The Ecosystem Notes

  1 CONCEPT OF AN ECOSYSTEM

An ecosystem is a region with a specific and recognisable landscape form , such as a forest grassland , desert , wetland or coastal area . The nature of the ecosystem depends on its geographical features such as hills . mountains , plainsa rivers . lakes , coastal aras or islands and is also controlled by climatic . conditions - the amount of sunlight , temperature and rainfall in the region . The geographical climatic and soil characteristics form its non - living or abiotic components . These features create conditions that support a community of plants and animals that evolution has produced tolive in these specific conditions . Thelising part of the ecosyam Isreferred to as the biotic component . 

    Definition :

 The living community of plants and animals in any area together with the non living components of the environment - soil , air and water - constitute the ecosystem . 

Multidisciplinary Nature of Environmental studies.

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF AN ECOSYSTEM

Structural aspects:

 This refers to all the Clements that make up an ecosystem - the individuals and communities of plants and animals as well as the non - living natural resources present in the ecosystem. .

 (i) Inorganic compounds - C, N, CO. , HO 

(ii) Organic compounds - proteins, carbohydrates, lipids. which link the abiotic to biotic aspects

(iii) Climatic regimes - temperature, moisture, light and topography

 (iv) Producers - plants

 (v) Macro - consumers - Phagotrophs, that is, large animals 

(vi) Micro - consumers - Saprotrophs, that is, absorbers like fungi

 Functional aspects:

 This refers to all the services, processes and interactions performed by the organisms in an ecosystem

. • Energy cycles

 • Food chains 

• Diversity - interlinks between organisms

 • Nutrient cycles - biogeochemical cycles 

• Evolution 

PRODUCERS, CONSUMERS AND DECOMPOSERS

Plants are the producers

 In the ecosystem, as they manufacture their food by using energy from the sun, In the forest, these form communities of plant life. In the sea, these range from tiny algal forms to large seaweed. 

The herbivorous animals are primary consumers

 As they live on the producers. In a forest, these are the insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The herbivorous animals. include, for example, the hare, deer and elephants that live on plant life.

carnivorous animals, or secondary consumers, 

Which live on the herbivores. In our forests, the carnivores are tigers, leopards. jackals, foxes and small wild cats. In the sea, carnivorous fish live on other fish and. marine animals. The animals that live in the sea range in size from microscopic forms to giant mammals such as the whale.  

Decomposers or detritivores

 A group of organisms consisting of small animals such as worms, insects, bacteria | and fungi, which break down dead organic material into smaller particles and finally into simpler substances that are used by plants as nutrition. Thus, decomposition is a vital function in nature, as without this, all the nutrients would be tied up in dead matter and no new life would be produced. Most ecosystems are highly complex and consist of an extremely large number of individuals of a wide variety of Detrivore species.  

Natural Resources Notes.