphere.
Plants can prepare their food by themselves that is why; they are called autotrophes
(producers). The abiotic components include non-living substances and other physical and
chemical factors of the environment.

Producers (autotrophs) :

These are the chlorophyll containing autotrophic organisms, which prepare their food from
from the inorganic raw materials with the help of sunlight through the process of
photosynthesis. In terrestrial ecosystem, the autotrophs are rooted plants ( herbs, shrubs and
trees), whereas in the deep aquatic ecosystem floating plants called Phytoplankton’s are the
major producers. In shallow waters rooted plants are called macrophytes, are the dominant
producers. When the environmental conditions are optimum, the phytoplanktons can produce
as much food as produced by the larger shrubs and trees on unit area (land or surface water)
basis.

H2O + CO2 + Sunlight + Chlorophyll→ carbohydrates + O2

During photosynthesis autotrophs convert solar energy into chemical energy

of the organic compounds. Producers are called converters and transducers. Heterotrophs are
dependant for their food and energy requirements on the producers.

Consumers:

Consumers are the heterotrophic animals, which generally ingest and swallow their food.
The food of consumers consist of organic compounds produced by autotrophes. Consumers
are also known by name phagotrophes. Consumers are of two types.

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Herbivores: herbivores are the animals which are dependant for their feed directly on the
plants. They are called first order consumers. For example grasshopper, deer, rabbits, goat,
cattle etc. are herbivores of terrestrial ecosystem. Protozoa, Molluscs, crustaceans etc. are
some examples of aquatic ecosystem. ELTON (1927) called primary consumers as ‘Key
Industry Animals’, because they convert the plant material into the animal material.

Carnivores: these are the organisms which are dependant for their feed upon the flesh of other
animals. The carnivores take their feed from the herbivores, so they are called primary
carnivores or second order consumers for example-frog, birds, fox, cat etc. The secondary
consumers are preyed upon by any other larger carnivores; they are called tertiary consumers
and so on. The larger carnivores such as lion tiger etc. which cannot be preyed upon further,
they are called top carnivores and occupy top position in the food chain.

Decomposers: These are the micro- organisms such as bacteria, fungi etc. which take their
food from the dead bodies of producers (plants) ,consumers ( animals) and their organic
wastes. Decomposers are also known by name micro-consumers or reducers because of their
small size. They secret the digestive enzymes in the surrounding medium to digest the
organic material (extracellular digestion). They consume a part of the decomposition product
for their own nourishment. The remaining substances add materials and minerals to the
substratum. This process is called Mineralization. The discharged minerals are utilized as
nutrients by the producers. Decomposers are also known by name Saprophytes (sapro-to
decompose). Decomposers are of two types-scavengers and parasites. Scavengers are the
animals which take their feed from the dead bodies of the organisms. For example-termites,
beetles, worms’ etc. parasites the organisms which take their feed from the body of organisms
called host. Parasites belong to all the category of organisms for example bacteria, fungi,
viruses, protozoa, worms etc.

Abiotic Components:

The abiotic components of an ecosystem include the non-living constitutes of an ecosystem

i.e habitat. Habitat is a specific set of physical and chemical conditions that surrounds a
species, a group of species or a larger community.

Soil and water forms the important abiotic factors in an ecosystem. In addition to
these there are a number of other abiotic factors which can be categorized into two categories.

Physical Factors:

Some of the important physical factors are listed below:

o Light: The natural source of light id solar radiations. The quality and intensity of light
varies in the major habitats depending upon the cover, transparency and other factors.
Green plants by utilizing solar energy convert the inorganic raw materials (nutrients,
CO2 and H2O) into the complex carbohydrates, which is further passed through the
food chain.
o Temperature: Temperature is a measure of intensity of heat. It controls the climate of
a place in co-ordination with evaporation and precipitation. Consequently it has a
direct control on the distribution of species in any geographical area.

