MODULE 2A.

THE ECOSYTEM

Module 2A. The Ecosystem

Introduction
This module discusses concepts and principles pertaining to ecosystem.
.

Learning Outcome/Objective
At the end of the module, you should be able to:

1. Describe the concept and principles of ecosystem and ecosystem

management;
2. understand the interrelationships of organism in the ecosystem;
3. discuss gradients and ecotones and explain edge effect
4. analyze the dynamics of natural and man-made ecosystems and
discuss some sustaining measures
5. discuss the different levels of diversity, understand how diversity is
measured and identify the importance of biodiversity in the ecosystem;
and
6. explain the different approaches of studying ecosystem.

Learning Content/Topic
This module will cover the following topics:

1. Concept of the Ecosystem and Ecosystem Management

2. Trophic Structure of the Ecosystem
3. Gradients and Ecotones
4. Examples of Ecosystems
5. Ecosystem Diversity
6. Study of Ecosystems

1. Concept of Ecosystem and Ecosystem Management

Living (biotic) organisms and their nonliving (abiotic) environment are

inseparably interrelated and interact with each other. Any unit that
includes all the organisms (the biotic community) in a given area
interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads
to clearly defined trophic structures and cycling of materials between
living and nonliving components is ecological system or ecosystem. It

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is more than a geographical unit (or ecoregion); it is a functional unit,

with inputs and outputs, and boundaries that are natural or arbitrary.

The ecosystem is the first unit in the ecological hierarchy that is

complete ---- that has all the components (biological and physical)
necessary for survival. Accordingly, it is the basic unit around which to
organize both theory and practice in ecology. Furthermore, as the
shortcomings of the “piecemeal”, short-term technological and
economic approaches, to dealing with complex problems become ever
more evident with each passing year, management at this level
(ecosystem management) emerges as the challenge for the future.
Because ecosystems are functionally open systems, consideration of
both the input environment and the output environment is an important
part of the concept.

The term ecosystem was first proposed in 1935 by the British ecologist
Sir Arthur G. Tansley (Tansley 1935). Allusions to the idea of unity of
organisms and environment (and the oneness of humans and nature)
can be found as far back in written history as one might care to look.
Not until the late 1800s, however, did formal statements begin to
appear, interesting enough, in a parallel manner in the American,
European, and Russian ecological literature. Thus, Karl August Möbius
in 1877 wrote (in German) about the community of organisms in an
oyster reef as a "biocoenosis”, and in 1887, S.A. Forbes, an American,
wrote his classic essay “Lake as a Microcosm”. The pioneering Russian,
V. V. Dokuchaev (1846 - 1903), and his chief disciple G.F. Morosov
emphasized the concept of the "biocoenosis, a term later expanded by
Russian ecologists to "geobiocoenosis.

Not only biologists but also physical scientists and social scientists
began to consider the idea that both nature and human societies
function as systems. In 1925, physical chemist A. J. Lotka wrote in a
book entitled Elements Physical Biology that the organic and inorganic
worlds function as a single system to such an extent that it is impossible
to understand either part without understanding the whole. It is
significant that a biologist (Tansley) and a physical scientist (Lotka)
independently and at about the same time came up with the idea of the
“ecological system". Because Tansley coined the word ecosystem, and
it caught on, he received most of the credit which perhaps should be
shared with Lotka.

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In the 1930s' social scientists developed the holistic concept of

regionalism, especially Howard W. Odum, who used social indicators to
compare the southern region of the United States with other regions.
More recently, Machlis et al. (1977) and Force and Machlis (1997) have
promoted the idea of human ecosystem, combining biological ecology
and social theories as a basis for practical ecosystem management.

It was not until a general systems theory was developed in the mid-
twentieth century by Bertalanffy and other ecologists began to develop
the definitive quantitative field of ecosystem ecology. The extent to
which ecosystems actually operate as general systems and the extent to
which they are self-organizing are matters of continuing research and
debate. The utility of the ecosystem or systems approach in solving real-
world environmental problems is now receiving serious attention.

