INTRODUCTION TO

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Environmental studies
is all about learning the way we should live and how we can develop sustainable
strategies to protect the environment

helps individuals to develop an understanding of living and physical environment and

how to resolve challenging environmental issues affecting nature

emphasizes the need to conserve biodiversity and adopt a more sustainable lifestyle
and utilize resources in a responsible way

SCOPE:
(i) Conservation and management of natural resources like forest, water, air, mineral,
etc.
(ii) Conservation of biodiversities like genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem
diversity, landscape diversity, etc.
(iii) Control of environmental pollutions like air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution,
solid waste pollution, noise pollution, electronic waste pollution, e-pollution, etc.
(iV)Replacement of development (like green revolution, urbanization,) economic
growth, industrialization, etc.) With sustainable development
(v) Control of human population.
Main Objectives of Environmental Studies are given below:
(i) Acquire an awareness of the environment as a whole and its related
problems.
(ii) Gain a variety of experiences and acquire a basic understanding and
knowledge about the environment and its allied problems.
(iii) Acquire an attitude of concern for the environment.
(iv) Acquire the skills for identifying and solving environmental
problems.
(v) Participate in improvement and protection of environment.
(vi) Develop the ability to evaluate measures for the improvement and
protection of environment.
To sum up, the objectives of environmental studies are to develop a
world in which persons are aware of and concerned about environment
and the problems associated with it, and committed to work individually
as well as collectively towards solutions of current problems and
prevention of future problems.
 Definition of Environment

 Environment -French word - 'environ’ -

surroundings.
 Hence, everything surrounding us -
"ENVIRONMENT".
 Environmental Protection Act (1986)
defined “Environment as the sum total of
water, air and land, their interrelationship
among themselves and with the human
beings, other living beings and property.”

 It can also be defined as “ external

surroundings and conditions which directly or
indirectly affects the living organism”
Multidisciplinary nature
 Environment
• Atmosphere - The atmosphere
implies the protective blanket of
gases, surrounding the earth.

• Hydrosphere - The
Hydrosphere comprises all types
of water resources oceans, seas,
lakes, rivers, streams, reservoirs,
polar icecaps, glaciers, and
ground water.

• Lithosphere - Lithosphere is the

outer mantle of the solid earth.

• Biosphere - Biosphere
indicates the realm of living
organisms and their interactions
with environment, viz
atmosphere, hydrosphere and
lithosphere
1.Troposphere:
It is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere.
The height of this layer is about 18 km on the equator and 8 km on the poles.
Troposphere contains dust particles and water vapour.
This is the most important layer of the atmosphere because all kinds of weather
changes take place only in this layer.
The air never remains static in this layer. Therefore this layer is called ‘changing
sphere’ or troposphere.
The environmental temperature decreases with increasing height of the atmosphere
2. Stratosphere:
It extends up to a height of 50 km.
The temperature increases due to the presence of ozone gas in the upper part of this
layer.
The relative thickness of the ozone layer is measured in Dobson Units. Ozone is mainly
found in the lower portion of the stratosphere, from approximately 20 to 30 km above
the earth’s surface.
3. Mesosphere:
It extends up to a height of 80 km.
In this layer, the temperature starts decreasing with increasing altitude and reaches up
to – 100 degree Celsius at the height of 80 km.
Meteors or falling stars occur in this layer.
4. Thermosphere:
This layer is located between 80 and 400 km above the mesosphere.
It contains electrically charged particles known as ions, and hence, it is
known as “ionosphere”.
Radio waves transmitted from the earth are reflected back to the earth by
this layer and due to this, radio broadcasting has become possible.
The temperature here starts increasing with heights.

5. Exosphere :
The exosphere is the uppermost layer of the atmosphere.
Gases are very sparse in this sphere due to the lack of gravitational force.
Therefore, the density of air is very less here.
Elements of Environment

• Physical elements - space, landforms,

water bodies, soils, rocks and minerals.

• Biological elements - plants, animals,

microorganisms and men.

