Introduction

An ecosystem can be visualized as a functional unit of nature, where living organisms interact among
themselves and also with the surrounding physical environment. Ecosystem is the interaction of living things
among themselves and with their surrounding environment. There are two basic ecosystems
o Terrestrial (Forest, grassland and desert ecosystem)
o Aquatic (Pond, lake, wetland, river and estuary ecosystem)

Ecosystem- Structure and Function

The interactions between the various biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem lead to the maintenance
of the ecosystem.
Stratification : Vertical distribution of different species occupying different levels where trees occupy
top vertical strata or layer of a forest, the shrubs the second and the herbs and grasses occupy the bottom layers.
The components of the ecosystem consists of Productivity; Decomposition; Energy flow; and Nutrient
cycling

Productivity: The rate of biomass production. [Unit: g –2 yr –1 or (kcal m – 2 ) yr –1]

Gross primary productivity (GPP): The rate of production of organic matter during photosynthesis.
Net primary productivity (NPP): Gross primary productivity minus respiration losses (R).
GPP – R = NPP
Secondary productivity: The rate of formation of new organic matter by consumers.
The Primary productivity depends upon- type of plant species inhabiting a particular area ; photosynthetic
capacity of plants; nutrient availability.

Decomposition: Break down complex organic matter into inorganic substances like carbon dioxide,
water and nutrients by the decomposers. Decomposition is largely an oxygen-requiring process. Rate of
decomposition is controlled by chemical composition of detritus. The decomposition rate is slower if detritus is
rich in lignin and chitin likewise it is quicker, if detritus is rich in nitrogen and water-soluble substances like
sugars. Finally the climatic factors like warm and moist environment favour decomposition and low
temperature and anaerobiosis inhibit decomposition.
Detritus: Dead plant remains such as leaves, bark, flowers and dead remains of animals, including fecal
matter. Detritus acts as the raw materials for the decomposition. The important steps in the process of
decomposition are fragmentation, leaching, catabolism, humification and mineralisation.
Fragmentation: Break down of detritus into smaller particles by detrivores (earthworm)
Leaching: Water- soluble inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon and get precipitated as
unavailable salts.
Catabolism: Bacterial and fungal enzymes degrade detritus into simpler inorganic substances.
Humification: Accumulation of humus (a dark coloured amorphous substance). Humus is highly
resistant to microbial action. It undergoes decomposition at an extremely slow rate. It serves as a reservoir of
nutrients.
Mineralisation: Degradation of humus to release inorganic nutrients.
 Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) : Of the incident solar radiation less than 50 % of solar
radiation; that can be used by autotrophs to make food from simple inorganic materials. Plants capture only 2-
10 per cent of the PAR.

Differentiate between humification and mineralization.

Humification is the disintegration of soil which Mineralization is the process in which microbes
causes a collection of hummus, that is resistant to degenerate humus further resulting in minerals and
microbial activities and decomposes at a slower rate. inorganic nutrients being discharged back into the soil.

Food Chain and its types:

A food chain is defined as a network of links in a food web. It explains the flow of energy in an
ecosystem. In this system, the producers are consumed by the predators – primary and secondary consumers and
then the detritivores and finally by decomposers. When many such individual food chains occur in an
ecosystem, it is collectively known as the Food Web. To some extent, both the food chains and food webs are
similar to each other.
Grazing food chain (GFC): A food chain that begins with producers.
Detritus food chain (DFC): A food chain that starts with dead organic matter. It is made up of
decomposers which are heterotrophic organisms, mainly fungi and bacteria. They meet their energy and nutrient
requirements by degrading dead organic matter or detritus. They secrete digestive enzymes that breakdown
dead and waste materials into simple, inorganic materials, which are subsequently absorbed by them.
(saprophytes)
Food Web: A food web is a diagram that shows the feeding relationships between species in an
ecosystem. A food web shows how energy and matter are transferred through an ecosystem by showing how
organisms eat each other.
Trophic level: Every organism occupies a specific level in their food chain known as the trophic level.
A trophic level represents a functional level and not a single species as such. Also, a single species may become
a part of more than one trophic level in the same ecosystem at the same time depending upon the role it plays in
the ecosystem.
o Producers - first trophic level
o Herbivores (primary consumer) - second trophic level
o Carnivores (secondary consumer) - third trophic level
Standing crop: The mass of living material (biomass) that is present in a trophic level at a particular
time.
10% law: Only 10 per cent of the energy is transferred to each trophic level from the lower trophic
level; as a result of which the number of trophic levels in the grazing food chain is restricted.

