Ecosystem

Ch-12
Introduction

An ecosystem can be defined as a functional unit of nature, where living organisms interact
among themselves and also with the surrounding physical environment.

An ecosystem is divided into two basic categories

 Terrestrial ecosystem. Example- forest, desert.

 Aquatic ecosystem. Example- pond, lake, wetland.
Ecosystem- structure and functions
The various components of the environment are abiotic and biotic.
Biotic components are the living beings and abiotic components are the non-living things of the
ecosystem.
Vertical distribution of different species occupying different levels is called stratification.
The functional components of ecosystem are-
a)Productivity
b)Decomposition
c)Energy
d)Nutrient cycling
Example of functional components of ecosystem is a pond ecosystem
The abiotic component is the water with all the dissolved inorganic and organic. substances and
the rich soil deposit at the bottom of the pond
a)The autotrophic components include the phytoplankton, some algae and the floating,
submerged and marginal plants found at the edges.
b)The consumers are represented by the zooplankton, the free swimming and bottom dwelling
forms.
c)The decomposers are the fungi, bacteria and flagellates especially abundant in the bottom of
the pond.

Productivity
The rate of biomass production is called productivity.
Productivity is of two types-
a)Primary productivity
b)Secondary productivity.
Primary productivity
It is defined as the amount of biomass or organic matter produced per unit area over a time
period by plants during photosynthesis.
Primary productivity is expressed in terms of weight (g–2) or energy (kcal m–2 ).
Primary productivity can be divided into
a)Gross primary productivity (GPP)
b)Net primary productivity (NPP).
Gross primary productivity of an ecosystem is the rate of production of organic matter during
pphotosynthesis.
b)Gross primary productivity minus respiration losses ®, is the net primary productivity (NPP).

GPP – R = NPP
Secondary productivity is defined as the rate of formation of new organic matter by consumers.
The annual net primary productivity of the whole biosphere is approximately 170 billion tons
(dry weight) of organic matter.
Decomposition
Decomposers break down complex organic matter into inorganic substances like carbon dioxide,
water and nutrients and the process is called decomposition.Dead plant remains such as leaves,
bark, flowers and dead remains of animals, including fecal matter is called detritus. Detritus is
the raw material for decomposition.Detritivores are the organisms break down detritus into
smaller particles. Example-millipedes, dung flies, woodlice, burying beetles.
The important steps in the process of decomposition are
a) fragmentation,
b) leaching,
c) catabolism,
d) humification

Fragmentation :
It is the breaking down of detritus into smaller particles.
Leaching:
The process by which watersoluble inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon and get
precipitated as unavailable salts is called as leaching.
Catabolism:
The process by which bacterial and fungal enzymes degrade detritus into simpler inorganic
substances called as catabolism.
Humification:
Humification is the accumulation of a dark coloured amorphous substance called humus.
Mineralisation:
The humus is further degraded by some microbes and release of inorganic nutrients.occur by the
process known as mineralisation.
Factors affecting the rate of decomposition:

a)Large amount of oxygen is required for decomposition as it is an energy requiring process.

b)Chitin and lignin present in detritus slower the rate of decomposition.

c)Nitrogen and water-soluble substances like sugars in detritus increases the rate of
decomposition.
d)Warm and moist environment favour decomposition whereas low temperature, dryness and
anaerobiosis inhibit decomposition.

Energy flow:
Sun is the only source of energy for all ecosystems on Earth and except for the deep sea hydro-
thermal ecosystem.Less than 50 per of incident solar radiation is photosynthetically active
radiation (PAR).Plants capture only 2-10 per cent of the PAR.All organisms are dependent for
their food on producers.

Flow of energy in the ecosystem is unidirectional.

Producers:The green plant in the ecosystem are called producers. Example-In a terrestrial
ecosystem, major producers are herbaceous and woody plants and in aquatic ecosystem
phytoplankton, algae and higher plants are producers.All animals depend on plants for their food
needs are called consumers

Consumers :

Consumers which feed on the producers, they are called primary consumers or herbivores.
Example- grass

Primary carnivores :

The animals eat herbivores, they are called secondary consumers or primary carnivores.
Example- goat.

