Concept of Forest Ecology

Ecosystem and
its component
WMSU Prepared by:
S.R. Ibrahim-Jalilula
Ecosystem is defined as structural
and functional unit of the
biosphere, comprising living and
non-living factors and their
interaction.

An ecosystem is a community of
living organisms in conjunction
with the nonliving components of
their environment, interacting as
a system. These biotic and abiotic
components are linked together
through nutrient cycles and
energy flows
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM
Natural Ecosystem: Artificial Ecosystem:
On the basis of duration:

Temporary ecosystem Permanent ecosystem:

On the basis of size:

Microecosystem Macroecosystem
The Components Of Ecosystems
• The structural components of an ecosystem consist of
nonliving arena and the living organisms.
• They are terms as Abiotic compounds and Biotic
compounds.

Structure of the
Ecosystem
Biotic components
• The biotic/living components of the ecosystem can be classified
as flora and fauna based on their structure and other features.
• Functionally the living organisms can be classified as,

Producer

Consumer

Decomposer
Producers
• Producers are called as autotrophs .
• They can be of two main types; Photosynthetic forms,
chemosynthetic forms.
• The photosynthetic forms are green plants that covert solar
energy into chemical energy-Photosynthesis
• The producers therefore include green plants, photosynthetic
bacteria and chemosynthetic bacteria.
• On land photosynthesis is carried out mainly by higher
plants.
• In the sea the main photosynthetic organisms are the
microscopic algae, planktons, diatoms and the flagellates.
 Consumers
• Heterotrophic organisms are unable to synthesize their
own food and hence obtain them by feeding on other
organisms.
• The consumers are classed into various categories
based on the nature of the food they consume. Such as
Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores
• And also be classified as,
- Primary consumers
- Secondary consumers
-Tertiary consumers
Primary consumers
• Primary consumers are herbivores, which feed on plant material.
• The amount they consumed are commonly referred to as the
consumption rate. Based on these the ecosystem can be grouped
as high rated, low rated.
• Primary consumers can be grazers or browsers.

Plant eating insect Grazing cattle

Secondary consumers
• Secondary consumers
• Heterotrophic animals which feed on
herbivorous organisms or primary consumers
are termed as the secondary consumers.
• These animals therefore carnivorous.

Fox
Tertiary consumers
• These are carnivorous heterotrophs that feed on other
carnivorous animals.
• Top carnivorous are few in number.
• Most birds of prey and cats fit this category.

Hawk Leopard
Decomposer
• Decomposers feed on dead material and that is first broken down
beforebeing absorbed.
• The detritivores ,plays the initial role of breaking up large bodies in to
small particles.
• Decomposers are mainly fungi and bacteria.

Fungus Bacteria
 Laws of Ecology
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S.R. Ibrahim-Jalilula
Commoner's Laws of Ecology
• Early 1970s, ecologist Barry Commoner wrote The Closing
Circle
• He suggested that we can reduce the negative effects by
sensitizing, informing and educating ourselves about our
connection to the natural world.
• Commoner summarized the basics of ecology into what he
termed “laws of ecology.”
• Here are five laws of ecology:
LAW 1 - Everything is Connected to Everything
Else
• The basic message behind this law is that all things are
connected to each other, sometimes in very obvious
ways, and sometimes in very complex, indirect ways.
 LAW 2 - Everything Has to Go Somewhere or
There is No Such Place as Away
• This is one law that has become increasingly clear as we attempt
to find ways to deal with the waste that we produce each day.
• The garbage truck takes our trash “away,” but where is that?
• Humans are not the only creatures who produce waste.
• Natural systems must deal with animals that have died and the
leaves that fall each autumn, as well as waste products, such as
feces.
• We are learning about recycling, but nature has been doing it for
a long time.
LAW 3 - Everything Is Always Changing
Ecological Succession
• TheAdaptation
species ofAnd plants and animals that are found in a
community do not remain the same Behavioral Change
forever.
Natural Selection
• Rather, over long periods of time, they change, mainly
because of the activities of the plants and animals themselves.
Physical or Structural Metabolic Change
• This change is called ecological succession We can witness
Change
this change all around us as abandoned farmland changes to
forest. This same process can be seen in an abandoned
house lot in a city.
 LAW 4 - There Is No Such Thing as a Free
Lunch
• The Earth, its ecosystems and its communities, have
undergone millions of years of adaptation and change.
• Through eons of time these changes often increased the
diversity of life and stability of the system.
• In the Earth’s early history, only catastrophic changes, such as
volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods and meteor showers,
disrupted the balance between plants, animals, decomposers,
water or air.
• Then, approximately two million years ago, human beings
entered the interconnected web of life and took center stage.
LAW 5 - Everything Has Limits
• For many years, it was believed that there was no end to what we could
take from the Earth.
• There were always more fish in the sea, more trees to be cut, more ore
to be mined, more earth to be tilled and more places to dump our trash.
• We now realize that this is not true. Some resources, called renewable
resources, can be replaced if conditions are suitable and there is
enough time, energy and nutrients available.
• Renewable resources include trees, wildlife and agricultural crops. They
will continue to be available only if they are replaced faster than we use
them.
 The ten commandments
of the environments