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 o Evaporation and precipitation: Evaporation and precipitation along with temperature
are the main parameters which govern the climate in any geographical area and drive
the water cycle. In terrestrial ecosystem they modulate the development of biomass in
an ecosystem.
o Pressure: Pressure is an important parameter which governs the climate of an area.
Pressure decreases with altitude by a factor of 10 for every 15 km above the sea-level,
and increases by 1 atmosphere for every 10 m depth in the water. Animals have
undergone required adaptations to this change in the pressure. Thus pressure limits the
growth of population at the high altitudes and at different depths in the sea.
o Humidity: It is defined by the moisture content in the air. It is controlled by the
temperature and wind in an area. Transpiration by the plants and water absorption by
the animals is influenced by atmospheric humidity.
o Gravity: Gravity determines the movement of matter to and from the system. It shows
distinct effect on the structure, general orientation and distribution of animals. Gravity
controls the rock material and the hydrological cascade system.
o Air and water currents: air and water currents are direct expression of pressure
changes. In response to change in this parameter, organisms have undergone several
changes. For example crabs in the beaches emerges with receding tide for feeding and
return to their burrows as the waves sweep over the shore. Air currents are associated
with the weathering of rocks which is linked with cycling of nutrients. Air and water
currents are involved in the process of ‘overturn’ of water which helps in enriching
deeper water with oxygen.

Chemical Factors:

Some of the important chemical factors are listed below-

o Carbon-dioxide: Carbon-dioxide is an important raw material for the process of

photosynthesis. It controls the other chemical factors like pH, carbonate and
bicarbonates of the medium in which the organisms live.
o Oxygen: Oxygen is the most important chemical factor which governs the distribution
of species in any geographical area. Oxygen is being continuously used in the
respiration of organisms in an ecosystem and replenished through the process of
photosynthesis by producers.
o Minerals (nutrients): Nutrients are important to carryout and maintain life.
Macronutrients are those which are required in large quantities for example-carbon,
hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, and sodium. They occur
in the simple forms like carbon-di-oxide, water and nitrates in the nature. On the other
hand micronutrients are the nutrients which are required in small quantities for
example- iron, manganese, magnesium, cobalt, zinc and molybdenum etc. The source
of these nutrients in the terrestrial ecosystem is soil and in the aquatic ecosystem is
water.

Organic matter: carbohydrates, proteins, fats constitute the living organisms. When
organisms die their bodies decay and become organic detritus which is taken by the
decomposers that help in the cycling of elements.

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2.3 ENERGY FLOW IN THE ECOSYSTEM

The functioning of the ecosystem depends on the flow of energy through matter. Energy enters the
ecosystem from the solar radiations and is converted into chemical form by the producers. From here
the energy passes from one trophic level to another through the food chain. The flow of energy in the
ecosystem is governed by two basic laws of thermodynamics:

o Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but can be transformed from one state to
another, or transformed from one component to another.
o Every transformation or transfer of energy is accompanied by some dispersion or loss of
energy in the form of heat.

There are two aspects with respect to energy flow in the ecosystem:

o There is unidirectional or one way flow of energy in the ecosystem i.e. from producers to
herbivores and from herbivores to carnivores. There is no backflow of energy in reverse
direction. i.e. energy captured by the autotrophs does not revert back to solar input or energy
which passes to the herbivores does not revert back to the autotrophs.
o The amount of energy flow decreases with the successive trophic levels.

Energy flow : THE FLOW OF ENERGY IS SHOWN BY THE RED ARROWS

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2.4 FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEB
http://www.slideshare.net/saksheebhaiswar/food-chainfood-web-and-ecological-
pyramids?related=1

2.5 ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION (VIDEO/ARTICLE )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V49IovRSJDs

ARTICLE

Ecological Succession: the series of changes in an ecosystem when one community is

replaced by another community as a result of changes in biotic and abiotic factors.