Other terms used to express holistic viewpoint: Holocoen (Friedrichs,

1930), Biosystem ((Thienemann, 1939), Bioenert body (Varnadsky,
1944), Ecosystem – prefered term in English, Biogeocoenosis or
geobiocoenosis – preferred by writers in Germanic and Slavic languages.

As is the case for all kinds and levels of biosystems (biological systems),
ecosystems are open systems --- that is, things are constantly entering
and leaving, even though the general appearance and basic function
may remain constant for long periods of time.

As shown in Figure 2-1, a graphic model of an ecosystem can consist of

a box that we can label the system, which represents the area we are
interested in and two large circles that we can label input environment
and output environment. The boundary for the system can be arbitrary
(whatever is convenient or of interest), delineating an area such as a
block of forest or a section of beach; or it can be natural, such as the
shore or a lake, where the whole lake is to be the system, or ridges as
boundaries of a watershed.

Energy is a necessary input. The Sun is the ultimate energy source for
the ecosphere and directly supports most natural ecosystems within the
biosphere. But there are other energy sources that may be important for
many ecosystems, for example, wind, rain, water flow or fossil fuel (the
major source for the modern city).

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INPUT OUTPUT
ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT

Other
Energy Processed energy and
materials; emigration
SYSTEM of organisms
Sun (as delimited)

Input of
materials;
Immigration of
organisms

Figure 2.1. Ecosystem model emphasizing the external environment which must be
considered as an integral part of the ecosystem concept (first suggested
by Patten in 1978).

Energy also flows out of the system in the form of heat and in other
transformed or processed forms, such as organic matter (food and
waste products) and pollutants. Water, air, and nutrients necessary for
life, along with all kinds of other materials, constantly enter and leave
the ecosystem. And, of course, organisms and their propagules (seeds
or spores) and other reproductive stages enter (immigrate) or leave
(emigrate).

In Figure 2.1, the system part of the ecosystem is shown as a black box,
which is defined by modeler as a unit whose general role or function can
be evaluated without specifying its internal contents. However, we want
to look inside this black box to see how it is organized internally and
find out what happens to all those inputs. Figure 2-2 shows the
contents, as it were, of an ecosystem in model form.

The interactions of the three basic components, namely; (1) the

community, (2) the flow of energy, and (3) the cycling of materials-are
diagrammed as a simplified compartment model. Energy flow is one-
way, some of the incoming solar energy is transformed and upgraded
in quality (that is, converted into organic matter, a higher-quality form
of energy than sunlight) by the community, but most input energy is
degraded and passes through and out of the system as low-quality heat
energy (heat sink).

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Figure 2.2. Functional diagram of an ecosystem.

Energy can be stored, then "fed back," or exported, as shown in the

diagram, but it can not be reused. In contrast with energy, materials,
including the nutrients necessary are reused and recycled in the system.
The efficiency of recycling and the magnitude of importance of nutrients
vary widely with the type of ecosystem.

Each "box"' in the diagram (Fig. 2.2) is given a distinctive shape that
indicates its general function according to an "energy language," as
introduced in Module 1 (Fig 1-8). The community is depicted as food
web of autotrophs, A, and heterotrophs, H, linked together with
appropriate energy flows, nutrient cycles and storages, S.

Both graphic models (Figs. 2.l and 2.2) emphasize that a conceptually
complete ecosystem includes an input environment (lE) and an output
environment (OE) along with the system (S) as delimited, or ecosystem
= IE + S + OE. This scheme solves the problem of where to draw lines
around an entity that one wishes to consider, because it does not matter
very much how the "box" portion of the ecosystem is delimited. Often,
natural boundaries, such as a lakeshore or forest edge, or political ones,
such as province or city limits, make convenient boundaries, but limits
can just as well be arbitrary so long as they can be accurately designated
in a geometric sense. The box is not all there is to the ecosystem,
because if the box were an impervious container, its living contents (lake

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or city) would not long survive such isolation. A functional or real-world

ecosystem must have an input lifeline, in most cases, a means of
exporting processed energy and materials.

