The environment constitutes the physical (nutrients, water, air) and biological factors (biomolecules, organisms) along with their chemical interactions (chemical cycles-carboncycle, nitrogen cycle, etc.) that affect living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components.
Biosphere
The biosphere is the life-supporting stratum of the earth which includes the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
Habitat
- Habitat is the physical environment in which an organism lives(address of an organism).
- Many habitats make up the environment.
- A single habitat may be common for more than one organism which has similar requirements.
- For example, a single aquatic habitat may support a fish, frog, crab, phytoplankton, and many others.
Difference between Ecology, Environment & Ecosystem
- Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms, organisms, and the surroundings occurring within an ecosystem or environment.
- An ecosystem is a functional unit of the environment(mostly the biosphere).
- An environment is a group of ecosystems.
Ecology-Principles and Organizations
Ecology ‘Oikos’ means home or place to live in and’ logos’ means study. Literally, it is the study of the home of nature. Ecology is defined as a scientific study of the relationship of living organisms with each other and
Levels of Organizations in Ecology
The main levels of organization of ecology are six and are as follows.
Individual: The organism is an individual living being that has the ability to act or function independently. It may be a plant, animal, bacterium, fungi, etc.
Population: A population is a group of organisms usually of the same species, occupying a defined area during a specific time. The main factors that make population increase are birth and immigration. The main factors that make population decrease are death and emigration. Therefore, the population growth rate can be positive or negative.
Community:In ecology, the term community, or more appropriately’biotic community, refers to the populations of different kinds of organisms living together and sharing the same habitat.
The characteristic pattern of the community is termed as the structure of the community and is determined by:
- The roles played by its various populations
- The range of its various populations
- The type of area that is inhabited by the populations of the community
- The diversity of species in the community
- The interactions between various populations of the community in habiting the area.
- Members of a community also actively interact with their environment. In a community, only those plants and animals survive which are adapted to a particular environment. The climate determines the type of environment, hence, the type of organisms in a community.
Major Community: The seare large-sized, well organized, and relatively independent. They depend only on the sun’s energy from outside and are independent of the inputs and outputs from adjacent communities. Example: Tropical evergreen for est in the North-East.
Minor Communities: These are dependent on neighboring communities and are often called societies. They are secondary aggregations within a major community and are not therefore completely independent units as far as energy and nutrient dynamics are concerned. Example: A ma t of lichen on a cow dung pad.
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Ecosystem
- An eco system is defined as a structural and functional unit of the biosphere consisting of a community of living beings and the physical environment, both interacting and exchanging materials between them.
- An ecosystem is a functional unit of nature encompassing complex interaction between its biotic (living) andabiotic (nonliving) components.
For example- A pond is a good example of an ecosystem.
- Ecosystems vary greatly in size and elements, but each is a functioning unit of nature. Everything that lives in an ecosystem is dependent on the other species and elements that are also part of that ecological community. If one part of an ecosystem is damaged or disappears, it has an impact on everything else. The ecosystem can be as small as a single tree or as large as the entire forest.
Components of an Ecosystem are Broadly Grouped into:
- Abiotic Components(Nonliving):The abiotic component can be grouped into the following three categories:
- Physical factors: Sunlight, temperature, rainfall, humidity, and pressure. They sustain and limit the growth of organisms in an ecosystem.
- Inorganic substances: Carbondioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, water, rock, soil, and other minerals.
- Organic compounds: Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and humic substances. They are the building blocks of living systems and therefore, make a link between the biotic and a biotic components.
- Biotic Components(Living):
- Autotrophs/Producers: The green plants manufacture food for the entire ecosystem through the process of photosynthesis. Green plants are called autotrophs, as they absorb water and nutrients from the soil, carbondioxide from the air, and capture solar energy for this process.
- Consumers: They are called heterotrophs and they consume food synthesized by the autotrophs. Based on food preferences they can be grouped into three broad categories. Herbivores (e.g.cow, deer,rabbit,etc.) feed directly on plants, carnivores are animals that eat other animals(e.g.lion,cat, dog,etc.), and omnivores organisms feed upon both plants and animals e.g.human, pigs, and sparrow.
- Decomposers: Also called saprotrophs.These are mostly bacteria and fungi that feed on dead decomposed and the dead organic matter of plants and animals by secreting enzymes outside their body on the decaying matter. They play a very important role in the recycling of nutrients. They are also called detrivores or detritus feeders.
Ecosystem Services
Biomes
The terrestrial part of the biosphere is divisible into enormous regions called biomes, which are characterized by climate, vegetation, animal life, and general Soiltype.
No two biomes are alike. The climate determines the boundaries of the biome and the abundance of plants and animals found in each one of them. The most important climatic factors are temperature and precipitation.
Types of Biomes
- TUNDRA
- Tree less low(lessthan1m)vegetation with short perennials, water frozen.Typical plants include sedges, lichens, mosses, grasses, and dwarf woody plants.Typical animals include snowy owls, muskox, reindeer, polar bears, and migrant birds.
- Very cold, often dry climate, but with the permanently frozen ground creates saturated soils during the summer months. Arctic Tundra is circumpolar (scanty Antarctic).
- BOREAL FOREST(TAIGA)
- Dense evergreen needle-leafed forest.Typical plants include white spruce, black spruce, and 5jackpine.Typical animals include moose, blackbears, wolves, and migrantbirds.
- Cold winters with deep snow, but alonger growing season than the tundra. The warm-month average temperature is greater than 100 C. Periodic fires are common.
- TEMPERATE FOREST
- Dense forest withthin, broad, deciduous leaves; or rain forests typically dominated by conifers. Tall trees with single boles create deep shade. Understories are often sparse.
- Typical plants include maples, oaks, elms(deciduous)spruce, oraraucaria (rainforest).Typical animals include deer and squirrels.
- Freezing winters and warm, wet summers, and alonger growing season than the boreal forest.
- GRASSLANDS(STEPPE)
- Tree less vegetation less than 1m high.
- Typical plants include grasses and members of the sunflower family. Woody plants predominate in steppes.Typical animals include large grazing ungulates such as horses, buffalo, and rhinoceros.
- Cold or warm winters with growing seasons moisture too dry for trees; fires every1-5 years.
- DESERT
- Sparse drought-resistant vegetation,typically spiny and with tiny leaves and photosynthetic bark.
- Typical plants include cactuses, acacias, and short-live dannuals. Typical animals include reptiles and ground-dwelling rodents.
- Precipitation is low(lessthan250mm/yr)and evapotranspiration high(morethan250mm/yr).
- Temperature is generally high. Fires generally are rare due to low biomass.
- TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FOREST AND SAVANNAH
- Thorny forests, woodlands, or scattered trees, many of which lose leaves during the dry season.
- Typical plants include acacias and grasses.Typical animals include giraffes and elephants.
- Warmfrost-freewinters,hot usually wet summers, and a pronounced dry season. Fire and grazing are important vegetation-forming processes.
- TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
- Dense tall evergreen forest.
- Typical plants include strangler figs and tree ferns.Typical animals include snakes and birds.
- Mildfrost-free winters and summers with year-roundrain.
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