In 1916, Frederic Clements published a descriptive theory of succession and advanced it as a general
ecological concept. His theory of succession had a powerful influence on ecological thought.
Clements' concept is usually termed classical ecological theory. According to Clements, succession is
a process involving several phases:

1. Nudation: Succession begins with the development of a bare site, called Nudation
(disturbance).
2. Migration: It refers to arrival of propagules.
3. Ecesis: It involves establishment and initial growth of vegetation.
4. Competition: As vegetation became well established, grew, and spread, various species
began to compete for space, light and nutrients. This phase is called competition.
5. Reaction: During this phase autogenic changes affect the habitat resulting in replacement of
one plant community by another.
6. Stabilization: Reaction phase leads to development of a climax community.

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 2.6 BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

Biogeochemical cycles are pathways for the transport and transformation of matter within four
categorical areas that make up planet Earth (biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and the
atmosphere).

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 Biogeochemical cycles are components of the broader cycle that govern the functioning of planet
Earth. The Earth is a system open to electromagnetic radiation from the sun and outer space, but is a
virtually closed system with regard to matter. This means that the planet has minimal flux of matter,
other than meteorite collisions and minor amounts of intergalactic particle trapping (or loss) by the
upper atmosphere. Therefore, matter that Earth contained from the time of its birth is transformed and
circulated geographically. This is in line with the law of conservation of matter which states that
matter cannot be created nor destroyed but can be transformed including the transformation between
matter and energy

The transfer of matter involves biological, geological and chemical processes; hence the name
biogeochemical cycles derives. Biogeochemical cycles may also be referred to as cycles of nature
because they link together all organisms and abiotic features on earth. Matter is continually recycled
among living and abiotic elements on earth. Biogeochemical cycles facilitate the transfer of matter
from one form to another and from one location to another on planet earth. Additionally,
biogeochemical cycles are sometimes called nutrient cycles, because they involve the transfer of
compounds that provide nutritional support to living organisms.

Pathways of biogeochemical cycles

Parts that comprise planet earth have been categorized into four spheres (regions). One is the sphere
which has life and it is called the biosphere (it is the region occupied by living organisms such
as plants, animals, fungi) and the other three spheres are largely devoid of life, they include;
lithosphere (region occupied by soil, land and the earth crust), atmosphere (air and space) and
hydrosphere (areas covered by water such as rivers, lakes and oceans). However, where the biosphere
overlaps the lithosphere, atmosphere or hydrosphere, there is a zone occupied by living organisms.

Categories and examples of biogeochemical cycles

Biogeochemical cycles differ in their pathways, and on this basis the biogeochemical cycles have
been categorized into two:

 Sedimentary cycles: these cycles involve the transportation of matter through the ground to
water; that is to say from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere. Common examples of cycles under the
sedimentary category are:
 Phosphorus cycle: Phosphorus is commonly found in water, soil and sediments. Phosphorus
cannot be found in air in the gaseous state. This is because phosphorus is usually a liquid at standard
temperatures and pressures. Phosphorus is mainly cycled through water, soil and sediments. However,
very small particles in the atmosphere may contain phosphorus or its compounds. Phosphorus moves
slowly from deposits on land and in sediments, to living organisms, and much more slowly back into
the soil and water sediment. The phosphorus cycle is the slowest one of the sedimentary cycles.