The extent of the input and output environment varies extremely and
depends on several variables, for example, (1) size of the system (the
larger, the less dependent on externals); (2) metabolic intensity (the
higher the rate, the greater the input and output); (3) autotrophic-
heterotrophic balance (the greater the imbalance, the more externals to
balance); and (4) stage of development (young systems differ from
mature systems. Thus, a large, forested mountain range has much
smaller input-output environments than does a small stream or a city.

Before the agricultural and industrial revolutions, humans were largely

hunters and gatherers living on whatever they could kill or harvest from
natural systems. Early humans fit into the ecosystem model of Figure
2.2 as the terminal H (top predator and omnivore). Modern urban-
industrial society no longer just affects and modifies natural systems
but has created a completely new arrangement that term the human-
dominated technoecosystem.

Check your understanding!!!

Explain the concept of ecosystem and relate the concept of unity and
interrelatedness.

2.2. Trophic Structure of the Ecosystem

From the standpoint of trophic structure (from trophe’ ="nourishment”),

an ecosystem is two-layered. It has:

a. an upper, autotrophic ("self-nourishing") stratum or "green belt"

of chlorophyll-containing plants in which the fixation of light
energy, the use of simple inorganic substances, and the buildup
of complex organic substances predominate, and
b. lower heterotrophic stratum or “brown belt” of soils and
sediments, decaying mater, roots, etc. where decomposition of
complex materials predominates.

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It is convenient to recognize the following components as

constituting the ecosystem:

a. inorganic substances (C, N, CO2, H2O and others) involved in

material cycles;
b. organic compounds (proteins, carbohydrares, lipids, humic
substances and so on) that link biotic and abiotic components;
c. air, water, and substrate environment including the climate
regime and other physical factors;
d. producers (autotrophic organisms), mostly green plants that can
manufacture food from simple inorganic substances;
e. phagotrophs (from phago = to eat,,), heterotrophic organisms,
chiefly animals, that ingest other organisms or particulate organic
matter; and
f. saprotrophs (from sapro = "to decompose") or decomposers,
also heterotrophic organisms, chiefly bacteria and fungi, that
obtain their energy either by breaking down dead tissues or by
absorbing dissolved organic matter exuded by or extracted from
plants or other organisms. Saprophages are organisms that feed
on dead organic matter. The decomposing activities of
saprotrophs release inorganic nutrients that are usable by the
producers; they also provide food for the macroconsumers and
often excrete substances that inhibit or stimulate other biotic
components of the ecosystem.

One of the universal features of all ecosystems --- whether terrestrial,

freshwater, marine, or human-engineered (for example, agricultural), is
the interaction of the autotrophic and heterotrophic components.

The organisms responsible for the processes are partially separated in

space; the greatest autotrophic metabolism occurs in the upper "green
belt" stratum, where light -energy is available. The most intense
heterotrophic metabolism occurs in the lower "brown belt," where
organic matter accumulates in soils and sediments.

Also, the basic functions are partially, separated in, time, as there may
be a considerable delay in the heterotrophic use of the products of
autotrophic organisms.

For example, photosynthesis predominates in the canopy of a forest

ecosystem. Only a part, often-only a small part of the photosynthate is
immediately and directly used by the plant and by herbivores and
parasites that feed on foliage and other actively growing plant tissue.

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Much of the synthesized material (leaves, wood, and stored food in

seeds and roots) escapes immediate consumption and eventually
reaches the litter and soil (or the equivalent sediments in aquatic
ecosystems), which together constitute a well-defined heterotrophic
system. Weeks, months, or years (or many millennia, in the case of the
fossil fuels now being rapidly consumed by human societies) may pass
before all the accumulated organic is used.

The term organic detritus (product of disintegration, from the Latin

deterere “to wear away") refers to all organic matter involved in the
decomposition of dead organisms. Detritus seemed to be the most
suitable of many terms that have been suggested to designate this
important link between the living and the inorganic world.
Environmental chemist used a shorthand designation to two physically
different products of decomposition as follows: POM is particulate
organic matter; DOM is dissolved organic matter; VOM is volatile organic
matter which mostly function as signals, for example, fragrance of
flowers that attracts pollinators.

