MSCBOT-602

M. Sc. III Semester

PLANT ECOLOGY

PLANT DEVELOPMENT

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
SCHOOL OF SCIENCES
UTTARAKHAND OPEN UNIVERSITY
PLANT ECOLOGY MSCBOT-602

MSCBOT-602

PLANT ECOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
SCHOOL OF SCIENCES
UTTARAKHAND OPEN UNIVERSITY

Phone No. 05946-261122, 261123

Toll free No. 18001804025
Fax No. 05946-264232, E. mail info@uou.ac.in
htpp://uou.ac.in

UTTARAKHAND OPEN UNIVERSITY

PLANT ECOLOGY MSCBOT-602

Expert Committee
Prof. J.C. Ghildiyal Prof. G.S. Rajwar
Retired Principal Principal
Govt. PG College, Karnprayag Government PG College, Augustmuni

Prof. Lalit M. Tewari Dr. Hemant Kandpal

Department of Botany School of Health Science
DSB Campus, Kumaun University, Nainital Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani

Dr. Pooja Juyal

Department of Botany, School of Sciences
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani

Board of Studies

Prof. P.D. Pant Prof. S.S. Bargali

Director, School of Sciences HOD, Department of Botany
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani DSB Campus, Kumaun University, Nainital

Prof. Amrita Nigam Dr. S.S. Samant

School of Sciences Retd. Director
IGNOU, New Delhi Himalayan Forest Research Institute (H.P)
Dr. S.N. Ojha Dr. Pooja Juyal
Assistant Professor Assistant Professor (AC)
Department of Botany Department of Botany
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani
Dr. Kirtika Padalia Dr. Prabha Dhondiyal
Assistant Professor (AC) Assistant Professor (AC)
Department of Botany Department of Botany
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani
Dr. Pushpesh Joshi
Assistant Professor (AC)
Department of Botany
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani

Programme Co-ordinator
Dr. S.N. Ojha
Assistant Professor
Department of Botany, School of Sciences, Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani, Nainital

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PLANT ECOLOGY MSCBOT-602

Unit Written By: Unit No.

1. Dr. Pooja Juyal 1, 2, 7 & 8

Assistant Professor (AC)
Department of Botany
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani

2. Dr. Prabha Dhondiyal 5&6

Assistant Professor (AC)
Department of Botany
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani
3. Dr. Kirtika Padalia 3, 4, 9 & 10
Assistant Professor (AC)
Department of Botany
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani

Chief Course Editor

Dr. Kirtika Padalia
Assistant Professor (AC)
Department of Botany
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani

Co- Editors
Dr. S.N. Ojha Dr. Pooja Juyal
Assistant Professor Assistant Professor (AC)
Department of Botany Department of Botany
School of Sciences School of Sciences
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani

Dr. Prabha Dhondiyal Dr. Pushpesh Joshi

Assistant Professor (AC) Assistant Professor (AC)
Department of Botany Department of Botany
School of Sciences School of Sciences
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani

Title : Plant Ecology

ISBN No. :
Copyright : Uttarakhand Open University
Edition : 2022

Published By: Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani, Nainital-263139

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PLANT ECOLOGY MSCBOT-602

CONTENTS

BLOCK-1- ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY PAGE NO.

Unit-1 Ecology: Introduction, types and importance, the earth environment 1-21
Unit-2 Ecological factors 22-54
Unit-3 Ecosystem structure and functioning 55-89
Unit-4 Ecosystem development and ecosystems of the world 90-117

BLOCK-2- POPULATION ECOLOGY PAGE NO.

Unit-5 Population, ecological adaptations in species and survival strategies 118-147

Unit-6 Community: structure and development 148-185

BLOCK-3- CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENTAL

PAGE NO.
PROBLEMS AND CONSERVATION

Unit-7 Land degradation 186-200

Unit-8 Environmental pollution and human health 201-229
Unit-9 Global environmental problems and conservation strategies 230-267
Unit-10 Management ecosystems for sustainable living 268-293

UTTARAKHAND OPEN UNIVERSITY

BLOCK-1-ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY
PLANT ECOLOGY MSCBOT-602

UNIT-1- ECOLOGY: TYPES AND IMPORTANCE,

THE EARTH ENVIRONMENT

Contents

1.1 Objectives
1.2 Introduction
1.3 Types of ecology
1.4 Importance of ecology
1.5 The earth environment
1.5.1. Biosphere
1.5.2. Atmosphere
1.5.3 Hydrosphere
1.5.4 Lithosphere
1.6 Ecology in India
1.7 Summary
1.8 Glossary
1.9 Self-assessment questions
1.10 References
1.11 Suggested readings
1.12 Terminal questions

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1.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit student will be able to-
 Know about ecology and its types
 Learn about the importance of ecology
 Understand the earth environment, i.e., about Biosphere, Lithosphere, Hydrosphere and
Atmosphere.
 Know about the ecology of India

1.2 INTRODUCTION
Ecology is defined as the branch of science that studies the relationships between organism,
their habitat and all the living and non-living factors involved in those habitats.

The scientist Reiter was the first person to use the word ‘Ecology’. The term ecology was
coined by combining two Greek words, oikos meaning ‘house’ or ‘dwelling place’ and logos
meaning ‘the study of’ to denote such relationships between the organisms and with their
environment. Although, there is uncertainty about the original coining of the term, however
many biologists grant credit to the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel, who used the term as
‘oekologie’ in 1866 to refer the inter-relationships of living organisms and their environment.
Many scientists defined the ecology in different ways such as:

Allee et al. (1949) considered ecology as “the science of interrelation between living
organisms and their environment, including both the physical and biotic environments and
emphasizing inter-species as well as intra-species relations”.
Eugene Odum (1963) is, known as the father of modern ecology. According to him ecology
is the structure and function of ecosystems.
Lewis and Taylor (1967) have defined ecology as “the study of the way in which individual
organisms, populations of some species and communities of populations respond to these
changes”.

Smith (1977) prefers to consider ecology as “a multidisciplinary science which deals with the
organisms and its place to live and which focuses on the ecosystem”.
In simple terms ecology is the branch of biology that deals with scientific study of the
interactions among organisms and their environment. The environment is made up of both
living organisms (biotic) and physical (abiotic) components. Organisms and their
environments are closely linked and dependent on one another. Any changes in the
environment have an impact on living organisms, and vice versa. The main aim of ecology is
to understand the distribution of biotic and abiotic factors of living thing in the environment.
Ecology is a vast and encyclopedic biological subject. It is studied at various levels, such as-
the main levels of study in ecology are the Biosphere, ecosystem, community, population,
and organism. It refers to any form of biodiversity. The study of ecology is closely related to

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the fields of physiology, genetics, evolution, and behavior. An example of ecology is

studying the food chain in a wetlands region.

The interaction of organisms with their environment leads to the formation of group of
organisms called ecological hierarchy or ecological levels of organization. It means the
ranking of the ecological members. Every species existing in the universe makes the ecology.
The basic unit of an ecological system is an individual organism. The different hierarchies of
ecological systems are presented below:

Hierarchy of Ecology

The levels of ecological study offer different insights into how organisms interact with each
other and the environment. The study of ecology is divided into two major subdivisions: (i)
Autecology, (ii) Synecology
1. Autecology: It deals with the ecology of individual species and its population
including the effect of other organisms and environmental conditions on every stage
of life cycle. In other words, it is a study of inter-relationship between individual
species or its population and its environment.

2. Synecology: The branch of ecology that studies about the relationship of various
groups of organisms to their common environment. It deals with the plant
communities their composition, behavior and relation to the environment.
Autecology helps to understand the relationships between a particular organisms and
environment and synecology helps to understand the relationships between communities and
environment. For example, if the study is to be carried out about the study of any tree with
the environment than it is known to be autecology. If we study effect of forest on
environment then it is said to be synecology.

In the words of Herreid II (1977) “the two types of study, autecology and synecology, inter-
relate, the synecologist painting with a broad brush the outline of the picture and autecologist
stroking in the finer details”.

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1.3 TYPES OF ECOLOGY

Ecological studies are either organism-based or habitat-based and are conducted at different
levels. Autecology and synecology are two main branches of ecology. Besides these major
ecological subdivisions, different branches were created to explain different specific and
detailed aspects of ecology. There are specialized branches of ecology as follows:
1. Organism level: Organism-level ecology is concerned with the adaptations that allow
individuals to live in particular habitats. These adaptations can be morphological,
physiological, and behavioural.
(i). Autecology: Autecology, also called species ecology, the study of the
interactions of an individual organism or a single species with the living and non
living factors of its environment.
(ii). Population Ecology: It is the study of the processes that affect the distribution
and abundance of animal and plant population.
(iii). Community Ecology: Community ecology, study of the organization and
functioning of communities, which are assemblages of interacting populations
of the species living within a particular area or habitat.

2. Based on Habitat or Ecosm or Ecosystem level:

(A) Terrestrial Ecosystems

(i). Forest ecology: Forest ecology is the scientific study of the interrelated
patterns, processes, flora, fauna and ecosystems in forests.
(ii). Grassland ecology: Grassland ecology is the study of all aspects of the ecology
of grasslands, which are regions dominated by grass species but containing other
non-woody plants and, in the case of Savannahs, some trees as well.
(iii). Desert ecology: Desert ecology is the study of interactions between both biotic
and abiotic components of desert environment.
(iv). Wetland or marsh ecology: A wetland is a low-lying land area that is saturated
with water, either permanently or seasonally, and contains hydric soils and
aquatic vegetation. Marshes, swamps and bogs are typical wetlands.
(B) Aquatic Ecosystems
(i). Marine ecology: It is the scientific study of living things in the ocean and how
they interact with their environment.
(ii). Lagoon ecology: Lagoon is defined as a shallow body of water separated from
the ocean or from larger bodies of water by a reef or other barrier. An inlet off
of the Pacific Ocean that is separated from the ocean by a coral reef is an
example of a lagoon.
(iii). Estuarine ecology: is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water which has a free
connection with the open sea, thus strongly affected by tidal action, and within
which sea water is mixed with fresh water from land drainage. Coastal bays,
tidal marshes, river mouths, water bodies behind barrier beaches etc ate the
examples of estuaries.

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(iv). Fresh water ecology or Limnology: Limnology is the study of inland waters,
both lotic waters (running water bodies), such as rivers, streams and lentic
waters (standing water bodies), like lake, ponds etc.

3. Applied Ecology: Applied ecology is an integrated treatment of the ecological,

social, and biotechnological aspects of natural resource conservation and
management. It includes the following:

(i). Agricultural ecology: Agricultural ecology is the study of agricultural

ecosystems and their components as they function within themselves and in
the context of the landscapes that contain them.
(ii). Phytosociology: The branch of plant ecology concerned with the
composition, distribution, characteristics, and interrelationships of plant
species in plant communities.
(iii). Paleoecology: The study of the relationships between organism and their
environment, and the way organisms functioned in physical and biological
interaction, within the geologic past.
(iv). Conservation ecology: It deals with the application of ecological principles
for proper management of resources leading to high and sustained yield of
useful biological material for human welfares.
(v). Cytoecology: It deals with the cytological details in a species in relation to
population in different environmental conditions.
(vi). Ecological energetic and production ecology: These deal with the
mechanisms and quantities of energy conversion and flow through organisms,
production processes, the rate of increase of organic weight over space and
time through both green plants and animals.
(vii). System ecology: It deals within the structure and function of ecosystem by
means of applied mathematics, mathematical models, and computer
programs. It concentrates on input and output analysis and has stimulated the
development of applied ecology-the application of ecological principles to
the management of natural resources, agricultural production, and problems
of environmental pollution.
(viii). Landscape ecology: It is the science that studies and improves the
relationship between ecological processes in the environment and specific
ecosystems. This occurs at various landscape scales, spatial development
patterns, and within organizational update and policy levels.
(ix). Radiation ecology: It is concerned with the effects of radioactive materials
on living systems. There are two important facets of radiation ecology: (i)
effects of radiation on individual, populations, communities and ecosystems,
and (ii) the fate of radioactive substances released into the environment.
(x). Ecophysiology: It is the study of how the environment, both physical and
biological, interacts with the physiology of an organism. It includes the
effects of climate and nutrients on physiological processes in both plants and
animals, and has a particular focus on how physiological processes scale with
organism size.

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(xi). Gene ecology: Genetic ecology is the study of the stability and expression of
varying genetic material within abiotic mediums. This field of study focuses
on interaction, exchange, and expression of genetic material that may not be
shared by species had they not been in the same environment.

1.4 IMPORTANCE OF ECOLOGY

The study of ecological principles provides a background for understanding the fundamental
relationships of the natural community and also the sciences dealing with particular
environment such as soil, ocean, forest and inland waters. Many practical applications of this
subject are found in forestry, agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, biology etc. The science of
plant ecology deals with the scientific study of relationships of plants and their environment
and describes the home life plants. It brings out the physiological relationships between plant
and their environmental conditions. Science ecological principles are the basis of practice in
agriculture and forestry. Ecological is crucial for human well being and prosperity. It
provides new knowledge of the interdependence between organisms with their natural
environment that is essential for food production, ensuring resources like land and water, and
sustaining biodiversity in a changing climate. Ecology is the basis of nature conservation.
The following reasons explain the importance of ecology.
1. Helps in conservation of environment: The study of ecology allows us to
understand the negative impact of human behaviour on the environment. By first
identifying the primary means by which the problems we experience in our
environment begin, we can help guide conservation efforts. By following this
identification process, we show where our efforts will have the greatest impact.
Environmental conservation means protecting the planet, conserving its natural
resources and improving the quality of life for all living things.
2. Proper Resource allocation: Resource allocation is the process of planning,
managing, and allocating resources within ecological knowledge. We can know the
resources necessary for the survival of various organisms. Ecology provides the basis
for developing good conservation policies. Especially when those to whom natural
resources are entrusted possess ecological knowledge in areas such as forestry,
wildlife, agriculture, land management and fisheries.
3. Enhances energy conservation: Conserving energy means reducing energy use by
adapting human behavior and habits. All living things require energy for growth and
development. Lack of ecological understanding leads to overexploitation of energy
resources such as food, light and radiation, resulting in their depletion. Proper
knowledge of ecological requirements prevents unnecessary waste of energy
resources and saves energy for future purposes.
4. Eco-Friendliness: The term most commonly refers to products that contribute to
green living, or practices that help conserve resources such as energy and prevent air,
water, and noise pollution. Ecology promotes harmonious life within the species and
the adoption of a lifestyle that protects the ecology of life.
5. Aids in disease and pest: Pests and diseases are a natural part of ecosystems. Many
diseases are spread by vectors. Ecological research provides the world with new ways

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to understand how vectors and pests behave, and provides people with the knowledge
and techniques to deal with pests and diseases.

1.5 THE EARTH ENVIRONMENT

The word ‘environment’ is derived from an old French word “Environ” means ‘encircle’. The
environment is the physical, chemical and biological component that affects the life of an
organism. The environment is the sum of all biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors
that surround and affect an organism. Biotic factors include the availability of food organisms
and the presence of biological specificity, predators, parasites and competitors. Abiotic
factors include amount of sunlight, ambient temperature, pH of the water soil in which an
organism lives. Any external force, substance, or condition that surrounds and affects in any
way the life of an organism becomes a factor of its environment. These factors are
called environmental factors.

An environmental factor that, by its decrease, increase, presence or absence, limits the
growth, metabolic processes, or dispersal of organisms. The environmental requirements of
different organisms are individual and vary according to needs and age. Life activities of
organisms are affected by the maximum or minimum amount of environmental components
such as water, light, nutrients, space, temperature, and humidity.

