Contents Concept of an Ecosystem Structure of an Ecosystem

Abiotic Components Biotic Components

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Function of an Ecosystem Energy Flow Ecological Succession Food Chain Food Web Ecological Pyramids Various Ecosystems
Forest Ecosystem Grassland Ecosystem Desert Ecosystem Aquatic Ecosystem

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Concept of an Ecosystem
Ecology is the ancient Greek oikos (ecos) meaning "house and can be defined as the study of how animals, plants and other living things relate to each other and fit into their environment.
An ecosystem can be as small as a drop of water or as large as sea or tract of forest.

It is the basic functional unit of ecology comprising biotic (living) communities and abiotic (non-living) environment, both influencing each other. In a broad sense, it is a defined area in which living and non-living things interact. Every ecosystem consists of interacting organisms that transform and transmit energy and chemicals. The ultimate source of energy for the entire ecosystem is Sun.

It may be a pond, a river, an ocean or a forest or even an aquarium, a dam, a garden.

Structure of an Ecosystem
Structure of an ecosystem means the composition of biological community, the quantity and distribution of the non-living materials such as nutrients, water etc. and the range of conditions of existence, such as temperature and light. Biological community includes species, numbers, biomass and life history etc.

An ecosystem comprises mainly two components: i) Autotrophic Component These components are self-nourishing in nature and characterized by fixation of light, energy, utilization of simple inorganic substance and build-up of complex substances. So they obtain energy principally from the Sun. ii) Heterotrophic Component They require nourishment from other sources and are characterized by utilization and decomposition of complex materials. This type of system obtains energy from soil or other preformed organic energy sources. They are primarily import systems and then dependent on energy from some other autotrophic ecosystem.

Heterotroph components are also divided into two: a) Biophages: It includes organisms consuming other living organisms. b) Saprophages: It includes organisms which feed on dead organic matter.

An ecosystem has two main components:

i) Abiotic Components The non-living environment of an ecosystem is the abiotic component.

It can be categorized into the following three parts: a) The Inorganic Components: These are carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, calcium, sulphur, phosphorus and phosphate etc. The amount of these inorganic substances present at any given time in an ecosystem is designated as the standing state or standing quality. b) The Organic Components: These are carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids. They all are synthesized by the living forms. c) The Climatic Factors: These include temperature, light, humidity, wind and soil etc.

ii) Biotic Components The living organisms of an ecosystem are known as its biotic components, which include plants, animals and microorganisms.

Biotic components are of following types: a) Producers Producers are the autotrophic members of the ecosystem. They synthesized food from non-living simple inorganic substances. Such producers of food are of mainly two types:

1. Main producers: Green plants are the main producers. They trap solar energy using chlorophyll and convert it into chemical energy in the form of carbohydrates using simple inorganic compounds namely water and carbon dioxide. This process is known as photosynthesis. 2. Minor producers: Photosynthetic bacteria and chemosynthetic bacteria are the minor producers.

b) Consumers or Phagotrophs Living organisms lack chlorophyll and are unable to synthesize their own food. Therefore they depend on the producers for their food. These are known as consumers or heterotrophs. Consumers include animals which eat or ingest other organisms or particular organic matter.

The consumers are of following types: 1. Primary Consumers or Herbivores: These are the living beings which feed on plants only. Examples are rabbit, cattle, deer and goat etc. 2. Secondary Consumers or Primary Carnivores: These living beings eat the herbivores and are called primary carnivores. Examples are cat, fox, snake etc.

3. Tertiary Consumers: These are the large carnivores which feed on the secondary consumers. Example is wolf. 4. Quaternary Consumers or Omnivores: These are the largest carnivores which feed on the tertiary consumers and they are not eaten up by any other animal. Examples are tiger, lion etc.

c) Decomposers, Micro-consumers or Saprotrophs They are chiefly bacteria and fungi which decompose the complex compound of dead protoplasm and absorb some of the decomposed products. These microorganisms attack the dead bodies of producers and consumers and decompose them into simpler compounds and also release inorganic nutrients. These inorganic substances together with other organic substances are reused by the producers, resulting in a cyclic exchange of materials between the biotic community and the abiotic environment of the ecosystem. The decomposers are known as Saprotrophs.