As a general principle, from the operational standpoint, the living and

non-Iiving parts of the ecosystems are so interwoven into the fabric of
nature that it is difficult to separate them; hence, operational or
functional classifications do not sharply distinguish between biotic and
abiotic.

Most of the vital elements (such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus)

and organic compounds (such as carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids)
are not only found inside and outside of living organisms but are also
in a constant state of flux or turnover between living and nonliving
states.

Some substances, however, appear to be unique to one or the other

state. The high-energy storage compound ATP (adenosine
triphosphate), for example, is found only inside living cells (or at least
its existence outside is very transitory), whereas humic substances,
which are resistant end products of decomposition, are never found
inside cells, yet they are a major and characteristic component of all
ecosystems. Other key biotic complexes, such as DNA (deoxyribonucleic
acid) and the chlorophylls, occur both inside and outside organisms but
become nonfunctional when outside the cell.

The ecological classification (producers, phagotrophs, decomposers) is

one of function rather than of species as such. Some species occupy

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intermediate positions, and others can shift their mode of nutrition

according to environmental circumstances. The separation of
heterotrophs into large and small consumers is arbitrary but justified in
practice because of the very different methods of study required.

The heterotrophic microconsumers (bacteria, fungi, and others) are

relatively immobile (usually embedded in the medium being
decomposed), are very small, and have high rate of metabolism and
turnover. Their functional specialization is more evident biochemically
than morphologically, consequently, one cannot usually determine their
role in the ecosystem by such direct methods as visual observation or
counting their numbers.

Organisms designated as macroconsumers obtain their energy by

heterotrophic ingestion of particulate organic matter. These are largely
"animals" in the broad sense. These higher forms tend to be
morphologically adapted for active food seeking or herbivory, with the
development of complex sensory-neuromotor, digestive, respiratory,
and circulatory systems in the higher forms.

The microconsumers or saprotrophs, have been typically designated as

decomposers, however, it seems preferable not to designate any
particular organisms as decomposers but to consider decomposition as
a process involving all of the biota and abiotic processes as well.

Check your understanding!!!

1. What are the different components of the trophic structure of

the ecosystem. Discuss their respective role/s.
2. How the role of each of these organisms complement to
maintain the integrity of the ecosystem?

2.3. Gradients and Ecotones

The biosphere is characterized by series of gradients or zonation of

physical factors. Examples are temperature gradients from the Arctic or
Antarctic to the Tropics and from mountain top to valley, moisture
gradients from wet to dry along major weather systems; and depth
gradients from shore to bottom in bodies of water. Environmental
conditions, including the organisms adapted to these conditions change

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gradually along a gradient, but often there are points of abrupt change,
known as ecotones.

An ecotone is created by the juxtaposition of different habitats, or

ecosystem types. The concept assumes the existence of active
interaction between two or more ecosystems (or patches within
ecosystems), which results in the ecotone having properties that do not
exist in either of the adjacent ecosystems (Naiman and Decamps
1990).

Four examples of physical factor zonation as related to biotic

communities are shown in Figure 2.3. On land biomes, zonation can
often be identified and mapped by indigenous vegetation that is more
or less in equilibrium with the regional climate (Fig. 2.3A). ln large
bodies of water (lakes, oceans) where green plants are small and not a
conspicuous visual presence, zonation is best based on physical or geo-
morphological features (Fig. 2.3B). Zonation based on productivity and
respiration or thermal stratification of a pond (Figs. 2.3C).

An example of an ecotone as an interface zone with unique properties

and species is a sea beach, where alternate flooding and drying tidal
action is a unique feature and where there are numerous kinds of
organisms that are not found either on land or in the open sea.

Estuaries landward to the beaches are other examples, as are prairie-

forest zones. In addition to external processes such as tides causing
discontinuities in gradients, internal processes such as sediment traps,
root mats, special saltwater conditions, inhibitory chemicals, or animal
activity (for instance, darn building by beavers) may maintain an ecotone
distinct from bordering communities. In addition to unique species,
terrestrial ecotones sometimes are populated by more species
(increased biotic diversity) than can be found in the interior of the
adjoining, more homogenous communities.

