Unit

3 Ecosystems

n CONCEPT OF ECOSYSTEM
Various kinds of life supporting systems like the forests, grasslands,
oceans, lakes, rivers, mountains, deserts and estuaries show wide
variations in their structural composition and functions. However, they
all are alike in the fact that they consist of living entities interacting
with their surroundings exchanging matter and energy. How do these
different units like a hot desert, a dense evergreen forest, the Antarctic
Sea or a shallow pond differ in the type of their flora and fauna, how
do they derive their energy and nutrients to live together, how do they
influence each other and regulate their stability are the questions that
are answered by Ecology.
The term Ecology was coined by Earnst Haeckel in 1869. It is
derived from the Greek words Oikos- home + logos- study. So ecology
deals with the study of organisms in their natural home interacting
with their surroundings. The surroundings or environment consists
of other living organisms (biotic) and physical (abiotic) components.
Modern ecologists believe that an adequate definition of ecology must
specify some unit of study and one such basic unit described by Tansley
(1935) was ecosystem. An ecosystem is a group of biotic communities
of species interacting with one another and with their non-living
environment exchanging energy and matter. Now ecology is often
defined as “the study of ecosystems”.
An ecosystem is an integrated unit consisting of interacting plants,
animals and microorganisms whose survival depends upon the
maintenance and regulation of their biotic and abiotic structures and
functions. The ecosystem is thus, a unit or a system which is composed
of a number of subunits, that are all directly or indirectly linked with
each other. They may be freely exchanging energy and matter from
outside—an open ecosystem or may be isolated from outside—a closed
ecosystem.

65
66 Environmental Science and Engineering

n ECOSYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS
Ecosystems show large variations in their size, structure, composition
etc. However, all the ecosystems are characterized by certain basic struc-
tural and functional features which are common.

n STRUCTURAL FEATURES
Composition and organization of biological communities and abiotic
components constitute the structure of an ecosystem.
I. Biotic Structure
The plants, animals and microorganisms present in an ecosystem form
the biotic component. These organisms have different nutritional be-
haviour and status in the ecosystems and are accordingly known as
Producers or Consumers, based on how do they get their food.
(a) Producers: They are mainly the green plants, which can
synthesize their food themselves by making use of carbondioxide present
in the air and water in the presence of sunlight by involving chlorophyll,
the green pigment present in the leaves, through the process of
photosynthesis. They are also known as photo autotrophs (auto=self;
troph=food, photo=light).
There are some microorganisms also which can produce organic
matter to some extent through oxidation of certain chemicals in the
absence of sunlight. They are known as chemosynthetic organisms or
chemo-autotrophs. For instance in the ocean depths, where there is
no sunlight, chemoautotrophic sulphur bacteria make use of the heat
generated by the decay of radioactive elements present in the earth’s
core and released in ocean’s depths. They use this heat to convert
dissolved hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) into
organic compounds.
(b) Consumers: All organisms which get their organic food by
feeding upon other organisms are called consumers, which are of the
following types:
(i) Herbivores (plant eaters): They feed directly on producers and
hence also known as primary consumers. e.g. rabbit, insect,
man.
(ii) Carnivores (meat eaters): They feed on other consumers. If
they feed on herbivores they are called secondary consumers (e.g.
frog) and if they feed on other carnivores (snake, big fish etc.)
they are known as tertiary carnivores/consumers.
 Ecosystems 67

(iii) Omnivores: They feed on both plants and animals. e.g. humans,
rat, fox, many birds.
(iv) Detritivores (Detritus feeders or Saprotrophs): They feed on the
parts of dead organisms, wastes of living organisms, their cast-
offs and partially decomposed matter e.g. beetles, termites,
ants, crabs, earthworms etc. (Multi-cellular)
(c) Decomposers: They derive their nutrition by breaking down
the complex organic molecules to simpler organic compounds and ul-
timately into inorganic nutrients. Various bacteria and fungi are
decomposers. (Unicellular)
In all the ecosystems, this biotic structure prevails. However, in
some, it is the primary producers which predominate (e.g. in forests,
agroecosystems) while in others the decomposers predominate (e.g.
deep ocean).

II. Abiotic Structure

The physical and chemical components of an ecosystem constitute its
abiotic structure. It includes climatic factors, edaphic (soil) factors,
geographical factors, energy, nutrients and toxic substances.
(a) Physical factors: The sunlight and shade, intensity of solar flux,
duration of sun hours, average temperature, maximum-minimum
temperature, annual rainfall, wind, latitude and altitude, soil type, water
availability, water currents etc. are some of the important physical
features which have a strong influence on the ecosystem.
We can clearly see the striking differences in solar flux, temperature
and precipitation (rainfall, snow etc.) pattern in a desert ecosystem, in
a tropical rainforest and in tundra ecosystem.
(b) Chemical factors: Availability of major essential nutrients like
carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, hydrogen, oxygen and
sulphur, level of toxic substances, salts causing salinity and various
organic substances present in the soil or water largely influence the
functioning of the ecosystem.
All the biotic components of an ecosystem are influenced by the
abiotic components and vice versa, and they are linked together through
energy flow and matter cycling as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 3.1.
68 Environmental Science and Engineering

Nutrient cycling

Abiotic
component

Energy Biotic
flow compo-
nent
Nutrient
flow Bacteria
Plants Animals
Abiotic
component

Nutrie
nt Cycling

Fig. 3.1. Nutrient cycling and energy flow mediated through food-
chain. The flow of energy is unidirectional while the nutrients
move in a cyclic manner from the abiotic to biotic (food chain)
to abiotic and so on.

n FUNCTIONAL ATTRIBUTES (Various processes by which biotic and abiotic

elements of an ecosystem interact)
Every ecosystem performs under natural conditions in a systematic
way. It receives energy from the sun and passes it on through various
biotic components and in fact, all life depends upon this flow of energy.
Besides energy, various nutrients and water are also required for life
processes which are exchanged by the biotic components within
themselves and with their abiotic components within or outside the
ecosystem. The biotic components also regulate themselves in a very
systematic manner and show mechanisms to encounter some degree
of environmental stress. The major functional attributes of an
ecosystems are as follows:
(i) Food chain, food webs and trophic structure
(ii) Energy flow
(iii) Cycling of nutrients (Biogeochemical cycles)
(iv) Primary and Secondary production
(v) Ecosystem development and regulation
 Ecosystems 69

n TROPHIC STRUCTURE
The structure and functions of ecosystems are very closely related and
influence each other so intimately that they need to be studied together.
The flow of energy is mediated through a series of feeding relation-
ships in a definite sequence or pattern which is known as food chain.
Nutrients too move along the food chain. The producers and consum-
ers are arranged in the ecosystem in a definite manner and their inter-
action along with population size are expressed together as trophic
structure. Each food level is known as trophic level and the amount of
living matter at each trophic level at a given time is known as standing
crop or standing biomass. (Trophic structure - levels at which energy gets exchanged)
Before we study about energy flow or nutrient cycling, we must
learn about the food-chains, that provide the path through which the
flow of energy and matter take place in ecosystem.

n FOOD CHAINS [Food chains express - (1) Feeding behavior, and (2) Energy flow]

The sequence of eating and being eaten in an ecosystem is known as

food chain. All organisms, living or dead, are potential food for some
other organism and thus, there is essentially no waste in the functioning
of a natural ecosystem. A caterpillar eats a plant leaf, a sparrow eats
the caterpillar, a cat or a hawk eats the sparrow and when they all die,
they are all consumed by microorganisms like bacteria or fungi
(decomposers) which break down the organic matter and convert it
into simple inorganic substances that can again be used by the plants-
the primary producers.
Some common examples of simple food chains are:
l Grass → grasshopper → Frog → Snake → Hawk (Grassland

ecosystem)
l Phytoplanktons → water fleas → small fish → Tuna (Pond

ecosystem)
l Lichens → reindeer → Man (Arctic tundra)

Each organism in the ecosystem is assigned a feeding level or

trophic level depending on its nutritional status. Thus, in the grassland
food chain, grasshopper occupies the Ist trophic level, frog the IInd
and snake and hawk occupy the IIIrd and the IVth trophic levels, re-
spectively. The decomposers consume the dead matter of all these
trophic levels. In nature, we come across two major types of food chains:
70 Environmental Science and Engineering

I. Grazing food chain: It starts with green plants (primary pro-

ducers) and culminates in carnivores. All the examples cited above show
this type of food chain. Another example could be
Grass → Rabbit → Fox

Small fish

Phytoplanktons Zooplanktons
(Algae, diatoms)

Cornivorous
fish

Fig. 3.2. A grazing food chain in a pond ecosystem.

