Ecology &

Sustainable Development

Presented By-
Abhinav Srivastav
205AR006
Outline

• Ecosystem: Classification
• Climatic & Topographic Factor
• Light Factor
• Temperature Factor
• Precipitation (Rainfall)
• Humidity of Air
• Atmospheric Gases
• Wind Factor
• Micro, Local, Meso and Macro Climate
• References

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Ecosystem: Classification
Ecosystem-
The term ‘ecosystem’ was first proposed by A.G. Tansley in 1935, who defined it as 'the system resulting
from the integration of all the living and non-living factors of the environment. Thus, he regarded the
ecosystem as indicating not only the organism complex but also the whole complex of physical factors
forming the environment, The term ‘ecosystem’ indicates ‘eco’ meaning environmental and ‘system’
implying an interacting inter-dependent complex.

1. Natural ecosystem: These ecosystems are capable of maintaining and operating themselves without
any major interference by man. It includes terrestrial ecosystem and aquatic ecosystem.

2. Man-made ecosystems: on the other hand, are created to copy the conditions of natural ecosystem.
Examples of man-made ecosystems are orchards, home aquarium, zoo, botanical gardens and park.
These ecosystems are sustained by human interventions. Aquarium and zoo ecosystem, for example,
cannot survive without the care of humans. Man-made ecosystems are created for specific purposes.
Orchards and farms are created for agricultural benefits. Parks are built for recreation. Zoos and
aquarium are made for study, tourism, conservation, education and hobby.

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Ecosystem: Classification
Ecosystems

Natural Ecosystems Artificial or Man-Engineered Ecosystems

Terrestrial Aquatic

Forest Ecosystem Freshwater Ecosystem Lentic Ecosystem

Grassland Ecosystem Lotic Ecosystem

Marine Ecosystem

Desert Ecosystem Estuarine Ecosystem

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Ecosystem: Classification
1.1 Terrestrial Ecosystem is further divided into three category:-
1.1.1 Forest Ecosystem- Forests help in maintaining the ecological balance.
About 30 per cent of the land area of the earth is under forest cover, but due
to man’s intervention, this area is gradually becoming smaller. In the forest
ecosystem, the abiotic components are the inorganic, as well as, organic
substances present in the soil and atmosphere and also mineral present in
dead organic debris. The producers are trees of different species. The
primary consumers are the herbivores that include the animals feeding on
tree leaves as ants, flies, beetles, leafhoppers and spiders etc., and larger
animals grazing on shoots and / or fruits of the producers, the elephants,
nilgai, deer, moles, squirrels, fruit bats etc. The secondary consumers
include carnivores like snakes, birds, lizards, fox etc., feeding on the
herbivores. The tertiary consumers are the lop carnivores like lion, tiger etc.
The decomposers include a variety of micro organisms including fungi,
bacteria etc. The forest ecosystems are of great concern from the
environmental point of view. The rate of exploitation of forest by man is
growing day by day, thus, causing a great concern to all nations of the world
because of its impact over global climate and on several animal species

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Ecosystem: Classification
1.1.2 Grassland Ecosystem- Grassland occupy about 19 per cent of the
earth’s surface. In the grassland ecosystem, the abiotic components are
the nutrients present in the soil and area environment. The elements like
carbon dioxide, water, nitrates, phosphates and sulphates etc., are
present in the air and soil of the area. The producers are mainly grasses
and small trees and shrubs. The primary consumers include cows,
buffaloes, deers, sheep, rabbit etc. The secondary consumers are the
carnivores feeding on herbivores.
. These include the animals like fox, jackals, snakes, frogs, lizards birds etc. Sometimes, the hawks feed
on secondary consumers, thus, occupying tertiary consumers level in the food chain. The microbes are
active in the decaying of dead organic matter of different forms. They bring the minerals back to the soil,
thus, making them available to producers.
1.1.3 Desert ecosystems- are located in regions
that receive an annual rainfall less than 25 cm or 10
inches. They occupy about 17 percent of all the
land on our planet. Due to the extremely high
temperature, low water availability and intense
sunlight, fauna and flora are scarce and poorly
developed.