WMSU Prepared by:

S.R. Ibrahim-Jalilula
USE, DON’T ABUSE
• The human being, created in God’s image, is placed above all other
creatures, which must be used and cared for in a responsible way in
cooperation with the divine plan of redemption.

LITTLE LESS THAN A GOD

• Nature must not be reduced to a utilitarian object of manipulation, nor
absolutized or placed above human dignity.

ONE FOR ALL, ALL FOR ONE

• Ecological responsibility involves the entire planet in a common duty to
respect the environment as a collective good, for present and future
generations.
IT’S NOT A BRAVE NEW WORLD
• In dealing with environmental problems, ethics and human dignity should
come before technology.

GAIA (MOTHER EARTH) ISN’T GOD

• Nature is not a sacred or divine reality, removed from human intervention.
Thus, human intervention that modifies some characteristics of living things
is not wrong, as long as it respects their place in their particular ecosystem.

WHAT PRICE PROGRESS?

• The politics of development must be coordinated with the politics of ecology,
and every environmental cost in development projects must be weighed
carefully.
FLOWING LIKE A RIVER
• Ending global poverty is related to the environmental question,
remembering that the goods of the earth must be shared equitably.

WE’RE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT

• The right to a safe and clean environment needs to be protected through
international cooperation and accords.

DISCIPLINE IS NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD

• Environmental protection requires a change in lifestyles than reflect
moderation and self-control on a personal and social level. That means
moving away from the mindset of consumerism.
IT’S ALL A GIFT
• Environmental issues call for a spiritual response,
inspired by the belief that creation is a gift that God has
placed into our responsible hands, so that we can use it
with loving care. The human person’s attitude toward
nature should be one of gratitude and gratefulness to God
who has created and supports it.
 Food Chain and
Food Web
WMSU Prepared by:
S.R. Ibrahim-Jalilula
Food Chain
• A food chain illustrates the movement of energy through an ecosystem.

Components of a Food Chain:

