CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL SRINIVASPURI NEW DELHI

CHAPTER 15: Our Environment

HANDOUT 1

SUB-TOPIC- ECOSYSTEM

Introduction
● Environment means everything which surrounds us. It may include living (biotic) and non- living (abiotic) components.
● Biotic : Plants and animals. Abiotic : Air, water etc.
● Environment affects the life and development of an organism in its natural habitat & vice versa.
● Substances that can be decomposed by the action of micro-organism like bacteria are called biodegradable. E.g. organic
wastes.
● Substances which cannot be decomposed by the action of microorganisms are called non- biodegradable.
Example of biodegradable wastes: cattle dung, cotton, jute, paper, fruit and vegetable peels, leaves etc.
Examples of non-biodegradable wastes: plastics, polythene bags, synthetic fibres, metals, radioactive wastes.

Ecosystem
● Ecosystem: -
An ecosystem consists of all the living organisms in an area along with the nonliving
components and their interactions with each other.
● There are different types of ecosystems. They are: -

Natural ecosystems Artificial ecosystems

forests, deserts, grasslands, mountains, ponds, gardens, parks, crop fields, aquariums, zoos etc.
lakes, rivers, oceans etc.
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● Garden is an ecosystem because the plants such as grasses, trees, flower bearing plants and animals
such as frogs, centipedes, bugs, beetles and birds interact with each other. These organisms and their
various life processes such as growth, reproduction and feeding are affected by the nonliving or abiotic
components of the garden.
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Components of an ecosystem

An ecosystem consists of two main components. They are biotic and abiotic components.
i) Biotic components: - are the living components like plants, animals and microorganisms. They consist of producers,
consumers and decomposers.
Producers: - are green plants which produce food by photosynthesis.
Consumers: - are herbivores which get their food directly from plants, carnivores which get their food indirectly from
plants and omnivores which get their food directly or indirectly from plants.
Consumers can be further divided into three groups: herbivores, carnivores and omnivore
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Decomposers: - are microorganisms which decompose dead plants and animals. They decompose complex organic
substances into simple inorganic substances in the soil which are again used by plants. The micro-organisms which break
down the complex organic compounds present in dead organisms like dead plants and animals and their products like
faeces, urine, etc. into simpler substances are called decomposers.

ii) Abiotic components: - are the nonliving components like air, water, soil, minerals, sunlight, temperature, wind etc.

Climatic factors: These are sunlight temperature, pressure humidity, moisture, rainfall, etc. these factors affect the
distribution of the organisms.

LET’S REVIEW…….
Q1.Define the term Ecosystem.
Q2. Distinguish between abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem.
Q3. Is a garden an ecosystem? Justify.
Q4. What is the role of decomposers in the ecosystem?