II. Detritus food chain: It starts with dead organic matter which
the detritivores and decomposers consume. Partially decomposed dead
organic matter and even the decomposers are consumed by detritivores
and their predators. An example of the detritus food chain is seen in a
Mangrove (estuary).

Dead mangrove
tree leaves

Detritus feeders
Phytoplanktons Carnivores

Decomposers (Bacteria, fungi)

Fig. 3.3. A detritus food chain in an estuary based on dead

leaves of mangrove trees.
 Ecosystems 71

Here, a large quantity of leaf material falls in the form of litter

into the water. The leaf fragments are eaten by saprotrophs.
(Saprotrophs are those organisms which feed on dead organic matter).
These fallen leaves are colonized by small algae, which are also
consumed by the saprotrophs or detritivores consisting of crabs,
mollusks, shrimps, insect larvae, nematodes and fishes. The detritivores
are eaten by small carnivorous fishes, which is turn are eaten by large
carnivorous fishes.
Leaf litter → algae → crabs → small carnivorous fish → large
carnivorous fish (Mangrove ecosystem)
Dead organic matter → fungi → bacteria (Forest ecosystem)
Thus the grazing food chain derives its energy basically from plant
energy while in the detritus food chain it is obtained primarily from
plant biomass, secondarily from microbial biomass and tertiarily from
carnivores. Both the food chains occur together in natural ecosystems,
but grazing food chain usually predominates.

n FOOD WEB
Food chains in ecosystems are rarely found to operate as isolated linear
sequences. Rather, they are found to be interconnected and usually
form a complex network with several linkages and are known as food
webs. Thus, food web is a network of food chains where different
types of organisms are connected at different trophic levels, so that
there are a number of options of eating and being eaten at each
trophic level.
Fig. 3.4 illustrates an example of a food-web in the unique
Antarctic Ecosystem. This is representing the total ecosystem including
the Antarctic sea and the continental land. The land does not show
any higher life forms of plants. The only species are that of some algae,
lichens and mosses. The animals include penguins and snow petrel
which depend upon the aquatic chain for their food energy.
In a tropical region, on the other hand, the ecosystems are much
more complex. They have a rich species diversity and therefore, the
food webs are much more complex.
Why nature has evolved food webs in ecosystems instead of sim-
ple linear food chains? This is because food webs give greater stability
to the ecosystem. In a linear food chain, if one species becomes extinct
or one species suffers then the species in the subsequent trophic levels
are also affected. In a food web, on the other hand, there are a number
of options available at each trophic level. So if one species is affected, it
does not affect other trophic levels so seriously.
72 Environmental Science and Engineering

Humans

Blue Whale Sperm Whale

Elephant Seal
Killer Whale

Leopard Seal
Squid

Penguin
Emperor Penguin

Snow
Petrel Fish

Carnivorous Herbivorous
Krill Zooplankton
Plankton

Phytoplankton

Fig. 3.4. A simplified food web in Antarctic ecosystem.

Just consider the simple food chains of arctic tundra ecosystem:

Cladonia → Reindeer → Man
Grass → Caribou → Wolf
If due to some stress, the population of reindeer or Caribou falls,
it will leave little option for man or wolf to eat from the ecosystem.
Had there been more biodiversity, it would have led to complex food
web giving the ecosystem more stability.
Significance of food chains and food webs
l Food chains and food webs play a very significant role in the

ecosystem because the two most important functions of en-

ergy flow and nutrient cycling take place through them.
 Ecosystems 73

l The food chains also help in maintaining and regulating the

population size of different animals and thus, help maintain
the ecological balance.
l Food chains show a unique property of biological magnifica-
tion of some chemicals. There are several pesticides, heavy
metals and other chemicals which are non-biodegradable in
nature. Such chemicals are not decomposed by microorgan-
isms and they keep on passing from one trophic level to an-
other. And, at each successive trophic level, they keep on in-
creasing in concentration. This phenomenon is known as
biomagnification or biological magnification.

CASE STUDY

A build-up of DDT concentration : A striking case of

biomagnification of DDT (a broad range insecticide) was observed
when some birds like Osprey were found to suffer a sharp decline
in their population. The young ones of these birds were found to
hatch out in premature condition leading to their death. This was
later found to be due to bio-magnification of DDT through the
food chain. DDT sprayed for pest control was in very low
concentration, but its concentration increased along the food chain
through phytoplanktons to zooplanktons and then to fish which
was eaten by the birds. The concentration of DDT was magnified
several thousand times in the birds which caused thinning of shells
in the birds’ eggs, causing death of the young ones.
It becomes very clear from the above instance that the animals
occupying the higher trophic levels are at a greater risk of
biomagnification of toxic chemicals. Human beings consuming
milk, eggs and meat are at a higher trophic level. So, we have to
stop indiscriminate use of pesticides and heavy metals if we wish
to save ourselves from their biologically magnified toxic levels.

n ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS
Graphic representation of trophic structure and function of an ecosys-
tem, starting with producers at the base and successive trophic levels
forming the apex is knows as an ecological pyramid. Ecological pyra-
mids are of three types:
Pyramid of numbers: It represents the number of individual
organisms at each trophic level. We may have upright or inverted pyramid
74 Environmental Science and Engineering

of numbers, depending upon the type of ecosystem and food chain as

shown in Fig. 3.5. A grassland ecosystem (Fig. 3.5a) and a pond
ecosystem show an upright pyramid of numbers. The producers in the
grasslands are grasses and that in a pond are phytoplanktons (algae
etc.), which are small in size and very large in number. So the producers
form a broad base. The herbivores in a grassland are insects while
tertiary carnivores are hawks or other birds which are gradually less
and less in number and hence the pyramid apex becomes gradually
narrower forming an upright pyramid. Similar is the case with the
herbivores, carnivores and top carnivores in pond which decrease in
number at higher trophic levels.
Top carnivores Top carnivores
Hawks, Lion, Tiger
other birds

Carnivores Frogs, birds Snakes, foxes,

Carnivores
lizards
Herbivores Insects Herbivores Insects, birds

Producers Grasses Producers Trees

(a) (b)

Hyper parasites Fleas, microbes

Parasites Lice, bugs

Herbivores Birds

Producers Trees

(c)

Fig. 3.5. Pyramid of numbers (a) grassland (b) forest (c) Parasitic food chain.
In a forest ecosystem, big trees are the producers, which are less
in number and hence form a narrow base. A larger number of herbivores
including birds, insects and several species of animals feed upon the
trees (on leaves, fruits, flowers, bark etc.) and form a much broader
middle level. The secondary consumers like fox, snakes, lizards etc.
are less in number than herbivores while top carnivores like lion, tiger
etc. are still smaller in number. So the pyramid is narrow on both sides
and broader in the middle (Fig. 3.5 b).
Parasitic food chain shows an inverted pyramid of number. The
producers like a few big trees harbour fruit eating birds acting like
 Ecosystems 75

herbivores which are larger in number. A much higher number of lice,

bugs etc. grow as parasites on these birds while a still greater number
of hyperparasites like bugs, fleas and microbes feed upon them, thus
making an inverted pyramid (Fig. 3.5 c).
Pyramid of biomass: It is based upon the total biomass (dry
matter) at each trophic level in a food chain. The pyramid of biomass
can also be upright or inverted. Fig. 3.6 (a, b) show pyramids of biomass
in a forest and an aquatic ecosystem. The pyramid of biomass in a
forest is upright in contrast to its pyramid of numbers. This is because
the producers (trees) accumulate a huge biomass while the consumers’
total biomass feeding on them declines at higher trophic levels, resulting
in broad base and narrowing top.