Function of an Ecosystem
The main functional aspects of ecosystem are the following: i) Energy flow ii) Food chain and trophic levels

iii) Nutrient or biogeochemical cycles iv) Homeostasis v) Other factors like diversity pattern, development and evolution vi) Ecological pyramids

Energy Flow
Energy is very essential to maintain life activities. Energy from the sun enters the living world through photosynthetic organisms and passes from one organism to another in the form of food. The flow of energy through the ecosystem is unidirectional and noncyclic. It is from producers to herbivores to carnivores. The amount of energy decreases with successive trophic levels. Green plants capture only a small fraction of solar energy (15% of the solar radiation) and the bulk of unutilized energy is dissipated as heat, some part of this energy is used by the green plants for their respiration and maintenance and for feeding the herbivores (Fig). The unutilized productivity is converted to detritus which in turn may be used by the decomposers.

Energy of an ecosystem involves transmission and utilization which form energy flow circuits. These circuits may be of different types:

i) Grazing type: In this the energy is directly consumed by living plants. ii) Organic detritus circuit: It involves the accumulation as well as decomposition of dead materials.

Ecological Succession
Ecological succession is the observed process of change in the species, structure of an ecological community over time. Within any community some species may become less abundant over some time interval, or they may even vanish from the ecosystem altogether. Similarly over some interval, other species within the community may become more abundant, or new species may even invade into community from adjacent ecosystems. The change of plant and animal communities in an orderly sequence in an area, resulting in establishment of stable or climax community is called ecological succession.

Food Chain
Organisms of an ecosystem are interlinked with each other by food chains. Each organism eats the smaller organism, which is eaten by the larger one. The different species in a food chain are called trophic levels. Green plants in any food chain are the first trophic level and called the primary producers. These plants are eaten by herbivores, which are called second trophic level and primary consumers. Carnivores constitute the third trophic level and are called the secondary consumers, which eat herbivores. Carnivores are also eaten by other carnivores at tertiary trophic level and are called tertiary consumers. There are some organisms, which eat producers as well as carnivores. Such organisms are called omnivores and occupy more than one trophic level in the food chain.

Food chains may be of two types:

i) Grazing Food Chain: This is a type of food chain in which green plants are eaten by herbivores, which in turn may be eaten by carnivores. This food chain starts from green plants and moves to grazing herbivores. Solar radiation plays an important role for such type of food chain. This type of chain thus depends on autotrophic energy capture and the movement of this captured energy to herbivores. Most of ecosystem in nature follows this type of food chain.

This food chain is represented as: Phytoplankton Zooplankton Small fish Large fish

ii) Detritus Food Chain: It starts from dead organic matter then to microorganisms and then to detritivores. Direct solar energy is not the major factor in such type of food chain.

Food Web
Food chains are interlinked at different trophic levels to form a complex interaction between different species. This interconnecting network is called the food web. If any of the intermediate stage of the food chain is removed, the succeeding links of the food chain will be affected. AII the food chain are interconnected with each other at different trophic levels. Rabbit eats grass but in absence of rabbit, grass may also be eaten by mouse. Mouse can be directly eaten by hawk or through snake. Similarly grasshopper eats grass. Grasshopper may also be eaten by hawk directly or through lizard as shown in figure. AII the alternatives constitute some interlocking pattern that is called as food web. In grassland food web there are five linear food chains.

Food web in grassland ecosystem

1. Grass 2. Grass 3. Grass 4. Grass 5. Grass

Grasshopper Grasshopper Rabbit Mouse Mouse Hawk Hawk

Hawk Lizard Hawk

Snake

Hawk

These all five chains are interlinked with each other at different points forming food web. The alternative arrangements are possible for maintenance of stability of the ecosystem. But for the survival of all living organisms a balanced ecosystem is very necessary. The complexity of any food web depends upon the alternatives at different points and also on the length of food web (Fig).

Food web in a forest

Ecological Pyramids
The representation of different trophic levels in the form of a plot constitutes ecological pyramid. It can be defined as a plot of the number of individual in different size classes or number of the individual productivity in the different trophic levels. The ecological pyramids represent the trophic structure and also trophic function of the ecosystem. The first producer level constitutes the base of the pyramid and the successive levels make the apex of the pyramid.

