EDM-404 ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

UNIT-1- BASIC CONCEPT AND NATURE OF ENVIRONMENT

(1B) Eco System- Structure, Functions and Components

The continents of the world are divided into countries which inturn divided in to
various regions. Every region is comprised of temperature, wind, moisture &
evaporation known as climate. Climate is necessary for growth, development and
distribution of flora, fauna and soil. Nature is the mother of all flora, fauna, soil and
other natural resources. Each of them is from the nature and within the nature and
they have an innate relationship existing between them. This complex, interactive,
reciprocal inter relationship is known as an ecosystem or biotic complex. Ecosystem
is a network of relationship of each living and nonliving things (examples: a pond,
a lake, a coral reef, a grass land).

Origin & Definitions of an Ecosystem

The word ecosystem was coined by A.G.Tensley by 1935. The word ‘Eco’ means
‘environment’ and ‘system’ means an interacting and interdependent complex.
Earlier it was defined as Biocoenosis by Moblus, Microcosm by Forbes
Biogeoenosis by Sukachey but the word Eco system was widely accepted.

In general an ecosystem is a unit including organism/ communities in a given area,

interacting with physical environment so that flow of energy leads to tropic structure,
biodiversity and material cycle within the system.

The first ecologist who gave the concept of ecosystem was A.G.Tensley.
It is the system resulting from the integration of all the living and non living factors
of the environment.
Environment Organisms

Temperature Plants

Humidity Animals

Water Microorganisms

Oxygen Parasites

Definitions-
The complete ecological system of an area including plants, animals and
environmental factors is known as ecosystem.
-George Usher (A Dictionary of Botany)
The Ecosystem is that approach in which habitat, plants and animals are all
considered as one integrating unit, materials and energies of one passing in and out
of others.
-Woodbury
The ecosystem or ecological system is the basic functional unit of organisms of their
environment, interacting with each other within their own components.
-E.P. Odum
A group of organisms interacting among themselves and with environment is known
as ecosystem.

Climate

Flora Fauna

Soil
An ecosystem may be of different sizes like a prairie, a pond, tide pool, a large lake,
ocean, forest. No single ecosystem is self-sufficient in nature as one ecosystem is
connected with other ecosystems. Ex: A forest ecosystem is connected with a pond
ecosystem, river ecosystem & sea also.

Hence ecosystem is the largest functional unit of ecology.

Structure of an Ecosystem
The structure of any ecosystem is about -
1) Composition of biological community including of species, numbers, biomass,
life history and distribution in space etc.

2) Quantity and distribution of non-living materials

3) Range of conditions of existence (Temperature, light, water)
Main constituents of ecosystem are -
1) Inorganic nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen etc.
2) Organic compounds constituting organisms (Biotic)
3) The climate factors (Abiotic)

Biotic components means components with life and they are of two kinds-
1) An autotrophic or self-nourishing components which can help in fixing light
energy from sun and food manufacturing from inorganic substances
2) A heterotrophic or other nourishing components which utilize, rearrange or
decompose the complex food materials manufactured by autotrophs
The major constituents of an ecosystem are-
1) Abiotic Substances
2) Producers
3) Consumers
4) Decomposers
5) Transformers (recognized by George L. Clarke)
Abiotic Substances-
Abiotic components are nonliving components which have no life. Substances such
as oxygen, water, sodium chloride, nitrogen, carbon dioxide etc are abiotic in nature
due to their physical existence outside living organisms like oxygen, CO2 in air but
they become biotic in nature when they exist within the organism like all living
things in hale oxygen for respiration.

1) Climate Regime ( temperature light and other physical factors having direct
influence on the organisms)
 2) Nutrients ( Inorganic and organic substances like carbon, water, CO2,
phosphorous)
3) Energy circuits- grazing circuits, organic circuits

The amount of abiotic materials present in an ecosystem at given time is known as

standing state or standing quantity. The amino acids, products of animal
decomposition are also abiotic components.