Tertiary Carnivores Big fish

Carnivores

Carnivores Small fish

Snakes, frog, birds
Herbivores Insects
Squirrel, rabbit,
Producers

Herbivores
insects
Phytoplanktons
Producers Grasses,
herbs
(a) (b)

Fig. 3.6. Pyramid of biomass (a) Grassland (b) Pond.

The pond ecosystem shows an inverted pyramid of biomass

(Fig. 3.6 b). The total biomass of producers (phytoplanktons) is much
less as compared to herbivores (zooplanktons, insects), Carnivores
(Small fish) and tertiary carnivores (big fish). Thus the pyramid takes
an inverted shape with narrow base and broad apex.
Pyramid of Energy: The amount of energy present at each trophic
level is considered for this type of pyramid. Pyramid of energy gives
the best representation of the trophic relationships and it is always
upright.
At every successive trophic level, there is a huge loss of energy
(about 90%) in the form of heat, respiration etc. Thus, at each next
higher level only 10% of the energy passes on. Hence, there is a sharp
decline in energy level of each successive trophic level as we move from
producers to top carnivores. Therefore, the pyramid of energy is always
upright as shown in Fig. 3.7.
76 Environmental Science and Engineering

Top carnivores

Carnivores

Herbivores

Producers

Fig. 3.7. Pyramid of energy.

n ENERGY FLOW IN AN ECOSYSTEM

Flow of energy in an ecosystem takes place through the food chain and
it is this energy flow which keeps the ecosystem going. The most
important feature of this energy flow is that it is unidirectional or one-
way flow. Unlike the nutrients (like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus etc.)
which move in a cyclic manner and are reused by the producers after
flowing through the food chain, energy is not reused in the food chain.
Also, the flow of energy follows the two laws of Thermodynamics:
Ist law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be
created nor be destroyed but it can be transformed from one form to
another. The solar energy captured by the green plants (producers) gets
converted into biochemical energy of plants and later into that of
consumers.
IInd law of Thermodynamics states that energy dissipates as it is
used or in other words, its gets converted from a more concentrated to
dispersed form. As energy flows through the food chain, there occurs
dissipation of energy at every trophic level. The loss of energy takes
place through respiration, loss of energy in locomotion, running, hunt-
ing and other activities. At every level there is about 90% loss of energy
and the energy transferred from one trophic level to the other is only
about 10%.As a result, trophic levels are restricted to only 4-5 (bcuz at higher levels amt of energy
available is too low
Energy flow models: The flow of energy through various trophic
levels in an ecosystem can be explained with the help of various energy
flow models.
(a) Universal energy flow model: Energy flow through an
ecosystem was explained by E.P. Odum as the universal energy flow
model (Fig. 3.8). As the flow of energy takes place, there is a gradual
loss of energy at every level, thereby resulting in less energy available
at next trophic level as indicated by narrower pipes (energy flow) and
smaller boxes (stored energy in biomass). The loss of energy is mainly
the energy not utilized (NU). This is the energy lost in locomotion,
 Ecosystems 77

excretion etc. or it is the energy lost in respiration (R) which is for

maintenance. The rest of the energy is used for production (P).
NU
Energy
storage All trophic levels can be
represented by this model

Input I P Output
A
energy energy

Standing Biomass

Respiration

Fig. 3.8. Universal energy flow model applicable to all living

components (I = Energy input; A : assimilated energy ; P =
Production ; NU = Energy not used.

(b) Single channel energy flow model: The flow of energy takes
place in a unidirectional manner through a single channel of green
plants or producers to herbivores and carnivores. Fig. 3.9 depicts such
a model and illustrated the gradual decline in energy level due to loss
of energy at each successive trophic level in a grazing food chain.
NU NA NU NA Used to represent
grazing food chain

Sunlight

I GPP NPP

Carnivores
Herbivores
Producers

R R R
Heat loss

Fig. 3.9. One-way energy flow model showing unidirectional flow

through primary producers, herbivores and carnivores. At each
successive trophic level there is huge loss of energy (I = Solar
energy input ; GPP = Gross primary production ; NPP = Net
primary production ; NU = Energy not used ; NA = Energy not
assimilated e.g. excretion ; R = Respiratory loss).
78 Environmental Science and Engineering

(c) Double channel or Y-shaped energy flow model: In nature,

both grazing food chain and detritus food chain operate in the same
ecosystem. However, sometimes it is the grazing food chain which
predominates. It happens in marine ecosystem where primary
production in the open sea is limited and a major portion of it is eaten
by herbivorous marine animals. Therefore, very little primary
production is left to be passed on to the dead or detritus compartment.
On the other hand, in a forest ecosystem the huge quantity of biomass
produced cannot be all consumed by herbivores. Rather, a large
proportion of the live biomass enters into detritus (dead) compartment
in the form of litter. Hence the detritus food chain is more important
there.
The two channel or Y-shaped model of energy flow shows the
passage of energy through these two chains, which are separated in
time and space (Fig 3.10).

Respiration

R R RR
R
s Carnivores
ivore
Herb
Tree Grazing food chain
canopy ( in forest canopy)
Ground R
level Litter,
roots etc. D
D
Storage

Producers D
(Trees)
Detritus food chain
(in soil)
Detritivores
Decomposers

Fig. 3.10. Y-shaped or 2-channel energy flow model showing energy

flow through the grazing food chain and the detritus food chain (R =
Respiration, D = Detritus or dead matter).

n NUTRIENT CYCLING
Besides energy flow, the other important functional attribute of an
ecosystem is nutrient cycling. Nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, sulphur,
oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus etc. move in circular paths through biotic
and abiotic components and are therefore known as biogeochemical
cycles. Water also moves in a cycle, known as hydrological cycle. The
nutrients too move through the food chain and ultimately reach the
(Nutrients flow in a cycle, energy flows unidirectionally)
 Ecosystems 79

detritus compartment (containing dead organic matter) where various

micro-organisms carry out decomposition. Various organically bound
nutrients of dead plants and animals are converted into inorganic
substances by microbial decomposition that are readily used up by plants
(primary producers) and the cycle starts afresh.
Nitrogen cycle
Cycling of one such important nutrient nitrogen is shown in Fig. 3.11.
Nitrogen is present in the atmosphere as N2 in large amount (78%) and
it is fixed either by the physical process of lightening or biologically by
some bacteria and/or cyanobacteria (blue green algae). The nitrogen
is taken up by plants and used in metabolism for biosynthesis of amino
acids, proteins, vitamins etc. and passes through the food chain. After
death of the plants and animals, the organic nitrogen in dead tissues is
decomposed by several groups of ammonifying and nitrifying bacteria
which convert them into ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, which are again
used by plants. Some bacteria convert nitrates, into molecular nitrogen
or N2 which is released back into the atmosphere and the cycle goes
on.
Atmosphere

Nitrogen
Volcanic NOX Acid rain
eruptions N2
Biological Electrification
N2 fixation Acid
rain

Fertilizer
Runoff Hydro-
(Eutrophication) sphere
Litho- Animal Animals
protoplasm Shallow marine
sphere Nitrates sediments
(soil)
Industrial Plant
activities protoplasm Nitrites
Loss to deep
Nitrification sediments
Death
and Deacy Ammonia
Ammonification Denitrification
Excretion Organic
(Urea, uric Nitrogen
acid)
(Proteins, amino acids)

