ECOSYSTEM

Ecosystem: Ecosystem is the functional unit of nature in which living

organisms interact with each other as well as their surrounding
physical environment. Biosphere: Biosphere is a global ecosystem
consisting of all local ecosystems on earth

. Types of ecosystem: 1. Aquatic ecosystem: Forest, grassland,

desert, etc.

2. Terrestrial ecosystem: Pond, lake, wetland, river, estuary, etc.

These are the natural ecosystems. Ecosystem can be artificial or
man-made like the croplands, aquarium, etc.

Ecosystem- Structure and Function Biotic Factors

: All the living organisms in an ecosystem Abiotic factors: All the non-
living factors in an ecosystem like sunlight, humidity, wind, etc. The
characteristic physical structure of an ecosystem depends on the
interaction of biotic and abiotic factors.

Stratification: --It is the vertical as well as horizontal distribution of

different varieties that occupy different levels. For example, trees
occupy top vertical strata or layer of a forest, shrubs the second and
herbs and grasses occupy the bottom layers.

The following factors are important for an ecosystem to function as

a unit. 1. Productivity 2. Decomposition 3. Energy flow 4. Nutrient
cycling

Example: Pond ecosystem

Abiotic factors: Water with all dissolved inorganic and organic
nutrients, soil rich in nutrients at the bottom of the pond, solar input,
day-length, temperature and other climatic factors.

Biotic Factors: Producers/ autotrophs: Algae, phytoplankton,

floating, submerged and marginal plants in the pond. Consumers/
heterotrophs: Zooplankton, free-living and bottom dwelling forms.
Decomposers: Fungi, bacteria and flagellates abundant in the bottom
of the pond

Productivity: A constant input of solar energy is the basic

requirement for any ecosystem. Primary Production: It is the amount
of biomass produced per unit area in a given time period by plants
during photosynthesis. It is expressed in terms of weight (g-2 ) or
energy (kcal m-2 ). Productivity: It is the rate of biomass production.
It is expressed as g-2 yr-1 or kcal m-2 yr-1 . Gross primary
productivity (GPP): GPP of an ecosystem is the rate of production of
organic matter during photosynthesis.

Net primary productivity (NPP): Gross primary productivity minus

respiration losses (R), is the net primary productivity (NPP). GPP – R =
NPP Net primary productivity is the available biomass for the
consumption to heterotrophs (herbivores and decomposers).
Secondary productivity is defined as the rate of formation of new
organic matter by consumers. Primary productivity of an ecosystem
depends on the plant species and various environmental factors and
therefore, varies from place to place. The annual net primary
productivity of the whole biosphere is approximately 170 billion tons
(dry weight) of organic matter. Despite occupying nearly 70 per cent
of the earth’s surface the productivity of the oceans is only around
55 billion tons.
: Decomposition-- Break down of complex organic matter into
simpler inorganic substances like carbon dioxide, water and nutrients
by the action of decomposers. Detritus: Dead remain of plants and
animals such as leaves, barks, flowers, faecal matter of animals, etc.
constitute detritus.

Detritivores: Organisms that feed on detritus are called detritivores.

Earthworm, fungi etc. are examples of detritivores.

Steps in Decomposition:

1. Fragmentation 2. Leaching 3. Catabolism 4. Humification 5.

Mineralisation
1. Fragmentation:- It is the breakdown of detritus into smaller
particles by the action of detritivores.
2. Leaching:- It is the process by which water soluble nutrients
move downwards to the soil horizon and are precipitated as
unavailable salts.
3. Catabolism:-- It is the breakdown of detritus into simple
inorganic nutrients by the action of bacterial and fungal
enzymes.
4. Humification-- It is the formation and continuous deposition of
a dark coloured organic amorphous substance called humus.
Humus undergoes very slow decomposition and is highly
resistant to microbial action. It is colloidal in nature and
therefore serves as a reservoir of nutrients.
5. Mineralisation: -- is the process by which some
microorganisms further breakdown humus to form simple
inorganic nutrients. Humification and mineralisation occur in
the soil All steps of decomposition occur simultaneously on
detritus. Decomposition is largely an oxygen-requiring process.
• The rate of decomposition depends on the chemical
composition of detritus and climatic factors. In a particular
climatic condition, decomposition rate is slower if detritus is
rich in lignin and chitin, and quicker, if detritus is rich in
nitrogen and water-soluble substances like sugars. • The most
important climatic factors that regulate decomposition are
temperature and soil moisture.