When it comes to game animals and birds, wildlife managers speak of

this as the edge effect and often recommend special plantings between
field and forest, for example, to increase the numbers of these animals.
Species that inhabit these edge habitats are frequently referred to as
edge species. However, a sharp edge, such as that between a clear-cut
and an uncut forest maybe a poor habitat, and the large amount of
edge in a fragmented, domesticated landscape usually reduces
diversity.

Figure 2.3B Zonation in lakes.

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Figure 2.3A. Land biomes zonation

Figure 2.3C. Zonation based on productivity and

respiration or thermal stratification of a pond

Check your understanding!!!

1. Biodiversity in ecotones is higher than adjacent ecosytems?

Explain why.

2.4. Examples of Ecosystem

A Pond and an Old Field

P1ants, animals, and microorganisms not only live in the pond

and the old field (or grassland), but they also modify the chemical
nature of the water, soil, and air that compose the physical
environment.

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The basic components of an aquatic and a terrestrial ecosystem

are:

a. Abiotic substances
 include inorganic and organic compounds, such as
water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, calcium, nitrogen,
sulfur, and phosphorus salts, amino and humic acids,
and others
 a small portion of the vital nutrients is in solution and
immediately available to organisms, but a much larger
portion is held in reserve (the "storage" S shown in the
functional diagram of Figure 2-2) in particulate matter
as well as in the organisms themselves
 the rate of release of nutrients from the solids, the solar
input, and changes in temperature, day length, and
other climatic conditions are the most important
processes that regulate the rate of function of the entire
ecosystem on a daily basis

b. Producer organisms
 In a pond, the producers may be of two main types: (l)
rooted or large floating plants (macrophytes) generally
growing in shallow water, and (2) minute floating plants,
usually algae or green bacteria or protozoa, called
phytoplankton (from phyto = "plant"; plankton =
"floating"), distributed throughout the pond as deep as
light penetrates.
 An abundance of phytoplankton gives the water a
greenish color; otherwise, these producers are not
visible, and their presence is not suspected by the casual
observer.

c. Consumer organisms
 The primary macroconsumers or herbivores feed
directly on living plants or plant parts; these herbivores
will also be termed primary (first-order) consumers.
Herbivores in the grassland or old field also come in two
sizes, the small, plant-feeding insects and other
invertebrates and the large, grazing rodents and hoofed
mammals.
 In the pond, there are two types of microconsumers,
zooplankton (animal plankton) and benthos (bottom
forms), paralleling the two types of producers.
 The secondary (second-order) consumers or carnivores,
such as predaceous insects and game fish (nekton; that
is, free-swimming aquatic organisms that are able to
move about at will through the water) in the pond, and

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predatory insects, spiders, birds, and mammals in the

grassland feed on the primary consumers or on other
secondary consumers (thus making them tertiary
consumers).
 Another important type of consumer is the detritivore,
which subsists on the "rain" of organic detritus from
autotrophic layers above and, along with herbivores,
provides food for carnivores. Many detritivorous animals
(such as earthworms) obtain much of their food energy
by digesting the microorganisms that colonize detritus
particles.

d. Decomposer organisms
 The non-green bacteria, flagellates, and fungi are
distributed throughout the ecosystem, but they are
especially abundant in the mud-water interface of the
pond and in the litter-soil junction of the grassland or
old-field ecosystem Although a few of the bacteria and
fungi are pathogenic, in that they will attack living
organisms and cause disease, the majority attack only
after the organism dies. Important groups of
microorganisms also form mutually beneficial
associations with plants, even to the extent of becoming
an integral part of roots and other plant structures.

When temperature and moisture conditions are favorable,

the first stages of decomposition occur rapidly. Dead
organisms do not retain their integrity for very long but are
soon broken up by the combined action of detritus-feeding
microorganisms and physical processes. Some of their
nutrients are released for reuse. The resistant fraction of
detritus, such as cellulose, lignin (wood), and humus,
endures and imparts a spongy texture to soil and sediments
that contributes to a quality habitat for plant roots and
many tiny invertebrates. Some of the latter convert
atmospheric nitrogen to forms usable by plants (nitrogen
fixation) or perform other processes for their own benefit
but also for the enhancement of the whole ecosystem.

