Class-10th IIAS

K.Bpur, Ganjam

Chapter-13

Our Environment (Class Notes)

Ecosystem
All the interacting organisms in an area together with the non-living constituents of
the environment form an ecosystem. e.g., forest, pond etc.
Types of Ecosystems
(a) Natural Ecosystem: The ecosystem which exists in nature on its own. e.g.,
forest, lake, ocean, etc.
(b) Artificial Ecosystem: Man-made ecosystem is called artificial ecosystem. e.g.,
crop field, aquarium, garden, etc.
Components of Ecosystem
(a) Biotic components: All living organisms such as producer, consumer and
decomposers.
(b) Abiotic Components: All non-living components such as air, water, soil, light
temperature and minerals

On the basis of nutrition, biotic components are classified as follows

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Producers: The organisms which produce their own food by the process of
photosynthesis
e.g. green plants and algae.
Since they convert light energy to chemical energy, they are also called as
converters or transducers.
Consumers: The organisms which depend upon the producers for food, either
directly or indirectly by feeding on other consumers are called consumers. They are
also called heterotrophs.
Types of Consumers: Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and parasites
Herbivores: plant eaters. E.g., goat, deer
Carnivores: Flesh eaters. Tiger, lion
Omnivores: Eats both plants and animals. E.g., human
Parasites: The organisms that live outside (ectoparasites) or inside (endoparasites)
the body of another organisms, (host) and take food from them are called parasites.
e.g., parasites of human include fleas and lice.
Decomposers:
• The organisms which decompose the dead plants and animals are called
decomposers.
• They break down the complex organic substances into simple inorganic
substances that go into the soil and are used up again by the plants.
• They help in the replenishment of natural resources.
Food chain
The series of organisms in which one organism eats other organism as food is called
food chain.
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Trophic Levels: The various steps or levels in the food chain where transfer of food
or energy takes place. Producers are the first trophic level, herbivores are the second
trophic level, carnivores or secondary consumers are the third trophic level and large
carnivores or tertiary consumers are the fourth trophic level.

Energy Flow
• The flow of energy in the food chain is unidirectional.
• Thus, the energy that is captured by the producers does not revert back to the solar
input and the energy which passes to the herbivores does not come back to
autotrophs.

10 Percent Law: It states that only 10 per cent of food energy is transferred from
one trophic level to the next level. The remaining 90 per cent energy is used in life
processes (digestion, growth, reproduction, etc.) by the present trophic level.
Due to this gradual decrease in energy, food chains contain 3 - 4 trophic levels.
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The flow of energy between various components of the environment has been
extensively studied and it has been found that –
• The green plants in a terrestrial ecosystem capture about1% of the energy of
sunlight that falls on their leaves and convert it into food energy.
• When green plants are eaten by primary consumers, a great deal of energy is
lost as heat to the environment, some amount goes into digestion and in doing
work and the rest goes towards growth and reproduction.
• An average of 10% of the food eaten is turned into its own body and made
available for the next level of consumers.
• Therefore, 10% can be taken as the average value for the amount of organic
matter that is present at each step and reaches the next level of consumers.
• Since so little energy is available for the next level of consumers,food chains
generally consist of only three or four steps. The lossof energy at each step is
so great that very little usable energy
• remains after four trophic levels.
• There are generally a greater number of individuals at the lower trophic levels
of an ecosystem, the greatest number is of the producers.
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Biological Magnification:

The concentration of harmful chemicals goes on increasing with every next trophic
level in a food chain. This is called as biological magnification.

Food Web
The complex network of interconnecting food chains showing feeding relationships
within a community is called food web.

Environmental problems
Ozone layer
• It is a protective blanket around the earth which absorbs most of the harmful UV
radiations of the sunlight, thus protecting living beings from many health hazards
such as skin cancer, cataract, destruction of plants etc.
• It is present at higher levels of atmosphere (stratosphere).
• It is deadly poison at ground level.
Formation of Ozone Molecule
• Ozone (O3) is a molecule formed by three atoms of oxygen. While O2 which we
normally refer to as oxygen, is essential for all aerobic forms of life.
• The high energy UV radiations breakdown the O2 molecule into free oxygen
atoms.
• These oxygen atoms then combine with oxygen molecule to form ozone molecule.
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Depletion of Ozone Layer

The decrease in the thickness of ozone layer is called ozone depletion and is called
s ozone hole.
Causes of Ozone Depletion
i. Use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)-used in refrigerators, ACs, aerosol
spray, fire extinguishers etc.
When the harmful chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are released into
the air, it accumulates in the upper atmosphere and reacts with ozone resulting in
reduction in thickness of the ozone layer. Thus, the ozone layer in the atmosphere
becomes thinner and gets depleted allowing more ultraviolet rays to pass through
it. This phenomenon is referred as the Ozone hole. The Antarctic hole in ozone
layer is caused due to chlorine molecules present in chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),
that are used by human beings
ii. The other factor responsible for ozone destruction is the pollutant
nitrogen monoxide (NO).
. Ozone layer can be protected by:
(a) Stopping the release of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
(b) Removing the pollutant nitrogen monoxide.
(c) Reducing the usage of air conditioners.

N.B- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) succeeded in forging an

agreement to stop CFC production at 1986 levels by all the countries. (KYOTO
protocol)
Garbage contains following type of materials:
(a) Biodegradable Wastes: Substances which can be decomposed by the action of
micro-organisms are called as biodegradable wastes. e.g., fruit and vegetable peels,
cotton, jute, cow-dung, paper, etc.
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(b) Non-biodegradable Wastes: Substances which cannot be decomposed by the

action of microorganisms are called as non-biodegradable wastes. e.g., plastic,
polythene, metals, synthetic fibres, radioactive wastes, pesticides, etc.

N.B- Microorganisms release enzymes which decompose some specific materials but
not all materials due to their specific action.
Methods of Waste Disposal:

(a) Biogas Plant: Biodegradable waste can be used in biogas plant to produce biogas
and manure.
(b) Sewage Treatment Plant: The drain water can be cleaned in sewage treatment
plant before adding it to rivers.
(c) Land Fillings: The wastes are buried in low lying areas and are compacted by
rolling with bulldozers.
(d) Composting: Organic wastes are filled in a compost pit and covered with a layer
of soil. After about three months, garbage changes to manure.
(e) Recycling: Non-biodegradable wastes are recycled to make new items.
(f) Reuse: It is a conventional technique to use an item again e.g., newspaper for
making envelops.
(g) Biodegradable and nonbiodegradable wastes should be discarded in two different
dustbins.