• Cultural elements - economic, social and

political elements are essentially
manmade features
 Why I should know
Environment
• According to UNESCO (1971), the objectives of environmental
studies are:
(a) Creating the awareness about environmental problems
among people.
(b) Imparting basic knowledge about the environment and its allied
problems.
(c) Developing an attitude of concern for the
environment.
(d) Motivating public to participate in environment protection
and environment improvement.
(e) Acquiring skills to help the concerned individuals in identifying and
solving environmental problems.
(f) Striving to attain harmony with Nature.
 The importance’s of environmental
studies are as follows

1. To clarify modern environmental concept like how

to conserve biodiversity.
2. To know the more sustainable way of living.
3. To use natural resources more efficiently.
4. To know the behaviour of organism under natural
conditions.
5. To know the interrelationship between organisms
in populations and communities.
6. To aware and educate people regarding
environmental issues and problems at local,
national and international levels.
Current Environmental Problems
• POLLUTION

 Air Pollution.
 Water Pollution.
 Noise Pollution.
 Littering (spilling of oils in oceans)
 Soil contamination (by lead, heavy metals)
 Radioactive contamination.
 Thermal pollution.
 Visual Pollution.
What is Environmental Ethics?
-the moral relationship of human
beings to and the value and moral
status of the environment and its
nonhuman content.
-Study of the ethical basis of
environment or discussion of the
ethical basis of environmental
protection.
Why need to study Environmental
Ethics?
To overcome the following questions.
1. What are the environment damage
produce by the present generation?

2. What acts must be give up to slow

such damage?
 Introduction to Ecology
• The meaning of the word
ecology was given by German
Biologist Hackle in 1869.
• The word ecology is derived
from Greek words ‘Oikos’
meaning house, habitat or place
of living and ‘Logos’ meaning to
study.
• Ecology is defined as the study
of interrelationship of different
organisms with each other and
with their environment. It is
concerned with the general
principles that apply to both
animals and plants.
 Ecosystem
• The term Ecosystem was first
proposed by A.G. Tansley in
1935. he defined it as “the
system resulting from the
interaction ofall the living and
non living factors of the
Environment."
• An ecosystem consists of the
biological community that
occurs in some locale, and the
physical and chemical factors
that make up its non-living or
abiotic environment. Thereare
many examples of ecosystems
- a pond, a forest, an estuary, a
grassland.
Various types of Ecosystem
 Types of Ecosystem
1. Natural Ecosystems : These
operate under natural
conditions without anymajor
interference by man.
i. Terrestrial Ecosystem:
Forest, grassland, desert, Lentic (standing water)
etc. lake ecosystem
ii. Aquatic Ecosystem :
a. Fresh water : Lotic
(running water like
spring, stream, or
rivers) or Lentic
(standing water as
lake, pond, pools, etc.)
b. Marine water : Suchas
deep bodies as ocean
or shallow ones as Sea
or an estuary.
Lotic (flowing water) river ecosystem
 Types of Ecosystem
2. Artificial (Man
Engineered)
Ecosystems : These
are maintained
artificially by man
where by addition of
energy and planned
manipulation,
natural balance is Crop land
disturbed regularly ecosystem
e.g., crop land
ecosystem.
Components of Ecosystem
 Components of Ecosystem
1. Abiotic
• Consists of Non-living chemical & physical components such as water,
air, nutrients in the soil or water & Solar Energy.
• Physical & chemical factors that influence living organisms inland
(terrestrial) ecosystem & aquatic life zones.
• Abiotic factors can act as LIMITING FACTORSthat keep a population at a
certain level.

Abiotic Components are mainly of two types:

1) Climatic Factors:
which include rain, temperature, light, wind,etc.
2) Edaphic Factors:
which include soil, pH, Topography, Minerals, etc.
 Components of Ecosystem
2. Biotic factors
•All the living things that directly or indirectly affect the ecosystem
biotic factors interact with other living organisms and the physical
environment can also be Limiting Factors ex. disease (bacteria),
predators, food resources.
•Made up of biological components consisting of living anddead plants,
animals and microorganisms.
•The Major Biological Components of Ecosystem:
a. Producers (Autotrophs)(self-feeders)
– Make their own food from compounds that are obtained from their
environment.
– Are the source of all food inan ecosystem.
– On land most producers are green plants.
– In freshwater and marine ecosystems, algae and plants are the major
producers near shorelines.
– In open water, the dominant producers are phytoplankton (most of
them microscopic) that float or drift in the water.
– Most producers capture sunlight to make carbohydrates (such as glucose)
by photosynthesis .
b. Consumers (Heterotrophs) (“other feeders”)
Get theirenergy and nutrients by feeding on other organisms
or their remains.
i. Primary consumers : Are those that eat producers
(plants) as a source of food. They are also known as
herbivores.
ii. Secondary consumers or carnivores : Eat other
animals.
iii. Tertiary Consumers : Large Carnivores which feed on
secondary consumers.
iv. Quaternary Consumers : Largest Carnivores that feed
on tertiary consumers. They are not eatenby any animals.
v. Omnivores : Have mixed diet that include both plants
and animals.
3. Decomposer :
• Mostly certain types of
bacteria and fungi are
specialized consumers
that recycle organic
matter in ecosystems.
• They do this by breaking
down (biodegrading)
dead organic material to
get nutrients and
releasing the resulting
simpler inorganic
compounds into the soil
and water, where they
can be taken up as
nutrients by producers.
 Trophic Structure
• All organisms in an ecosystem can be placed in trophic levels depending
on what energy source they rely upon and how they provide energy for
other organisms in the food web. With the exception of life near
hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean, life is always dependent directlyor
indirectly on the energy from the sun. In every ecosystem, there is an
organism at the lowest level that converts energy from the sun into
useable energy for other organisms.
 Food Chain
• Every organism needs to obtain energy in order to live. For example, plants
get energy from the sun, some animals eat plants, and some animals eat
other animals.
• A food chain is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological community
(an ecosystem) to obtain nutrition
 Food Web

• A food web (or food cycle) depicts feeding connections (what-eats-what)

in an ecological community and hence is also referred to as a consumer-
resource system.
• The food web is a simplified illustration of the various methods offeeding
that links an ecosystem into a unified system ofexchange.
• Various food chains are often interlinked at different tropic levels to form
a complex interaction between different species from the point of view of
food.
• Food Web provides more than one alternatives of food to most of the
organisms in an ecosystem and thus increases their chances of survival.
 Food Web
• Example : Food Web of organisms residing in the soil ( Soil Ecosystem)
 Ecological Pyramids

• Graphic
representation of
trophic structure &
functioning of
ecosystem starting
with producers at the
base & successive
trophic levels
forming the apex
 Pyramid Of Numbers:
• A pyramid of numbers is a
graphical representation of the
numbers of individuals in each
population in a food chain. Often
it is drawn from the autotrophic
level up. A pyramid of numbers
can be used to examine how the
population of a certain species
affects another. Often, the
autotrophic level in a pyramid of
numbers is much larger than any
of the higher trophic levels, and
the numbers decreases upon
ascending the pyramid. Thereare
exceptions, however. For
example, in a tree community, a
single tree could support many
different populations of larger
numbers.
 Pyramid of Biomass:
• Illustrates the amount of biomass in each trophic level
– Biomass weight is determined after dehydration
• Shows the
amount of
matter lost
between
trophic levels.
• Measured in Kg,
grams or
pounds
 Pyramid of Energy:
• Shows the energy available at each trophic level.
– The size of the blocks represents the proportion of productivity
– Measured in Joules or Calories
Solar Energy Sustains Life on Earth
Energy Flow and Matter Recycle
Biogeochemical Cycles and

Human Activities
MATTER CYCLING IN ECOSYSTEMS
o Nutrients are the elements and
compounds that organisms need to
live, grow, and reproduce.
o Biogeochemical cycles move these
substances through air, water, soil,
rock and living organisms.
 Unique Properties of Water
o There are strong forces of attraction
between molecules of water.
o Water exists as a liquid over a wide
temperature range.
o Liquid water changes temperature slowly.
o It takes a large amount of energy for
water to evaporate.
o Liquid water can dissolve a variety of
compounds.
o Water expands when it freezes.
 The Water Cycle
Rain clouds
Condensation

Transpiration Evaporation
Precipitation Transpiration
to land from plants
Precipitation Precipitation
Evaporation
Surface runoff from land Evaporation
Runoff from ocean Precipitation
(rapid)
to ocean

Infiltration and Surface

Percolation runoff
(rapid)
Groundwater movement (slow)
Ocean storage
Effects of Human Activities

Humans alter the water cycle through:

oWithdrawing large amounts of
freshwater.
oClearing vegetation and eroding
soils.
oPolluting surface and underground
water.
oContributing to climate change.
The Carbon Cycle
The Carbon Foot Print
Effects of Humans on the Carbon Cycle

Humans alter the carbon cycle by adding

excess CO2 to the atmosphere through:

o Burning fossil fuels.

oClearing vegetation faster than it is
replaced.