The Watershed Concept

Although the biological components of the pond and the meadow

seem self-contained, they are actually open systems that are parts
of larger watershed systems. Their function and relative stability
over the years are very much determined by the rate of inflow or

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outflow of water, materials, and organisms from other parts of

the watershed.

A net inflow of materials often occurs when bodies of water are

small, when outflow is restricted, or when sewage or industrial
wastes are added. In such a case, the pond fills up and becomes
a swamp, which may be maintained by periodic drawdowns or
fires that remove some of the accumulated organic matter.
Otherwise, the body of water becomes a terrestrial environment.

The phrase cultural eutrophication ("cultural enrichment") is used

to denote organic pollution resulting from human activities. Not
only do soil erosion and loss of nutrients from a disturbed forest
or poorly managed cultivated field impoverish these ecosystems,
but such outflows will likely have "downstream" eutrophic or other
impacts. Therefore, the whole drainage basin---not just the body
of water or patch of vegetation must be considered as the
minimum ecosystem unit when it comes to human understanding
and resource management.

The ecosystem unit for practical management must then include

for every square meter or hectare water at least 20 times its area
of terrestrial watershed. Naturally, the ratio of water surface to
watershed area varies widely and depends on rainfall, geological
structure of underlying rocks, and topography. In other words,
fields, forests, bodies of water, and towns linked together by a
stream or river system, or in limestone country by an
underground drainage network, interact as an integrative unit for
both study and management.

This integrative unit, or catchment basin, termed a watershed, is

also defined as the area of the terrestrial environment that is
drained by a particular stream or river.

The watershed concept helps put many of our problems and

conflicts in perspective. For example, the cause of and the
solutions for water pollution are not to be found by looking only
at the water; usually, incompetent management in the watershed
(such as the conventional agricultural practices that result in
fertilizer runoff) is what destroys water resources. The entire
drainage or catchment basin must be considered as the unit of
management.

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Agroecosystems

Agroecosystems (short for agricultural ecosystems) differs from

natural or semi-natural solar-powered ecosystems, such as lakes
and forests, in three basic ways:
1. auxiliary energy that augments or subsidizes the solar
energy input is under the control of humankind and
consists of human and animal labor, fertilizers, pesticides,
irrigation water, fuel-powered machinery, and so on;
2. the diversity of organisms and crops is greatly reduced
(again by human management) to maximize yield of
specific food crops or other products; and
3. the dominant plants and animals are under artificial
selection rather than natural selection.

In other words, agroecosystems are designed and managed to

channel as much conversion of solar energy and energy subsidies
as possible into edible or other marketable products by a twofold
process:
1. by employing auxiliary energy to do maintenance work that
in natural systems would be accomplished by solar energy,
thus allowing more solar energy to be converted directly
into food; and
2. by genetic selection of food plants and domestic animals to
optimize yield in the specialized, energy-subsidized
environment.

As in all intensive and specialized land use, there are costs as well
as benefits, including soil erosion, pollution from pesticide and
fertilizer runoff, high cost of fuel subsidies, reduced biodiversity,
and increased vulnerability to weather changes and pests.

Approximately l0 percent of the world's ice-free land area is

cropland, converted mostly from natural grasslands and forests,
but also from deserts and wetlands. Another 20 percent of the
land area is pasture, designed for animal rather than plant
production. Thus, about 30 percent of the terrestrial surface is
devoted to agriculture in the broadest sense.

At the risk of oversimplifying, one can divide agroecosystems into

three broad types:
1. Pre-industrial agriculture --- self-sufficient and labor
intensive (human and animal labor provide the energy
subsidy); provides food for farmer and family and for sale
or barter in local markets, but does not produce a large
surplus for export

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2. Intensive mechanized, fuel-subsidized agriculture,

termed conventional or industrial agriculture (machines
and chemicals provide the energy subsidy), produces food
exceeding local needs for export and trade, thus making
food a commodity and a major market force in the economy
rather than providing only Iife-support goods and services
3. Lower-input sustainable agriculture (LISA), frequently
termed alternative agriculture places emphasis on
sustaining crop yields and profits while reducing inputs of
fossil fuels, pesticides, and fertilizer subsidies

About 60 percent of the world's croplands are in the pre-industrial

category, a large proportion of them in the less developed
countries of Asia, Africa, and South America that have large
human populations. A great variety of types have been adapted
to soil, water, and climate conditions, three types predominate:
(1) pastoral systems; (2) shifting or swidden (slash-and-burn)
agriculture, and (3) flood-irrigated and other non-mechanized
systems.