Plants - 'base' of the food chain
Herbivores - feed on plants; many are adapted to live on a diet high in cellulose
Omnivores - feed on both plants and animals
Carnivores - feed on herbivores, omnivores, & other carnivores
1st level carnivore - feeds on herbivores
2nd level carnivore - feeds on 1st level carnivores
Decomposers
- the 'final' consumer group
- use energy available in dead plants and animals
- transform organic material into inorganic material
• Food chains are more often called food webs because no
organism lives solely on another:
• Types of Food Chains:
Grazing food chain - The grazing food chain begins with the
photosynthetic fixation of light, carbon dioxide, and water by plants
(primary producers) who produce sugars and other organic molecules.
- Once produced, these compounds can be used to create the various
types of plant tissues.
- Primary consumers or herbivores form the second link in the grazing food
chain.
- They gain their energy by consuming primary producers. Secondary
consumers or primary carnivores, the third link in the chain, gain their
energy by consuming herbivores.
- Tertiary consumers or secondary carnivores are animals that receive
their organic energy by consuming primary carnivores.
Detrital food chain - The detritus food chain differs from the
grazing food chain in several ways:
- the organisms making it up are generally smaller (like algae,
bacteria, fungi, insects, & centipedes)
- the functional roles of the different organisms do not fall as neatly
into categories like the grazing food chain's trophic levels.
- detritivores live in environments (like the soil) rich in scattered
food particles. As a result, decomposers are less motile than
herbivores or carnivores.
- Decomposers process large amounts of organic matter,
converting it back into its inorganic nutrient form.
Food Web
• Food chains are not isolated sequence, rather, they are
interconnected.
• Most ecosys­tems contain a number of interconnected
trophic interactions, which taken together are referred to
as food web.
• Food web offers an important tool for investigating the
ecological interactions that define energy flows and
predator-prey relationship (Cain et al. 2008).
Types of Food Webs
 Ecological
pyramid and
Energy flow
WMSU
Ecological pyramid
• A graphical representation of the relationship between different
organisms in an ecosystem.
• Each of the bars that make up the pyramid represents a
different trophic level, and their order, which is based on who eats
whom, represents the flow of energy.
• Energy moves up the pyramid, starting with the primary producers,
or autotrophs, such as plants and algae at the very bottom, followed by
the primary consumers, which feed on these plants, then secondary
consumers, which feed on the primary consumers, and so on.
• The height of the bars should all be the same, but the width of each
bar is based on the quantity of the aspect being measured.
 Types of Ecological Pyramids
Pyramid of numbers
• This shows the number of organisms in each trophic level without any consideration for their
size.
• This type of pyramid can be convenient, as counting is often a simple task and can be done over
the years to observe the changes in a particular ecosystem.
• However, some types of organisms are difficult to count, especially when it comes to some
juvenile forms. Unit: number of organisms.
Types of Pyramid of Numbers
• Upright pyramid of number
–  This ecosystem is characterized by
numerous autotrophs that support
lesser herbivores.
• Partly upright pyramid of
number
– This ecosystem, the producers are
large-sized trees, which sit at the base
of the number pyramid. 
• The inverted pyramid of number
– There’s normally one producer
supporting numerous parasites.
Pyramid of biomass
• A pyramid of biomass is a graphical representation of biomass present in a
unit area of various trophic levels.
• There are two main types of biomass pyramid – inverted pyramid of
biomass and the upright one.
Pyramid of productivity
• The pyramid of productivity
looks at the total amount of
energy present at each trophic
level, as well as the loss of
energy between trophic levels.
• This idea is based on
Lindeman’s Ten Percent Law,
which states that only about
10% of the energy in a trophic
level will go towards creating
biomass.
 Energy Flow in Ecosystem
• The energy flow in the
ecosystem is one of the
major factors that support
the survival of such a great
number of organisms. 
• The energy flow takes place
via the food chain and food
web.
 Laws of
Thermodynamics
WMSU
• Energy exists in many forms, such as heat, light, chemical energy, and
electrical energy.
• Energy is the ability to bring about change or to do work.
Thermodynamics is the study of energy.
• Laws of thermodynamics describes the energy flow in an Ecosystem.
• Producers– Green plants use light energy (sunlight) to produce
food (chemical energy).
• Primary consumers– Feed on herbivores and get energy from
plants (Carnivores).
• Secondary consumers– Feed on primary consumers and get
energy form them.
• Tertiary consumers- Feed on secondary consumers and get
energy.
• Decomposers- Break down dead or decaying organism
(decomposition) and get energy.
The 1st Law of Thermodynamics
• Energy can be
changed from one form
to another, but it cannot
be created or
destroyed. The total
amount of energy and
matter in the Universe
remains constant,
merely changing from
one form to another
(Isaac Newton, 1643-
1727)
 Energy From Sun to Plant

Chlorophyll of green plants traps

the light energy from sun and
produce food with the help of
water, CO2 and minerals.
The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
• In all energy exchanges, if
no energy enters or leaves
the system, the potential
energy of the state will
always be less than that of
the initial state." In energy
transfer, some energy will
dissipate as heat. The flow
of energy maintains order
of life.