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Ecosystem: Classification
1.2 Aquatic ecosystem is also further divided into three categories.
1.2.1 Freshwater Ecosystem can be divided into two
categories :
(i) Standing water or lentic - lake, pond, swamp;
(ii) Running water or lotic - river, spring, stream.
Although fresh water habitats occupy a small portion of
the earth’s surface, they are of great importance to man
because they provide drinking water, as well as, water
for domestic and industrial needs.
A pond is a good example of fresh water ecosystem,
which exhibits a self sufficient, self regulating system.
A pond is a place where living organisms not only live
but interact with abiotic and biotic components, thus,
forming an ecosystem which is different from other
systems. Similarly, lakes, swamps and rivers have their
own ecosystems in which producers, consumers and
decomposers interact and are responsible for the unique
ecosystem of each.

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Ecosystem: Classification
1.2.2 Marine Ecosystem- Major oceans of the world, Atlantic,
Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Antarctic cover approximately 70
per cent of the earth’s surface. Each ocean, indeed, represents a
very large and stable ecosystem. Marine environments, as
compared with fresh water, appear to be more stable in their
chemical composition due to being saline, and moreover other
physico-chemical as dissolved oxygen content, light and
temperature are also different.

1.2.3 Estuarine Ecosystem- An estuary may be designated as a

confined arm of the sea situated at the mouth of a river. It
comprises of both sea water and fresh water

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Climate & Topographic Factor
What is Environment?
• The sum of all external condition affecting the life development and survival of an organism.
• All of the external factor condition, and influences that affect an organism or a biological community.
• The interaction of climate, soil, topography and other plant and animal in given area. An organism’s
environment influences its from behavior and survival.
• The complex set of physical, geographical, biological, social, cultural and political condition that
surround an individual or organism and that ultimately determines its form and nature of the survival.

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Climate & Topographic Factor
Most of the Ecologists however prefer to recognize four categories of ecological factors.
1. Climate or Aerial Factor- these includes light, temperature of air (air temperature), rainfall
(precipitation), humidity, atmosphere (gases and wind).
2. Topographic or Physiographic Factor- these are the factor related with physical geography of earth
like altitude, direction of mountain chain and valley and steepness and exposure of slopes.
3. Edaphic Factor- these deal with the formation of the soil, its physical and chemical property and
details of related aspects.
4. Biotic Factors- these are all kind of interaction between different forms of life i.e. plant, animals
microorganisms etc.

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Climate & Topographic Factor
Energy
(Radiant
Interaction among Ecological Factor- or other
form)
All the factors are interrelated variation in one
may affect the other. For instance, an increase
Atmosphere
in temperature would certainly bring out a Mineral
(gases &
rock soil
decrease in humidity values. Increased light wind)
intensity in addition to affecting the rate of
photosynthesis would affect the atmosphere
humidity.
Water
Organisms (Soil and
atmosphere)

Interrelation between components of environment

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Climate & Topographic Factor
Light Factor-
Light is well known for its effects on such basic physiological process of plants as photosynthesis,
transpiration, seed gemination, flowering etc. and thus is of much concern in ecology, where it plays
important role in the species composition and development of vegetation. Light intensity reaching the
earth surface, shows much spatial variation being influenced by some such factors as
(i) atmosphere, chiefly atmospheric gases oxygen and nitrogen that absorb and disperse small fraction of
shorter wavelengths
(ii) Suspended particles, solid particles dispersed in air such as dust and smoke or in water such as clay,
silt, plankton, bog, colliods etc. have a screening effect. 
(iii) Water layers 
(iv) Layers of vegetation chiefly in terrestrial habitats as forest and
(v) Such topographic factors as direction and flow of the land surfaces which cause marked variation in
intensity and daily duration of insolation.
Light as an ecological factor affects the distribution of plants through its effect on photosynthesis,
vegetative shape tissue differentiation, chlorophyll production number and position of chloroplast, leaf
structure, stomata movement transpiration growth and development of flowers, seed and fruits these
effects are well known in the study of physiology of plants.