Pastoralism involves herding cattle or other domestic animals in

arid and semi-arid regions (especially the savanna and grassland
regions of Africa), with people subsisting on livestock products
such as milk, meat, and hides. Shifting agriculture, once practiced
throughout the world, is still widely practiced in forested areas of
the Tropics.

After patches of forest have been cut and the debris burned (or
sometimes left lying on the ground as mulch), crops are cultivated
for a few years until the nutrients are used up and leached out of
the soil. Then the site is abandoned, to be rejuvenated by natural
regrowth of the forest. Permanent, non-mechanized agriculture
has persisted for centuries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere,
feeding millions of people.

The most productive of the agroecosystems are subsidized by

flood irrigation, either naturally by seasonal floods along rivers
and in fertile deltas or by artificially controlled flooding, as in the
ancient, canal-irrigated paddy rice culture.

Pre-industrial systems, however, even well-adapted, permanent,

and energy efficient ones, do not produce enough surplus food
to feed huge cities. In the past, mechanized agriculture
capitalized on the availability of relatively inexpensive fuel,
fertilizers, and agricultural chemicals (both of which require large
amounts of fuel to make), and, of course, advanced technology,

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not only on the farm but in genetics, food processing, and

marketing.

Industrial agriculture has greatly increased the yield of food and

fiber per unit of land. This is the bright side of technology, but
there are two dark sides: (1) many small farms go out of business
worldwide, and these families gravitate toward cities, where they
become consumers rather than producers of food, and (2)
industrial agriculture has greatly increased nonpoint pollution
and soil loss. To counteract the latter, a new technology called
low-input sustainable agriculture (LISA) is coming into increasing
use.

Check your understanding!!!

Give 1 example each of natural and man-made ecosystem. Compare

and contrasts these ecosystems in terms of trophic structure, energy
utilization and extent of human intervention.

2.5. Ecosystem Diversity

Ecosystem diversity may be defined as the genetic diversity, species

diversity, habitat diversity, and the diversity of functional processes that
maintain complex systems.

It is useful to recognize two components of diversity:

1. the richness or variety component which can be expressed

as the number of kinds of components such as species, genetic
varieties, land-use categories and chemical processes per unit
space; and
2. the relative abundance or apportionment component of
individual units among the different kinds. The maintenance
of moderate to high diversity is important, not only to ensure
that all key functional niches are operating, but especially to
maintain redundancy and resilience in the ecosystem. In other
words, to hedge against stressful times (such as storms, fires,
diseases, or temperature changes) that occur sooner or later.

The reason it is important to consider the relative abundance

as well as the richness component is that two ecosystems can
have the same richness but be very different because the
apportionment of the kinds is different.
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For example, the communities in two different ecosystems

might each have 10 species, but one community might have
about the same number of individuals (say, 10 individuals) in
each species (high evenness), whereas most of the individuals
in the other community might belong to just one dominant
species (low evenness).

Most natural landscapes have a moderate evenness, with a few

common (dominant) species for each trophic level or
taxonomic group, and numerous rare species. In general,
human activities directly or indirectly increase dominance and
reduce evenness and variety.

The relationship between distribution and abundance can be

explained by Hanki’s core-satellite species hypothesis,
noting that core species are common and widespread in
distribution, whereas satellite species are rare and local in
distribution.

According to this hypothesis, the frequency distribution of

range sizes should have one peak for core species occupying
large areas and a second peak for the satellite species
occupying small ranges.