German Scientist Justus Von Leibig formulated ‘the law of the minimum’, which states that
if any plant is deficient in any of its essential nutrients, the plant will grow poorly, even if all
other essential nutrients are abundant. However, not only too little of something is a limiting
factor, but also too much may limit the growth and distribution of an organism. The concept
of the effect of maximum as well as minimum has been incorporated into the law of tolerance
by American Zoologist victor Ernest Shelford (1931). According to the Law of Tolerance
states that the success of an organism is based on a complex set of conditions, and that each
organism has certain minimum, maximum, optimal factors or combinations of factors that
determine its success.

The life containing and life supporting environment of the world is restricted to a very
irregular layer (5 to 20 km thick) around the globe. This thin veil of life on Earth is called the
biosphere. The Earth is made up of four spheres: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and
lithosphere.

1.5.1 Biosphere
The global life-containing and life-sustaining environment is limited to a very thin and
irregular veil or film around the world. This thin veil of living material of earth is called the
ecosphere and biosphere. The word biosphere came from Greek “bios” that refers to “life”
and “sphaira” that refers to “sphere”. The biosphere is defined as a region on, above, and
below the earth’s surface where life exist. The Austrian Geologist Eduard Suess (1831-1914)
first used the term biosphere in 1875 to describe the space on earth that contains life.
According to Hutchinson (1970), the biosphere is that part of earth in which life exist.
Biosphere is the entire inhabited part of the earth and its atmosphere including the living

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components. It extends from a few kilometers into the atmosphere to the deep-sea vents of
the Ocean.

Biosphere provides the necessary environmental conditions for survival. It is the zone of the
earth where land, water, air and other biotic and abiotic elements interact with each other to
support life. The entire global environment is basically made of abiotic (non-living) and
biotic (living) components. These components together constitute the biosphere. The abiotic
global environment is composed of the atmosphere (air), the lithosphere (earth) and the
hydrosphere (water), and the biotic component is made of various forms of life inhabiting in
the abiotic environment.

The biosphere is one of the four layers that surround the earth along with the lithosphere
(rocks), is the outer surface of earth composed of solid and rock, the atmosphere is the
surrounding gaseous envelope, and the hydrosphere refers to earth’s liquid water including
oceans, lake and rivers.

Biosphere can be divided into many major categories of land called Biomes. A biome is a
large region of earth that has a certain climate and certain types of living things. There are
five major types of biomes: grassland forest, deserts, forests, and tundra, through some of
these biomes can be further divided into more specific categories, such as Savanna,
freshwater, marine, taiga, tropical rainforest and temperate.

Biomes are subdivided into small units which are called as zones. For example a forest biome
can be divided into canopy zone and ground zone. The animals and plants of each biome
have traits that help them to survive in their particular biome. Land-based biomes are called
terrestrial biomes. Water-based biomes are called aquatic biomes. Temperatures, precipitation
amounts and prevalent organisms characterize the biomes of the World.

Biosphere is made of different types of ecosystem. Living organism requires inorganic

metabolites like water, minerals, and oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide etc, for building
and maintenance of lives. Living organisms obtain all such inorganic substances from the
abiotic counter-parts of the biosphere. The biosphere acts as a life support system for the
planet, helping to regulate the composition of the atmosphere, maintaining soil health and
regulating the hydrological (water) cycle. Besides the biosphere, the three other main
components of the earth are described below.

1.5.2 Atmosphere

The earth is enveloped by a gaseous layer called atmosphere. The atmosphere is the layer of
gases which surrounds the earth from all sides and is attached to the earth’s surface by the
gravitational force of the earth. Gravity prevents gases that make up the atmosphere from
escaping to space. Atmosphere is composed of 78% gas, 21% oxygen gas, 0.9% argon, and
trace amounts of water vapour, carbondioxide, methane, ozone, and sulfur dioxide.
Atmosphere has four main layers. We start measuring these from sea level and move towards
space. The first layer is the troposphere, then the stratosphere, and mesosphere and
thermosphere. Above the thermosphere the atmosphere merges with outer space in the layer
known as the exosphere. Each of these layers holds different properties. e.g., differences in

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temperature density, composition of gases etc. The composition of the atmosphere is almost
uniform up to about 80 km altitude. The higher the level, the lighter the gas. The atmosphere
is denser closer to the Earth and thinner further away. Atmospheric pressure is closer to the
Earth than farther from it. The atmosphere has an ozone layer at an altitude of about 32 to 48
km. This layer acts as a barrier that prevents the sun's ultraviolet rays from reaching the earth,
which are deadly to living organisms. Among the various components of atmospheric gases,
oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide are essential for the normal functioning of living
organisms, as they act as metabolites of living organisms.

Fig.1.1: Biosphere and its components

Structure of Atmosphere: The atmosphere is divided into five concentric layers which
can be distinguished on the basis of temperature. These layers are as follows:
(i). Troposphere: The lowest layer of atmosphere in which man and other living
organisms live is called troposphere, (“Tropos” means change) This represents the
linear portion of the atmosphere that extends upto 20 km above the earth’s surface.
It is thin in the polar regions i.e. about 10 km from earth surface. It contains more
than 90 percent of gases in the atmosphere. The important events, such as cloud
formation, lightning, thundering, thunder storm formation etc, all take place in
troposphere. Troposphere is characterized by weather change and steady decrease in
temperature with increasing amplitude and it may decrease upto-60oc in the upper
layers. The average temperature near the soil surface is about 150c. The upper layers
of troposphere which gradually merges with the next zone or stratosphere is called
tropopause. The troposphere provides oxygen that humans can breathe, keeps earth
at a livable temperature, and allows for weather to occur, making it a very important
part of the atmosphere.

(ii). Stratosphere: The second layer of air mass extending about 30 km above
tropopause is called Stratosphere (it is also called ozonosphere).The uppermost
layer of stratosphere is called stratopause. In this zone the temperature shows an

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increase in temperature from a minimum of about -60oC to maximum of 5 oC. The

increase in temperature is due to ozone formation under the influence of UV
(ultraviolet) rays of solar radiation. Ozone is formed from oxygen by a
photochemical reaction in which solar energy (symbolized as hv) splits the oxygen
molecule to form atomic oxygen which then combines with oxygen molecule to
form ozone.

O2 ______________ 2O (atomic oxygen)

O2 + O ______O3 (Ozone)

The above reactions are reversible. Ozone content of stratosphere is constant which
means that ozone is being produced from oxygen as fast as it is broken down to
molecular oxygen. The highest concentration of ozone (90%) in stratosphere
approximately 20-25 km above, around the earth surface is known as ozonosphere.
It is important because it absorbs ultraviolet radiation of the Sun and prevents from
reaching the earth surface where it would be dangerous to living organism.

Fig. 1.2: Layers of atmosphere

(Source: http://www.indiagk.net/2016/07/earths-atmosphere-layers.html)

(iii). Mesosphere: The third layer of atmosphere next to stratopause is called

mesosphere. It is about 40 km in height. The mesosphere is characterized by low
atmospheric pressure and low temperature. The temperature begins to drop from
stratopause, goes a decreasing with the increase in the height and reaches a
minimum of about -95oC at a level same 80 to 90 km above the earth surface. The
upper limit of the mesosphere is called mesopause.

(iv). Thermosphere: Next to mesosphere is thermosphere, which extends upto 500 km

above the earth surface is completely cloudless and free of water vapor.
Thermosphere is characterized by steady temperature increase with the height from
mesopause. The thermosphere includes the regions in which ultraviolet radiations

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and cosmic rays cause ionization of molecules like oxygen and nitric oxide. This
region is called ionosphere. In ionosphere, molecules of gases are so widely spaced
that high frequency audible sound is not carried by the atmosphere.

(v). Exosphere: The region of atmosphere above the thermosphere is called exosphere
or outer space which lacks except those of hydrogen and helium. This extends upto
32190 km from the earth. Exosphere has a very high temperature due to solar
radiation. The earth is magnetic, field become more important than gravity in
distribution of atomic particles in the exosphere.

Importance of Atmosphere

1. The atmosphere and Sound: Sound is a form of energy that travels in waves. Sound
waves cannot travel through empty space, but they can travel through gases. Gases in
the atmosphere provide a source for sound to travel through, and it also allows birds,
insects, and airplanes to fly through.
2. The atmosphere and living things: The gases in the atmosphere, namely oxygen and
carbondioxide, allow organisms on earth to live. Plants need carbondioxide for
photosynthesis. Through photosynthesis plants are able to use carbondioxide to create
sugar for food. The reaction for photosynthesis is:

6CO2 + 6H2O + solar energy → C6H12O6 (sugar) + 6O2

Animlas undergo a process that allows them to use oxygen in order to convert sugar
into usable energy. Plants also undergo this process in order to consume some sugars
they produce. The reaction for respiration is:

C6H12O6 (sugar) + 6O2→6CO2 + 6H2O + usable energy

3. The atmosphere and Earth’s temperature: The atmosphere keeps the temperature
of the earth constant so that it is suitable to support life. The water vapour and
carbondioxide present in the lower layers of the atmosphere absorb the heat radiated
by the earth’s surface, and as such they keep the atmosphere warm even during night.
Gases in the atmosphere keep out some of the Sun’s scorching heat during the day.
4. The atmosphere and earth’s water: The atmosphere serves an important purpose as
a medium for the movement of water. The atmosphere contains a lot of water vapour
and acts as an important reservoir for water. It plays significant role in the water
cycle. It facilitates the formation of clouds which remains suspended until they are
heavy enough to pour down on the earth as rain or snow.
5. The atmosphere and the Sun’s rays: The atmosphere acts like a blanket or a
glasshouse for the earth. The earth’s atmosphere acts as an insulating layer that
protects the earth’s surface from the intense light and heat of the sun. It protects us
from UV and other short wavelength light that would otherwise do a lot of damage to
the DNA of living organisms. The presence of ozone layer does this by reflecting the
UV rays of the Sun. Gases reflect or absorb the strongest rays of sunlight and receives

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the radiation of the Sun but does not allow the insolation to escape into space. As such
it keeps the earth warm.

1.5.3 Hydrosphere

All the water bodies on the earth’ surface namely lakes, rivers, ponds, ocean, sea together
with ice and snow; are collectively called the hydrosphere. The word hydrosphere comes
from the Greek word hydro which means ‘water’ and ‘sphere’ stands for a ‘round’, ball-like,
spherical shape. The hydrosphere is the biosphere’s aquatic component and it covers about
73% area of the earth’s surface. About 97 percent of the total water of the globe is found in
the ocean and the rest 3 percent consists of the water of the ponds, lakes, rivers and the water
obtained from snow and ice. Water is the major inorganic nutrient needed by all living
organisms; hence, water is essential to all life. First life originated in water. Water is one of
the main agents in pedogenesis and is also the medium for several different ecosystems. The
chemical formula for water is H2O which indicates that a single molecule of water is made up
of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Water moves through the hydrosphere in a
cycle, known as hydrological cycle. It is critical to the existence of the hydrosphere. It
consists of different stages described below.

Hydrological Cycle
Water as an important ecological factor determines the structure and function of the
ecosystem. Water is constantly being cycled between the atmosphere, the ocean and the land.
This process occurs in the cycle continuously so it is called the water cycle or hydrological
cycle. This cycling is a very important process that helps sustain life on earth. Cycling of all
other nutrients is also dependent upon water as it provides there transportation during the
various steps. It acts as a solvent medium for their uptake of nutrients by organism. The
continuous circulation of water in earth atmosphere system is composed of the following
components: Evaporation, transpiration, sublimation, condensation, precipitation, runoff,
infiltration and percolation, groundwater flow. The energy for driving the water cycle comes
from the sun. Solar heat evaporated water from the ocean which is the great reservoir of
water and other bodies of water (such as river, ponds, lakes etc) through the process of
evaporation. A lesser amount of water is also evaporated from the surface of land and from
plants, a process called as evapotranspiration. The direct conversion from soild (ice and
snow) to vapour, is known as sublimation. All this vaporized water forms clouds which
moved by winds, may pass over land where they are cooled enough to precipitate the water as
rain or snow. Some of the precipitated water soaks into ground, some runs off the surface into
stream and goes directly back to the Seas. Then it evaporates into the atmosphere to start
cycle all over again. During the process of water cycle, water changes into three states of
matter- Solid, liquid and gas. The frozen part of the hydrosphere for e.g., glaciers, icecaps,
iceberg etc. has its own name, the Cryosphere. Earth’s climate and climate variability are
largely driven by the cycling of water and energy exchanged among the ocean, atmosphere,
and land.

Components of Hydrosphere

 Glaciers: Water that melts off of glaciers.

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 Oceans: 97 % of the earth’s water is salt water located mainly in the sea.
 Ground water: Rainwater that infiltrates rocks and soil into the earth’s surface make
up a small portion of the fresh water on earth.
 Fresh water: Only a small portion of the earth’s water is freshwater (only about 3%),
which is found in a variety different places such as rivers, lakes, underground etc.
 Surface Water: Surface sources of freshwater consist of lakes, rivers, and streams.

Fig. 1.3: Hydrological Cycle

Importance of hydrosphere: Hydrosphere plays an integral role in the survival of all life
forms.
1. A substance found in living cells: The hydrosphere is the source of water is a
substance found in living cells. In each living cell, there is at least 75% water that
promotes the cells normal functioning. The majority of chemical reactions in living
organisms involve materials that are dissolved in water. Without water, no cell would
survive or be able to carry out its normal functions. The hydrosphere houses the water
and serves as a source and reservoir of water to living organisms.

2. Habitat for many Life forms: The hydrosphere is home to a wide variety of plants
and animals, for instance, water dissolves many nutrients such as nitrite, nitrate, and
ammonium ions, as well as gases such as oxygen and carbondioxide. These
compounds play an integral role in the existence of life in water.

3. Atmospheric existence: The hydrosphere contributes significantly to the current state

of atmosphere. When the earth was formed, it had only a thin atmosphere. This
atmosphere was comparable to mercury’s current atmosphere as it was densely
packed with helium and hydrogen. Helium and hydrogen were later evacuated from
the atmosphere. As the earth cooled the gases and water vapour were produced,
forming the present atmosphere.

4. Control the weather: Water has a high specific heat, which means it absorbs or loses
a lot of heat with small temperature changes, as well as a high latent heat, which
means it absorbs or releases a lot of heat with evaporation or freezing. These

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properties aid in the stabilisation of plant temperatures and the surrounding

environment. It plays an important role in regulating temperatures on Earth, ensuring
that temperatures remain within a range suitable for life. The properties of latent heat
of water are important not only because they moderate the temperature of the
biosphere, but also because they play an important role in the hydrological (water)
cycle by evaporating water and causing it to precipitate (condensate) as rain and dew.

5. Human requirements: Human benefit from hydrosphere in numerous ways. Besides

drinking, water is used for both home and industrial purposes. It can also be used for
agriculture, transportation and hydropower to generate electricity.

