EVS Lecture II 1 Ecosystem

GE 2211 Environmental Science and Engineering
Unit II
www.msubbu.in
EcowwSystem
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M. Subramanian
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering
Kalavakkam 603 110, Kanchipuram (Dist)
Tamil Nadu, India
msubbu.in[AT]gmail.com
20-July-2009
Contents
Concept of an ecosystem structure and function of an
ecosystem producers, consumers and decomposers
energy flow in the ecosystem ecological succession food
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chains, food webs and ecological
pyramids
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20-July-2009 M Subramanian
Introduction
An ecosystem can be defined as the basic
functional unit of nature, including both biotic
(living) and abiotic (nonliving) constituents.
a pond, a forest, an estuary, a grassland

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Abiotic components: air, rock,
and water
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are the
basic components
Biotic components: classified according to the

function of the particular organism. There are
three groups:
producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Estuary
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Grassland
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Ecosystems are not isolated from one another. One

ecosystem blends into the next through a transitional region,
an ecotone, which contains many species common to the two
adjacent systems.
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Producers
Producers
the green plants such as grasses and trees
are so called because they are capable of producing
their own food from the abiotic environment
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Producers create organic molecules
proteins, lipids and
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in energy and combining the
carbohydrates- by capturing light
captured energy with inorganic molecules
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Consumers
Consumers
organisms that are incapable of producing their own food and
that must use (consume) other organisms for their food
all animals fall into this category.
consumers feed on producers
and would not exist without
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producers.
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Three types of consumers:
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herbivores, which eat plants (producers);

carnivores, which eat animals either herbivores or other
carnivores;
omnivores, which are both herbivorous and carnivorous.
Decomposers
Decomposers also called microconsumers, include
bacteria, fungi, and some of the small invertebrates
(animals without backbones , eg: worms).
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Like consumers, these organisms
cannot produce their own
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food; but unlike consumers, sthey
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by breaking down dead plants and
components, thereby releasing these substances back into
the abiotic portions of the environment.
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Food Chain
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Food Chain in a Marine Ecosystem
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Food Webs
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Marine Food Web
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Ecological Pyramid
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Ecological Succession
Ecological succession is the gradual process by which
ecosystems change and develop over time. Nothing
remains the same and habitats are constantly changing.
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Succession takes place because
the environmental
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conditions in a particular place
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Each species is adapted to thrive and compete best against
other species under a very specific set of environmental
conditions. If these conditions change, then the existing
species will be replaced by a new set of species which are
better adapted to the new conditions.
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Energy Flow and Materials Cycling
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The movement of nutrients (blue arrows) and energy (red

arrows) and both (brown arrows) through the ecosystem.
Energy Flow in Ecosystem
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Energy Flow in Ecosystem

Almost all life requires the energy that flows daily from the
sun.
The basic conversion of wthis solar energy to usable form
takes place through plantwwmaterial
on land and in water.
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As the energy passes from plants
and in turn eats the eaters of the plants, some is lost as
heat, and eventually it all is.
Thus, energy doesn't cycle; it flows through the ecosystem
until it's used up.
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Water Cycle
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Mineral Cycle
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Carbon
Cycle
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CO2
taken up during
photosynthesis
Cellular respiration
releases
Food web subcycle

PRODUCERS
1st CONSUM ERS
Decomposition releases
C compounds into soil
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2nd CONSUM ERS
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3rd CONSUM ERS
DECOM POSERS
CO2
Burning
releases
photosynthesis
releases
FOOD WEB
SUBCYCLE
dead organisms buried
by sediment become
Fossil fuel
subcycle
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FOSSIL
FUELS
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CO2
Burning
releases
photosynthesis
releases
FOOD WEB
SUBCYCLE
by sediment become
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FOSSIL
FUELS
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Ion in water enters
further decomposition
produces
Decompose (weather)
into bicarbonate ion (HCO3)
Carbonate rock subcycle
shells and skeletons of marine

organisms deposited and
compressed to become
CARBONATE ROCKS
CO2
Burning
of fossil fuels
increases CO2
levels
photosynthesis
releases
further decomposition
produces
FOOD WEB
SUBCYCLE
Removal of vegetation
(trees) prevents CO2
from being removed
from the atmosphere

by sediment become
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FOSSIL
FUELS
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Ion in water enters
Decompose (weather)
into bicarbonate ion (HCO3)
shells and skeletons of marine

organisms deposited and
CARBONATE ROCKS
Where human activities change the cycling rate of carbon

among reservoirs.
Carbon Cycle
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Nitrogen Cycle
Atmosphere
Atmospheric fixation
generates nitric acid
(HNO3 )
N2 (g)
released into
N2 (g)
dissolves in
Soil moisture
Denitrifying bacteria
Dissolved N2
absorbed by
symbiosis
HNO3 dissociates in
soil
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Leguminous bacteria
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-NO3 released in roots,b
(under anaerobic
conditions)
absorbed by
Legumes (plants)
N-fixing bacteria
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NH3
absorbed by
Nitrifying bacteria
NO3 -- in soil
absorbed by
Organic nitrogen
ingested by
Consumers
All plants
NH3 produced as
waste from breakdown
of proteins
Nitrogen Cycle
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Phosphorus Cycle
PHOSPHATE IONS
incorporated into released by excretion
and by decomposition
FOODwwWEB
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Soil particles
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some
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aquatic ecosystems
increases productivity in
RUNOFF
aquatic ecosystems
when exposed to
sediments laid down and
weathering, release
picked up by
Mining for phosphates

accelerates erosion,
increasing sediment load in
PHOSPHATE ROCKS
alters interactions
Phosphorus Cycle
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EVS Lecture II 1 Ecosystem

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GE 2211 Environmental Science and Engineering

a pond, a forest, an estuary, a grassland

Biotic components: classified according to the

Ecosystems are not isolated from one another. One

Three types of consumers:

herbivores, which eat plants (producers);

Food Chain in a Marine Ecosystem

Marine Food Web

Energy Flow and Materials Cycling

The movement of nutrients (blue arrows) and energy (red

Energy Flow in Ecosystem

Energy Flow in Ecosystem

Food web subcycle

1st CONSUM ERS

2nd CONSUM ERS

3rd CONSUM ERS

shells and skeletons of marine

dead organisms buried

shells and skeletons of marine

Where human activities change the cycling rate of carbon

Mining for phosphates

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