Diversity can be quantified and compared statistically in two

basic ways:
1. by calculating diversity indices based on the ratio of
parts to the whole, or n,/N, where n, is the number or
percentage of importance values (such as numbers,
biomass, basal area, productivity) and N is the total of
all importance values; and
2. by plotting semi-log graphic profiles, called dominance-
diversity curves, in which the number or percentage of
each component is plotted in sequence, from most
abundant to least abundant. The steeper the curve, the
lower the diversity.

Check your understanding!!!

1. Differentiate the following:

a. Genetic diversity
b. Species diversity
c. Ecosystem diversity
2. Give importance of species diversity in an ecosystem.

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2.6. Study of Ecosystems

Ecologists in the past have approached the study of large,

complex ecosystems, such as lakes and forests, in two ways:

1. the holological (from holos = "whole") approach, in

which inputs and outputs are measured, collective and
emergent properties of the whole are assessed and
then the component parts are investigated as needed;
and
2. the merological (from meros = "part") approach, in
which the major parts are studied first and then
integrated into a whole system.

As neither approach alone gets all the answers, a multilevel

approach, involving alternating "top-down" and "bottom-up"
approaches based on hierarchical theory, is now coming to the
forefront. Experimental modelling and geographic information
systems (GIS) techniques are being used more and more to test
hypotheses at various levels of organization.

Debates among scientists continue to center on just how much of

the behavior of complex systems can be explained from the
behavior of their parts without recourse to higher levels of
organization. Ecologists contend that the contrasting holistic
(holological) and reductionist (merological) approaches are
complementary and not antagonistic.

Components cannot be distinguished if there is no "whole" or

"system" to abstract them from and there can not be a whole
unless there are constituent parts. When constituents are strongly
coupled, emergent properties will likely reveal themselves only at
the level of the whole. Such attributes will be missed if only the
merological approach is taken.

Above all, a given organism may behave quite differently in

different systems, and this variability has to do with how the
organism interacts with other components. Many insects, for
example, are destructive pests in an agricultural habitat but not
in their natural habitat, where parasites, competitors, predators,
or chemical inhibitors keep them under control.

An effective way to gain insight into an ecosystem is to

experiment with it (that is, disturb it in some manner, in the hope
that the response will clarify hypothesis that one has deduced
from observation). In recent years, stress ecology or perturbation
(from perturbare = "to disturb") ecology has become an imponant

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field of research. Besides manipulating the real thing, one can

also gain insight by manipulating models.

Teaching and Learning Activities

This module will be employing the following Teaching and Learning Activities:
 Lecture/ discussion/brainstorming using blended learning
 Self-directed learning exercises
 Administration of written quiz

Flexible Teaching/Learning Modality (FTLM) Adapted

The Blended Learning will be adopted as the FTLM for ecology classes. This
may include online, non-online, synchronous, and or asynchronous.

Assessment Task
 Submission of answers in the “check your understanding” portion of
the module
 quizzes

References
Deauna, M.C. and S.A. Dorado. 2003. Environmental Science for Philippine
schools. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. Philippines

Enger, E.D. and B.FF. Smith. 2000. Environmental science: a study of

interrelationships. 7th Edition. McGraw Hill Book, Co. Singapore

Kreb, C.J. 2001. The experimental analysis of distribution and abundance.

5th Edition. Benjamin Cummings, USA

Odum, E.P. and G.W. Barrett. 2005. Fundamentals of ecology. 5th Edition.
Brooks/Cole, Thompson, USA

Ordonez, J.A. 2004. Environmental biology: Philippine setting. National

Bookstore, Mandaluyong City, Manila

Smith, T.H. and R.L. Smith. 2006. Elements of ecology. Pearson/Benjamin

Cummings, Inc.

Molles Jr., M.C. 2008. Ecology: concepts and connections. 4th Edition.
McGraw Hill International Edition. McGraw Hill Co. Inc. New York, USA

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Tyler Miller Jr. G. and Scott E. Spoolman. 2009. Essentials of Ecology, 5th
edition. Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. 10 Davis Drive Belmont, CA
94002-3098 USA

www.mhhe.com/molles4e

www.botany.uwc.ac.za/Sci_Ed/grade10/ecology

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