Fig. 3.11. Nitrogen cycle—a gaseous cycle with major reserve

as N2 (78%) in the atmosphere. Circulation of N- between living
components and soil/atmosphere is mediated by a group of
micro-organisms which convert one form of N into another.
80 Environmental Science and Engineering

Carbon Cycle
Sometimes human interferences disturb the normal cycling of such
nutrients and create imbalances. For example, nature has a very bal-
anced carbon cycle (Fig. 3.12). Carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide
is taken up by green plants as a raw material for photosynthesis, through
which a variety of carbohydrates and other organic substances are pro-
duced. Through the food chain it moves and ultimately organic carbon
present in the dead matter is returned to the atmosphere as carbon
dioxide by microorganisms. Respiration by all organisms produces
carbon dioxide, while the latter is used up by plants.
In the recent years carbon dioxide levels have increased in the
atmosphere due to burning of fossil fuels etc. which has caused an
imbalance in the natural cycle and the world today is facing the serious
problem of global warming due to enhanced carbon dioxide emissions.
(Also number of plants are not
sufficient to absorb the excess
n Atmospheric
atio CO2)
s pir
re Carbondioxide
al t n
m (CO2)
a n io
P l i rat
i
An

y
pl rest on b

sp
re
ti

ts l
an ria
te ixa

Fossil fuel
f

Decomposition
2
CO

burning
r

Direct
CO2 fixation absorption
(by aquatic plants)

Carbonates, CO2
Dead organic
matter
(Organic
carbon)
Microbial
action

Fig. 3.12. Carbon cycle.

Phosphorus cycle
Phosphorous cycle is another important nutrient cycle-which is shown
in Fig. 3.13. The reservoir of phosphorus lies in the rocks, fossils etc.
which is excavated by man for using it as a fertilizer. Farmers use the
phosphate fertilizers indiscriminately and as a result excess phosphates
are lost as run-off, which causes the problem of eutrophication or
overnourishment of lakes leading to algal blooms as already discussed
 Ecosystems 81

P-reserves
Death and
Excreta Guano(P-rich) decay
deposits
Sea birds
Phosphate Bones and Animal
rocks teeth protoplasm
Eutro- Runoff
phication fossil, bones,
teeth Plant
Marine
protoplasm
fish etc. Fertilizers
Mining
(PO4)

ia
er
Erosion ct
Loss to deep
g ba
marine sediments izin
Plant Phosphat
Dissolved phosphate
uptake

Fig. 3.13. Phosphorus cycle—a sedimentary cycle with major

reserves of phosphorus in the sediments.

in unit 2. A good proportion of phosphates moving with surface run-

off reaches the oceans and are lost into the deep sediments. Our limited
supply of phosphorus lying in the phosphate rocks of this earth are
thus over-exploited by man and a large part is taken out of the normal
cycle due to loss into oceans. So human beings are making the
phosphorous cycle acyclic. Sea birds, on the other hand, are playing an
important role in phosphorus cycling. They eat sea-fishes which are
phosphorus rich and the droppings or excreta of the birds return the
phosphorus on the land. The Guano deposits on the coasts of Peru are
very rich sources of phosphorus.

n PRIMARY PRODUCTION
Primary productivity of an ecosystem is defined as the rate at which
radiant energy is converted into organic substances by photosyn-
thesis or chemo-synthesis by the primary producers.
When organic matter is produced by the primary producers
(mainly green plants and some microorganisms), some of it is oxidized
or burnt inside their body and converted into carbon-dioxide which is
released during respiration and is accompanied by loss of energy.
Respiratory loss of energy is a must, because it is required for the
maintenance of the organism. Now, the producers are left with a little
less organic matter than what was actually produced by them. This is
known as the net primary production (NPP) and the respiratory loss
(R) added to it gives the gross primary production (GPP).
Thus, NPP = GPP – R.
82 Environmental Science and Engineering

Primary production of an ecosystem depends upon the solar

radiations, availability of water and nutrients and upon the type of the
plants and their chlorophyll content. Table 3.1 shows the average gross
primary productivity of some major ecosystems.
Table 3.1. Annual average of gross primary production
of some major ecosystems

Ecosystem Gross Primary Productivity

(K Cal/m2/yr)
Deserts and Tundra 200
Open Oceans 1,000
Grasslands 2,500
Moist Temperate Forests 8,000
Agro-ecosystems 12,000
Wet Tropical Forests 20,000
Estuaries 20,000
Productivity of tropical forests and estuaries are the highest. This
is because tropical forests have abundant rainfall, warm temperature
congenial for growth, abundant sunlight and a rich diversity of species.
Estuaries get natural energy subsidies in the form of wave currents that
bring along with them nutrients required for production.
Deserts on the other hand, have limitations of adequate water
supply while Tundra have very low temperature as limiting factor and
hence show low primary production.
Agro-ecosystems get lots of energy subsidies in the form of
irrigation water, good quality seeds, fertilizers and pesticides and show
a high productivity of 12,000 K Cal/m2/yr. Still, it is noteworthy that
their productivity is less than that of tropical forests which are not
receiving any artificial energy subsidies. Nature itself has designed its
species composition, structure, energy capture and flow, and a closed
nutrient cycling system that ensures a high primary production of 20,000
K Cal/m2/yr. Also, the qualitative variety of the primary production is
enormous in the tropical forests. This makes it all the more important
to conserve our tropical forests.
 Ecosystems 83

Secondary Production
The food synthesized by green plants through photosynthesis is the
primary production which is eaten by herbivores. The plant energy is
used up for producing organic matter of the herbivores which, in turn,
is used up by the carnivores. The amount of organic matter stored by
the herbivores or carnivores (in excess of respiratory loss) is known as
secondary production. The energy stored at consumer level for use
by the next trophic level is thus defined as secondary production.

n ECOSYSTEM REGULATION
All ecosystems regulate themselves and maintain themselves under a
set of environmental conditions. Any environmental stress tries to
disturb the normal ecosystem functions. However, the ecosystem, by
itself, tries to resist the change and maintain itself in equilibrium with
the environment due to a property known as homeostasis. Homeostasis
is the inherent property of all living systems to resist change.
However, the system can show this tolerance or resistance only within
a maximum and a minimum range, which is its range of tolerance
known as homeostatic plateau. Within this range, if any stress tries to
cause a deviation, then the system has its own mechanisms to counteract
these deviations which are known as negative feedback mechanisms.
So negative feedback mechanisms are deviation counteracting
mechanisms which try to bring the system back to its ideal
conditions. But, if the stress is too high and beyond the range of
homeostatic plateau, then another type of mechanisms known as
positive feedback mechanisms start operating. These are the deviation
accelerating mechanisms. So the positive feedback mechanisms add
to the stress conditions and tend to take the system away from the
optimal conditions. Fig. 3.14 depicts the ecosystem regulation
mechanisms.
Human beings should try to keep the ecosystems within the
homeostatic plateau. They should not contribute to positive feedbacks
otherwise the ecosystems will collapse.
84 Environmental Science and Engineering

Death or
+ ve collapse
Feedback
System function

– ve – ve Homeostatic
Feedback Feedback plateau

+ ve Feedback

Death or collapse

(–) O (+)
Stress conditions

Fig. 3.14. Ecosystem regulation by homeostasis. On application of a

stress, the negative feedback mechanisms start operating, trying to
counter the stress to regulate the system. But beyond the homeostatic
plateau, positive feedback starts which further accelerate the stress
effects causing death or collapse of the organism/system.

n ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
An ecosystem is not static in nature. It is dynamic and changes its
structure as well as function with time and quite interestingly, these
changes are very orderly and can be predicted. It is observed that one
type of a community is totally replaced by another type of community
over a period of time and simultaneously several changes also occur.
This process is known as ecological succession.
Ecological succession is defined as an orderly process of changes
in the community structure and function with time mediated through
modifications in the physical environment and ultimately
culminating in a stabilized ecosystem known as climax. The whole
sequence of communities which are transitory are known as Seral stages
or seres whereas the community establishing first of all in the area is
called a pioneer community.
Ecological successions starting on different types of areas or
substrata are named differently as follows:
(i) Hydrarch or Hydrosere: Starting in watery area like pond,
swamp, bog
 Ecosystems 85

(ii) Mesarch: starting in an area of adequate moisture.