1.5.4-Lithosphere
The solid component of earth is called lithosphere. The term lithosphere is derived from the
Greek words ‘lithos’, meaning stone, and ‘sphaira’, meaning ball or globe. It is the terrestrial
component of the biosphere. The uppermost part of the lithosphere that chemically reacts to
the biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere through the soil forming process is called the
pedosphere. The soil provides food, shelter, anchorage and concealment from predators to
living organisms. Under the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, the weaker, deeper and hotter
part of the mantle. It is a solid rock layer where extreme pressure and heat cause the rocks to
flow like a liquid. The asthenosphere's rocks are not as dense as those in the lithosphere.
Tectonic activity is the most well-known feature associated with the earth's lithosphere. A
lithospheric plate, also known as a tectonic plate, is a massive and irregular slab or solid rock
that usually includes both the oceanic and continental lithospheres. These tectonic plates vary
in size. The majority of tectonic activity occurs at the plates' boundaries, where they may
collide, tear apart, or slide against each other. Thermal energy (heat) from the lithosphere's
mantle allows for the movement of tectonic plates. Thermal energy makes the lithosphere's
rocks more elastic. Tectonic activity in the lithosphere is responsible for some of Earth's most
dramatic geologic events, including earthquakes, volcanoes, and deep ocean trenches. The
lithosphere can be shaped by tectonic activity: At rift valleys and ocean ridges, where
tectonic plates are shifting apart from one another, both oceanic and continental lithospheres
are the thinnest. Lithosphere is multilayered and includes following three main layers:

1. Crust: Crust is the outermost layer of the earth about 8 to 40 km above mantle. Its
surface is covered with soil supporting rich and varied biotic communities on which
humans and animals live and plants grow. Silica (Si) and aluminium (Al) are major
constituent minerals. Hence it is often termed as SIAL.
2. Mantle: Mantle lies between the core and crust. It is the second layer of the earth. It
extends about 2900 km above the core. This is in a molten state. It is made up of
magnesium and silicate rich iron. It is the chief source of magma that finds its way to
the surface during volcanic eruptions.
3. Core: Core lies beneath the mantle. The core is the central fluid or vaporized sphere
having diameter of about 2500 km from the centre and is possibly composed of
nickel-iron. Core is divide into two sub-zones:
(a). Solid inner core: It is the centre and the hottest layer of the earth. Thickness of solid
inner core is 1,250 km and its temperature is about 5500-7000 degree C. It is
composed of nickel and iron, solid due to extreme pressure.

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(b). Liquid outer core: Its temperature is about 6100 to 4400 degree C and composed of
iron and molten nickel. Outer core spins, creating the earth’s magnetic field that
protects from solar wind.

Fig.1.4: Lithosphere comprising the crust and lithospheric mantle

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithosphere#/media/File:Earth_cutaway_schematic-en.svg)

Table 1: Major Elements in the Earth's crust

S.No. Element Percent by Volume

1. Oxygen 46.60%
2. Silicon 27.72%
3. Aluminum 8.13%
4. Iron 5.00%
5. Calcium 3.63%
6. Sodium 2.83%
7. Potassium 2.59%
8. Magnesium 2.09%

Types of lithosphere: Lithosphere can be mainly divided into oceanic and continental
lithosphere.

1. Oceanic lithosphere: The oceanic lithosphere is found in ocean basins and is

associated with the oceanic crust. It is denser than the continental lithosphere and is
composed primarily of ultramafic mantle and mafic crust (oceanic crust). As a result,
the oceanic lithosphere is much younger than the continental lithosphere because new
oceanic lithosphere is constantly being produced at mid-ocean ridges and recycled
back to the mantle at subduction zones. The oceanic lithosphere thickens and moves
away from the mid-ocean ridge as it ages. This thickening is caused by conductive
cooling, which converts hot asthenosphere into the Lithospheric mantle and causes the
oceanic lithosphere to become increasingly dense with age.
2. Continental lithosphere: The continental lithosphere is connected to the continental
crust and has direct contact with the atmosphere. The continents and continental

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shelves are formed by layers of sedimentary and igneous rock. This layer is mostly
made up of granite rock.

Importance of Lithosphere
1. Different types of rocks such as sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks are
found in the lithosphere.
2. Lithosphere helps to provide the necessary nutrients required to the plants. It provides
grasslands, forests and is a rich source of minerals. The Lithosphere is largely
important because it is the area that the biosphere (the living things on earth) inhabits.
3. Lithosphere is the major source of fuels such as petroleum, coal and natural gas.
When the biosphere interacts with the lithosphere, organic compounds can become
buried in the crust, and dug up as coal, oil and natural gas that we can use for fuels.
4. Tectonic plates shift due to convection currents lower down in the mantle, and this
can cause the formation of mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes. Earthquakes and
volcanoes help in the growth of new vegetation and life as they give rise to fertile soil
and lands.
5. The lithosphere serves as a source of minerals and elements, such as copper,
magnesium, iron, aluminum.

1.6 ECOLOGY IN INDIA

In India there occur so much variation in ecological conditions from one place to another due
to wide climatic and seasonal fluctuations, the ecological conditions of a given area donot
remain static for a long time and the flora and fauna of the Indian sub continent have evolved
wide range of adaptations to cope with them.

The ancient Sanskrit literature is full of description of plants, vegetation and fauna as related
to the environment. References to ecological thoughts, and Charak described the importance
of jala means water, vayu means air and gases, Desha means topograpgy and time in
regulation of plants life.

Theophrastus (300 B.C.) and other Greek philosophers and scientists like Aristotle,
Hippocrates (father of medicine), Reaumur gave ecologically oriented descriptions of
organisms. Linnaeus (1970) recognized the influence of environmental factors on the
distribution of plants. The first comprehensive ecological contribution was made by Winfield
Dudgeon (1921) who published an ecological account of the Upper Gangetic Plains
employing the concept of seasonal succession therein. He discussed the role of environment
in succession of communities. This was, however, elaborated later by Saxton (1922), Misra
(1946, 1958, 1959), however, contradicted this view of succession, and concluded that the
processes mentioned therein might be better referred to as seasonality of communities rather
than true ecological succession. The Indian ecological society was established in 1974 with
eminent ecologist, educationist and administrator, Prof. A.S. Atwal as the founder president.
It is one of the pioneering organizations of India engaged in advances in ecological sciences
and environmental protection.

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Ramdeo Mishra (1908-1998) is known as the father of ecology in India. He laid the strong
foundation of ecology in India. He helped in shaping ecology as a major discipline for
teaching as well as for research in traditional departments in India in many ways. His
research laid the foundations for understanding of tropical communities and their succession,
environmental responses of plant populations and productivity and nutrient cycling in tropical
forest and grassland ecosystems. He formulated the first post graduate course in ecology in
India. Due to his efforts government of India established the National committee for
environmental planning and coordination (1972).

The second school of ecology developed with Prof. R. Misra at Banaras Hindu University,
Varanasi and Sagar since 1942. Earlier workers (1942-48) examined the effect of soil factors
on the plant distribution, the nature of seasonal changes and succession in the plant
communities. From 1948-1955 they revealed the dynamics of vegetation and environmental
factors in grassland and forests. From 1966 to 1967 emphasis was given on autoecology and
production ecology. Since 1967 onwards much emphasis, is on energy flow and productivity
of various ecosystem. Champion and Pant (1931), Phadnis (1925), Jagat Singh (1925), and
Griffith and Champion (1947) were made autecological studies on forest trees.

In India Prof. F.R. Bharucha student of Braun Blanquet established the first school of ecology
at Bombay. He was the director of the Institute of Science from 1954-1959. He was made
substantial contribution to grassland and desert ecology. He was the president of Indian
Ecological society, vice president of International Botanical Congress and was commissioned
by UNESCO to write the report on ecological research. The extensive investigations into the
phytosociology of grasslands and mangroves by Bharucha (1941), deserts by Sarup and co-
workers and forests by G.S Puri, (1950, 1951, 1960) made turning point in the history of
development of ecology in India. Prof. G.S.Puri (1950, 51) made extensive forest ecological
investigation and published them in two volumes of the “Indian Forest Ecology” (1950).

Troup (1925), Champion (1929, 1935, 1937), Bor (1947, 1948) etc engaged themselves in the
study of ecology of forest vegetation.

In the next phase (1963-1971) the Banaras Centre concentrated on autecology of medicinal
plants and weeds (R.S. Tripathi), grassland productivity (J.S. Singh) and forest litter
decomposition and productivity (K.P.Singh).

Keeping in view the role of biological productivity in human welfare, launching of IBP
(International Council of Scientific Unions) made an important landmark in the development
of ecology in India.

S.C. Pandeya developed active centre at Rajkot on Systems analysis, production ecology,
desert ecology, grazing lands and other areas. At Shillong, P.S. Ramakrishnan started work in
1974 on ecology of shifting cultivation, weed ecology etc.

At Nainital, (Kumaun University), J.S. Singh started work in 1976 on Himalayan ecology,
particularly on forest degradation, regeneration, biomass pattern, productivity, nutrient
cycling etc. From a small beginning, ecology has emerged into a frontline science by the turn
of the 20th century.

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1.7 SUMMARY

Ecology is the branch of science that studies the relationship of human beings to their
geographical and social environment. The study of ecology is divided into two subdivisions:
(i) Autecology, is the study of inter-relationship between individual species and its
environment. (ii) Synecology, is the study of plant communities and its environment. Ecology
can be classified into different types as landscape ecology, population ecology, community
ecology, freshwater ecology, grassland ecology, ecological energetic and production ecology
etc. Ecology seeks to understand life process, adaptation and biodiversity. Environment, on
the other hand, aims to identify the internal and external factors that affect population. The
biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere are the four spheres that make up the
earth environment.

The history of ecology in India began with the descriptive accounts of forests by the officers
engaged in forests services in first two decades of the century. Prof. Bharucha established the
first school of ecology at Bombay. S.C. Pandey, J.S. Singh, G.S. Puri, K.P. Singh, R. Mishra
etc are some notable ecologist.

1.8 GLOSSARY

Ecology: The science of relationship between living organism and their environment.
Environment: The sum total of all biotic and abiotic factors that surround and influence
organisms.
Atmosphere: The gaseous envelope surrounding a planet.
Biosphere: The planet earth along with its living organisms and atmosphere which sustain
life, i.e. the earth and atmosphere in which organism live.
Hydrosphere: The part of the earth composed of water (ocean, sea, ice cap, lake, river etc.)
Lithosphere: It is the outer solid shell of the earth.
Troposphere: The lowest region of the atmosphere, extending from the earth’s surface to a
height of about 6-10 km.
Stratosphere: It is the second major layer of earth’s atmosphere, just above the troposphere,
and below the mesosphere.
Mesosphere: It is the third layer of the atmosphere, directly above the stratosphere and
directly below the thermosphere.
Asthenosphere: A layer in the mantle that is relatively weak and viscous; lies below the
solid lithosphere.
Crust: Outer envelope of the earth surface.
Exosphere: Outermost layer of atmosphere lying beyond the ionosphere.
Ozone layer: A layer of atmosphere (above 30-50 km from earth surface) which contains
ozone produced by UV radiation.
Latent heat- Water possesses the highest heat of fusion and heat of evaporation, collectively
called latent heat.
Specific heat: Specific heat is a measure of heat capacity, or how much heat a material can
store when changing temperature.

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Transpiration- The process by which the plant body releases water in the form of vapours
through its aerial parts is known as transpiration.
Evaporation: It occurs when surface water is energized by solar radiation.
Sublimation: The movement of water from a solid to a gaseous state without ever entering
the liquid state. This allows water from snow or glaciers to enter the atmosphere directly.
Condensation: Condensation is the conversion of water vapour in the air to liquid water.
Precipitation: Precipitation is the falling of water from the sky in various forms (rain, snow,
etc.).
Infiltration: The process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil is known as
infiltration.
Runoff: When there is more water than land can absorb, runoff occurs. The extra liquid runs
off the land and into nearby creeks, streams, or ponds.
Sedimentary rock: Sedimentary rocks form from previously existing rocks or fragments of
once-living organisms. They form as a result of deposits accumulating on the Earth's surface.
Metamorphic rock: Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have been altered by intense heat or
pressure during their formation.
Igneous rock: Igneous rocks form when molten material from deep within the earth, known
as magma, cools and solidifies, forming crystals.

1.9 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTION

1.9.1 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who coined the word ‘ecology’?
(a) Strasburger (b) P. Odum
(c) Ernst Haeckel (d) Roxburgh
2. Organisms interact with physical environment that comprises of
(a) Atmosphere (b) Hydrosphere
(c) Lithosphere (d) All of these
3. The crust of the Earth along with the cooler, upper part of a mantle is called the-
(a) Mesophere (b) Stratosphere
(c) Troposphere (d) Lithosphere
4. Who is considered as the “father of ecology in India”?
(a) M.S. Swaminathan (b) S.L. Mehta
(c) Ramdev Mishra (d) Agharkar
5. Name the atmospheric layer that is completely cloudless and free of water vapour.
(a) Stratosphere (b) Exosphere
(c) Troposphere (d) Thermosphere
6. The region of air close to the earth and extending up to 10 km high is called:
(a) Atmosphere (b) Exosphere
(c) Troposphere (d) Thermosphere
7. Which layer of the atmosphere is also called ozonosphere?
(a) Exosphere (b) Troposphere
(c) Mesosphere (d) Stratosphere
8. Who published two volumes of the “Indian Forest Ecology” (1950)?
(a) F.R. Bharucha (b) Ramdev Mishra

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(c) G.S. Puri (d) J.S. Singh

9. Wide variety of living organisms is called:
(a) Population (b) Biodiversity
(c) Habitat (d) Diversity
10. Shelford’s law of tolerance is named after:
(a) Jacob Shelford (b) James Shelford
(c) Ernest Shelford (d) None of the above

1.9.1-Answer Key: 1-(c), 2-(d), 3-(d), 4-(c), 5-(d), 6-(c), 7-(d), 8-(c), 9-(b), 10-(c)

1.10 REFERENCES

 Shukla R.S. & Chandel P.S. (1972), A Text book of Plant Ecology, S. Chand &
company.
 Agarwal S.K. (2008), Fundamentals of Ecology, APH Publishing Corporation.
 Singh H.R. (2005), Environmental Biology, S. Chand & company.
 Sahoo A.K. (2001), The Text book of forest ecology, biodiversity and conservation,
International Book Distributors.
 Singh. J.S, Singh S.P. & Gupta S.R. (2014), Ecology, Environmental Science and
Conservation, S. Chand & company
 B.P. Pandey (2007), Botany for Degree Students (B.Sc.-III), S. Chand & company
 https://www.yourdictionary.com/ecology
 www.britishecologicalsociety.org>...
 byjus.com>…>Biology Article
 www.conserve-energy-future.com>type
 www.ukessays.com>essays>hydrosphere
 en.m.wikipedia.org>wiki>Hydrosphere
 www.vedantu.com>physics.lithosphere
 https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Honolulu_Community_College/CHEM_100%3A
_Chemistry_and_Society/14%3A_Earth/14.01%3A_Spaceship_Earth_Structure_and_
Composition

1.11 SUGGESTED READING

 Singh H.R. (2005), Environmental Biology, S. Chand & company.

 Sahoo A.K. (2001), The Text book of forest ecology, biodiversity and conservation,
International Book Distributors.
 Shukla R.S. & Chandel P.S. (1972), A Text book of Plant Ecology, S. Chand &
company.
 Agarwal S.K. (2008), Fundamentals of Ecology, APH Publishing Corporation.
 Singh. J.S, Singh S.P. & Gupta S.R. (2014), Ecology, Environmental Science and
Conservation, S. Chand & company

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 B.P. Pandey (2007), Botany for Degree Students (B.Sc.III), S. Chand & company

1.12 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1.12.1 Short answer type Questions:

1. Why is the lithosphere important?
2. Why do we need atmosphere?
3. What is a tectonic plate?
4. What do you understand by the term hydrosphere?
5. Write a short note on Oceanic lithosphere?

1.12.2 Long answer type Questions:

1. Define ecology. Discuss about the types of ecology.
2. Describe in detail about the importance of ecology.
3. Define atmosphere and discuss about its structure.
4. Write a short note on:
(a) Hydrosphere
(b) Lithosphere
(c) Biosphere
5. Give a detailed account about Ecology in India.
6. Discuss about the layers of the atmosphere.

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UNIT-2- ECOLOGICAL FACTORS

Contents

2.1 Objectives
2.2 Introduction
2.3 Abiotic Factors
2.3.1 Climatic factors
2.3.2 Edaphic factors
2.3.3 Physiographic factors
2.4 Biotic factors
2.5 Anthropogenic factors
2.6 Summary
2.7 Glossary
2.8 Self Assessment Question
2.9 References
2.10 Suggested Readings
2.11 Terminal Questions

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2.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit students will be able:

 To understand about the ecological factors

 To discuss about abiotic factors- climatic edaphic and physiographic factors
 To know about biotic factors
 To discuss about anthropogenic factors

2.2 INTRODUCTION

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with each other and their non-
living environment. Modern ecology focuses on the basic functional ecological unit, the
ecosystem. Ecosystems are composed of organisms interacting with each other and with their
environment such that energy is exchanged and system level processes, such as the cycling of
elements, emerge. A.G. Tansley (1935) coined the term “ecosystem” as a biological assemblage
interacting with its associated physical environment and located in a specific area. The
environment includes chemical, physical and biological components. When a component
surrounding an organism affects the life of an organism, it becomes a factor.

