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VI
B
y now you might have realised that all E COLOGY
units of this book have acquainted you
You have been reading about ecological and
with the three major realms of the
environmental problems in newspapers and
environment, that is, the lithosphere, the
magazines. Have you ever thought what
atmosphere and the hydrosphere. You know
ecology is? The environment as you know, is
that living organisms of the earth, constituting
made up of abiotic and biotic components. It
the biosphere, interact with other environmental
would be interesting to understand how the
realms. The biosphere includes all the living
diversity of life-forms is maintained to bring a
components of the earth. It consists of all plants
kind of balance. This balance is maintained in
and animals, including all the micro-
a particular proportion so that a healthy
interaction between the biotic and the abiotic
Life on the earth is found almost components goes on.
everywhere. Living organisms are found The interactions of a particular group of
from the poles to the equator, from the organisms with abiotic factors within a
bottom of the sea to several km in the particular habitat resulting in clearly defined
air, from freezing waters to dry valleys, energy flows and material cycles on land, water
from under the sea to underground water
and air, are called ecological systems.
lying below the earth’s surface.
A habitat in the ecological sense is the totality ecosystem includes lakes, ponds, streams,
of the physical and chemical factors that marshes and bogs.
constitute the general environment. A system
Structure and Functions of Ecosystems
consisting of biotic and abiotic components is
known as ecosystem. All these components in The structure of an ecosystem involves a
ecosystem are inter related and interact with description of the available plant and animal
each other. Different types of ecosystems exist species. From a structural point of view, all
with varying ranges of environmental ecosystems consist of abiotic and biotic factors.
conditions where various plants and animal Abiotic factors include rainfall, temperature,
species have got adapted through evolution. sunlight, atmospheric humidity, soil
This phenomenon is known as ecological conditions, inorganic substances (carbon
adaptation. dioxide, water, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus,
potassium, etc.). Biotic factors include the
Types of Ecosystems
producers, (primary, secondary, tertiary) the
Ecosystems are of two major types: terrestrial consumers and the decomposers. The
and aquatic. Terrestrial ecosystem can be producers include all the green plants, which
further be classified into ‘biomes’. A biome is a manufacture their own food through
plant and animal community that covers a photosynthesis. The primary consumers
large geographical area. The boundaries of include herbivorous animals like deer, goats,
different biomes on land are determined mainly mice and all plant-eating animals. The
by climate. Therefore, a biome can be defined carnivores include all the flesh-eating animals
as the total assemblage of plant and animal like snakes, tigers and lions. Certain carnivores
species interacting within specific conditions. that feed also on carnivores are known as top
These include rainfall, temperature, humidity carnivores like hawks and mongooses.
and soil conditions. Some of the major biomes Decomposers are those that feed on dead
of the world are: forest, grassland, desert and organisms (for example, scavengers like
tundra biomes. Aquatic ecosystems can be vultures and crows), and further breaking
classed as marine and freshwater ecosystems. down of the dead matter by other decomposing
Marine ecosystem includes the oceans, coastal agents like bacteria and various micro-
estuaries and coral reefs. Freshwater organisms.
The producers are consumed by the aquatic and altitudinal biomes. Some features
primary consumers whereas the primary of these biomes are given in Table 15.1.
consumers are, in turn, being eaten by the
secondary consumers. Further, the secondary Biogeochemical Cycles
consumers are consumed by the tertiary The sun is the basic source of energy on which
consumers. The decomposers feed on the dead all life depends. This energy initiates life
at each and every level. They change them into processes in the biosphere through
various substances such as nutrients, organic photosynthesis, the main source of food and
and inorganic salts essential for soil fertility. energy for green plants. During photosynthesis,
Organisms of an ecosystem are linked together carbon dioxide is converted into organic
through a foodchain (Figure 15.1). For compounds and oxygen. Out of the total solar
example, a plant eating beetle feeding on a insolation that reaches the earth’s surface, only
paddy stalk is eaten by a frog, which is, in turn, a very small fraction (0.1 per cent) is fixed in
eaten by a snake, which is then consumed by photosynthesis. More than half is used for plant
a hawk. This sequence of eating and being respiration and the remaining part is
eaten and the resultant transfer of energy from temporarily stored or is shifted to other
one level to another is known as the food-chain. portions of the plant.