Ecological pyramids are usually of two kinds:

i) The Pyramids of Numbers: It is denoted by the number of individual organisms at each level. It illustrates the population- density relationship within and between the trophic levels and thus in the pyramid, trophic levels are more important than size. They show the relationship between producers, herbivores and carnivores at successive trophic levels in terms of their number.

A pyramid of numbers in a lake ecosystem

ii) Pyramids of Energy: Producers are the main reserve of energy, whereas this energy decreases in consumers. The pyramid of energy indicates the reduction in the availability of energy in different trophic levels. The maximum of energy is available at producer level; this energy decreases as we move from primary consumers to tertiary consumers. The primary producers of an ecosystem trap the radiant energy of the sun and convert it in to potential chemical energy. This trapping energy flows in the food chain from the producers to the top carnivore, decreasing at each successive trophic level. Thus the pyramid of energy is always up right.

Energy pyramid of an ecosystem

Various Ecosystems
Forest Ecosystem Forest is composed of trees, shrubs or any other woody vegetation with closed canopy. It is biotic community. Forest varies considerably in composition and structure. Forests maintain soil and water conditions. They contribute to the maintenance of biological and genetic diversity. Forests provide fuel, fodder and other materials for local communities.

Characteristic Features of Forest Ecosystem 1. In tropical forests, there are only two seasons (rainy and dry). The length of day light in 12 hours and varies little. 2. They have a predominance of broad leaved evergreen trees and the trees can be divided into 4-5 strata. 3. The forest ecosystem includes a complex assemblage of different kinds of biotic communities. 4. Optimum conditions of temperature and ground moisture contribute greatly to the growth of trees and establishment of forest communities. 5. The nature of soil, wind and air currents determines the distribution of forest vegetation. 6. The abiotic environment of forest ecosystem includes the nutrients present in the soil on forest floor which are usually rich in dead and decaying organic matter.

Grassland Ecosystem The grassland ecosystem occupies vast area of land within continental interiors. It covers about 10% of the earths surface. Grasslands are areas characterized by plains and 10 to 30 inches of rainfall per year, generally less than in most forested regions. A grassland or prairie flora may contain over 120 species in more than 10 families. The animal populations of grasslands are also rich and varied. Grassland soils are among the thickest and richest in the world. Roots of the grasses and forbs penetrate up to 6 feet in these rich soils. They represent some of the greatest agricultural areas of the world of cattle, corn and wheat farming.

Characteristic Features of Grassland Ecosystem 1. Lands are dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs or trees. 2. The animal populations of grasslands are also rich and varied. Among the mammals, the ungulates and rodents have flourished with great populations of bison, antelope, prairie dogs, ground squirrel, gophers and foxes. 3. Typical birds are prairie chickens, sharp-tailed grouse, meadowlarks and a variety of sparrows. 4. In North American plains, sudden expansion of agriculture and excessive grazing reduced the productive grasslands to dust bowls and desert-like conditions when the grass was burned.

5. Grasslands have been the home for grazing annuals for millions of years. Since the grass height is low and trees are rare, animals found in these areas are exposed to the stress of sun and sweeping winds.

Type of Grasslands In India, true grasslands are absent, whereas natural grasslands are scarce. Most of the grasslands are seral in nature and do not attain climax formation due to biotic influences. They mostly developed as a secondary form by the destruction of the forests. The two major factors-edaphic and biotic are responsible for the secondary development of the grasslands.

Based on the moisture status, grasslands are of three types: i) Xerophilous: Occur in dry areas of north-west India. ii) Mesophilous: Occur in normal moist areas, also called savannah. iii) Hygrophilous: Occur in wet areas, also called wet savannahs.

Based on their origin, grassland may be of two types: i) Natural grassland: These have arisen naturally both in tropical areas (rainfall less than 150 cm) and temperate areas (rainfall 25-75), by the process of succession.

ii) Man-made grasslands: Deforestation by man has converted forests into grasslands. Grasslands are fast diminishing, because of their conversion to agricultural lands. Overgrazing and prolonged droughts have also helped to disturb the grasslands.

Depending upon the size of the grasses, grasslands are of three types: i) Plains: having short grasses like Buchloe ii) Prairies: having tall grasses like Andropogon. iii) Savannahs: having grasses with scattered trees like acacia.