In any ecosystem, a living organism is influenced by a number of factors and forces which are
known as eco-factors or ecological factors. These environmental factors which influence the
behavior, growth, distribution, abundance, and ultimate survival of organisms are of two basic
types: abiotic (non-living) environment which determine the interactions between the population
and the biotic (living) environmental factors which include interactions between different
populations and instinctive control mechanism that are internal to the population itself.
(Clapham, Jr., 1973)

All these ecological factors can be divided into the following three groups:

1. Abiotic factors
2. Biotic factors
3. Anthropogenic factors

2.3 ABIOTIC FACTORS

The abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical elements in the environment that aren’t
living but which are important to sustain the life of the living. Abiotic factors includes: Climatic,
Edaphic, Physiographic etc. The sum total of all these factors constitutes the environment of an
organism. Every organism has an ecological minimum and maximum for every factor and the

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range between two limits is known as limit or zone of tolerance. To explain the effect of different
limiting factors on living organisms, number of laws and principles has been proposed by
different Scientists. The law of tolerance, usually called Shelford‟s law of tolerance presented by
American Zoologist Victor Ernest Shelford in 1911. The law states that, the abundance or
distribution of an organism can be controlled by certain factors (e.g., the climatic, topographic
and biological requirements of animals and plants) where levels of these exceed the maximum or
minimum limits of tolerance of that organism. For example- For the proper development and
growth of plants, all the soil nutrients are equally important, but anything in excess might limit
the uptake of the other nutrient, restricting the proper growth. German Biochemist, Justus Liebig
in 1840, presented the Law of minimum; it states that the growth of an organism is dependent on
the amount of food stuff which is presented to it in minimum quantity. For example- if the soil is
deficient in any one nutrient, it will make the other nutrient metabolically inactive and the proper
growth of the plants will get restricted. Liebig‟s Law of minimum is also incorporated with the
Laws of limiting factors developed by British Physiologist F.F. Blackman (1905). This law of
limiting factor states that a biological process is controlled by a number of factors and the
deficiency of any of these factors will affect the process on the whole. For example-
Photosynthesis by plants. Blackman listed five factors involved controlling the rate of
photosynthesis are amount of water, carbondioxide, chlorophyll, intensity of Solar radiation and
temperature of the chloroplast. The same principle of limiting factors applies to animal functions
also. The abiotic variables or factors which affect the living things are given below:

2.3.1 Climatic Factors

Climate is the long term pattern of weather in a particular region. Climate is one of the important
natural factors which affect the plant life and responsible for determining the climatic conditions
of a region. Its study is known as climatology. The climatic factors are grouped under these
categories-

1. Light
2. Temperature
3. Water (Humidity and Precipitation)
4. Wind
5. Fire

1. Light: Light is one of the most important abiotic factors without which life cannot exist. The
chief sources of natural light are sunlight, moonlight, starlight, and the light produced by
luminescent organisms. The sun is the main source of light. Light is the part of the
electromagnetic spectrum that can be seen by the human eye. Electromagnetic spectrum is
the term used by scientists to describe the entire range of light that exists. The
electromagnetic spectrum is generally divided into seven regions, in order of decreasing
wavelength and increasing energy and frequency: radiowaves, microwaves, infrared, visible

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light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays. Each particle of electromagnetic radiation, called a
photon, has certain amount of energy. Types of radiation with short wave length have high
energy photons, whereas types of radiation with long wave lengths have low energy photons.
Scientists break it electromagnetic spectrum into three separate categories or division. The
short wave includes cosmic rays, x-rays and ultra violet rays, which have wavelengths
shorter than 0.4 to 0.7 mm. This is also known as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).

The medium sized waves are called infrared waves (longer than 0.740 mm). Radiant energy
reaching the surface of the earth on a clear day is about 10% ultraviolet, 45% visible light,
and 45% infrared. It is a form of kinetic energy from the sun that travels in waves in the form
of tiny particles called quanta or photons. Sunlight pass through prism disperse in series of
wavelength exhibiting seven different colours- violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and
red (VIBGYOR). All these colours make visible spectrum of light that affect physiological
processes of plant. e.g., Photosynthesis. On the basis of wave length, there are three types of
ultraviolet radiation. These are:

 UV-A radiation (320 to 400 nm)

 UV-B radiation (280 to 320 nm)
 UV- C radiation (100 to 280 nm)

Out of these three radiation types, UV-C is lethal to organisms, and UV-B, is harmful to the
organisms. The intensity of light reaching the earth’s surface varies with the angle of
incidence, degrees of latitude and altitude, season, time of the day, amount absorbed and
dispersed by the atmosphere and a number of climatic and topographical features.

Importance of light to plants: Light affect the growth and distribution of plants through its
effect upon soil temperature, photosynthesis, transpiration, rate of water absorption etc. Light
is essential for the formation and function of chlorophyll. Three properties of this climatic
factor that affect plant growth and development are light intensity, light quality and day
length or photoperiod. The intensity of light is measured in terms of foot candle is equal to
10.76 Lux and varies according to the latitude and season of the year. An increased light
intensity leads to a high rate of photosynthesis and a low light intensity would mean low rate
of photosynthesis. At a very high intensity of light, rate of photosynthesis would drop quickly
as the light starts to damage the plant. Light quality refers to the colour or wavelength
reaching the plant surface. Day length or photoperiod refers to the amount of time that a plant
is exposed to sunlight with respect to the night period. Light affects many physiological
activities of the plants. Light influences the plants in the following ways:

(i). Photosynthesis: Sunlight acts as the ultimate source of energy for plants. Plants are
autotrophic organisms, which need light for carrying out the process of
photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which plant converts light energy

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into chemical energy (in the presence of chlorophyll) which is subsequently used for
the preparation of carbohydrate from carbondioxide and water. The various
wavelengths in Sunlight are not all used equally in photosynthesis. Instead,
photosynthetic organisms contain light absorbing molecules called pigments that
absorb only specific wavelengths of visible light, while reflecting others. The set of
wavelengths absorbed by a pigment is its absorption spectrum. The best wavelengths
of visible light for photosynthesis fall within the blue range (450-500 nm), and red
range (600-700 nm). Therefore the best light sources for photosynthesis should
ideally emit light in the blue and red ranges. Green (500-570 nm) light is least
effective. Plants look green, it is because the chlorophyll molecules in the plant
absorb blue and red light and reflect other colours, resulting in the green colour we
see. The rate of photosynthesis is greater in intermittent light than in the continuous
light.

(ii). Respiration: The method by which cells get chemical energy by the consumption of
oxygen and the liberating of carbondioxide is called respiration. The process of
respiration in plants involves using the sugar produced during photosynthesis plus
oxygen to produce energy for plant growth. The process of respiration is represented
as follows:
Enzymes
C6h12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + 32 ATP (energy)

Respiration takes place in all type of living cells and generally called cellular
respiration. Cellular respiration is a process that takes place inside the cells where
energy is released by the breakdown of glucose molecules. Cellular respiration can
occur both aerobically (using oxygen), or anaerobically (without oxygen).

Plants respire all the time, whether it is dark or light. There is no direct effect of light
on the respiration. Indirect effect is very important because in the presence of light
the respiratory substrates are synthesized. Light at which both photosynthesis and
respiration become equal is called as light compensation point. This means that the
carbondioxide released from respiration is equivalent to that which is taken up
during photosynthesis. The compensation point is reached as light intensity
increases. If the light intensity is increased beyond the compensation point, the rate
of photosynthesis increases proportionally until the point of light saturation is
reached, beyond which the rate of photosynthesis is no longer affected by light
intensity.

Effect on transpiration and opening and closing of stomata: Transpiration is the

biological process by which water is lost in the form of water vapour process from

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aerial parts, such as stems, flowers and leaves in plants. In the absence of
transpiration, excess water will get accumulated in the plant cells, and the cells will
eventually burst. The stomata open during the day and close in the dark. Presence of
light is directly proportional to the rate of transpiration.

Light affects opening and closing of stomata, influences the permeability of plasma
membrane and has heating effect. All these in turn affect transpiration which in turn
affects absorption of water.

(iii) Growth and flowering of plants: The day length, the quality and intensity
(photoperiodicity) of light are the most important factors which affect growth and
flowering of plants. Based on photoperiodic responses plants can be classified into
three groups:

(a) Short-day plants: The short day plants in general develop flowers when the
days are less than 12 hours long. Example- Saccharum officinarum (Sugarcane),
Glycine max (Soybean), Xanthium strumarium (Cocklebur). Day length is critical
and varies from species to species.

(b) Long-day plants: The long day plants develop flower when the days are longer
than 12 hours. Example - Daucus carota (Carrot), Lactuca sativa (lettuce), Spinacea
oleracea (Spinach).

(c) Day neutral plants: Day neutral plants are those whose flowering are not
affected by day length, but rather is controlled by age, number of nodes, previous
cold treatment etc. for e.g., tomatoes (Lycopersicon lycopersicum) are “day neutral”
and do not flower based on the length of the day or night. Instead, tomato plants
simply flower after they have reached a certain developmental age. Other examples
are- Helianthus annuus (Sunflower), Cucumis sativus (Cucumber), Gossypium
hirsutum (Cotton).

Plants which grow in bright Sunlight are called heliophytes and those growing in the
shades are called Sciophytes. There are some heliophytes which can grow in shade
are known as facultative sciophytes and those heliophytes which fail to grow in
shade said to be obligate sciophytes. Similarly facultative heliophytes are those
sciophytes which may grow in light and obligate heliophytes are those sciophytes
which fail to grow in bright Sunlight. The shade plants maintain a high rate of
photosynthesis in low light intensities, while the heliophytes are adversely affected
by shade.

Movement: Sunlight affects the movement in plants. The effect of Sunlight on the
plant movement is called heliotropism or phototropism. The movement of plant parts

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towards the light source is known as positive phototropism. For example the growth
of plant stem in the upward direction in response to sunlight, whereas the movement
of plant parts away from light is known as negative phototropism. For example roots
are negatively phototropic as they grow downwards into the soil.

Germination: Most plants need light to grow and keep them healthy, but not all
plants need light to germinate. Some seeds germinate best in absolute darkness, and
others perform well with continuous sunlight. Experts from Thompson and Morgan
report that light in the red wavelength range promotes germination, while blue light
impedes it. This is because the red light affects a plant pigment, phytochrome,
(regulate the germination of seeds (photoblasty), synthesis of chlorophyll, elongation
of seedlings, size, shape and number and movement of leaves and the timing of
flowering in adult plants) that is within the seeds. But if the plants are below a thick
canopy of leaves, blue light may be needed as well. However, in Typha species
yellow light has been found to promote germination of seeds and also counters the
inhibitory effect of blue light.

Effect of light on animals: Light affects the various phase of animal life such as
growth, development, reproduction and diapause (resting phase), migration,
locomotion, metabolism etc. Some major effects of light on animals are described
below:

(i) Effect on metabolism: The metabolic rate of different animals is largely affected
by light intensity. The increased intensity of light results in an increase in enzyme
activity, general metabolic rate and solubility of minerals and salts in the protoplasm.
The cave-dwelling animals are not affected much by light. Solubility of gases
decreases at high light intensity.

(ii) Effect on pigmentation: Formation of pigments depends on light. It is found

that higher the intensity of light, higher will be pigmentation. For example the darkly
pigmented skins of human inhabitants of the tropical region have higher
concentration of melanin in their skin. Cave animals and many inhabitants of deep
sea, where light has no ecological significance, have vestigial eyes or are blind.

(iii) Effect on development: Light in some cases accelerates the development, and
in some other cases, it retards. For example, Salmon larvae undergo normal
development in sufficient light whereas, Mytilus larvae grows larger in darkness.

(iv) Effect on reproduction: In many animals and birds, the breeding activities are
induced by light through its inoculating action over the gonads. The gonads of birds
are found to become active during summer (increased illumination) and to regress
during winter (shorter periods of illumination).

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(v) Effect on animal movement: In certain lower animals, the speed of locomotion
is regulated by light. The phenomenon is known as photokinesis. They are of two
types:

(a) Phototaxis: Oriented locomotory movements towards and away from a source of
light is called as Phototaxis. When an animal moves towards the light source, it is
called positively photoactic. Euglena, Ranatra are the examples of positively
photoactic animals. When an animal moves away from the light source, it is known
as negatively photoactic. Earthworms, planarians, cope-podes, slugs, siphonophores
are negatively photoactic animals.

(b) Phototropism: Phototropism occurs when only a part of organism shows

responsive movement to light stimulus. It is seen in sessile animals.

2. Temperature: Temperature is one of the most important ecological factors. The moisture
and temperature, acting together, determine in large measure the climate of a region and the
distribution of plant and animal life (Smith, 1977). Development and rate of plant growth is
dependent upon the temperature surrounding the plant and each species has a specific
temperature range represented by a maximum, minimum and optimum. In organisms all
metabolic processes necessary for life start at a certain minimum temperature. The
temperature at which physiological processes are at their maximum efficiency is called
optimum temperature. Minimum temperature is that below which all metabolic processes
necessary for life cannot initiate and proceed with lowest motion. The maximum temperature
is the temperature above which no biological activity can be observed. The minimum,
optimum and maximum temperatures are called cardinal temperature varies from species to
species, and in the same individual from part to part. For example, some hot-spring algae can
live in water as warm as 73°C under favorable conditions and some arctic algae can complete
their life cycles in places where the temperature barely rise 0oC. Non-pathogenic bacteria
inhabiting hot springs can actively grow at temperatures greater than 90 oC (Bott and Brock,
1969).

Organisms which can tolerate a very large fluctuation in temperature for growths are called
eurythermal plants include jasmine, roses, conifers, daisy, Ashoka tree etc. The organisms
who can tolerate only a small variation in temperature are known as Stenothermal organisms.
Stenothermal plants include Eucalyptus, Bougainvillea, Plumeria etc. On the basis of
temperature tolerance, fungi have also been classified into the following three kinds:
thermotolerant, thermophilic and mesophilic fungi (R. Emerson, 1968). Thermophilic fungi
require optimum temperature 450C for growth. Temperature influences most plant processes,
including transpiration, respiration, etc.

