Human activities produce a lot of waste materials which

are thrown away into the environment. These wastes

cause
pollution of air, water and soil.
The waste materials produced are of two main
types.
They
are biodegradable wastes and non biodegradable
wastes.
i) Biodegradable wastes :- are wastes which are
decomposed into harmless substances by
microorganisms.
Eg :- vegetables, fruits, pulses, cereals, cotton, jute,
wool,
wood, leather, paper, animal dung, animal bones
etc.
 E CO SYST E M A N D ITS
COMPONENTS
Ecosystem :- An ecosystem consists of all
the living organisms in an area along with
the non living components and their
interaction.
There are different types of ecosystems.
They are :-
Natural ecosystems:- like forests, deserts,
grass lands, mountains,ponds, lakes, rivers,
oceans etc.
Artificial ecosystems :- like gardens,
parks, crop fields, aquarium, zoo etc.
C OMPONENTS OF AN
ECO S YST E M
A N ECO SYST E M CO N S I ST S O F TWO MAIN
CO M P O N E N T S . T H EY AR E BIOTIC A N D ABIOTIC
CO M P O N E N T S .
B IOTIC C O M P O N E N T S :- AR E TH E
LIVING C O M P O N E N T S LIKE PLANTS ,
AN IM ALS A N D
M I C RO O RGANI SM S . T H EY CO N S I ST O F PRO DUCE RS ,
CO N S U M E R S A N D DECOM P OSERS .
P RO D U C E R S :- A R E GR EEN PLANTS WHICH
P RO D U C E
F O O D BY PHOTOSYNTHESIS .
C O N S U M E R S :- AR E HERBIVORES WHICH G ET THEIR
F O O D DIR ECTLY FROM PLANTS ,
C A R N I VO R ES WHICH G ET THEIR F O O D INDIRECTLY
FROM PLANTS A N D O M N IVO R ES WHICH
D E C O MP O SERS :- A R E MIC R O O R G A N ISM S WHI C H
D E CO M P O S E D E A D P LA NTS A N D
A N IMA LS . T H EY D E C O MPOSE
C O MPLEX
O R G A N I C S U B STA N C ES I N TO SIMPLE
INORGANIC
S U B STA N C E S IN T H E SOIL WH I CH AR E AG A I N
U S E D BY PLANTS .
AB IOTI C COMPONENTS :-
AR E T H E N O N LIVING
C O M P O N E N T S LIKE AIR , WATER , SOIL ,
MINERALS , S U N L I G H T , TEMPERATURE ,
WIND
ETC .
 FO O D CHAIN
A food chain is the flow of food energy from one organism to the next and to
the next and so on. They usually start with a producer (plants) and end with a
carnivore. In a food chain an organism gets food from one group of
organisms.
eaten by eaten by

Eg:- G rass Deer Lion

(producer) (primary consumer) (secondary consumer)
eaten by eaten by eaten by
G rass Insects Snake
(producer) (primary consumer) (secondary consumer)
Frog
(tertiary consumer)
eaten by eaten by eaten by
eaten by
G rass Moth Frog H awk
(producer) Snake
consumer) (primary consumer) (secondary consumer)
FOOD WEB
Food web is a
group of
several
interconnected
food chains. In
a food web an
organism gets
food from more
than one group
of organisms.
 T RO P H I C LEVELS
Each step in a food chain where transfer of food
energy takes place is called trophic level.
The first trophic level consists of producers.
The second trophic level consists of primary
consumers.
The third trophic level consists of secondary
consumers.
The fourth trophic level consists of tertiary
consumers.
Since the transfer of food energy decreases at
every trophic level, the number of trophic levels
are limited and do not exceed four or five.
 E N E RGY FLOW IN T RO P H I C
LEVELS
Green plants (producers) absorb about 1% of
solar energy falling on the leaves and stores it as
food energy during photosynthesis.
During the transfer of food energy from one
trophic level to the next, 90% of the energy is lost
to the environment and only 10% is transferred to
the next trophic level. So there is a decrease in
the amount of food energy transferred at every
trophic level by 10%. This is known as the 10%
law.
 B I O LO G I C A L
M AG N I F I C AT I O N
Harmful chemicals like insecticides and pesticides
which are used to protect crops from insects and pests
are absorbed by plants and enter the food chain.
Since these chemicals are non biodegradable, they get
accumulated at every trophic level and their
concentration increases. Since human beings occupy
the highest trophic level, the concentration of these
harmful chemicals is maximum in our bodies.
The increase in concentration of harmful chemicals
in the bodies of organisms at higher trophic levels is
called biological magnification.
 H UMAN ACTIVITIE S A F F E CT
T H E E N V I RO N M E N T
Depletion of ozone layer in the atmosphere
Ozone molecule contains three oxygen atoms
(O3 ). At higher levels in the atmosphere the U V
radiation splits some oxygen molecules (O2 )
into free oxygen atoms which combines with
oxygen molecules (O2 ) to form ozone.
U V radiation
O2 O
O2 + O
+

O
THE O Z O N E L AY ER PRESENT IN T H E H IG H ER
LAYE R O F T H E AT MO S P H E R E P ROT EC T S T H E
E A RT H F RO M T H E H A R M F U L UV R A D I AT I O N
F RO M T H E S UN . UV R A D I AT I O N C AU S E S
SKIN C A N C E R IN H U M A N S .
THE O Z O N E LAY ER IS BEING
D A M AG E D
BY T H E USE O F C H E M I C A L S LIKE C H L O R O
F LU O RO C A R B O N S (CFC S ) U S E D IN
REFRIGERATORS A N D FIRE EXTINGUISHERS .
SO T H E USE O F C F C S IS N OW
BEING R E D U C E D T O P ROT E C T THE
The household waste is called garbage. Some of
the garbage is biodegradable and some are non
biodegradable. Garbage causes pollution of air,
water and soil. So it should be disposed properly.
Some of the methods of garbage disposal
are :-
i) Land fills
ii) Recycling
iii) Production of biogas and manure
iv) Preparation of compost
v) Incineration
vi) Sewage treatment
garbage we
produce