Importance of Ecosystem:

· It provides habitat to wild plants and animals.

· It promotes various food chains and food webs.

· It controls essential ecological processes and promotes lives.

· Involved in the recycling of nutrients between biotic and abiotic

components.

· It helps in maintaining the usual flow of energy in an ecosystem including-

Carbon Cycle, Energy Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle, Oxygen Cycle, and Water Cycle.

· Apart from these importances, the ecosystem also plays an important role
in controlling weeds, rotation of crop, management of grasslands, forests,
biological surveys, conservation of soil, wildlife, etc.

Carbon Cycle Definition

· Carbon cycle is the process where carbon compounds are interchanged
among the biosphere, geosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere, and
atmosphere of the earth.

Following are the major steps involved in the process of the carbon cycle:

1. Carbon present in the atmosphere is absorbed by plants for photosynthesis.

2. These plants are then consumed by animals and carbon gets

bioaccumulated into

3. These animals and plants eventually die, and upon decomposing, carbon is
released back into the atmosphere.

4. Some of the carbon that is not released back into the atmosphere
eventually become fossil fuels.
 5. These fossil fuels are then used for man-made activities, which pump more
carbon back into the atmosphere.

What is the Water Cycle?

 6. The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological
cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below
the surface of the Earth.

7.
write in own words explaining the image give above.

OXYGEN CYCLE:

The steps involved in the oxygen cycle are:

Stage-1: All green plants during the process of photosynthesis, release oxygen
back into the atmosphere as a by-product.

Stage-2: All aerobic organisms use free oxygen for respiration.

Stage-3: Animals exhale Carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere which is again
used by the plants during photosynthesis. Now oxygen is balanced within the
atmosphere.
 · WHAT IS OXYGEN CYCLE?
Oxygen cycle, along with the carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle plays an essential
role in the existence of life on the earth. The oxygen cycle is a biological process
which helps in maintaining the oxygen level by moving through three main
spheres of the earth which are:
· Atmosphere
· Lithosphere
· Biosphere
This biogeochemical cycle explains the movement of oxygen gas within the
atmosphere, the ecosystem, biosphere and the lithosphere. The oxygen cycle is
interconnected with the carbon cycle.
The atmosphere is the layer of gases presents above the earth’s surface. The sum
of Earth’s ecosystems makes a biosphere. Lithosphere is the solid outer section
along with the earth’s crust and it is the largest reservoir of oxygen.

Ecosystem Services:
The earth is home to millions of species. Every organism depends on one or
another organism for energy, survival, and other life processes. This dependence
of organisms on one another and their surroundings forge an interacting system
called ecosystems. The interactions among different components of ecosystems
are fundamental to a well-defined environment.
As a part of an ecosystem, humans derive lots of benefits from the biotic and
abiotic components. These benefits are collectively termed as ecosystem services.
Life and biodiversity on earth depend on these services.

Biotic Meaning
The term “biotic” is formed by the combination of two terms, “bio” meaning life
and “ic” meaning like. Thus, the term means life-like and is related to all the living
entities present in an ecosystem.
· Biotic Factors
Biotic factors relate to all the living things in the ecosystem. Their presence and
their biological by-products affect the composition of an ecosystem. Biotic factors
refer to all living organisms from animals and humans, to plants, fungi, and
bacteria. The interactions between various biotic factors are necessary for the
reproduction of each species and to fulfil essential requirements like food, etc.
· Examples of Biotic Factors
Examples of biotic resources include all the living components present in an
ecosystem. These include producers, consumers, decomposers and detritivores.
· Abiotic Meaning
The term abiotic refers to all the non-living factors present in an ecosystem.
Sunlight, water and land, all constitute the abiotic factors.
· Abiotic Factors
Abiotic factors refer to all the non-living, i.e. chemical and physical factors present
in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Sunlight, air, precipitation,
minerals, and soil are some examples of abiotic factors. These factors have a
significant impact on the survival and reproduction of species in an ecosystem.
For instance, without an adequate amount of sunlight, autotrophic organisms may
not be able to survive. When these organisms eventually die, it will create a
shortage of food for primary consumers. This effect cascades up the food chain,
affecting every organism. Consequently, it leads to an imbalance in the ecosystem.
· Examples of Abiotic Factors
Abiotic examples typically depend on the type of ecosystem. For instance, abiotic
components in a terrestrial ecosystem include air, weather, water, temperature,
humidity, altitude, the pH level of soil, type of soil and more. Abiotic examples in
an aquatic ecosystem include water salinity, oxygen levels, pH levels, water flow
rate, water depth and temperature.

What is a Food Chain?