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 Sulphur cycle: Sulphur in its natural form is a solid, and restricted to the sedimentary cycle
in this form. It is transported by physical processes like wind, erosion by water, and geological events
like volcanic eruptions. However, in its compounds such as sulphur dioxide, sulphuric acid, salts of
sulphate or organic sulphur, sulphur can be moved from the ocean to the atmosphere, to land and then
to the ocean through rainfall and rivers.
 Gaseous cycles: these involve the transportation of matter through the atmosphere. Common
example of gaseous cycles are:
 Carbon cycle: Carbon is one of the most important elements that sustain life on
earth. Carbon dioxideand methane gases (compounds of carbon) in the earth's atmosphere has a
substantial effect on earth's heat balance. It absorbs infrared radiation and hence may contribute
to global warming and climate change.
 Nitrogen cycle: Nitrogen gas is the most abundant element in the atmosphere and all the
nitrogen found in terrestrial ecosystems originate from the atmosphere. The nitrogen cycle is by far
the most important nutrient cycle for plant life.
 Oxygen cycle: The oxygen cycle describes the movement of oxygen within and between its
three main reservoirs: the atmosphere, the biosphere, and the lithosphere. The main driving factor of
the oxygen cycle is photosynthesis and because of this, oxygen and carbon cycles are usually linked
and the two cycles are collectively called oxygen-carbon cycle.
 Hydrological cycle: This is some times called the water cycle. Water is the most important
chemical of life for all living organisms on earth. Water in the atmosphere is usually in form of vapor
but condenses to liquid water and can solidify when temperatures are 00C to form ice. Ninety three
percent of water on earth is in solid state mainly comprising the ice caps and glaciers of Polar
Regions.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010

Ecosystem Services: How People Benefit from Nature

by Rebecca L. Goldman
What do the blue jeans you wear, the hamburger you have for lunch, and the sheet you make your
bed with have in common? They all take copious amounts of water to produce. One pair of blue jeans
takes 2,900 gallons or about 78 bathtubs of water. Even your morning cup of coffee takes 37 gallons (about one
bathtub) of water—not just the one cup you consume.1 But we don't pay for all the water that goes into our
morning cup of coffee. The price of the coffee is based on production and transportation costs (among other
costs), but it's much more difficult to value where all the water in one cup of coffee comes from. This difficulty
arises from the fact that natural ecosystems are responsible for the retention, release, and regulation of water, but
how does a person value a natural ecosystem and the services it provides and put that into the cost of a cup of
coffee?
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Caption: Your morning cup of coffee takes 37 gallons (about one bathtub) of water to produce—not just the one
cup you consume.
Ecosystem services, or the benefits that nature provides to people,2 have, in the past decade or two, become a
growing focus for the conservation movement, both its science and its policy; see, for example, the

ecosystem services are water purification, water retention, soil fertility, carbon sequestration, and coastal
protection, among many others.
What are some examples of how ecosystem services are already a part of our lives, how might
ecosystem service considerations change daily decisions, and why is this behavior change
important? In this article, I answer these questions using three examples—pollination services, flood and
natural disaster protection services, and water services—to illustrate the interrelationship between nature and
people.
Ecosystem Services Important for Sustainable Development?
The human population is expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050, and with that increase will come a greater
demand for many natural resources. Look at freshwater needs, for example. Research has estimated per person
per day dietary needs of 2,000–5,000 liters of water, and this does not include water needed for cleaning and
other activities.4 Hand in hand with this growing demand for resources is the conversion of native ecosystems to
meet growing needs; this is where a tradeoff assessment in terms of ecosystem services might be useful.
Agricultural and pasture lands represent about 40 percent of global land surface.5 If people continue to depend
on agricultural products as they have in the past, then by 2050, scholars estimate that 109 hectares of natural
ecosystems will be converted to agriculture. This conversion would include a 2.4–2.7-fold increase in nitrogen-
and phosphorus-driven eutrophication of numerous waters with similar increases in pesticide use.6 Agriculture
already accounts for 70 percent of water withdrawals from lakes, rivers, and aquifers.7

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Caption: Agricultural and pasture lands represent about 40 percent of global land surface. If people continue to
depend on agricultural products as they have in the past scholars estimate that by 2050, 109 hectares of
natural ecosystems will be converted to agriculture.