Producers:
All green plants are self-productive which synthesize organic compounds and
prepare their food in the presence of inorganic compounds. Hence plants, bacteria
and green algae are known as Autotrophs. They exhibit photosynthesis or
chemosynthesis. Green plants absorb nutrients and water from the soil, CO2 with air
and in the presence of sunlight and chloroplast. They prepare their food by the
process of photosynthesis on land produces are green plants with roots and in water
they are microscopic plants known as phytoplankton.

Consumers:
Those living organisms or animals which consume the food or organic materials
produced by producers/plants. All the different organisms except producers come
under the community of consumers. Consumers could not fulfil their nutrients by
preparation of food. They are known as Heterotrophs as they have different
nutritional source. These consumers are of four kinds-

Primary Consumers or Herbivores or Key Industry Animals (Elton) –

Those animals which consume green plants as their food directly. They are
dependent upon green plants for their food. Ex: Aphids, bugs, ants rodents,
crustacean, Mollusks, goat, cow, dear, rabbit etc.
Secondary Consumers-
Those animals which utilize herbivores as food partially or completely. These
animals consume the herbivorous animals as they could not prepare their food. Thus
birds eat fishes which are entirely dependent on frogs eating insects. They may be
carnivorous- animals or omnivorous animals partially dependent on green food or
animals etc.

Tertiary or quaternary Consumers-

These are carnivores/predators of second or third stage in which animals are
dependent upon secondary consumers either carnivores or omnivores for their food.
Ex: Hawk feeding on a weasel which feeds a mouse

A Lion eating a fox and a fox eating goat.

Parasites, Scavengers are also consumers. Living tissues of plants and animals are
used by parasites. Dead remains of plants and animals are utilized as food by
scavengers.
Decomposers
Fungi and bacteria which decompose or degrade organic compounds are known as
decomposers. The decaying organic material taken by decomposition process for the
nutrition of animals is known as saprophytic nutrition. Decomposers reduce the
complex organic molecules of dead plants and animals to simple organic
compounds. The simple organic compounds are attacked by another kind of bacteria
known as transformers as they change their simple organic compounds into the
inorganic compounds which can be reduced by green plants or procedures. Hence
these decomposers and transformers act as a prominent link in the cycle of life. They
take active part to transform complex organic compounds to simple inorganic
compounds. In the absence of these decomposers and transformers the complex
organic insoluble molecules could not be used by plants as nutrients. Thus they play
a prominent role in maintaining the dynamic nature of ecosystem.
Functions of an Ecosystem
Ecosystem functions describe the biological, geochemical and physical process and
components within the ecosystem. Its functions explain ecological processes
involved in that ecosystem. The functions of an ecosystem are-

1) Different ecosystem of a region maintain the eco bogical balance of that

region
2) It maintain biodiversity i.e. the diversity in genus, species and ecosystems
3) Ecosystems are beneficial to the human life and in turn humans contribute
their efforts to provide services to maintain those ecosystems
4) It contributes much to agriculture, Horticulture, animal husbandry
5) It increases production of crops and improves the life style of the people
6) It promotes sustainability and economic development
7) It protects nature so that it can be useful for the next generations

The functions of ecosystem can be classified in to four categories-

 Regulating
 Supporting
 Provisioning
 Cultural

Regulating functions of Ecosystems:

It regulates and maintains all the life supports system the ecological process related
to those systems-

 Ecosystem regulates greenhouse gases, smog and volatile organic compounds

 It regulates atmospheric pressure, processes and patterns of weather
 It regulates the disturbances within soil, water bodies and vegetation
 It regulates the atmosphere, distribution of water in lakes, rivers and seas
 It minimizes soil loss by retaining, rocks, soil, roots and vegetation cover
 It regulates the production, storage, transport and recycling of nutrients
 It helps in distribution, assimilation, Transport and recycling of organic and
inorganic wastes
 Ecosystem regulates pollination and seed disposal by promoting interaction
between plants, biotic vectors ( birds, insects etc) and abiotic vectors( wind and
water)
 It regulates the natural and biological control mechanism
 It regulates barriers effecting vegetation in the movement of airborne
substances such as dust and aerosols and enhances air mixing

Supporting functions:

 In includes the preservation of natural and semi natural ecosystem for preserving
mild as well as the individual species.
 It also includes the provision of suitable breeding, reproduction, nursery, refugia
& corridors for species so as to increase their number and protect them from being
extinct.
 It also includes facilitation of soil formation processes by the chemical
weathering of rocks & transportation and accumulation of inorganic & organic
matter.