A food chain refers to the order of events in an ecosystem, where one living
organism eats another organism, and later that organism is consumed by another
larger organism. The flow of nutrients and energy from one organism to another
at different trophic levels forms a food chain.
· The food chain consists of four major parts, namely:
The Sun: The sun is the initial source of energy, which provides energy for
everything on the planet.
Producers: The producers in a food chain include all autotrophs such as
phytoplankton, cyanobacteria, algae, and green plants. This is the first stage in a
food chain. The producers make up the first level of a food chain. The producers
utilise the energy from the sun to make food. Producers are also known as
autotrophs as they make their own food. Producers are any plant or other
organisms that produce their own nutrients through photosynthesis.
Consumers: Consumers are all organisms that are dependent on plants or other
organisms for food. This is the largest part of a food web, as it contains almost all
living organisms. It includes herbivores which are animals that eat plants,
carnivores which are animals that eat other animals, parasites that live on other
organisms by harming them and lastly the scavengers, which are animals that eat
dead animals’ carcasses.
· Here, herbivores are known as primary consumers and carnivores are
secondary consumers. The second trophic level includes organisms that eat
producers. Therefore, primary consumers or herbivores are organisms in
the second trophic level.
Decomposers: Decomposers are organisms that get energy from dead or waste
organic material. This is the last stage in a food chain. Decomposers are an integral
part of a food chain, as they convert organic waste materials into inorganic
materials, which enriches the soil or land with nutrients.
· Decomposers complete a life cycle. They help in recycling the nutrients as
they provide nutrients to soil or oceans, that can be utilised by autotrophs
or producers. Thus, starting a whole new food chain.
Food Web:
Several interconnected food chains form a food web. A food web is similar to a
food chain but the food web is comparatively larger than a food chain.
Occasionally, a single organism is consumed by many predators or it consumes
several other organisms. Due to this, many trophic levels get interconnected. The
food chain fails to showcase the flow of energy in the right way. But, the food web
is able to show the proper representation of energy flow, as it displays the
interactions between different organisms.
When there are more cross-interactions between different food chains, the food
web gets more complex. This complexity in a food web leads to a more
sustainable ecosystem.
Desert Ecosystem
Deserts are barren areas of land characterised by extremely high or low
temperatures, with low rainfall and scarce or no vegetation.
Deserts are examples of terrestrial ecosystems, which are found throughout the
world. Neither all deserts are flat, nor do all deserts have cacti or oases. These are
regions with a short rainy season. It is scorching in the daytime, and very cold at
night in the desert.

Types of deserts
Deserts are arid regions with especially low or high temperatures and limited
vegetation. Based on the climate condition, deserts are classified into two types :
Hot deserts and cold deserts
· The hot and dry desert
The climate in this region is extremely hot, sizzling, dry, and often receives small
quantities of precipitation throughout the year.
In this hot desert, the days are scorching. During the day, temperatures will rise as
high as 45° C to 50° C, heating the bare rocks and the sand. The nights can be
extremely cold, with temperatures going below 0° C, sometimes
EXAMPLE -The Sahara is known as the world’s largest desert. It is the largest, and
the hottest desert in the world.
· The cold and dry desert
The altitude in this type of desert ranges from about 3,000 m in Kargil to 8,000 m
in the Karakoram. Due to its high altitude, the climate remains extremely cold and
dry. The day temperatures in summer are just above 0° C and the night
temperatures go below –30° C.
EXAMPLE-Ladakh is famously known as the cold desert of India.
In Ladakh, there are very few, tiny patches of grasses and shrubs for animals to
graze on. Many poplars, groves of willows and shrubs of the genus Salix are seen
in the valleys.
FLORA - The vegetation in the desert’s ecosystem is generally sparse with
scattered concentrations of grasses, cacti, date palms and acacia.
FAUNA - Camels, foxes, jackals, owls, hyenas, wild goats and sheep, vultures,
scorpions, ostriches, yaks, hawks, and desert reptiles including varieties of snakes
and lizards, are the prominent animal species (fauna) of this terrestrial ecosystem.

Grassland Ecosystems :
· Grasslands are one of the intermediate stages in ecological succession and
cover a part of the land on all the altitudes and latitudes at which climatic
and soil conditions do not allow the growth of trees.
 · Grasslands make up almost a quarter of the total land surface. The types of
plants that grow here greatly depend on what the climate and soil are like.
· Grasslands cover areas where rainfall is usually low and/or the soil depth
and quality is poor.
· The low rainfall prevents the growth of numerous trees and shrubs but is
sufficient to support the growth of grass cover during the monsoon.
· FLORA - Grasses are the dominating plants, with scattered drought resistant
thorny trees in the tropical grasslands.
· FAUNA - Badgers, fox, ass, zebra, antelope are found grazing on grasslands
that support the dairy and leather industries.
· Grasslands also support the large population of rodents, reptiles and
insects.