Energy Flow: --• Sun is the ultimate source of energy for all
ecosystems on earth (except for the dep sea hydrothermal
ecosystem). • Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR): The
solar radiations that can be utilised by plants for
photosynthesis. Of all incident solar radiation only 50% is PAR.
The plants are able to capture only 2-10% of the PAR and it is
this energy that sustains all life on earth. • There is
unidirectional flow of energy from the sun to producers and
then the consumers. Therefore, all organisms are directly or
indirectly dependent on the sun. • All ecosystem The
unidirectional flow of energy shows the First l follow law of
Thermodynamics as energy from sun converted into chemical
energy by the producers which are then utilised by the
consumers. Energy is neither created nor destroyed at any
level.
• Energy flow in the ecosystem occurs in the form of food
chain.
• Food chain:-- An arrangement of the organisms of an
ecological community according to the order of predation in
which each uses the next usually lower member as a food
source •
(a) Producers: All the green plants in the ecosystem that utilise
solar energy for photosynthesis. They are always
autotrophic.
(b) • Consumers: All heterotrophs are directly or indirectly
dependent on plants for food and hence they are all called
consumers. Depending on their position in the food chain
they can be primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary.
1.Primary Consumers/herbivores: The organisms that are
directly dependent on the producers. In the above food
chain, grasshopper is the primary consumer.
2.• Secondary Consumers/Primary carnivores: The
organisms that are dependent on the primary consumers.
Frog in the above example is a secondary consumer. •
Tertiary consumers/Secondary carnivores: The organisms
that are dependent on the secondary consumers. •
Quaternary Consumers/Tertiary carnivore: The organisms
that are dependent on the tertiary consumers. They are
usually the top carnivore in a food chain. • A food chain
cannot have more than a quaternary consumer as there
won’t be enough energy left. • The detritus food chain (DFC)
starts with dead organic matter. It is consists of
decomposers which are heterotrophs and are mainly fungi
and bacteria. They breakdown dead organic matter or
detritus to meet their energy and nutrient requirements.
These are also known as saprotrophs (sapro: to decompose).
They secrete digestive enzymes outside their body to
breakdown dead and waste organic materials into simple,
inorganic materials. These simpler substances are
subsequently absorbed by them. •
In an aquatic ecosystem, Grazing Food Chain (GFC) is the major
conduit for energy flow. As against this, in a terrestrial
ecosystem, a much larger fraction of energy flows through the
detritus food chain than through the GFC.
 • Detritus food chain could be connected with the grazing food
chain as follows: some of the organisms of DFC are prey to the
GFC animals. Also in a natural ecosystem, some animals like
cockroaches, crows, etc., are omnivores.
• Food Web: a system of interlocking and interdependent food
chains. •
Trophic Level: The specific place in the food chain occupied by
an organism based on the source of their nutrition or food is
called as the trophic level.
• First trophic level: Producers occupy the first trophic level. •
Second trophic level: The primary consumers • Third trophic
level: The secondary consumers • Fourth trophic level: The
tertiary consumers • Fifth trophic level: The quaternary
consumers • A food chain can have a maximum of five trophic
levels as beyond that the amount of energy is insufficient to
sustain another consumer. • The amount of energy decreases
at successive trophic levels. • When an organism dies it is
converted into detritus which serves as a source of energy for
the decomposers. •
Standing crop: The total mass at a trophic level at a given time.
It is measured as mass of living organisms (biomass) or the
number in a unit area. • Biomass may be expressed as fresh or
dry weight. However, use of dry weight is more accurate.

• 10 percent Law: This law states that only 10% of energy of a

trophic level is transferred to the next level.

Ecological Pyramids: ---An ecological pyramid is a

representation in a graphical manner of the relationship
between different organisms in an ecosystem. Each of the bars
of the pyramid represents a specific trophic level as well as
their order. The order depends on who eats whom. This
represents the flow of energy. The base of each pyramid
represents the producers or the first trophic level while the
apex represents tertiary or top level consumer. The three
commonly studied ecological pyramids are:
(a) Pyramid of number
(b) Pyramid of biomass and
(c) Pyramid of energy • Any calculations of energy content,
biomass, or numbers must include all organisms at that trophic
level. It is not possible to generalise based only a few
individuals at any trophic level. • An organism can be a part of
more than one food chains and therefore belong to different
trophic levels. • The pyramids of energy, biomass and number
are upright in most ecosystems. That is, the producers are
more in number than the herbivores, the herbivores are more
than the carnivores, etc. • Pyramids of number and biomass
can be inverted in some cases but the pyramid of energy is
always upright. This is because when energy flows from one
level to another some amount of energy is always lost as heat.
• Ecological pyramids can accommodate only food chains and
not food webs. They can also never depict saprotrophs.