Transfer of energy that occurs during the Life on earth consists of a great variety of
process of a foodchain from one level to living organisms. These living organisms exist
another is known as flow of energy. However, and survive in a diversity of associations. Such
food-chains are not isolated from one another. survival involves the presence of systemic flows
For example, a mouse feeding on grain may such as flows of energy, water and nutrients.
be eaten by different secondary consumers These flows show variations in different parts
(carnivores) and these carnivores may be eaten of the world, in different seasons of the year
by other different tertiary consumers (top and under varying local circumstances. Studies
carnivores). In such situations, each of the have shown that for the last one billion years,
carnivores may consume more than one type the atmosphere and hydrosphere have been
of prey. As a result, the food- chains get composed of approximately the same balance
interlocked with one another. This inter- of chemical components. This balance of the
connecting network of species is known as food chemical elements is maintained by a cyclic
web. Generally, two types of food-chains are passage through the tissues of plants and
recognised: grazing food-chain and detritus animals. The cycle starts by absorbing the
food-chain. In a grazing food-chain, the first chemical elements by the organism and is
level starts with plants as producers and ends returned to the air, water and soil through
with carnivores as consumers as the last level, decomposition. These cycles are largely
with the herbivores being at the intermediate energised by solar insolation. These cyclic
level. There is a loss of energy at each level movements of chemical elements of the
which may be through respiration, excretion biosphere between the organism and the
or decomposition. The levels involved in a food- environment are referred to as biogeochemical
chain range between three to five and energy cycles. Bio refers to living organisms and geo
is lost at each level. A detritus food-chain is to rocks, soil, air and water of the earth.
based on autotrophs energy capture initiated There are two types of biogeochemical
by grazing animals and involves the cycles : the gaseous and the sedimentary cycle.
decomposition or breaking down of organic In the gaseous cycle, the main reservoir of
wastes and dead matter derived from the nutrients is the atmosphere and the ocean. In
grazing food-chain. the sedimentary cycle, the main reservoir is the
soil and the sedimentary and other rocks of
Types of Biomes the earth’s crust.
In the earlier paragraphs, you have learnt the The Water Cycle
meaning of the term ‘biome’. Let us now try to
identify the major biomes of the world. There All living organisms, the atmosphere and the
are five major biomes — forest, desert, grassland, lithosphere maintain between them a
130 FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Desert A. Hot and Dry A. S a h a r a , A. Temp. 20 - 45°C. Rich in A-C. Scanty vege-
desert Kalahari, B. 21 - 38°C. nutrients with tation; few large
B. Semi arid Marusthali, C. 15 - 35°C. little or no mammals,
desert Rub-el-Khali D. 2 - 25°C organic matter insects, reptiles
C. Coastal B. Marginal areas A-D Rainfall is less than and birds
desert of hot deserts 50 mm D. Rabbits, rats,
D. Cold desert C. Atacama antelopes
D. Tundra climatic and ground
regions squirrels
Grassland A. Tropical A. Large areas A. Warm hot A. Porous with A. Grasses; trees
Savannah of A f r i c a , climates, Rainfall thin layer of and large shrubs
B. Temperate Australia, 500-1,250 mm humus. absent; giraffes
Steppe South B. Hot summers and B. Thin floccu- zebras, buffalos,
America and cold winter. lated soil, leopards, hyenas,
India Rainfall 500 - rich in bases elephants, mice,
B. P a r t s of 900 mm moles, snakes
Eurasia and and worms etc.,
North America are common
animals
B. Grasses; occ-
asional trees
such as cotton-
woods, oaks and
willows; gazelles,
zebras, rhin-
LIFE ON THE EARTH 131
oceros, wild
horses, lions,
varieties of birds,
worms, snakes
etc., are common
animals
Aquatic A. Freshwater A. Lakes, streams, A-B Temperatures vary A. Water, swamps Algal and other aquatic
B. Marine rivers and widely with cooler air and marshes and marine plant
wetlands temperatures and communities with
B. Oceans, coral high humidity B.Water, tidal varieties of water
reefs, lagoons swamps and dwelling animals
and estuaries marshes
Altitudinal ——— Slopes of high Temperature and Regolith over Deciduous to tundra
mountain ranges precipitation vary slopes vegetation varying
like the Himalayas, depending upon according to altitude
the Andes and the latitudinal zone
Rockies
circulation of water in solid, liquid or gaseous dioxide and are returned to the atmosphere
form referred to as the water or hydrologic cycle (Figure 15.2).
(Chapter 13 of this book).
change in the species distribution. This change the ecosystem. This has destroyed its originality
is due to competition where the secondary and has caused adverse effects to the general
forest species such as grasses, bamboos or environment. Ecological imbalances have
pines overtakes the native species changing brought many natural calamities like
the original forest structure. This is called floods, landslides, diseases, erratic climatic
succession. occurrences, etc.
Ecological balance may be disturbed due There is a very close relationship between
to the introduction of new species, natural the plant and animal communities within
hazards or human causes. Human interference particular habitats. Diversity of life in a
has affected the balance of plant communities particular area can be employed as an
leading to disturbances in the ecosystems. indicator of the habitat factor. Proper
Such disturbances bring about numerous knowledge and understanding of such factors
secondary successions. Human pressure on provide a strong base for protecting and
the earth’s resources has put a heavy toll on conserving the ecosystems.
EXERCISES
Project Work
(i) Show the distribution of the different biomes on the outline map of the
world with a note highlighting the important characteristics of each biome.
(ii) Make a note of trees, shrubs and perennial plants in your school campus
and devote half a day to observe the types of birds which come to the
garden. Can you describe the diversity of birds?