Wetlands Ecosystem:
· Wetlands are those areas where the soil is covered with water or can be
present near the ground throughout the year. It supports both terrestrial
and aquatic species. They vary widely depending on the climate, soil,
vegetation, hydrology, chemistry, and human disturbance. These areas can
be found from the tundra to the tropics apart from Antarctica. The water
found in the wetland is of two types. It is either brackish, saltwater, or
freshwater.
TYPES OF WETLAND:
Marsh
These are the kind of wetlands that are frequently flooded with water and have
vegetation from saturated soil conditions.
Swamp
Wetlands that are covered by woody plants are referred to as swamp. Two types -
forest swamps and shrub swamps.
Fen
This wetland receives nutrients from precipitation. This comes from upslope
sources like drainage and groundwater movement. High nutrient level is found
here.
Bogs
These forms of wetlands in India and elsewhere are low in nutrients and hence
cannot support plant growth.

Ecological Pyramids:
· An ecological pyramid is the graphical representation of the number,
energy, and biomass of the successive trophic levels of an ecosystem.
Charles Elton was the first ecologist to describe the ecological pyramid and
its principals in 1927.
· The biomass, number, and energy of organisms ranging from the producer
level to the consumer level are represented in the form of a pyramid;
hence, it is known as the ecological pyramid.
· The base of the ecological pyramid comprises the producers, followed by
primary and secondary consumers. The tertiary consumers hold the apex. In
some food chains, the quaternary consumers are at the very apex of the
food chain.
· The producers generally outnumber the primary consumers and similarly,
the primary consumers outnumber the secondary consumers. And lastly,
apex predators also follow the same trend as the other consumers;
wherein, their numbers are considerably lower than the secondary
consumers.
· For example, Grasshoppers feed on crops such as cotton and wheat, which
are plentiful. These grasshoppers are then preyed upon by common mouse,
which are comparatively less in number. The mice are preyed upon by
snakes such as cobras. Snakes are ultimately preyed on by apex predators
such as the brown snake eagle.
In essence:
· Grasshopper →Mouse→ Cobra → Brown Snake Eagle
What is an estuary and why is it important in our ecosystem?
· An estuary is an enclosed coastal body, partially enclosed and consisting of
brackish water with one or more streams/rivers flowing into it. It is notable
for its free connection to the open sea
· Estuaries are important in our ecosystems as they filter out sediments and
pollutants from water bodies like rivers and lakes before it flows into the
oceans, thus providing cleaner waters for marine life.

Water – Oceans:
· Water is an important constituent of all life forms on the earth.
Hydrosphere is one among the four spheres (other three being-
lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere) of the earth. The hydrosphere
includes the water on the surface of the earth (oceans, rivers, lakes and
glaciers), the water below the surface called groundwater and the water
in the atmosphere above earth’s surface.
· Hydrological cycle, also known as water cycle is a continuous exchange
of water between the atmosphere, the oceans and the continents
through the processes of evaporation, transpiration, condensation and
precipitation.
· About 70.8 % of the area of the earth is covered by water and 29.2% of
its area is covered by land. About 96.5% of water is salty found in seas
and oceans. Fresh water occupies only 2.5%. Saline ground water and
saline lakes together form 1% .
Major Oceans:
Pacific ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean.
Pacific Ocean –
· It is the world’s largest ocean. It is bigger than all the continents put
together (covers one-third of the earth’s surface area). The Pacific ocean
separates North America, South America from Asia and Australia.
Atlantic Ocean –
· It is the second largest ocean of the world. It covers about 20% of the
earth’s surface area.
Indian Ocean –
· It is the third largest ocean in the world. It is named after India which makes
up much of its northern border.
· It lies in the eastern hemisphere. It covers about 19.8 % of water on the
earth’s surface.
· It lies between Africa, Southern Ocean, Australia and Asia.
· It is landlocked in the northern hemisphere (closed ocean) and is the
warmest ocean in the world.
Southern Ocean-
· Also known as the Antarctic Ocean or Austral Ocean, comprises the
southernmost waters of the world ocean.
· It is the fourth largest ocean/ second smallest ocean in the world, located
south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica.
· It shares its northern boundary (largest boundary) with the Atlantic, Indian
and Pacific Ocean. This ocean is known for its turbulent waters.
Arctic Ocean-
· The Arctic Ocean is shallower and smaller than the other four oceans. It lies
entirely within the Arctic Circle.
· It covers about 1.3% of the earth’s water surface area.
· It is surrounded by Eurasia and North America. It is completely covered by
ice in winter.
· Its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major oceans.

What is Ecological Succession?

 · Ecological succession is the steady and gradual change in a species of a
given area with respect to the changing environment. It is a predictable
change and is an inevitable process of nature as all the biotic components
have to keep up with the changes in our environment.
TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION:
Primary Succession
· Primary succession is the succession that starts in lifeless areas such as the
regions devoid of soil or the areas where the soil is unable to sustain life.
Secondary Succession
· Secondary succession occurs when the primary ecosystem gets destroyed.
For eg., a climax community gets destroyed by fire. It gets recolonized after
the destruction. This is known as secondary ecological succession.

-AAGAM DOSHI