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(a). Temperature and cell: The minimum and maximum temperatures have lethal
effects on the cells and their components. In the extremely low temperature, cell
proteins may be frozen to ice. On the other hand; heat coagulates proteins (Lewis and
Taylor, 1967). Few organisms survive temperatures above 45°C because of protein
denaturation at high temperature. Certain organisms can exist at higher temperature
due to heat stable proteins where as some organisms can exist at slightly lower
temperatures using antifreezes such as glycerol, salts.
(b). Temperature and metabolism: Usually the various metabolic activities of plants,
animals and microbes are regulated by different kinds of enzymes and enzymes in
turn are influenced by temperature, consequently increase in temperature, upto a
certain limit, brings about increased enzymatic activity, resulting in an increased rate
of metabolism. However, the metabolic rate may decrease when there is higher
increase in temperature.
(c). Temperature and reproduction: Flowering in plants is affected by temperature
through thermoperiodism (the sum of the responses especially of a plant appropriately
fluctuating temperatures). Temperature is an important factor, in the phenology of
plants. Phenlogy is the study of periodical phenomena of plants, as the time of
flowering in relation to climate; colour changing and leaf fall in the autumn, etc.
(d). Temperature and sex ratio: In some animals the environmental temperature
determines the sex ratio. For example, the sex ratio in the copepod Macrocyclops
albidus is determined by temperature. As the temperature rises there is a significant
increase in number of males. In Daphina, under normal condition parthenogenetic
eggs are produced, which develop into female. But when the temperature is raised,
they give rise to sexual eggs, which after fertilization may develop either into females
or males.
(e). Temperature and Parasitic infection: Certain diseases develop on plants due to
unfavourable temperature i.e., high temperature together with wind and high humidity
causes dissemination and development of bacterial diseases.
(f). Temperature and growth: Plant growth and development is dependent on the
temperature around the plant. Each species has a specific temperature range. Both
very high and very low temperatures can have a negative effect on plant growth.
There are two main forms of extreme temperature stress on plants - cold and heat.
During high temperature, membrane stability decreases due to excessive fluidity of
lipids in the membrane. There is a disruption of the membrane and cell compartment,
leading to problems with function. Low temperatures can cause cold injuries such as
dehydration, chilling injury, and freezing injury. In desiccation, tissues are dehydrated
and injured due to rapid transpiration and slow absorption during winter. Chilling
injury can occur at a range of temperatures that are low but not freezing for that
species. Chilling has negative effects on cellular function, growth, and colouration. It
can also lead to tissue death. Freezing injury occurs when the temperature is below

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the freezing point of water, resulting in protoplast shrinkage, destruction of

chlorophyll, and ice formation in intercellular spaces, resulting in cellular water
movement toward ice.
(g). Temperature and colouration: In warm humid climates many animals like birds,
insects and mammals bear darker pigmentation than the races of some species found
in cool and dry climates. The phenomenon is known as Gioger rule.
(h). Temperature and respiration: Usually, the rate of respiration becomes doubles as
per the Vant Hoff‟s law with increase in temperature by 100 C in case of
Poikilothermic animals. According to Smith (1974), optimum temperature for
photosynthesis is lower than that for respiration.
(i). Temperature and transpiration in plants: Transpiration is the process of loss of
water from the aerial surface of plants. Higher temperature increases the capacity of
air to hold more moisture in vapour form, which results in difference between vapour
pressure defects, hence the rate of transpiration increases. Besides increasing the rate
of transpiration if temperature rises above maximum limits, the plant becomes
inactive, and may develop choruses.
(j). Classification of organisms according to temperature tolerance: On the basis of
the response of plants to temperature of environment, the entire vegetation can be
divided into four classes as:
(i). Megatherms: Plants which require more or less constant high temperature
throughout the year. e.g., tropical rain forests and desert vegetation.
(ii). Mesotherms: Plants of habitat which is neither very cold nor very hot. These
plants cannot endura extreme high or low temperature. e.g., tropical deciduous
forests and aquatic plants.
(iii). Microtherms: These plants require low temperature for their growth. These
plants cannot endure high temperature. All high altitude plants of the tropical and
subtropical regions included in this group.
(iv). Hekistotherms: Plants growing in regions with very low temperature. They
tolerate long and extremely cold winter months. e.g., alpine vegetation.

3. Water: Water is the basis of life for all living beings on the earth. Water makes up a
large proportion of the bodies of animals and plants e.g., cytoplasm holds 70-80 percent
of water. Water is a compound composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of
oxygen. It is the most abundant compound found in all organisms. Water constantly
moves around the earth and changes between solid (snow, sleet, hail and ice), liquid (rain,
water droplets) and gas (water vapour). The water cycle, also known as the hydrological
cycle is manage by Sun’s energy. This solar energy drives the cycle by evaporating water
from the lakes, rivers, oceans and even the soil. Other water moves from plants to the
atmosphere through the process of transpiration. The water vapour forms clouds in the air
by condensation and precipitates back to earth in the form of rain and snow. In plant,

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absorption of nutrients, the rate and magnitude of photosynthesis, respiration, growth and
other metabolic processes are influenced by the amount of water available. Water plays
diverse roles in plants. As it evaporates from the leaf tissue during transpiration, gives
cooling to the leaves. It is also a chief component in photosynthesis and respiration.
Water act as a solvent for carbohydrates and minerals moving through the plants. In the
atmosphere, water is present in the form of water vapours. This is called atmospheric
humidity. Humidity is greatly influenced by intensity of solar radiation, wind, water,
status of soil, temperature, altitude etc. Evaporation of water from earth surface and
transpiration from plants are the main cause of atmospheric humidity. Most of the plants
cannot make use of atmospheric humidity, however, several mosses, lichens, filmy ferns
and epiphytic orchids can absorb moisture directly from the air. Clouds and fog are the
visible forms of humidity. Humidity is measured using a psychrometer and hygrometer
and is measured as a percentage. Humidity is described in three different terms:

(a). Relative humidity: Relative humidity is the ratio of the actual amount of water
vapours in the atmosphere to the amount that can be held in the air at a
particular temperature and pressure.
(b). Specific humidity: It refers to the “amount of water vapours present per unit
weight of air”.
(c). Absolute humidity: It refers to the “amount of water vapours present per unit
volume of air”.

Effects of humidity on organisms: It influences the rate of transpiration in plants.

Higher the humidity, lesser is the rate of transpiration. Low relative humidity increases
water loss through transpiration and affects plant growth. It also influences the rate of
sweat in humans. So, at high humidity sweating is more. It is an important source of
water for epiphytes like lichens, mosses. It plays an important role in the germination of
spores of fungi.

Precipitation: Precipitation is the release of water from clouds that falls to the ground
as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmospheric
becomes saturated with water vapor (reaching 100% relative humidity), so that the water
condenses and ‘precipitates’ or falls. Precipitation depends upon temperature, wind,
season and pressure. Precipitation has a significant impact on productivity and species
richness of community or perennials and in determines the vegetation of particular
region. Precipitation can affect germination, seedling growth and survival, and phenology
(the study of recurrent phenomena), thereby altering annual productivity and species
richness in many arid and semi-arid ecosystems.

Plant productivity is influenced not only by quantity of precipitation, but also by temporal
patterns of precipitation at a given site. The seasonal precipitation has a stronger

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influence on productivity than total precipitation in arid and semiarid ecosystems, since
water is the most limiting resource.

The main types of precipitation include rain, snow, hail, plus a few less common
occurrences such as ice pellets, diamond dust and freezing rain. Thus, mist and fog are
not precipitation but suspensions, because the water vapour does not condense
sufficiently to precipitate. Rainfall is the most common form of precipitation.

Moderate and continuous rains are beneficial instead of heavy rains because in the heavy
rains a large amount of water is lost from the surface of soil as runoff and the soil is
eroded. The distinction between equatorial forests zones, desert zones near the tropics
and temperate forest zones is based upon rainfall. In India the tropical evergreen forest is
found with 100 inch rainfall tropical moist deciduous forest are monsoon forest of
Western Ghats, Chota Nagpur correspond to a rainfall of 60 to 68 inches, the tropical dry
deciduous forest of Sal and Teak occur in regions with only 40-50 inch rainfall. The
regions of negligible rainfall consist of deserts. In terrestrial habitats precipitation is the
only source of water for growth of most plants.

4. Wind: Air is the invisible mixture of gases present in the troposphere. Air in motion is
called wind. Wind is the movement of air, caused the uneven heating of the earth by the
Sun and the earth’s own rotation. Wind traveling at different speeds, different altitudes,
and over water or land can cause different types of patterns and storms. They are a giant,
spiraling tropical storm. Hurricane- originated over warm oceans and derives energy from
the latent heat of evaporation of water sucked into low pressure centre. These tropical
storms are known as hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, typhoons in the western Pacific
Ocean and cyclones in the western Pacific Ocean. Wind is the great equalizer of the
atmosphere, transporting heat, pollutants, moisture, and dust great distances around the
globe. Landforms, processes, and impact of wind is called Aeolian landforms. Wind is
both an ecological provider and disturbance facilitator influences trees and other
organisms. The impact of wind on plants largely depends on speed duration, and the
extent to which wind can penetrate canopy layers. When the wind is strong, it can carry
sand and snow particles, and thus has a considerable abrasive effect on the ground as well
as on plants. The effects of wind on plant life and plant environment may be listed as
follows:

Physiological impact

(i). Wind affects rate of transpiration. More transpiration occurs in strong wind regions
which results water deficiency in their tissues.

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(ii). Wind increases the turbulence in atmosphere, thus increasing the supply of carbon
dioxide to the plants resulting in greater photosynthesis rates. Beyond a certain
wind speed the rate of photosynthesis becomes constant.
(iii). Wind changes the balance of hormones and also increases the ethylene production
in barley and rice.
(iv). Dwarfing: Turgidity helps maturing cells of a plant to normal sizes. The plants
developing under the influences of drying winds never attain turgidity that enables
them to expand their maturing cells. As a result all organs are dwarfed because
their cells attain subnormal size.
(v). When wind is hot, desiccation of the plants takes place, because humid air in the
intercellular places is replaced by dry air. For example, rice crop during june-july
months shows tip drying.
(vi). The wind accelerates transpiration. Plants are able to grow successfully only so
long as they can balance their water income with water outgo. When transpiration
rate exceeds that of water absorption, partial or complete closure of the stomata
may ensure which will restrict the circulation of carbon dioxide into the leaves. As
a result, there will be decrease in the rate of photosynthesis, growth and yield.

Mechanical impact of wind

(i). In high winds, leaves can be deprived from plants, and under extreme conditions,
plant stems may be broken or plants uprooted. Usually such breakage occurs in
soft woods of such plants as cotton woods and river maple.
(ii). Lodging: Lodging is a form of wind injury caused by violent wind in which the
crop plants (wheat, maize, and sugarcane) flatted against the ground. But if the
stems are not too mature, the prostrated plants become partially erect once more by
means of differential growth at the lower node.
(iii). Plants growing at higher altitude show undeveloped growth because of the effects
of wind.
(iv). Deformation: When developing shoots are subjected to strong wind pressure from
a constant direction, the form and position of the shoot may become permanently
altered. This is called deformation. Trees with inclined trunks are commonly
observed on ridged. Some trees such as oaks grow flattened against the ground
while in others the tree branches developing in a leeward direction.

Other Effects of Wind

(i). When the wind moves the soil from one area to another, this is called wind
erosion. It is a natural process that moves soil from one location to another by
wind. It can cause important economic and environment damage.
(ii). Wind causes the lifting and transport of lighter particles from a dry soil, leaving
behind a surface of coarse grained sand and rocks.
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(iii). Wind is a critical means of transportation for seeds, insects and birds, which can
travel on wind currents for thousands of miles. The most of gymnosperms are
pollinated by the wind and this phenomenon is called as anemophily. Anemophily
is the process when pollen is transported by air currents from one individual plant
to another.
(iv). The coastal area affected by strong wind brings salt and make the soil unsuitable
for growing plants.
(v). Wind also disperses many types of particles (plant propagules, pollen, disease
organisms) as well as moving gas molecules (CO2, Pollutants).

5. Fire: Fire is that stage of heat in which things get burned and from them heat and light
rays emerges which affect the environment. A fire needs three things: heat, fuel and
oxygen. The fire may be caused by (i) volcanic activity, (ii) lighting, and (iii) biological
origin. The fire is usually human caused such as campfires, arson, discarding lit
cigarettes, not burning debris properly, playing with matches or fireworks and sometimes
chiefly in forests develop due to mutual friction between trees (bamboos etc) surfaces.
Fire affecting the plants may be of the following types:

(i). Ground Fire: This type of fire is flameless and subterranean and usually occurs in
deep accumulations of humus, peat and similar dead vegetation that become dry
enough to burn. These fire are particularly dangerous as they can ‘hibernate’ below
the surface during a warm winter and re emerge one the weather gets warm again.
(ii). Surface Fire: The fire which sweep over the ground surface, their flames consume
the litter, living herbs, shrubs and also scorching the trees which in contact.
Surface fires are the most fame fire can be put out relatively easily.
(iii). Crown fires: The fire which extends from dense, woody vegetation and travels
from the canopy of one plant to another. Crown fires pose the highest risk by far
due to their fast spreading behavior.

The direct effect of fire on plants is lethal. The different plant organs like leaf, stem etc,
have direct effect of fire. Due to higher temperature protoplasm gets destroyed and that
plant organs dies. Fire as a destructive force can rapidly consume large amount of
biomass and cause negative impacts such as air pollution, post-fire soil erosion and water
runoff. Once trees have been removed by fire or logging, infiltration rates become high
and erosion low to the degree the forest floor remains intact. Severe fires can lead to
significant further erosion if followed by heavy rainfall.

Fire influences both living and physical elements of environment. Fire can become
hazardous to surrounding infrastructure and people. It can destroy vegetation, reducing

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the amount of precipitation absorbed by plants. Major fires can burn off humus in the soil
and reduce soil fertility. Indirectly the fire has the following effects on vegetation:

 Fire controls the age of the forest by interrupting and altering succession. Periodic
fire limits the number of saplings that survive and hence the number of trees per
hectare.
 Fire helps in removal of competition of surviving species.
 Fire impacts on habitats, stimulating flowering and fruiting of species and increasing
the availability seeds and berries. The quality and quantity of browse increase after
fire and the population of wood boring insects increase. This is important to quail
and wood peckers.
 Reduce competition, allowing existing trees to grow larger. To control the
encroachment or development of undesirable food plants such as legumes for both
forage and soil improvements or shrubs.
 It stimulates seed production or opening of cones and prepares seedbeds for seeding,
either naturally or artificially. Some plants like Populus tremuloides get stimulated
to growth by fire.
 Some plants, such as the Eucalyptus, lodge pole pine, Banksia have serotinous cones
or fruits that are completely sealed with resin. These fruits or cones can only open to
release their seeds after the heat of a fire has physically melted the resin.
 Fire remove unpalatable growth remaining from previous seasons and stimulate
growth during seasons when there is little green grazing. Several grasses such as
Cynodon dactylon, Aristida stride etc get stimulated by fire to produce large
quantities of seeds.
 Fires often remove alien plants that compete with native species for nutrients and
space, and remove undergrowth, which allows sunlight to reach the forest floor,
thereby supporting the growth of native species.
 Fire removes low-growing underbrush, cleans the forest floor of debris, opens it up
to sunlight, and nourishes the soil. Reducing this competition for nutrients, allows
established trees to grow stronger and healthier.

2.3.2. Soil (Edaphic Factor)

Soil is one of the most important ecological factors called edaphic factors. Treshow (1970)
defined Soil as a complex physical biological system providing support, water nutrient and
oxygen for plants. Soil is the loose, friable, unconsolidated top layer of earth’s crust and is a
mixture of mineral and organic matter that contains air, water and micro-organism. According to
Dokyachev (1879), the first soil scientist, the soil is the result of the actions and reciprocal
influences of parent rocks, climate, topography, plants, animals and age of land. Soil is the most
important in ecological function as the basis for the growth of terrestrial plants, including

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supplying nutrient, water, temperature and moderation. It is the outermost layer of the surface of
the earth in which roots grow and anchor the plants and from which plant derive water and
nutrients. The Study of Soil Science is known as Pedology.

Soil formation: Soil are complex mixture of minerals, water, air, organic matter and countless
organisms that are the decaying remains of once- living things. Soil is formed by disintegration
and decomposition of rocks by fragmentation or break-down or weathering and the action of soil
organisms such as Fungi, bacteria etc and through interactions of various chemical substances
present in the soil.