Eological pyramids:
An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation of the food or energy relationship between
organisms at different trophic level. The relationship is expressed in terms of number, biomass or energy. The
base of each pyramid represents the producers or the first trophic level while the apex represents tertiary or top
level consumer.

Pyramid of numbers
Only three top-carnivores are supported in an ecosystem based on production of nearly 6 millions plants.
Pyramid of biomass:
Sharp decrease in biomass at higher trophic levels. Small standing crop of phytoplankton supports large
standing crop of zooplankton. E.g.- Number of insects feeding on a big tree. Pyramid of biomass in sea -
biomass of fishes far exceeds that of phytoplankton.

An ideal pyramid of energy:

Only 1% of the energy in the sunlight available to them (into NPP). Pyramid of energy is always
upright, can never be inverted- because when energy flows from a particular trophic level to the next trophic
level, some energy is always lost as heat at each step.

Ecological Succession
The gradual and fairly predictable change in the species composition of a given area. The composition
and structure of a community constantly change in response to the changing environmental conditions. These
changes lead finally to a climax community.
Climax community: The community that is in near equilibrium with the environment.
Sere: The entire sequence of communities that successively change in a given area.
Seral stages / seral communities : The individual transitional communities.

Primary succession: The succession that happens in areas where no life forms ever existed as in bare rocks,
cool lava, etc. It takes hundreds to thousands of years as developing soil on bare rocks is a slow process.
Secondary succession: The succession that happens in areas which have lost all life forms due to destructions
and floods, etc. Since some soil or sediment is present, succession is faster than primary succession.

Successions of plants
Hydrarch succession: It takes place in wetter areas and the successional series progress from hydric to
the mesic conditions.
Xerarch succession: It takes place in dry areas and the series progress from xeric to mesic conditions.
 Both hydrarch and xerarch successions lead to medium water conditions (mesic) – neither too dry
(xeric) nor too wet (hydric).

Nutrient Cycling
The amount of nutrients present in the soil at a given time is known as the standing state. Nutrients are
never lost from the ecosystem. They are only recycled from one state to another. The movement of nutrients
through the various components of the ecosystem is called nutrient cycling or biogeochemical cycles. They are
of two types:
Gaseous − Reservoir for these types of cycles exist in the atmosphere.
Sedimentary − Reservoir for these types of cycles exist in the earth’s crust.

Carbon Cycle
About 49% of the dry weight of living organisms is made up of carbon. The ocean reserves and fossil
fuels regulate the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere for photosynthesis,
of which a certain amount is released back through respiratory activities. A major amount of CO2 is contributed
by the decomposers who contribute to the CO2 pool by processing dead and decaying matter. The amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere has been increased considerably by human activities such as burning of fossil fuels,
deforestation.

Phosphorous Cycle
Phosphorus is a major constituent of biological membranes, nucleic acids and cellular energy transfer
systems. Many animals also need large quantities of this element to make shells, bones and teeth. The natural
reservoir of phosphorus is rock, which contains phosphorus in the form of phosphates. When rocks are
weathered, some of the phosphate gets dissolved in the soil solution and is absorbed by plants. The consumers
get their phosphorus from the plants. Phosphorus returns back to the soil by the action of phosphate-
solubilising bacteria on dead organisms.

Ecosystem Services
The products of ecosystem processes are named as ecosystem services: Healthy forest ecosystems purify
air and water, mitigate droughts and floods, cycle nutrients, generate fertile soils, provide wildlife habitat,
maintain biodiversity, pollinate crops, etc.