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Climate & Topographic Factor
Light in relation to plant- directly or indirectly light affects the plant in following ways

i. Chlorophyll production
ii. Heating action
iii. Effect on transpiration rate
iv. Stomatal movement
v. Distribution of plant
vi. Over all vegetative development of plant parts
Light in relation to animals- so much has been said of the role of light in the life of plants but what
about animals? light has far reaching effect on animal also by affecting their several type of activities like
pigmentation, reproduction, development, growth, locomotion, migration etc. which may be summarised
as follows-
i. Metabolism
ii. Pigmentation
iii. Reproduction
iv. Locomotion
v. Eye
vi. Development
vii. Photoperiodism

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Climate & Topographic Factor
Temperature Factor
The term “temperature” here beside the aerial temperature of terrestrial organism, also includes the
temperature of water for aquatic life, in fact the atmosphere to which aquatic form of life are exposed is
the water medium temperature is well known for its effect upon plants and animals. temperature affects
plant and animal in various ways which are as follows-
Temperature (C) Time for egg hatching
i. Effect on metabolism- metabolic process are influenced by (hrs) Mackerel
temperature Since temperature regulate the activity of
8 No Development
enzyme, all chemical reaction in the body of organism are
10 207
controlled by temperature.
ii. Effect on reproduction 12 150
iii. Effect on growth and development- Both extremely low 15 105
and high temperatures have adverse effect on the growth of 18 70
low temperatures bring about such cold injuries as 20 60
desiccation, chilling injury and freezing injury.  Extremely 21 51
high temperatures cause stunting and final death of plants 24 No Development
which is due to adverse effect on a number of psychological
process of respiration, transpiration, protein metabolism etc.
this is called heat injury.

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Climate & Topographic Factor
iv. Effects on crossing over- In animals like fruit flies, Drosophila spp., temperature is shown to affect
the crossing over and somatic expressions of gene character. Development of wings, eyes etc. is affected
if larvae or pupae are kept at low or high temperature. Wings tend to be longer at high and shorter at low
temperature.
v. Effect on sex ratio- In some animals, as rotifers and daphnids- sex ratio is affected by temperature.
Under normal conditions daphnids give parthenogenetic eggs that develop into females, whereas increase
in temperature they give sexual eggs which after fertilisation develop either into male or female.
vi. Effect on coloration- Some insects, birds and
mammals in warm humid climate bear darker
pigment than the races of same species present in
cool and dry climate. This phenomenon is known as
Glogger rule.

Glogger’s rule

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Climate & Topographic Factor
vii. Effect on Morphology- Temperature also affect the absolute size
of an animal and the relative proportion of various body parts-
Bergman’s rule. Birds and mammals attain greater body size in cold
regions than in warm areas.

viii. Effect of temperature on distribution of plants- Temperature

shows pronounced temporal as well as spatial variation. especially in
country like India there are experienced marked seasonal extremes
and fluctuations in the temperature value. Soil temperature is the
result of heat gained by the absorption of solar heat energy and soil
temperatures are greatly influenced by the latitude of the particular
place.