Soil Profile: A soil profile is the term used for the vertical cross-section of the soil, made of
layers running parallel to the surface. These layers are known as soil horizons. Each of each
varies in thickness, texture, colour, structure, composition, consistency, porosity, and acidity.
These layers or horizons are represented by letter O, A, E, B, C, and R. From the surface down
ward the following layers can be conveniently made out in these horizons (Fig. 2.1):

O horizon: The uppermost horizon of soil profile is called O horizon or litter zone. It is mainly
composed of organic material like dead leaves, grasses, dried leaves, fallen trees, small rocks,
twigs, surface organisms and other decomposed organic matter. It includes following two
sublayers:
O1 horizon: It is the top layer of soil which is mainly composed of organic materials such as
dead leaves, bark, dried leaves, grasses, small rocks, twigs, fallen trees, fruits, flowers, animal
excreta etc. The colour of the soil is generally black brown and dark brown due to the existence
of organic matter.
O2 horizon: O2 horizon underlies the O1 or litter horizon and contains blackened unrecognizable
decomposed litter. The upper portion of O2 horizon contains partially decomposed detritus, the
duff, so is called duff layer. Its lower part contains completely decomposed, light and amorphous
organic matter, the humus. Humus provides nutrients to the soil, therefore, making the soil more
fertile. Many living organisms are present in this layer, for example, worms, beetles etc.

A horizon: Underlying the litter zone is the A horizon or topsoil. A horizon includes following
three sub zones:
(i) A1 Horizon: It is the zone of humus incorporation with minerals of soil. It is the uppermost
layer of the soil that consists of dark decomposed matter and relatively rich in organic materials
thoroughly mixed with the mineral soil. This layer consists of microorganisms such as bacteria,
earthworms, fungi etc.
(ii) A2 horizon: A2 horizon underlies A1 horizon and is the zone of maximum leaching. It
contains less humus and is a light-coloured horizon from which materials such as aluminium,
silicates, clays etc are being removed at the greatest rate.
(iii) A3 horizon: It is transitional to the subjacent B horizon. It is transition zone between A and
B horizons.

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E horizon: E horizon is composed of nutrients leached from the O and A horizons. It is present
only in the older soils and forest soils.

B horizon- This is known as subsoil lying under A horizon. Roots develop poorly in this zone.
Rich in minerals that leached (moved down) from the A horizons and accumulated here. It is also
divided into B1, B2 and B3 zones. A and B horizons collectively represent the true soil.

Fig. 2.1 A representation of the soil horizons within the profile of a typical forest soil. Forests soils tend
to have 5 layers, including a surface layer of decomposing plant debris, as well of a zone of
leaching. (Image recreated by author, Original source of image:
https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/mauisoil/a_profile.aspx)

C horizon: It presents below the B horizons. This layer consists of weathered rock or sediment
that serves as the parent material for the mineral fraction of the soil. It is light-coloured and
doesn’t contain organic substance in it. This layer is also known as saprolite.

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R horizon: C horizon is underlain by un-weathered bedrock which is called R horizon. It is a

compacted and cemented layer. Different type of rocks such as limestone, granite etc found here.
The important edaphic factors which affect the vegetation are as follows-

1. Soil moisture: Soil moisture is the water stored in the soil and is affected by temperature,
precipitation, soil characteristics etc. The main source of soil water is precipitation. Types of
water in the soil:

(a). Gravitational water: This is a free form of water which percolates downwardly
through the pore spaces between soil particles and accumulates in the pore spaces in
the form of ground water. This soil water is ecologically important in the leaching of
nutrients.
(b). Capillary water: The amount of water that is retained in minute interstitial spaces in
the form of thin films surrounding the soil particles is known as capillary water. This
has a positive water potential and is freely available to plants.
(c). Hygroscopic water: Some water in the soil forms an extremely thin tightly held film
around the soil particles. It is called hygroscopic water. The water is held so tightly by
the soil that it cannot be taken up by roots.
(d). Water vapour: This is water vapour present in air, which can be absorbed by hanging
roots of the epiphytes due to presence of spongy velamen tissue and hygroscopic hairs.
(e). Combined water: In the soil, a small portion of soil water is chemically bound with
soil material which is called combined water. This type of water is not available to the
plants.

Total amount of water present in the soil is called holard. Chresard or available water refers to
the amount of water that can be used by plants. The amount of water that cannot be absorbed by
plants is termed as echard or non-available water. The availability of soil moisture is influenced
by so many conditions, such as the sizes of soil particles, the quantity, duration and intensity of
rainfall, the distribution of precipitation, throughout the year, the rate at which water percolates.
The quantity of soil water available to plants is a great determining factor of nature, composition
and stature of vegetation at any place.

2. Soil pH: Soil reaction, or pH, is a measure of the alkalinity or acidity of the soil solution or
of the amount of active hydrogen ions present in the soil. As regards their nature, some soils
are acidic; some are neutral and some basic. Any pH reading below 7 is acidic and any pH
above 7 is alkaline. A pH value of 7.0 indicates a neutral soil. Normally, pH value of soils
lies between 2.2 and 9.6. PH value of soil influences the availability of essential nutrients.
For example, some plants require considerable amounts of calcium (Calciphytes) and thus
grow on basic soils. Plants requiring low calcium amounts are called Oxylophytes. Highly
alkaline or saline and highly acidic soils are often injurious for plant growth and micro-

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organisms, etc. At low pH, generally zinc, copper, manganese, aluminium, and iron become
toxic. However, most plants grow best in soils with a neutral or slightly acidic pH.

In India, acidic soils (pH below 5.5 to 5.6) occur in the high rainfall areas of Western Ghats,
Kerala, Eastern Orissa, Manipur, Assam and Tripura. The saline, alkali or basic soils of India
occur in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Orissa, Maharashtra, Madras, Andhra Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi and Rajasthan.

3. Soil Nutrients: Soil is a major source of nutrients needed by plants for growth. Nutrient
absorption by roots is a process of ion exchange at the surface. Usually, inorganic solutes are
absorbed by the plants in the ionic forms. The chief inorganic components of soil are the
compounds of Aluminium, Silica, Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium and Iron. Soil
also contains trace elements like Manganese, copper, Boron, Zinc, Iodine, Cobalt,
Molybdenum etc. The chief organic component of soil is humus, a dark coloured amorphous
substance formed by partial degradation of dead organic remains. Humus chemically
contains amino acids, purines, proteins, aromatic compounds, pyrimidines, hexose sugars,
sugar alcohols, methyl sugars, oil, fat, waxes etc.

4. Soil atmosphere: Gases found in pore spaces of soil profiles form the soil atmosphere. The
spaces between the solid soil particles, if they do not contain water, are filled with air. The
soil atmosphere contains three main gases namely nitrogen, carbondioxide and oxygen. The
soil air differs from atmospheric air in that it has a higher concentration of CO 2 and moisture
and lower concentration of O2. Soil atmosphere is affected by wind, temperature, rainfall etc.
Loam soils with humus contain a normal proportion of water and air (about 66% water and
34 % air) and, therefore, are good for majority of crops.

5. Soil temperature: Soil temperature is the measurement of the soil and may be determined
with the help of soil thermometer. Soil gets heat energy from different sources such as
decomposing organic matter, heat formed in the interior of earth and solar radiation. The
factors that affect the amount of heat supplied at the soil surface include, solar radiation, soil
colour, soil mulching, slope of land surface, vegetative cover, organic matter content and
evaporation. The evaporation of water from the soil decreases its temperature and makes it
cooler. Dark coloured soils absorb more radiant heat than light coloured soils. Soil
temperature governs the soil chemical, physical and biological processes.

6. Soil organism: Organisms present in the soil are called soil organisms. Soil animals (fauna)
range in size from macrofauna (earthworms, moles, millipedes) through mesofauna (mites
and springtails) to microfauna (protozoan and nematodes. Soil plants (flora) include roots of
higher plants, soil fungi, algae, bacteria, and soil actinomycetes. Soil organisms feed on the
organic matter of the soil and indulge in various activities such as decomposition of animal

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and plant residues, nitrogen fixation in the soil, decaying and cycling organic material,
breaking down toxic materials, soil aeration (especially done by earthworms), degradation of
toxicants including pesticides, create humus, production of polysaccharides to improve soil
aggregation and increase plant nutrients in available forms. In the absence of oxygen some
soil microbes secrete chemicals, such as organic acid, aldehydes which may show toxic
effects on many plants.

2.3.3. Physiographic factors (Topographic factors)

Physiographic factors are those that are associated with the physical nature of an area. These
factors include the topography of the area, the slope of the land, the height of the land above sea
level, sand silting and blasting, degree of erosion etc. These factors influence vegetation, which
in turn can cause variation in climate throughout a region. This, in turn, gives rise to a localized
microclimate. The microclimate represents the climatic conditions that prevail at local scale, e.g.,
the immediate surroundings of plants and animals. Some of the important physiographic features
are discussed below.

1. Altitude of the place: Altitude is the height of the land above Sea level. Higher altitudes
bring faster winds, lower temperatures and pressure, and higher humidity and light
intensity. All these factors together give a definite pattern of vegetational zone. With the
increasing altitude, wind velocity also increases thus promoting the rate of transpiration.
Plants growing at higher altitudes show stunted growth because of the effects of wind.

2. Steepness and exposure of the slope: Slope is the gradient or steepness of a particular
surface of the Earth. It affects the amount of solar radiation received during the day. The
steep slopes increase the amount of solar radiation, especially at higher altitudes. In the
northern hemisphere, the southern slope receives more solar radiation than the northern
slope. This is probably because the sunlight hits the steep southern slope almost vertically
during the day, while the sunlight hits the northern slope only obliquely in the morning
and evening. Slopes play a very important role in determining soil properties. The
downward movement of rain water removes soil from a slope and carries it down and
may deposit in the valley. The water moving over the slopes causes erosion of the top soil
and as a result of this vegetation disappears from the areas.

3. Direction of mountain chains: The direction of mountain ranges greatly affects the
amount of rainfall in a region. Mountain ranges direct the wind in certain directions, trap
moisture from the wind on certain sides, and condense water vapor in the form of clouds
and rain in higher areas. This may be the reason that on certain sides of the high
mountain, one can see rich vegetation, whereas on the other side, there occurs scanty
vegetation.

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2.4 BIOTIC FACTORS

Biotic describes a living component of an ecosystem. The term “biotic” is formed by the
combination of the two terms, “bio” meaning life and “ic” meaning like. Thus, the term means
life-like and related to all the living entities present in an ecosystem. All living beings constitute
the biotic components of the ecosystem. Biotic means living, and biotic factors are the other,
living things, such as plants, animals, microorganisms. Biotic factors are categorized into three
groups: Producers or autotrophs, consumers or heterotrophs, and decomposers or detritivores.
Examples of biotic factors include: Grass as producers (autotrophs). Deer, mouse, owl etc as
consumers (heterotrophs), and earthworms as decomposers (detritivores). The assemblage of
different plants, animals and microorganisms in any given ecosystem or in any given physical
environment is a community. The biotic communities may be large such as grasslands, forests,
deserts or small such as ponds, rivers, meadows etc. All the organisms of a community share
same habitat, live together and influence each other’s life directly or indirectly. Various life
processes such as reproduction, distribution etc depends very much upon the interactions
between organisms. There may be positive or negative interactions of species and can be found
in any community. It may be either beneficial to both partners or harmful to both, or beneficial to
one and harmful to the other, or it may be neutral for the others. Ecological interactions can be
divided as either intra-specific or inter-specific. Intraspecific interaction competition occur
between individuals of the same species, while interspecific is competition between individuals
of different species. These relationships can be either positive, or they can negative. Positive (+)
sign is assigned to beneficial interaction, ‘O’ sign to neutral interaction and negative (-) sign to
negative effect.

Interspecific relationship:

Interspecific relationships between two or more species can be found in any community and
belong to two main categories- Symbiosis and antagonism.

1. Symbiotic Relationships: Symbiosis means, ‘living together’. It is a close relationship

between two organisms in which one of the two or both benefits from each other. The
perfect example of symbiotic relationship between two plants is lichen. In lichens, the
algae and fungi live together in an intimate symbiotic relationship. The alga synthesizes
organic food which is utilized by both the algal and fungal components. In return, the
fungal component provides moisture and mineral elements to alga. Symbiotic
relationships include mutualism, commensalism, proto-cooperation.

(a). Mutualism: Mutualism is an interspecific interaction between two species that

benefits both members. For example, the partnership between nitrogen- fixing
bacteria and leguminous plants. The organisms involved in mutual relationship

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cover a wider range, namely (1) Plant-plant, (2) animal-animal, or (3) Plant-animal
associations. Some examples of mutualism are as follows:
(i). Pollination by animals: Pollinators such as butterflies, bees, moths etc., transfer
the pollen from an anther to a stigma, In turn, the pollinators feed on the nectar that
the flower secretes.
(ii). Role of animals in the dispersal of fruits and seeds: Generally, the animals are
helpful in the dispersal of fruits and seeds from one place to another. Ants are good
agents for transporting oily seeds and small grains of cereals.
(iii). Symbiotic nitrogen fixation: Symbiotic nitrogen occurs through associations of
plant roots with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The best studied example is the
association between legumes and bacteria in the genus Rhizobium. The host plant
provides nutrients for the bacteria and the bacteria in return fix atmospheric
nitrogen to the host plant in absorbable form.

(b). Commensalism: Commensalism is a relationship where one species benefits and

one is unaffected. For example- Bamacles catch a “ride” with whales for protection
and food; epiphytes get sunlight and nutrients by living on the host plant. Another
example is of lianas. Lianas are woody vascular plants rooted in the soil at ground
level and use trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to reach on the top of
the plants canopy. Bauhinia vahlii, Tinospora, Entada gigas etc are examples of
Lianas. This association of lianas with tree is commensalism because tree provides
support to the plant without any benefit to the tree.

(c). Proto-cooperation: It is a positive interaction in which both the species benefit but
which is not necessary for their survival. Example of proto-cooperation is the
removal of ecto-parasites from the back of bovines by some birds that eat the
parasites. In this interaction birds get food from the bovines they clean, and in turn
the bovines get rid of parasites.

2. Antagonism or Negative Interaction: The relationship between members of different

species in which one or both are harmed, some (Clarke, 1954) prefer to call such types of
associations as “antagonism’. The relationships of antagonism include:

(a). Parasitism: It is a kind of harmful interaction in which one species (parasite) is

benefited at the expense of the other species (host). Plants or animals that live on or
in their hosts and depend on their host for nutrition. Plants that obtain all or part of
its nutritional requirements from another living plant grow either on stem or root of
the host plant. Parasitic plants have special sucking roots, called haustoria, which
penetrate the host plant connecting them to the conductive system- either the
phloem, the xylem or both. Examples of parasitic plants are Cuscuta (total stem

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parasites), Balanophora, Rafflesia, Orobanche (Total root parasites), Cassytha,

Viscum, Loranthus (Partial stem parasites), Striga, Santalum album (Partial root
parasites).

(b). Predation: Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the

predator, kills another for food. The organism that is killed for food is the prey.
Typical predation occurs when a carnivore kills a herbivore or another carnivore for
food. Majority of predatory organisms are animals such as- bats eating the insects,
snakes eating mice etc., but there are some plants also, like, nepenthes,
Darlingtonia, Dionaea, Sarracenia, Drosera etc consume insects and other small
species for their food. They are called as Carnivorous plants. Aquatic plants are
eaten by animals like duck, fish etc.

(c). Competition: Competition is an interaction between organisms and species in

which both require the same limited resources at the same time. Competition can
occur within a species (intraspecific) or between different species (interspecific).
Plants compete for resources including nutrients, light, water, space, pollinators etc
and animals for food and shelter.
(i). Intraspecific competition: The interaction between individuals of the same species
is intraspecific competition. All species have similar needs when it comes to
habitat, food, pollination, etc. There is a lot of competition.
(ii). Interspecific competition: The competition between different species is
interspecific. There is usually little competition for resources, so a wide variety of
grasses can grow in grasslands. During a water shortage, a competition for survival
begins between different types of grasslands. The keys to success in this
competition are nutrient availability, water availability, and the ability to migrate to
new areas. Forest vegetation, such as trees, shrubs, and herbs, compete for sunlight,
water, and nutrients. They also compete for pollination and the dispersal of fruits
and seeds. The bladderwort (Utricularia) competes with tiny fishes for small
crustaceans and insects.