Provisioning Functions:

 Materials that can be converted to produce energy & nutrition. It is derived from
photosynthesis & includes biomass.
 Biomass that is used by species for other purpose than food that act as raw
materials.
 Water supply through Sediment tapping, infiltration, dissolution, precipitation &
diffusion.
 It helps in developing genetic resources for maintaining diversity of organisms.
 It gives provision of shade and shelter which relates to vegetation to develop them
in extreme weather conditions.
 It provides pharmacological resources (The natural materials) which help the
organism to maintain, restore or improve health.

Cultural functions:

Provides landscape with a variety of natural features including flora and fauna.

Components of Ecosystem:

An ecosystem comprises of two basic components

 Abiotic Components
 Biotic Components
The relationship between the biotic components and abiotic components of an
ecosystem is called holocoenosis.
Abiotic Components
These include the non-living, physic-chemical factors such as air, water, soil and the
basic elements and compounds of the environment.
Abiotic Factors are broadly classified under three categories.
Climatic Factors which include the climatic regime and physical factors of the
environment like light, humidity, atmospheric temperature, wind etc.
Edaphic factors which are related to the structure and composition of soil including
its physical and chemical properties, like soil and its types, soil profile, minerals,
organic matter, soil water, carbon, sulphur, nitrogen, phosphorus and so on. Organic
substances like proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, humic substances etc.
Biotic Components
It comprises the living part of the environment, which includes the association of a
number of interested populations belonging to different species in a common
environment.
The populations are that of animal community, plant community and microbial
community. Biotic community is distinguished into autotrophs, heterotrophs and
saprotrophs.
Autotrophs (Gr: auto-self, trophos-feeder) are also called producers, convertors or
transducers.
These are photosynthetic plants, generally chlorophyll bearing, which synthesize
high-energy complex organic compounds (food) from inorganic raw materials with
the help of sunlight, and the process is referred as photosynthesis. Autotrophs form
the basis of any biotic system.
In terrestrial ecosystem, the autotrophs are mainly the rooted plants. In aquatic
ecosystem, floating plants called phytoplankton and shallow water rooted plants
called macrophytes are the dominant producers.
Heterotrophs (Gr: heteros-others; trophs-feeder) are called consumers, which are
generally animals feeding on other organisms.
Consumer’s also referred as phagotrophs (Phago- to ingest or swallow) or
macroconsumers are mainly herbivores and carnivores.
Herbivores are referred as first order consumers or primary consumers, as they feed
directly on plants. Ex: Terrestrial ecosystem consumers like cattle, deer, rabbit, grass
hopper etc.
Aquatic ecosystem consumers like protozoans, crustaceans, etc. Carnivores are
animals, which feed or prey upon other animals.
Primary carnivores or second order consumers include the animals which feed on
the herbivorous animals. Ex: fox, frog, predatory birds, smaller fishes, snakes etc.
Secondary carnivores or third order consumers include the animals, which feed on
the primary carnivores. Ex: wolf, peacock, owl etc.
Secondary carnivores are preyed upon by some larger carnivores. Tertiary
carnivores or Quaternary consumers include the animals, which feed on the
secondary carnivores.
Ex: Lion, tiger etc. These are not eaten by any other animals.
The larger carnivores, which cannot be preyed upon further are called top carnivores.
Saprotrophs are also called decomposers or reducers. They break down the
complex organic compounds of dead matter (of plants and animals). Decomposers
do not ingest their food. Instead they secrete digestive enzymes into the dead and
decaying plant and animal remains to digest the organic material. Enzymes act upon
the complex organic compounds of the dead matter.
Decomposers absorb a part of the decomposition products for their own
nourishment. The remaining substances are added as minerals to the substratum
(mineralisation). Released minerals are reused (utilised) as nutrients by the plants
(producers).

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