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Climate & Topographic Factor
Precipitation (Rainfall)
Precipitation is the chief source. The water available to the plants and animals comes as a result of
rainfall. There occurs an interchange of water between the Earth surface and atmosphere water or
hydrologic cycle the two important event which are involved in this cycle are precipitation and
evapotranspiration.
Precipitation is the result of gravitational pull on the vapour in atmosphere precipitation in various
forms these are drizzle, rain, snow, Dew and Frost, sleet, and hail.
Of all the above forms of precipitation, the rain is most important. It is the source of soil water and
also affects humidity of atmosphere. Rains in India are caused by monsoons. About 45% of the water
available during annual precipitation flows into rivers, 20% percolates into the ground and the remaining
35% is lost by evaporation.
Annual rainfall determine the type of vegetation in any region. For example in tropical areas with
heavy rainfall throughout the year main vegetation are evergreen forest, in countries with heavy rainfall
during winter and low during summer they are present sclerophyllous forest. The plant are shrubs stunted
in height with leathery, thick, evergreen leaves. The areas with heavy rainfall during summer and low
during the winter are characterized by the presence of grasslands. The reason where rainfall is scanty are
seen with desserts and xerophytic vegetation.
Similarly, with change in vegetation we also find different types of animals in different geographic
regions.

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Climate & Topographic Factor

Form of Precipitation

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Climate & Topographic Factor
Humidity of air
It is one of the different forms of water in nature.
Atmospheric moisture in the form of invisible vapour is
known as humidity. The humidity of air is expressed in
terms of relative humidity values. It is the amount of
moisture in air as percentage of the amount with the air
can hold at saturation at the existing temperature.
Humidity is greatly influenced by intensity of solar
radiation, temperature, altitude, wind, exposure, cover
and water status of soil.
Relative humidity is measured by the instruments
called psychrometer or by paper strip hygrometer or a
thermo-hydrograph.
Thus humidity affects the life of plants in various ways. Effect on moist air on plants are more less
similar to those of reduced light intensity. Some plants as orchids, lichen, mosses etc., make direct use of
atmospheric moisture. In fungi and other microbes, it plays an important role in germination of spores
and subsequent stages in life cycle.

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Climate & Topographic Factor
Atmospheric gases
Up to the height of about 300 metre above
the Earth surface there is present some sort of a
thick gaseous mantle. With increasing height
above sea level the atmospheric pressure
gradually decreases. In atmosphere about 95%
of the total air is present up to the height of
about 20 kilometre, above Earth's surface and
the remaining 5% in the rest about to 280
kilometre height. In the gaseous mantle there is
a mixture of different gases in different
proportion of these various gases Nitrogen,
Oxygen and Carbon dioxide are the major
component, by volume are shown in table.

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Climate & Topographic Factor
The principal zones of the
atmosphere along with variation in
temperature and pressure the
average temperature of the
atmosphere varies with altitude.
Most UV radiation from the sun is
absorbed by Ozone (O3) found
primarily in the stratosphere in the
ozone layer 17-26km above sea
level.

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Climate & Topographic Factor
Wind Factor
Air in motion is called wind. it is an important ecological factor of the atmosphere as it affects plant
life mainly on flat Plains, along sea coast and at high altitude in mountains. wind is directly involved in
transpiration in causal several types of mechanical and in dissemination of pollen, seeds and fruits. It also
modifies the water relation and light condition of a particular area. The velocity of wind is affected by
such factor as Geographic situation, topography and vegetation and position with respect to seashores.
The effects of wind are much pronounced in plant along the sea coast and at high altitude on mountains.
These physical effects as follows-
i. Breakage and Uprooting
ii. Deformation
iii. Lodging
iv. Abrasion
v. Erosion and Deposition
vi. Salt spray
vii. Compression wood
viii. Dwarfing

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Micro, Local, Meso and Macro Climate

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Micro, Local, Meso and Macro Climate
Macro climate- largest area of study, area extends for 4x10 8 sq.m, upto 6000 vertically.

Meso climate- 10 3 sq.m upto 4x108 sq.m. in area.

Local climate- a group of microclimates that characterize a specific region, 103 sq.m to 108 sq.m.

Micro climate- the smallest category 1 to 104 sq.m. in area

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References
1. Sharma. P. D, Ecology and Environment, Rastogi Publisher, ISBN 9789350781227, Edition 2017

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Thanks…

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