(d). Ammensalism: Ammensalism is the ecological interaction in which one of the

species is harmed or destroyed while the other one either benefits or remains
unaffected and is denoted by sign ‘O’. For example- Penicillium notatum produces
penicillin that inhibits the growth of various bacteria, especially staphylococci,
Trichoderma inhibits the growth of fungus Aspergillus.

Other example- ammensalism is between humans and other species under threat of
extinction due to human actions. Such as ecological accidents, habitat devastation
by fires etc. In many cases the harmful effects are due to certain chemical
substances secreted by one population as specific toxins into the environment.

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These chemicals are called allelochemicals. They are of three types: (i) allomones,
(ii) depressants, (iii) Kairomones. Allomones are chemicals which give adaptive
advantage to the organisms that produce the chemical. Production of allomones is a
common form of defense, particularly by plant species against insect herbivores.
Depressants released by certain organisms inhibit or poison the receiver without
benefit to the releasing organisms. Example is the red tide, Red tide is an algal
bloom that can lead to death by intoxication of fish and other water animals.
Kairomones are chemicals produced and released by a living organism that benefits
the receiver but disadvantages the donar. For example, the chemical released by
nematodes stimulates certain fungi to develop traps for nematode worms are used to
protect the nematodes from predators.

Interspecific interactions/ Co-evolutionary dynamics

1. Mimicry: Mimicry can be defined as a behavioral adaptation in which a living organism

modifies its appearance, structure, behavior, form and looks like any other living
organism or object as a self defence and survive predation. In plants, mimicry gives
protection against herbivores, and also helps in the process of pollination. Types of
mimicry in plants:
(i). Batesian mimicry: In which a non poisonous species (the mimic) resembles a
toxic species (the model) and is avoided by the predator in response to the
poisonous model species.
(ii). Bakerian mimicry: This is a type of mimicry whereby the female flowers imitate
males of the same species.
(iii). Mullerian mimicry: In which one toxic species resembles another toxic species
and both are avoided by predator in confusion.
(iv). Dodsonian mimicry: This is a form of mimicry in plants that mimic another
species of flower or fruit to lure pollinators. The feeders of the other species are
fascinated to a fake fruit to distribute seeds.
(v). Pouyannian mimicry: This mimicry involves the flowers mimic a female mate
visually, but the key stimuli are chemical and tactile.
(vi). Leaf mimicry: Leaves of a climbing plant mimic the leaves of its supporting
trees to protect against herbivory. For example-woody wine Boquila trifoliolata
mimics the leaves of its supporting trees.
(vii). Cryptic mimicry: In cryptic mimicry, mimicking plant should resemble its host;
this can be done through visual or textural change.
(viii). Pseudocopulation: Pollination of plants (especially an orchid) by male insects
while attempting to mate with flowers that resemble the female insect, carrying
pollen to it in the process.

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(ix). Vavilovian mimicry: Vavilovian mimicry (also weed mimicry or crop mimicry)
is a form of mimicry where a weed is unintentionally artificially selected to
resemble a crop plant.

2. Myrmecophily: Myrmecophily is the term used for beneficial interspecies associations

between ants and a number of other organisms, such as plants, certain arthropods, and
fungi. Sometimes, ants take shelter on tree (such as Litchi, Jamun, Mango, Acacia etc)
and act as body guards of the plants against disturbing agents. The plants in return
provide food and shelter to these ants. Example- Acacia and acacia ants.

3. Co-evolution: The interaction between two or more species, continues for generations,
involves reciprocal changes in genetic and morphological characters of both the species.
This type of evolution is called co-evolution. The evolution of one species depends on the
evolution of another species. Many flowering plants have a close relationship with
pollinating insect species. For example flowers and bees have evolved to have a close
symbiotic relationship. Bees get pollen and nectar from flowers while bees fly around
collecting pollen, they are helping the flowers reproduce by spreading pollen from flower
to flower. An extreme example of co-evolution between plant and insect species is the
relationship between Ficus (fig tree) and fig wasp.

2.7 ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS

Men made activities are termed as anthropogenic activities. Anthropogenic can refer to any
changes in nature that are caused by human beings. It is evident that humans are an integral part
of the complex ecosystem ‘the ecosphere’ and anthropogenic activities disrupted the ecological
processes leading to degradation of the environment that affected the humans as much as other
forms of life, animals, plants, and microbes. It has arisen from human activities constricting the
environment and depleting the natural resources of biosphere.

The term is sometimes used in reference to pollutant emissions caused by human activity, but it
also applies broadly to major human impacts on the environment. Human activities have caused
a number of changes in a variety of ecosystems through agriculture, forestry, urbanization and
industry.

Factors responsible for Anthropogenic activities

1. Human overpopulation: The term human overpopulation refers to the relationship

between the entire human population and its environment. Human overpopulation occurs
when the ecological footprint of a population at a particular geographic location exceeds
the carrying capacity of the space occupied by that group. Overpopulation is associated

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with adverse ecological and economic consequences, ranging from the impacts of over-
farming, global warming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication.
2. Over consumption: Overconsumption describes a situation where the use of renewable
natural resources exceeds its capacity to regenerate. A prolonged pattern of
overconsumption leads to the eventual loss of resource bases.
3. Technology: The applications of technology often results in unexpected and unavoidable
environment impacts. Environmental impacts caused by the application of technology are
often perceived as unavoidable for several reasons.
4. Light pollution: Light pollution is the presence of unwanted inappropriate or excessive
artificial lighting. Poorly designed commercial, residential and industrial outdoors lights
contribute significantly to light pollution. It disrupts the natural patterns of wildlife,
contributes to the increase in carbondioxide in the atmosphere, obscures the stars in the
night sky. Three main types of light pollution include sky glow, glare and light trespass.
5. Introduction of species: Introduced species is, any nonnative species that significantly
modifies or disrupts the ecosystems it colonizes. Introduced species that have profound
effects on their new ecosystems have been termed invasive species. These effects include
out competing native species, sometimes causing their extinction, and altering ecosystem
functioning.
6. Energy: Harvesting and consumption- Energy harvesting is the process by which
energy is derived from external sources (e.g. wind energy, solar power, thermal energy,
kinetic energy and salinity gradients), captured, and stored for small wireless autonomous
devices, like those used in wearable electronics and wireless sensor networks. Energy
source examples include vibration or pressure (captured by a Piezoelectric element), light
(captured by photovoltaic cells), radio energy (captured by an antenna), temperature
differentials (captured by a thermoelectric generator) and even biochemically produced
energy (such as cells that extract energy from blood sugar). Energy consumption refers to
all the energy used to perform an action, consumption of fossil fuel resources leads to
global warming and climatic change.
7. Mining: Mining is the process of extracting useful materials from the earth. Mining
activities produce the potential toxic element accumulation, which lead unnatural
enrichment, ecological pollution, and environmental degradation.
8. Transport: Transportation systems, from infrastructures to vehicle operations, have
environmental impacts ranging from noise, the emission of pollutants to climate change.
For instance, vehicular pollution over the last few decades has increased the global
concentrations of N2O, a very potent greenhouse gas.
9. Environmental degradation: Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the
environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, soil and water; the
destruction of ecosystems; the extinction of wildlife, habitat destruction, pollution and
processes such as improper land use and natural disasters.

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10. Human impact on the nitrogen cycle: The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle
by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among
atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Anthropogenic activities have drastically
affected the nitrogen cycle. Burning fossil fuels, application of nitrogen-based fertilizers,
and other activities can dramatically increase the amount of biologically increases
available nitrogen in an ecosystem. For example- the important nitrogenous fertilizer is
urea, which supplements the exhausted nitrogenous supply in the soil. It is first
synthesize organic in the laboratory. The use of nitrogenous fertilizer impacts the natural
nitrogen cycle.
11. Ozone depletion: Ozone depletion, gradual thinning of earth’s ozone layer in the upper
atmosphere caused by the release of chemical compounds containing gaseous chlorine or
bromine from industry and other human activities. The main causes of the destruction of
ozone molecules comprise the reactions with various substances of anthropogenic and
natural origin, the absence of solar radiation during the polar winter, stable polar vortex,
which prevents the penetration of ozone from the polar regions, and the formation of
polar stratospheric clouds (PSO). These factors are especially observed in the Antarctic
area.
12. Global warming: Global warming is the increase in the temperature of the earth’s
atmosphere, caused by the increase of certain gases. It may be natural, but human
activities have been the main driver of climatic change, primarily due to the burning of
fossil fuels, which produces heat trapping green house gas levels in earth’s atmosphere.
13. Mass extinction, defaunation, and decline in biodiversity: A mass extinction event is
when species vanish much faster than they are replaced and a considerable portion of the
world’s diversity is lost. Defaunation is the global, local or functional extinction of
animal or species from biological communities. Biodiversity decline encompasses more
than just species loss. It also includes the loss of genetic diversity within species and loss
of ecosystems. Biodiversity loss is caused by five primary drivers: invasive species,
habitat loss, pollution climate change associated with global warming, over exploitation
(over fishing, over hunting and overharvesting) for things like food, medicines and
timber. In each case, human beings and their activities play direct roles.
14. Habitat destruction: Habitat destruction is the process by which natural habitats
becomes incapable to support the native species, resulting in the displacement or
destruction of its biodiversity.
15. Land degradation: Land degradation is defined as the reduction or loss of the biological
or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, woodlands, irrigated
cropland, pasture, forest, resulting from natural processes, land uses or other human
activities.
16. Ocean acidification: Ocean acidification refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean
over an extended period time caused primarily by uptake of carbondioxide.

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17. Manufactured products: Manufactured products such as pesticides, cleaning agents,

paper, paint, leather, plastics, pharmaceuticals and personal care products etc contribute
to the environment pollution.
18. Agriculture: The environmental impact of agriculture varies based on the wide variety of
agricultural practices employed around the world. Ultimately, the environmental impact
depends on the production practices of the system used by farmers.

Impact of human activities

1. Humans can accidentally or intentionally introduce a non-native species into an

ecosystem. They can damage native habitats, spread diseases and cause extinctions. This
can have a negative impact on the ecosystem as introduced species can compete
with native organisms and displace them.
2. Humans may destroy natural landscapes as they urbanize. This is a bad thing as it reduces
habitats and food sources.
3. Contaminated water from large factories, lack of adequate sanitation, and numerous
human interventions along water sources greatly contribute to water pollution. Industrial
wastewater and sewage are discharged directly into rivers, is getting polluted. Seas and
oceans are also hostile to aquatic life, sometimes facing oil spills with long-lasting effects
on the water.
4. Overpopulation is one of the main factors causing air pollution. Harmful factory gases are
released into the atmosphere, causing us to breathe air containing harmful substances and
pollutants, contributing to various medical conditions, including respiratory and
cardiovascular disease.
5. The major impacts on agriculture are deforestation, soil erosion, and the depletion of
nutrients. There have been both positive and negative consequences on the environment
in order to increase production. There are a number of fertilizing problems, with
micronutrient imbalances being the most common. Nitrate pollution is also a problem, as
is the overuse of fertilizers. There can be various problems caused by pesticides,
including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and biocides.
6. Global warming refers to the rapid increase in the average surface temperature of the
earth over the past 100 years, largely due to greenhouse gases emitted by people burning
the fossil fuels needed for industrialization. This is believed to be a result of the warming
of the Earth due to human actions associated with the greenhouse effect. Ice caps melt
and sea levels rise, causing tsunamis, hurricanes, and other natural disasters.
7. Ozone is a toxic gas which plays a critical role in the atmosphere and is dangerous on
earth. Humans and animals are harmed by the UV rays emitted by the sun. Ozone
protects us from UV damage by preventing UV radiation from entering the planet. The
defensive layers have been eroded across the world over the years. This serious
deterioration was discovered in 1980s due to CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) used in

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refrigerators and fire extinguishers. Now manufacturing companies are required to

manufacture CFC-free devices worldwide.
8. Marine life is threatened by over fishing and loss of biodiversity. Water degradation
continues to impede marine life and make their lifespan uncertain.
9. Wildlife protection is getting difficult as their habitat are constantly threatened and
destroyed. The main causes of habitat loss are water pollution and deforestation.
Deforestation provides abundant land for humans, but for animals it means losing their
homes.
10. The poor housing situation causes directly measurable effects on the physical and mental
health of the citizens. The modern high-tech buildings can cause health problems due to
indoor air pollution. The manufacture of plastics causes the production of greenhouse
gases such as carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds and polyvinyl chloride. The
production of metals from their ores has several environmental impacts, some of which
may be carcinogenic (cancer-causing).
11. Mining is the process of extracting valuable minerals and metals from the earth. The
environmental damage caused by mining activities can include deforesting and damaging
of the landscape, groundwater contamination, surface water pollution, air pollution, and
workplace health hazards.
12. The activities of the transportation industry release millions of tons of gas into the
atmosphere each year. These include lead (Pb), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide
(CO2), methane (CH4), nitrogen oxides (NOx), nitrous oxide (N2O), chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFC), heavy metals (zinc, chromium, copper, cadmium) and
particulate matter (ash, dust). Acid rain affects construction, reduces agricultural
production and leads to forest decline.

2.5 SUMMARY

Ecology is the scientific study of interactions between organisms and its environment. Ecological
factor is any factor biotic or abiotic that influences plants and organisms. Ecological factors can
be classified into five divisions- climatic factors, physiographic factors, edaphic factors, biotic
factors and anthropogenic The climatic factors are grouped as: Light, temperature, precipitation
and atmospheric humidity, wind, fire. Edaphic factors are those which act upon plants through
soils. Physiographic factors are those associated with the physical nature of the area. Such factors
include topography of the area, slope of the land, land elevation from Sea level, silting and
blowing up of sand, degree of erosion etc. Biotic factors are the other, living things, such as
plants, animals, microorganisms. All the human activities, responsible for a number of changes
in a variety of ecosystems is termed as Anthropogenic factors. Anthropogenic factors constitute
the primary deterministic causes of species declines and extinction.

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2.6 GLOSSARY

ATP: The energy released during oxidation of energy rich compounds is made available for
activities of cells through an intermediate compound called Adenosine triphosphate.
Topography: Topography is the land scale shape which is determined by the aspects of slopes
and elevations.
Ecology: The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
Predation: The preying of one animal on others.
Phototropism: Plants in response to light stimulus.
Phototaxis: An organisms movement in response to light.
Soil Profile: The vertical layered structure of soil.
Precipitation: A form of water, such as rain, snow, or sleet, that condenses from the atmosphere
and falls to the earth’s surface.
Humidity: It is defined as the amount of wetness or water vapour in the air.
Transpiration: The process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial
parts, such as leaves, stems, and flowers.
Heliophytes: Plants which grow in bright Sunlight.
Sciophytes: Plants which grow in the shades.
Edaphic factor: The physical or chemical composition of the soil found in a particular area.
Stratum: A layer or a series of layers of rock in the ground.
Humus: The organic components of soil, formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant
material by soil microorganisms.
Capillary water: Water that remains in the soil after gravitational water is drained out.
Gravitational water: Free water that moves through the soil due to the force of gravity.