(iii) Xerarch or Xerosere: Starting in a dry area with little
moisture. They can be of the following types:
Lithosere : starting on a bare rock
Psammosere : starting on sand
Halosere : starting on saline soil
Process of Succession
The process of succession takes place in a systematic order of sequential
steps as follows:
(i) Nudation: It is the development of a bare area without any
life form. The bare area may be caused due to landslides, volcanic
eruption etc. (topographic factor), or due to drought, glaciers, frost etc.
(Climatic factor), or due to overgrazing, disease outbreak, agricultural/
industrial activities (biotic factors). (Community 1)
(ii) Invasion: It is the successful establishment of one or more
species on a bare area through dispersal or migration, followed by
ecesis or establishment. Dispersal of the seeds, spores etc. is brought
about by wind, water, insects or birds. Then the seeds germinate and
grow on the land. As growth and reproduction start, these pioneer
species increase in number and form groups or aggregations.
(iii) Competition and coaction: As the number of individuals
grows there is competition, both inter-specific (between different
species) and intra-specific (within the same species), for space, water
and nutrition. They influence each other in a number of ways, known
as coaction.
(iv) Reaction: The living organisms grow, use water and nutrients
from the substratum, and in turn, they have a strong influence on the
environment which is modified to a large extent and this is known as
reaction. The modifications are very often such that they become
unsuitable for the existing species and favour some new species, which
replace them. Thus, reaction leads to several seral communities.
(v) Stabilization: The succession ultimately culminates in a more
or less stable community called climax which is in equilibrium with
the environment.
The climax community is characterized by maximum biomass
and symbiotic (mutually beneficial) linkages between organisms and
are maintained quite efficiently per unit of available energy.
Let us consider very briefly two types of succession.
86 Environmental Science and Engineering

A. Hydrosere (Hydrarch): This type of succession starts in a water

body like pond. A number of intermediate stages come and ultimately
it culminates in a climax community which is a forest.
The pioneer community consists of phytoplanktons, which are
free floating algae, diatoms etc. Gradually these are replaced by rooted-
submerged plants followed by rooted-floating plants. Growth of these
plants keep on adding organic matter to the substratum by death and

Free floating stage

(a) Open water body (lake), sediment brought in by river.

Rooted floating stage

Sediment

(b) Sediment accumulation continues, organic debris from plants too

add to soil formation and shrinking of water body occurs.

Marshy vegetation

Soil with standing water

(c) A mat of vegetation covers the water which is mostly a

marshy habitat now, with a small part as aquatic system.
 Ecosystems 87

Woodland Stage

Soil

(d) Eventually the former lake is covered by climax woodland

community, representating a terrestrial ecosystem.
Fig. 3.15. Ecological succession: A hydrach—from lake
to woodland community.

decay and thus a layer of soil builds up and shallowing of water takes
place. Then Reed swamp (marshy) stage follows in which the plants
are partly in water and partly on land. This is followed by a sedge-
meadow stage of grasses then by a woodland consisting of shrubs and
trees and finally by a forest acting as climax. (Fig. 3.15)
B. Xerosere (Xerarch): This type of succession originates on a
bare rock, which lacks water and organic matter. Interestingly, here
also the climax community is a forest, although the intermediate stages
are very different.
The pioneer community here consists of crustose and foliose
lichens. These lichens produce some weak acids and help in
disintegrating the rock, a process known as weathering. Their growth
helps in building up gradually some organic matter, humus and soil.
Then comes the community of mosses, followed by herbs, shrubs and
finally the forest trees. Throughout this gradual process there is a slow
build up of organic matter and water in the substratum.
Thus, succession tends to move towards mesic conditions
(moderate condition), irrespective of the fact, whether it started from a
dry (Xeric) condition or a moist (hydric) condition and it culminates in
a stable climax community, which is usually a forest.

MAJOR ECOSYSTEM TYPES

Let us consider types, characteristic features, structure and functions
of some major ecosystems.
88 Environmental Science and Engineering

n FOREST ECOSYSTEM
These are the ecosystems having a predominance of trees that are
interspersed with a large number of species of herbs, shrubs, climbers,
lichens, algae and a wide variety of wild animals and birds. As discussed
above forests are found in undisturbed areas receiving moderate to high
rainfall and usually occur as stable climax communities.
Depending upon the prevailing climatic conditions forests can be
of various types:
(a) Tropical Rain Forests: They are evergreen broadleaf forests
found near the equator. They are characterized by high temperature,
high humidity and high rainfall, all of which favour the growth of trees.
All through the year the climate remains more or less uniform. They
are the richest in biodiversity. Different forms of life occupy specialized
areas (niches) within different layers and spaces of the ecosystem
depending upon their needs for food, sunlight, water, nutrient etc.
We come across different types and layers of plants and animals
in the tropical rain forests. e.g. the emergent layer is the topmost layer
of the tallest broad-leaf evergreen trees, below which lies the canopy
where top branches of shorter trees form an umbrella like cover. Below
this is present the understory of still smaller trees. On the tree trunks
some woody climbers are found to grow which are known as Lianas.
There are some other plants like Orchids which are epiphytes i.e. they
are attached to the trunks or branches of big trees and they take up
water and nutrients falling from above. The orchids have special type
of leaves to capture and hold the water. Some large epiphytes can hold as
much as 4 litres of water, equivalent to a small bucket! Thus, these epiphytes
almost act like mini-ponds suspended up in the air, in the forest crown.
That is the reason why a large variety of birds, insects and animals like
monkeys have made their natural homes (habitats) in these forests
(Plate II).
The understorey trees usually receive very dim sunlight. They
usually develop dark green leaves with high chlorophyll content so that
they can use the diffused sunlight for photosynthesis. The shrub layer
receives even less sunlight and the ground layer commonly known as
forest floor receives almost no sunlight and is a dark layer. Most of the
animals like bats, birds, insects etc. occupy the bright canopy layer while
monkeys, toads, snakes, chameleons etc. keep on moving up and down
in sunny and darker layers. Termites, fungi, mushrooms etc. grow on
the ground layer. Warm temperature and high availability of moisture
facilitate rapid breakdown (decomposition) of the dropped leaves, twigs
etc. releasing the nutrients rapidly. These nutrients are immediately
taken up by the mycorrhizal roots of the trees.
 Ecosystems 89

Plate II. Tropical rain forest.

Interestingly, the flowers of forest trees are very large, colourful,

fragrant and attractive which helps in pollination by insects, birds, bats
etc. Rafflesia arnoldi, the biggest flower (7 kg weight) is known to smell
like rotten meat and attracts flies and beetles which help in its pollination
(Plate III).

Plate III. Rafflesia—the biggest flower.