Secondary carnivores:

The animals which eat the primary carnivores are called tertiary consumers or secondary
carnivores. Example- man.

Based on the source of their nutrition or food, organisms occupy a specific place in the food
chain that is known as their trophic level.

Producers belong to the first trophic level, herbivores (primary consumer) to the second and
carnivores (secondary consumer) to the third trophic level.

FOOD CHAIN:

Food chain is the flow of energy from one trophic level to another trophic level by eating and
being eaten.

Food chain if is two types-

a)Grazing food chain

b)Detritus food chain

Food chain which starts from producers and ends on carnivores through herbivores is called
grazing food chain.

Grass  goat  man.

Fig. grass is eaten by goat and goat is eaten by men

Detritus Food chain:
Food chain which starts from dead organic matter and passes through detrivores to organisms
feeding on detrivores is called detritus food chain.
Detrivores are decomposers which meet their energy and nutrient requirements by degrading
dead organic matter or detritus, these are also known as saprotrophs
The interconnected matrix of food chain is called food web. For example- specific herbivore of
one food chain may serve as food of carnivores in another food chain.
Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a particular time called as the standing
crop.The standing crop is measured as the mass of living organisms (biomass) or the number in a
unit area.
Fig. A food chain, where grass is eaten by insects and frogs eat the insects which in turn is eaten
by the snakes and eagles eat the snakes

Ecological pyramid:
Ecological pyramid is the graphical representation of various trophic levels of food chain
designed to show their number, biomass and energy.
The base of a pyramid is broad and it narrows down at the apex.
The base of each pyramid represents the producers or the first trophic level while the apex
represents tertiary or top level consumer.
The three ecological pyramids that are usually studied are
a)Pyramid of number
b)Pyramid of biomass
c)Pyramid of energy.
A given species may occupy more than one trophic level in the same ecosystem at the same time.
For example, a sparrow is a primary consumer when it eats seeds, fruits, peas, and a secondary
consumer when it eats insects and worms.
Pyramid of number:
Producers are more in number and biomass than the herbivores, and herbivores are more in
number and biomass than the carnivores so all the pyramids, of number, of energy and biomass
are upright.
Pyramid of biomass:
The pyramid of biomass in sea is also generally inverted because the biomass of fishes far
exceeds that of phytoplankton.

Pyramid of energy:

Pyramid of energy is always upright because when energy flows from a particular trophic level
to the next trophic level, some energy is always lost as heat at each step.

Limitations of ecological pyramids:

 It does not take into account the same species belonging to two or more trophic levels.
 It assumes a simple food chain, something that almost never exists in nature
 It does not accommodate a food web.
 Saprophytes are not given any place in ecological pyramids.
Ecological Succession:
Ecological succession is the process of change in the structure of species that belongs to an
ecological community over time. After a mass Extinction, the time scale can be decades or even
millions of years. This change occurs orderly and sequential, parallel with the changes in the
Physical environment.
● Pioneer Species: The species that invade a bare area are called pioneer Species.
● Pioneer Community: The community that is capable to invade a bare area is known as the
pioneer community.
● Climax community: A community that is almost near to equilibrium with the environment is
called the climax community.
● Sere: A sequence of ecological communities arising in an area from the Initial pioneer
community to the final climax community
● Primary succession:
Primary succession is a type of biological and ecological succession of plant life. It occurs in an
environment in which a New substrate is deposited. This new substrate is not having any kind of
vegetation and other organisms. It also usually lacks soil and organic Matter. It occurs in places
such as land after a lava flow or area left from the retreated glacier.
● Secondary succession:
Secondary succession is a type of biological and Ecological succession of plant life which takes
place in a habitat that has been previously populated but has since been disturbed or damaged.
For instance, regions where existing vegetation has been removed (due to tree falling in a
woodland or destructive events such as fires).