How might ecosystem services save your life or affect the house you buy?
As with the food we buy in the market, the houses and property we buy may be more or less valuable depending
on the impact we have on nature. Nature can provide services that help to mitigate or at least diminish some
potentially catastrophic impacts from weather events. Perhaps the most recent and often discussed example of
this is the value that mangrove ecosystems have in protecting against coastal flooding and storms. These
protection services can enhance or detract from the value of coastal property, and in the case of severe storms like
tsunamis, can help save people's lives.

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Caption: Mangrove ecosystems, like this one in the Florida Keys, are some of nature's most effective protections
against coastal flooding and storms.

Mangroves are coastal forest systems and make up about 0.4 percent of the world's forests. They are among the
most endangered ecosystems on the planet, yet they are frequently cleared so people can make use of the space
they occupy for rice paddies, shrimp farms, or other productive activities.

What do ecosystem services mean for the water you drink?

People rely on clean, regular supplies of water for survival, whether for drinking or for the production of other
goods and services (agriculture, electricity, etc.). Water users have an incentive to find the lowest cost options for
accessing clean water. Interestingly, nature may provide the lowest-cost, longest-term means of providing such
water services. Conservationists are increasingly recognizing the value in thinking about these low-cost
approaches for financing conservation.

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Caption: June 2010 – Pichincha Province, Ecuador. School children from Sangolqui participate in activities
designed to teach them about the environment at Parque Ecológico Cachaco in Amaguaña. Administered by
Fundacion Ecológica JASDUC, the park includes watershed restoration for the Río San Pedro.

How Are Ecosystem Service Approaches Being Leveraged?

The last five years have seen the proliferation of ecosystem services strategies, not just in on–the-ground actions
but also in the emergence of new offices, new projects, and new strategies within conservation NGOs,
governments, and multilateral donor agencies. This increased attention started with books such as The New
Economy of Nature40and interdisciplinary scholarly investigations such as the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment (MA) demonstrating the ecosystem alternatives to resource problems.

Why is it important to save Tigers?

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1) Saving tigers is equivalent to conserving the
Ecosystem
Tiger is symbol of wilderness and well-being of the ecosystem. By conserving
and saving tigers the entire wilderness ecosystem is conserved. In nature,
barring human beings and their domesticates, rest of the ecosystem is wild.
Hence conserving wilderness is important and crucial to maintain the life
support system. So saving tiger amounts to saving the ecosystem which is
crucial for man's own survival.

Tigers play a pivotal role in the health of the ecosystem. Tigers constitute the
top carnivores in the ecosystem and is at the apex of the food chain. The
removal of a top carnivore from an ecosystem can have an impact on the
relative abundance of herbivore species within a guild. Along with other major
carnivores as leopard it acts as a control mechanism for herbivores or
consumers.

The interdependency of living forms in a food chain is obvious as the wild

tiger is dependant upon herbivores for its survival where he maintains there
population which in turn prevents the grasslands from being overgrazed. The
herbivores depend upon the producers as grasses, herbs, shrubs, algae, fungi
and large trees for survival and they in turn maintain a balance in vegetation
by controlling the extent of vegetation or flora. Birds survive on herbs, shrubs
and trees on fruits and nector and in turn act as seed dispersal agent for them
to spread the population of the floral elements in an ecosystem. Thus all life
forms including tiger are interlinked with each other in an ecosystem and their
survival depends upon how intact the ecosystem is.

Top carnivores, tigers, have an important role to play in the structuring of

communities and ultimately of ecosystems. Thus, the preservation of tigers
becomes an important consideration.

2) India's national animal - TIGER

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Tigers occupy an important place in the Indian culture. Since ages, it has been
the symbol of magnificence, power, beauty and fierceness and has been
associated with bravery and valor. The tiger also has a significant place in
Hindu mythology as the vehicle of Goddess Durga.

3) Tigers are so cute.

Besides everything else Tigers are also living beings like you and me, they
also feel the pain, they also need their family.Please save tigers, stop their
brutal killings. We must make an effort to save the tiger population in our
country as well as in the world. No matter how big or small the effort is, each
and every effort counts.

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