90 Environmental Science and Engineering

The Silent Valley in Kerala is the only tropical rain forest lying in
India which is the natural habitat for a wide variety of species.
Being the store-house of biodiversity, the forests provide us with
an array of commercial goods like timber, fuel wood, drugs, resins,
gums etc. Unfortunately there is cutting down of these forests at an
alarming rate. Within the next 30-40 years we are likely to be left with
only scattered fragments of such forests, thereby losing the rich
biodiversity and the ecological uses of forests, discussed earlier in unit
II. rain is
sufficient for
(b) Tropical deciduous forests: They are found a little away from trees to
grow, but
the equator and are characterized by a warm climate the year round. the trees
Rain occurs only during monsoon. A large part of the year remains here are
widely
dry and therefore different types of deciduous trees are found here, separated
which lose their leaves during dry season. from each
other, not
(c) Tropical scrub forests: They are found in areas where the compact like
tropical rain
dry season is even longer. Here there are small deciduous trees and forest
shrubs.
(d) Temperate rain forests: They are found in temperate areas
with adequate rainfall. These are dominated by coniferous trees like
pines, firs, redwoods etc. They also consist of some evergreen broad-
leaf trees.
(e) Temperate deciduous forests: They are found in areas with
moderate temperatures. There is a marked seasonality with long sum-
mers, cold but not too severe winter and abundant rainfall throughout
the year. The major trees include broad leaf deciduous trees like oak,
hickory, poplar etc.
(f ) Evergreen coniferous forests (Boreal Forests): They are
found just south of arctic tundra. Here winters are long, cold and dry.
Sunlight is available for a few hours only. In summer the temperature
is mild, sun-shines for long hours but the season is quite short. The
major trees include pines, spruce, fir, cedar etc. which have tiny, nee-
dle-shaped leaves having a waxy coating so that they can withstand
severe cold and drought. The soil is found to get frozen during winter
when few species can survive. The leaves, also know as needles, fall on
the forest floor and cover the nutrient poor soil. These soils are acidic
and prevent other plants from growing. Species diversity is rather low
in these forests.
 Ecosystems 91

n GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS
Grasslands are dominated by grass species but sometimes also allow
the growth of a few trees and shrubs. Rainfall is average but erratic.
Limited grazing helps to improve the net primary production of the
grasslands but overgrazing leads to degradation of these grasslands
resulting in desertification. Three types of grasslands are found to occur
in different climatic regions:
(a) Tropical grasslands: They occur near the borders of tropical present
rain forests in regions of high average temperature and low to moderate near the
rainfall. In Africa, these are typically known as Savannas, which have equator

tall grasses with scattered shrubs and stunted trees. The Savannas have
a wide diversity of animals including zebras, giraffes, gazelle, antelopes
etc. During dry season, fires are quite common. Termite mounds are
very common here. The termites gather the detritus (dead organic
matter) containing a lot of cellulose and build up a mound. On the top
of the mound fungi are found to grow which feed upon this dead matter
including cellulose and in turn release methane, a greenhouse gas.
Tropical savannas have a highly efficient system of
photosynthesis. Most of the carbon assimilated by them in the form of
carbohydrates is in the perennating bulbs, rhizomes, runners etc. which
are present underground. Deliberate burning of these grasslands can
relase huge quantities of carbon dioxide, another green house gas,
responsible for global warming.
(b) Temperate grasslands: They are usually found on flat, gentle
far from
sloped hills, winters are very cold but summers are hot and dry. Intense equator
grazing and summer fires do not allow shrubs or trees to grow.
In United States and Canada these grasslands are known as
prairies, in South America as Pampas, in Africa as Velds and in central
Europe and Asia they are known as Steppes.
Winds keep blowing and evaporation rate is very high. It also
favours rapid fires in summer. The soils are quite fertile and therefore,
very often these grasslands are cleared for agriculture.
(c) Polar grasslands (Arctic Tundra): They are found in arctic
polar region where severe cold and strong, frigid winds along with ice
and snow create too harsh a climate for trees to grow. In summers the
sun-shines almost round the clock and hence several small annual plants
grow in the summer. The animals include arctic wolf, weasel, arctic
fox, reindeer etc. A thick layer of ice remains frozen under the soil
surface throughout the year and is known as permafrost. In summer,
the tundra shows the appearance of shallow lakes, bogs etc. where
mosquitoes, different type of insects and migratory birds appear.
92 Environmental Science and Engineering

n DESERT ECOSYSTEMS
These ecosystems occur in regions where evaporation exceeds
precipitation (rainfall, snow etc.). The precipitation is less than 25 cm
per year. About 1/3rd of our world’s land area is covered by deserts.
Deserts have little species diversity and consist of drought resistant or
drought avoiding plants. The atmosphere is very dry and hence it is a
poor insulator. That is why in deserts the soil gets cooled up quickly,
making the nights cool. Deserts are of three major types, based on
climatic conditions:
(a) Tropical deserts like Sahara and Namib in Africa and Thar
desert, Rajasthan, India are the driest of all with only a few species.
Wind blown sand dunes are very common.
(b) Temperate deserts like Mojave in Southern California where
day time temperatures are very hot in summer but cool in winters.
(c) Cold deserts like the Gobi desert in China has cold winters
and warm summers.
Desert plants and animals are having most typical adaptations
for conservation of water. Many desert plants are found to have re-
duced, scaly leaves so as to cut down loss of water due to transpiration
or have succulent leaves to store water. Many a times their stems get
flattened and develop chlorophyll so that they can take up the function
of photosynthesis. Some plants show very deep roots to tap the
groundwater. Many plants have a waxy, thick cuticle over the leaf to
reduce loss of water through transpiration. Desert animals like insects
and reptiles have thick outer coverings to minimize loss of water. They
usually live inside burrows where humidity is better and heat is less.
Desert soil is rich in nutrients but deficient in water.
Due to low species diversity, shortage of water and slow growth
rate, the desert plant communities, if faced with a severe stress take a
long time to recover.

n AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
Aquatic ecosystems dealing with water bodies and the biotic
communities present in them are either freshwater or marine.
Freshwater ecosystems are further of standing type (lentic) like ponds
and lakes or free-flowing type (lotic), like rivers. Let us consider some
important aquatic ecosystems.
(a) Pond ecosystem: It is a small freshwater aquatic ecosystem
where water is stagnant. Ponds may be seasonal in nature i.e. receiving
 Ecosystems 93

enough water during rainy season. Ponds are usually shallow water
bodies which play a very important role in the villages where most of
the activities center around ponds. They contain several types of algae,
aquatic plants, insects, fishes and birds. The ponds are, however, very
often exposed to tremendous anthropogenic (human-generated) pres-
sures. They are used for washing clothes, bathing, swimming, cattle
bathing and drinking etc. and therefore get polluted.
(b) Lake ecosystems: Lakes are usually big freshwater bodies with
standing water. They have a shallow water zone called Littoral zone,
an open-water zone where effective penetration of solar light takes place,
called Limnetic zone and a deep bottom area where light penetration
is negligible, known as profundal zone (Fig. 3.16).

Littoral zone
Rooted
plants Euphotic zone
Limnetic zone (High productivity)
Compensation
level
Profundal zone Aphotic zone
(Dark) (Little productivity)

Fig. 3.16. Zonation in a lake ecosystem.

The Dal Lake in Srinagar (J & K), Naini Lake in Nainital

(Uttaranchal) and Loktak lake in Manipur are some of the famous
lakes of our country.
Organisms : The lakes have several types of organisms:
(a) Planktons that float on the surface of waters e.g. phytoplanktons
like algae and zooplanktons like rotifers.
(b) Nektons that swim e.g. fishes.
(c) Neustons that rest or swim on the surface.
(d) Benthos that are attached to bottom sediments e.g. snails.
(e) Periphytons that are attached or clinging to other plants or
any other surface e.g. crustaceans.
Stratification : The lakes show stratification or zonation based
on temperature differences. During summer, the top waters become
warmer than the bottom waters. Therefore, only the warm top layer
94 Environmental Science and Engineering