Desert Ecosystem Deserts are arid biomes with usually less than 10 inches of rainfall per year. They cover about one fifth of the earth surface. Deserts usually occur in areas of high pressure (Sahara, Australian), rain shadows of Mountains (Mohave, Iranian) or high altitudes (Tibetan, Gobi and Bolivan). Some of the dried deserts may not have any rain for a period of many years. One such area in Chile has not received precipitation for over 20 years. Such deserts may be virtually devoid of living organisms over vast areas. There are relatively few large mammals in deserts because most are not capable of storing sufficient water and withstanding the heat.

Characteristic Features of Desert Ecosystem 1. Desert soil is generally coarse and many areas are closely, packed stones. 2. Days are very hot and nights are cold. So the plants and animals are exposed to both types of extremes. 3. The predominant plants of deserts are succulent species with waxy surfaces, such as cacti, which can conserve waterfor long periods of time, or deciduous shrubs, also with thick waxy leaves. The growing season is very short, and the flowering period amazingly abrupt, occurring suddenly after flash rains. 4. Many deserts have little or no plant life over extensive areas of sand and rock. 5. The animal community of deserts is confined. It is dominated there by burrowing and nocturnal rodents, reptiles, insects and arachnids (Scorpions, spiders etc.). These animals escape the temperature extremes and desiccation of desert air by living beneath the surface during the day and venturing forth only at night. Most of them have remarkable water conservation adaptations. 6. Most of animals living here are nocturnal (active only at night). Common animals are camels, fox, kangaroo, rat squirrel etc. 7. Kangaroo, rats utilize metabolic water. They require no free water, but obtain their requirements from the metabolic breakdown of carbohydrates into carbon dioxide and water. 8. Many of the insects and arachnids have waxy coats and reduced water loss through the cuticle.

Types of Desert Ecosystem i) ii) iii) iv) Hot and Dry Desert Semiarid Desert Coastal Desert Cold Desert

Aquatic Ecosystem Water is essential to all life, it covers about three quarters of the earth's surface either as oceans or as fresh-water. Most of the earth's surface water is in oceans which contains dissolved salts. The remaining found in either lakes or ponds. Fresh water also becomes available to earth in the form of rainfall, snow, dew etc. Water forms the biggest ecosystem, that is the aquatic ecosystem of the biosphere.

Aquatic ecosystem falls into two main categories: (i) Fresh water ecosystem (ii) Salt water ecosystem

Fresh Water Ecosystem Fresh water is defined as having a low salt concentration usually less than 1%. Plants and animals in fresh water regions are adjusted to the low salt content and would not be able to survive in areas of high salt concentration.

Fresh water ecosystem is physical and biological link between oceans and land. It consists of rivers, lakes etc. Fresh water habitats cover relatively small portion of the earths surface in comparison to terrestrial and marine habitat. They form very cheap and major source of water for various industries and domestic needs. They act as a quite good waste disposal system in the cities.

Limiting Factors of Fresh Water Ecosystem The factors include various physical and biotic factors which influence fresh water organism and ecosystem, such as: i) Temperature: It plays a little role in affecting the water ecosystem, because water has many thermal properties which minimize temperature changes. All thermal properties render fresh water ecosystem relatively more resistant to temperature fluctuations than the terrestrial ecosystem. ii) Light: The amount of light influences the productivity of the fresh water ecosystem. The fresh-waters often have a lot of suspended material. While affording protection to the light sensitive species, these substances more often obstruct the light that normally reaches the water. iii) Oxygen: Chemically pure water is biologically uninhabitable and all fresh-water contains an array of chemical substances. The oxygen being most essential chemical component of life processes, it remains dissolved in fresh-water. iv) Carbon dioxide: Aquatic vegetation and phytoplanktons require carbon dioxide for photosynthetic activity. The carbon dioxide of fresh-water environments is produced as the end

product of respiration and of decomposition. Carbon dioxide also diffuses directly from the atmosphere and is readily dissolved in water to result in carbonic acid which increases the pH of water. The high saturation levels of O2 and CO2 have been found to have toxic effects on aquatic biota.

Other factors which influence the fresh water ecosystem are dissolved salts and salinity, current, pressure and density etc.