circulates without mixing with the colder layer, thus forming a distinct
zonation:
Epilimnion : Warm, lighter, circulating surface layer
Hypolimnion : Cold, viscous, non-circulating bottom layer.
In between the two layers is thermocline, the region of sharp drop
in temperature.
Types of Lakes : Some important types of lakes are:
(a) Oligotrophic lakes which have low nutrient concentrations.
(b) Eutrophic lakes which are overnourished by nutrients like
nitrogen and phosphorus, usually as a result of agricultural
run-off or municipal sewage discharge. They are covered with
“algal blooms” e.g. Dal Lake.
(c) Dystrophic lakes that have low pH, high humic acid content
and brown waters e.g. bog lakes.
(d) Endemic lakes that are very ancient, deep and have endemic
fauna which are restricted only to that lake e.g. the Lake Baikal
in Russia; the deepest lake, which is now suffering a threat
due to industrial pollution.
(e) Desert salt lakes that occur in arid regions and have devel-
oped high salt concentrations as a result of high evaporation.
e.g. great salt lake, Utah; Sambhar lake in Rajasthan.
(f ) Volcanic lakes that receive water from magma after volcanic
eruptions e.g. many lakes in Japan. They have highly restricted
biota.
(g) Meromictic lakes that are rich in salts and are permanently
stratified e.g. lake Nevada.
(h) Artificial lakes or impoundments that are created due to con-
struction of dams e.g. Govindsagar lake at Bhakra-Nangal.
Streams
These are freshwater aquatic ecosystems where water current is a major
controlling factor, oxygen and nutrient in the water is more uniform
and land-water exchange is more extensive. Although stream organisms
have to face more extremes of temperature and action of currents as
compared to pond or lake organisms, but they do not have to face
oxygen deficiency under natural conditions. This is because the streams
are shallow, have a large surface exposed to air and constant motion
which churns the water and provides abundant oxygen. Their dissolved
oxygen level is higher than that of ponds even though the green plants
 Ecosystems 95

are much less in number. The stream animals usually have a narrow
range of tolerance to oxygen. That is the reason why they are very
susceptible to any organic pollution which depletes dissolved oxygen
in the water. Thus, streams are the worst victims of industrial
development.
River Ecosystem: Rivers are large streams that flow downward
from mountain highlands and flowing through the plains fall into the
sea. So the river ecosystems show a series of different conditions.
The mountain highland part has cold, clear waters rushing down
as water falls with large amounts of dissolved oxygen. The plants are
attached to rocks (periphytons) and fishes are cold-water, high oxygen
requiring fish like trouts.
In the second phase on the gentle slopes, the waters are warmer
and support a luxuriant growth of plants and less oxygen requiring
fishes. this is the layer that flows through different floodplains of cities, and wherein a lot of pollution is
generally observed
In the third phase, the river waters are very rich in biotic diversity.
Moving down the hills, rivers shape the land. They bring with them
lots of silt rich in nutrients which is deposited in the plains and in the
delta before reaching the ocean.

Oceans
These are gigantic reservoirs of water covering more than 70% of our
earth’s surface and play a key role in the survival of about 2,50,000
marine species, serving as food for humans and other organisms, give
a huge variety of sea-products and drugs. Oceans provide us iron,
phosphorus, magnesium, oil, natural gas, sand and gravel.
Oceans are the major sinks of carbon dioxide and play an
important role in regulating many biogeochemical cycles and
hydrological cycle, thereby regulating the earth’s climate.
The oceans have two major life zones: (Fig. 3.17)
Coastal zone with relatively warm, nutrient rich shallow water.
Due to high nutrients and ample sunlight this is the zone of high primary
productivity.
Open sea: It is the deeper part of the ocean, away from the
continental shelf (The submerged part of the continent). It is vertically
divided into three regions:
(i) Euphotic zone which receives abundant light and shows high
photosynthetic activity.
96 Environmental Science and Engineering

Intertidal
Neritic Oceanic

Euphotic zone

Aphotic zone Mid oceanic ridges

Bathyal zone

Trench
Continental
shelf
Continental slope

Continental
Abyssal plain
rise

Fig. 3.17. Vertical and horizontal zonation of a marine ecosystem.

(ii) Bathyal zone receives dim light and is usually geologically
active.
(iii) Abyssal zone is the dark zone, 2000 to 5000 metres deep. The
abyssal zone has no primary source of energy i.e. solar energy. It is the
world’s largest ecological unit but it is an incomplete ecosystem.
Estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal area at the mouth of a river
where fresh water and salty seawater meet. These are the transition
zones which are strongly affected by tidal action. Constant mixing of
water stirs up the silt which makes the nutrients available for the pri-
mary producers. There are wide variations in the stream flow and tidal
currents at any given location diurnally, monthly and seasonally. There-
fore, the organisms present in estuaries show a wide range of tolerance
to temperature and salinity. Such organisms are known as eurythermal
and euryhaline. Coastal bays, and tidal marshes are examples of estu-
aries.
Estuaries have a rich biodiversity and many of the species are en-
demic. There are many migratory species of fishes like eels and salmons
in which half of the life is spent in fresh water and half in salty water.
For them estuaries are ideal places for resting during migration, where
they also get abundant food. Estuaries are highly productive ecosys-
tems. The river flow and tidal action provide energy subsidies for the
estuary thereby enhancing its productivity. Estuaries are of much use
 Ecosystems 97

to human beings due to their high food potential. However, these eco-
systems need to be managed judiciously and protected from pollution.

QUESTIONS
1. Define ecology and ecosystems.
2. What are the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem ?
3. What are food chains and food webs ? Give examples and discuss
their significance.
4. What are ecological pyramids ? Explain why some of these pyra-
mids are upright while others are inverted in different ecosystems.
5. Discuss the models of energy flow in an ecosystem.
6. What are biogeochemical cycles ? Explain with the help of a dia-
gram the nitrogen cycle.
7. Define primary production and secondary production. Why are
tropical wet forests and estuaries most productive ?
8. What is homeostasis ? What are feedback mechanisms ?
9. Discuss the process of ecological succession.
10. Write short notes on (a) tropical rain forests (b) Savannas (c) Arc-
tic Tundra.
11. What are the different zones in a lake ecosystem ?
12. What do you mean by the following :
(a) Thermocline (b) Oligotrophic Lakes
(c) Meromictic Lakes.
13. Discuss the major features of a stream (river) that differ from that
of a lake.
14. Discuss zonation in an ocean. What role is played by oceans in
terms of providing resources and regulating climate ?
15. Discuss the salient features of an estuarine ecosystem.
 24-12-2021

CHAPTER 2
ECOSYSTEM

CHAPTER 2

1
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ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
• Ecosystems have potential to supply a range of
services that are of fundamental importance to
human well-being, health, livelihoods, and
survival
• Ecosystem services (ES) is defined as
contributions of ecosystem structure and function
(in combination with other inputs) to human well-
being

2
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ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
• The concept of ecosystem services gained recognition among policy
makers when the United Nations published the “Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment” (MA) in 2005.
• The work on the MA started in 2001 involving over 1300 international
experts.
• The study provided a comprehensive, global assessment of human impacts
on ecosystems and their services, analysis of ecosystems condition and
trend as well as possible solutions for restoration, maintenances and
sustainable use.
• The key finding of the MA was that currently 60 per cent of the
ecosystem services evaluated are being degraded or used
unsustainably.

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
• International initiative – The Economics of
Ecosystems and Biodiversity – TEEB, carried out
in 2007 – 2010, brought in the economic
perspective of the ecosystem services in the
policy debate.
• TEEB aimed to highlight the economic value of
biodiversity as well as the costs arising from
biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation

3
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CLASSIFICATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment” (MA classification system, highlighted four main
ecosystem categories:

• Provisioning services – food, materials and energy, which are directly used by people

• Regulating services - those that cover the way ecosystems regulate other environmental
media or processes

• Cultural services – those related to the cultural or spiritual needs of people.

• Supporting services – ecosystem processes and functions that underpin other three types
of services.

4
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ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

5
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ECOSYSTEM PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

6
 24-12-2021

Rehabilitation acknowledges that vegetation will be permanently altered, but

seeks to return a self-sustaining native plant community that is as close to the
original as possible.

CASE STUDIES ON ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

7
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CASE STUDY 1
RIVER ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION IN MONTANA

CASE STUDY 1
RIVER ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION IN MONTANA

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• For 100 years, Milltown Dam plugged the

river 8 miles upstream of Missoula.
• The 540-acre reservoir behind Milltown Dam
contained 6.6 million cubic yards of
contaminated sediment, which washed down
from Butte’s copper mines during the record
flood of 1908 and stacked up behind the
dam.
• The contamination poisoned local wells with
arsenic, and killed off fish and other aquatic
life during subsequent flood events and ice
jams.

SUPERFUND SITES IN USA

• The United States federal Superfund law, officially the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980
(CERCLA), established the federal Superfund program, administered by US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• The program is designed to investigate and clean up sites contaminated with
hazardous substances.
• Sites managed under this program are referred to as "Superfund" sites.
• There are 40,000 federal Superfund sites across the country, and approximately
1,600 of those sites have been listed on the National Priorities List.
• Sites on the NPL are considered the most highly contaminated and undergo
longer-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanup)

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MILLTOWN AS SUPERFUND SITE

• Milltown was listed as a Superfund site in 1986, and later catalysed
community opinion around the “far-fetched” idea of dam removal.

• The EPA eventually endorsed this as the best cleanup option in

2003, after receiving over 10,000 public comments from Western
Montanans in support of full cleanup and dam removal.

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BENEFITS OF RIVER RESTORATION

• Reconnecting the river at this scale has tremendous benefits for
fish, especially our native trout species that depend on cold, clean
and connected waterways.
• The newly restored confluence also offers tremendous recreational
benefits for anglers, birders, boaters, and swimmers.
• Milltown State Park is almost complete, and will include walking
trails, fishing access, picnic shelters and much more. The Clark Fork-
Blackfoot confluence is one of the only former Superfund sites in
the country to become a state park.

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CASE STUDY
ECOLOGICAL PROBLEM IN
ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLAND

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India, are a group of
572 islands of which 38 are inhabited

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HISTORY OF ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR

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FOREST COVER

TROPICAL EVERGREEN FOREST

ANDAMAN NICOBAR ISLAND

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ECONOMY

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ECONOMY
• Agriculture
A total of 48,675 hectares (120,280 acres) of land is used for agriculture purposes. Paddy, the main food crop, is mostly
cultivated in Andaman group of islands, whereas coconut and arecanut are the cash crops of Nicobar group of islands.
Field crops, namely, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables are grown, followed by paddy during Rabi season. Different kinds
of fruits such as mango, sapota, orange, banana, papaya, pineapple and root crops are grown on hilly land owned by
farmers. Spices such as pepper, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon are grown under a multi-tier cropping system. Rubber,
red oil, palm, noni and cashew are grown on a limited scale in these islands.

• Industries
There are 1,374 registered small-scale, village and handicraft units. Two units are export-oriented in the line of fish
processing activity. Apart from this, there are shells and wood-based handicraft units. There are also four medium-sized
industrial units. SSI units are engaged in the production of polythene bags, PVC conduit pipes and fittings, paints and
varnishes, fiberglass and mini flour mills, soft drinks, and beverages, etc. Small scale and handicraft units are also
engaged in shell crafts, bakery products, rice milling, furniture making, etc.

• Tourism
Tourism to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is increasing due to the popularity of beaches and adventure sports

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS

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ECOLOGICAL IMBALANCE IN
ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR

• Unlike the mainland, resources on the islands are

scarce for big animals, while natural calamities are
more frequent.

• The wildlife here has evolved in a miniature setting:

there are no large herbivores (the largest is the
Andaman wild pig) or large carnivores.

• Islands have fewer species, but their nature make

them irreplaceable. They are found no where else in
the world... This makes the entire food web in the
islands very different from that of the mainland

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INVASIVE SPECIES
• Spotted deer, also known
as Chital, were
introduced to the islands
in 1930s by Britishers as
game animal.

• Elephants were
introduced to island for
logging of trees.

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POPULATION IMBALANCE IN
ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS

Forests with elephants and chitals had suffered significant degradation (Interview Island)
compared to places where they were absent (Little Andaman). Elephants knock down trees
and strip barks, while chitals prevent regeneration of forests by grazing on seedlings.

SOLUTIONS?

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BULLFROG – NEW INVASIVE SPECIES IN ANDAMAN

These bullfrogs managed to escape into the
wild and continually expand their territory. This
species is a prolific breeder with a short
breeding season and produces a clutch
containing more than 5000 eggs.

Bullfrog can eat native wildlife including fish

and lizards..
Its tadpoles are carnivorous and eat other
tadpoles. The large bullfrog tadpoles eat other
native frog tadpoles.
The voracious animal gulps down anything that
would fit in its jaws: centipedes, leeches, native
frogs, lizards, small snakes, and even chicks and
ducklings, which are an important source of
food for the islanders.

HOW BULLFROG REACHED ANDAMAN?

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HOW BULLFROG REACHED ANDAMAN?

• Following the decline of natural fish stock, the local administration
encouraged integrated farming, with aquaculture in agricultural ponds.
There are now over 2,500 such ponds in the islands, most of them filled
with stocks of exotic, fast-growing fish imported from the mainland.
• The fishling stocks (mostly from Kolkata) released into some of these
ponds were contaminated with bullfrog eggs and tadpoles.

HOW BULLFROG REACHED ANDAMAN?

Most villagers believe that the bullfrog’s first
hop into the islands was in Diglipur, in the
northern tip of the Andamans, where its
prolific spread first became a talking point.

By 2011, it was spotted in Middle Andaman,

and by 2013, it was found near the southern
tip of the Andamans, around 300 km from
Diglipur.

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LIFE CYCLE OF BULLFROG

In the Andaman Islands, it can rain eight months of
the year. The first rains in May are the signal for the
bullfrogs to come out of the streams and agricultural
ponds that have become their shelters.
They breed by the hundreds, with each female able
to lay between 3,500 and 20,000 eggs.

With an average life span of seven years, and time to

sexual maturity of 10-12 months, their population
can dramatically increase in a very short time, which
is precisely what happened once they landed in the
islands.

ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF BULLFROG

• Across infested villages, residents say sightings
of native species of frogs have reduced.

• Water snakes, a common accompaniment for

the paddy farmer, and centipedes are in
decline.

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ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BULLFROG

CONSUME FISHES- CONSUMES CENTRIPEDE, CONSUMES CHICKENS

LIVELIHOOD LOSS TO PEOPLE EARTHWORM -LIVELIHOOD LOSS TO
-LIVELIHOOD LOSS TO LANDLESS LABOURS
Local person found that his FARMERS The frogs pose a threat particularly to the
livelihoods of landless labourers.
pond had been taken over by Agriculture in a rain-heavy, saline-rich soil is
frogs. “Earlier I could get 20 kg difficult, and free-range chickens are an
of fish whenever I spread the important and steady source of income,
net. Now, I get only shona with each fetching up to ₹600.
beng. There is no fish left now. “I’ve lost six chicks this year already. We
It has eaten everything,” he had to build a murghi ghar [wooden
says. makeshift cage on stilts] to lock the
chickens at night, but even then the frogs
manage to squeeze through,” local says

BULLFROG-HUMAN CONFLICT
• In a few villages, the In other places, it is anger
explosion in population from
May onward sees a feast of that has humans killing the
bullfrogs: skin fried to a crisp, frog. “Whenever I find it on
their legs boiled or fried. the road, I beat it with a
stick. If it jumps, I’ll jump
• Here, a kilo (roughly three into the paddy field and
medium-sized frogs) is sold chase it. One dead frog
for ₹60 — the cheapest
source of protein in the means one lesser mother
market. laying thousands of eggs,”
says a villager in North
Andaman

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SOLUTIONS?

SOLUTIONS?
• Humans play a huge role in the invasive success of these frogs and urgent
management actions including screening at ports of entry could help
prevent their spread to other islands

• Bullfrogs have reached little Andaman, the next frontier is Nicobar. There
are other islands they are yet to invade, and we must do everything to
stop that.

• Signs about the adverse economic impact of bullfrogs and the need to
check contamination of fish stocks could be useful

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