2.7 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION

2.7.1 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Which of the following interaction is beneficial to both the parents?
(a) Competition (b) Mutualism
(c) Commensalism (d) Parasitism
2. Environmental factors which deal with the structure of soil are termed as-
(a) Biotic factors (b) Edaphic factors
(c) Topographic factors (d) Climatic factors
3. Ecosystem has two components:
(a) Biotic and abiotic (b) Frogs and lizards
(c) Plants & animals (d) Man and animals
4. Plant group growing in zones where high temperature alternates with low temperature are
called:

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(a) Mesotherms (b) Microtherms

(c) Hekistotherms (d) Megatherms
5. The branch of biology that deals with the study of interaction between organisms and
environment is called-
(a) Morphology (b) Metrology
(c) Ecology (d) Physiology
6. Plants which blooms when the light duration is more than 12 hours per day is known as:
(a) Long day plants (b) Short day plants
(c) Day neutral plants (d) Long day and short night plants
7. The plant of cold or temperate habitat require low temperature for their growth are called-
(a) Megatherms (b) Mesotherms
(c) Microtherms (d) Ekistotherms
8. Edaphic factors are included in:
(a) Abiotic components (b) Biotic components
(c) Producers (d) Consumers
9. Which of the following is an abiotic component?
(a) Plants (b) Animals
(c) Soil (d) Microorganisms
10. The Law of tolerance presented by which of the following Scientists:
(a) Victor Ernest Shelford (b) Justus Liebig
(c) F.F. Blackman (d) None
11. The science dealing with soil is called
(a) Pedology (b) Aerology
(c) Geology (d) Palaeontology
12. Plants absorb from the soil
(a) Hygroscopic water (b) Capillary water
(c) Gravitational water (d) Both hygroscopic and gravitational water

2.7.2 True and False

1. An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with each other and their
non-living environment.
2. A.G. Tansley coined the term “ecosystem” as a biological assemblage interacting with its
associated physical environment and located in a specific area.
3. The environment includes only physical and biological components, not the chemical.
4. The biotic (living) environmental factors which include interactions between different
populations and instinctive control mechanism.
5. Flowering in plants is affected by temperature through thermoperiodism.
6. The sex ratio in the copepod Macrocyclops albidus is determined by temperature.
7. Humidity is greatly influenced by intensity of solar radiation, wind, water, status of soil,
temperature, altitude etc.

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8. The tropical storms are known as hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, typhoons in the
western Pacific Ocean and cyclones in the western Pacific Ocean.
9. The wind does not affects rate of transpiration.
10. The fire influences only the living component but not physical elements of environment.

2.7.3 Fill in the blanks

1. _____ is one of the most important ecological factors called edaphic factors.
2. Soil are complex mixture of minerals, water, air, organic matter and countless _____ that
are the decaying remains.
3. The uppermost horizon of soil profile is called _____.
4. In the soil, a small portion of soil water is chemically bound with soil material which is
called _____.
5. Soil pH is a measure of the amount of _____ present in the soil.
6. Nutrient absorption by roots is a process of _____ at the surface.
7. _____ factors are those that are associated with the physical nature of an area.
8. _____ between two or more species can be found in any community.
9. The perfect example of symbiotic relationship between two plants is _____.
10. _____ is an interspecific interaction between two species that benefits both members.

Answer Key:
2.7.1- 1. (b), 2. (b), 3. (a), 4. (a), 5. (c), 6. (a), 7. (c), 8. (a), 9. (c), 10. (a), 11. (a), 12. (b)
2.7.2- 1. True; 2. True; 3. False; 4. True; 5. True; 6. True; 7. True; 8. True; 9. False; 10. False
2.7.3- 1. Soil; 2. Organisms; 3. O horizon; 4. combined water; 5. hydrogen ions; 6. ion
exchange; 7. Physiographic; 8. Interspecific; 9. Lichen; 10. Mutualism

2.8 REFERENCES

 Singh H.R. (2005), Environmental Biology, S. Chand & company.

 Sahoo A.K. (2001), The Text book of forest ecology, biodiversity and conservation,
International Book Distributors.
 Shukla R.S. & Chandel P.S. (1972), A Text book of Plant Ecology, S. Chand &
company.
 Agarwal S.K. (2008), Fundamentals of Ecology, APH Publishing Corporation.
 Singh. J.S, Singh S.P. & Gupta S.R. (2014), Ecology, Environmental Science and
 Conservation, S. Chand & company
 B.P. Pandey (2007), Botany for Degree Students (B.Sc.III), S. Chand & company
 https://www.fire.ca.gov>media>b

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 https://www.britanica.com>list>5
 https://www.pacificbio.org>initiatives
 https://en.m.wikipedia.org
 https://www.brainkart.com>article
 https://www.assignmentexpert.com
 https://homeguides.sfgate.com>can
 https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/mauisoil/a_profile.aspx

2.9 SUGGESTED READINGS

 Environmental Biology, 2005 by Dr. H.R Singh, S. Chand & company.

 The Text book of forest ecology, biodiversity and conservation, by Sahoo A.K. (2001),
International Book Distributors.
 A Text book of Plant Ecology by R.S. Shukla & P.S. Chandel (1972), S. Chand &
company.
 Fundamentals of Ecology, S.K. Agarwal (2008), APH Publishing Corporation.
 Ecology, Environmental Science and Conservation, J.S, Singh, S.P. Singh. & S.R. Gupta
(2014), S. Chand & company
 Botany for Degree Students (B.Sc.III), B.P. Pandey (2007), S. Chand & company

2.10 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

2.10.1 Short answer type questions

1. Briefly describe the biotic factors.
2. Write a note on the classification of organisms according to temperature tolerance.
3. Categorize the different type of forest fire.
4. Write a note on the soil moisture
5. Write a note on the antagonism.

2.10.2 Long answer type questions

1. Define Ecology. Discuss in detail about the climatic factor.
2. What is soil profile? Describe it in detail.
3. Differentiate between:
(a) Parasitism and Predation
(b) Competition and ammensalism
4. Give a detailed note on importance of light factor.
5. Explain about the physiographic factor.

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UNIT-3- ECOSYSTEM STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING

Contents:

3.1 Objectives
3.2 Introduction
3.3 Structure of ecosystem
3.3.1 Abiotic components
3.3.2 Biotic components
3.4 Homeostasis
3.5 Trophic level and food chain
3.6 Ecological pyramids
3.7 Functioning of ecosystem
3.7.1 Ecological energetic and energy flow
3.7.2 Biogeochemical cycles
3.8 Summary
3.9 Glossary
3.10 Self assessment questions
3.10.1 Multiple choice questions
3.10.2 Fill in the blanks
3.10.3 True and False
3.11 References
3.12 Suggested readings
3.13 Terminal questions
3.13.1 Short answer type questions
3.13.2 Long answer type questions

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3.1 OBJECTIVES
The present topic provides an overview of structure, organization, composition and functioning
of the ecosystem. After reading this topic you will be learn about:

 Structure of ecosystem and their components.

 Able to distinguish abiotic and biotic factors of ecosystems.
 Homeostasis of ecosystem.
 Tropical level and food chain.
 Ecological pyramids and their types.
 Ecological energetic and energy flow in the ecosystem.
 Biogeochemical cycles

3.2 INTRODUCTION

The ecosystem refers to as a community of life forms interacting with non-living components in
a same system. In a basic form environment means the surroundings. It refers to those
circumstances around the organisms which influence their life, development, evolution and
populations through directly or indirectly. Living component and environment component, which
are non separable, construct the ecosystem and the ecosystem cannot exist if one of these
components is absent. The living components interact with each other along with their prevailing
environmental conditions.

A.G. Tansley for the first time put forth the concept of ecosystem in 1935. He described that
ecosystem is the major ecological unit which have their own specific structure and functions.
The structure of ecosystem depict about the species diversity. This indicates that the ecosystem
structure will be more complex if the species diversity is high. The functioning of ecosystem is
associated with energy flow and cyclic of nutrients in ecosystem through the structural
components. The ecosystem has been defined by the various scientists from time to time.
According to Clarke the living component and the physical features of the habitat form an
ecological complex or more briefly an ecosystem. Woodbury describes the ecosystem as a
complex structure in which habitat, plants and animals are considered as one unit, the materials
and energy of one passing in and out of the others. According to E.P. Odum, the ecosystem is the
basic functional unit of organisms and their environment interacting with each other and with
their own components.

The earth contains many ecosystems and all these ecosystems are interlinked to one another, for
example the ecosystem of river is connected with the ecosystem of ocean. A complete self-
sufficient ecosystem is rarely found in nature but situations approaching self-sufficiency may

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occur. As mentioned above that each ecosystem has its own structure and functions, so in this
chapter we will discuss all these components in detail.

3.3 STRUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEM

The structure of an ecosystem principally gives the information regarding the living components
(organisms) and physical factors (temperature, moisture, pH etc) of the environment as well as
the allocation of nutrients in a meticulous habitat. It also provides information concerning the
climatic conditions existing in that particular environment. Ecosystems are controlled or
influenced in a very extensive way by these external and internal factors. From the structural
point of view, the ecosystem can be divided into two components i.e., Abiotic and biotic
components (Fig. 3.1).

Fig. 3.1: Composition of ecosystem on the structural point of view

3.3.1 Abiotic components:

Abiotic components of the ecosystem include those components which are non living. These are
basically the inorganic and organic elements and compounds of the environment or habitat of the
organism. The inorganic components of the environment are oxygen, carbon dioxide, water,
nitrogen, calcium carbonates, phosphates etc, all of which are involve in the biogeochemical
cycles. On the other hand, the organic components listed as amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates,

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lipids and all of which are synthesized by the flora and funna (biota) and are reached to
ecosystem after decomposing their remains by the microorganisms.

Abiotic components also include the physical factors such as temperature, soil etc. These
physical factors can be categorized as climatic factors and edaphic factors. Climatic factors
incorporated the rain, temperature, light, solar energy, wind current, humidity, moisture etc.
Radiant energy of the sun is the only significant energy source for any ecosystem. The edaphic
factors integrated with the soil, pH, topography, minerals etc.

Functions of abiotic components:

1. Soils, a complex mixture, supply nutrients and water, serve as growing medium and
habitat of many organisms. The vegetation is closely linked to the soil through nutrient
cycling.
2. The atmosphere provides CO2 to plants for the process of photosynthesis and oxygen to
living organisms for respiration. The processes of evaporation, transpiration and
precipitation take place between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface.
3. Solar radiation is utilized in an ecosystem for heating the atmosphere and to evaporate the
water into the atmosphere. Sunlight is required to plants for photosynthesis.
4. Water is essential for the living activities of all the organisms. It has the great importance
for the various metabolic functions of living cells because most of them require the
exclusively aqueous media. It is used by the cell as a transporting media for the food,
nitrogen waste and other necessary substances. It is the main component of the process of
photosynthesis in the plant and without it plant cannot synthesized their food. It is also
necessary for the maintenance of leaf turgidity. Both the plants and animals receive water
from the Earth’s surface and soil. The original source of water is precipitation from the
atmosphere.
5. Climatic and topographic conditions also regulate the type of vegetations in an
ecosystem. For example the vegetation of tropical ecosystem differs from the dessert
ecosystem and the vegetation of hill region is quite different from the plain region. These
differences in vegetation occur due to the climatic and topographic conditions,
respectively prevailing on that particular ecosystem.

3.3.2 Biotic Components:

Biotic components included all the living organisms present in the environment of ecosystem.
The biotic components can be categorized into two components according to their nutrition point
of view:

1. Autotrophic components: All the green plants, which synthesized their own food from
the simple inorganic compounds (CO2 and H2O) with the help of sun light by the process
of photosynthesis in which carbon dioxide is assimilated and the light energy is converted
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into chemical energy and oxygen is evolved as by-product, are grouped under the
autotrophic components. These are also called the producers. Apart from the chlorophyll
bearing green plants, chemosynthetic bacteria and purple bacteria also belong to this
category.

2. Heterotrophic components: All the living organisms (non-green plants and all animals)
which are not capable to synthesize their own food and depend on the autotrophs for their
food requirement are grouped under heterotrophic components of ecosystem. They may
be consumers and decomposers.

a) Consumers: The consumers further divided into four categories;

(i). Primary consumers: This group of consumers is principally the herbivorous

animals which are dependent on producers to obtain their food. Elton (1949) termed
the herbivores as “key industry animals”. All the insects, rabbit, rodents, deer, goat,
cow, buffalo etc are some of the common herbivores in the terrestrial ecosystem,
and small crustaceans, molluscs, etc. in the aquatic habitat. The herbivores animals
serve as the food source for secondary consumers.

(ii). Secondary consumers: This group of animals consumes the primary consumers as
food source and simply called carnivores and omnivores. Carnivores are only
predator, flesh eating animals while the omnivores are adapted to consume both
plants and herbivores for the source of energy. Some examples of secondary
consumers for aquatic ecosystem are frog, krill, small fish etc and for terrestrial
ecosystem are spider, snake, crow, sparrow, fox, wolves, dog, cat etc.

(iii). Tertiary consumers: These are the large size animals that depend on secondary
consumers for their food. These are strictly omnivore in nature. Example: wolf,
eagle for terrestrial ecosystem and big fish, seals and sea lions, jellyfish, eels, turtles
etc for aquatic ecosystem.

(iv). Quaternary consumers: These are also called fourth order consumers which are
present in some food chains. These animals prey on tertiary consumers for energy.
Furthermore, they are usually at the top of a food chain as they have no natural
predators. Examples are lions and tigers for terrestrial ecosystem and shark, whale
etc for aquatic ecosystem.

Apart from these different classes of consumers, the scavengers, parasites and
saprobes are also placed in the consumer category. The parasites (including animals
and plants) live on and in the other organisms (called host) and get their nutrition
from the host to survive. The saprobes and scavengers consume debris of plants and
animals as their foodstuff.

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b) Decomposers: Decomposers are also known as transformers. They are chiefly

microscopic or very small in size (fungi and bacteria) which decompose the dead
residue of producers and consumers. They convert the complex organic substances
into simpler compounds and finally convert into the inorganic forms which are easily
reused by producers in the ecosystem. They play a significant role in maintaining the
nutrients dynamic in nature.

3.4 HOMEOSTASIS
Every ecosystem sustains a biological balance between its various components and this
phenomenon is known as homeostasis or biological equilibrium or balance of nature. This
process is controlled by the numerous factors including carrying capacity of the system,
capability of recycling and the reproduction potential of the organisms (Fig. 3.2). The individual
constituent ensures the population of the other constituent in ecosystem which referred as
feedback system. The feedback system can categorize into two systems:

(i). Positive feedback system: Increasing the population of organisms at any level when
impose the positive effects on other level organisms is known as positive feedback
system. For example, if the population of plants increases it promotes the population of
primary consumers which ultimately increases the numbers of secondary consumers and
so on.

(ii). Negative feedback system: When growing populations of organisms compel the
negative effects on the population of others. This process is known as negative feedback
system. For example, if the insectivorous population exceeds beyond the caring capacity
of the system it leads to impose the negative impact on the insect population.

Homeostatic Mechanisms

Due to the disperse nature of ecosystem, the negative feedback control more diffusely than in
physiology. There is no central dispensation element to apply or organize a negative feedback.
Instead, it frequently appears from interactions among species and individuals, and among
species, individuals and their environment. In ecosystem, negative feedbacks that established
system characteristics are usually referred to as homeostatic mechanisms.

Stabilizing effects of limiting resources

In general, mechanism of homeostatic controls many properties of the systems including the
interaction between resources and their consumers. An extensively mentioned example of

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interaction between prey and predators demonstrate how resource and consumer dynamics can
result in the negative feedbacks which balanced the system. We can understand it better with the
help of an example. Let suppose, if rat is a prey and owl is its predator. In this case, a population
of prey initially increases consequentially increasing in the populations of predators because of
resources accessibility for their predator. Because the increase in the population of predators is a
consequence of breeding and survival in prey, therefore, the increasing population of prey
initially provides the motivation to increase the predator population. As number of predator
increases, the need for hunting increases simultaneously and the increase in mortality for prey
leads to a declines in their populations. As resources shrink, predator population decreases with
high mortality and there is no longer support for maintain a high predator load in the system,
which ultimately reduces predator population. The above discussed model is a particular case of
a common procedure that takes place across the systems. When food resources is limited, they
place strong stabilization constraints on community dynamics. In any system, when utilization of
resources via one constituent increases, it must be harmonized by reduce in consumption by
other constituents because availability of resources are inadequate.

Fig. 3.2: Mechanism of homeostasis in the ecosystem

Often, the primary resource plays a role in limiting factor where the system initially counters to
enhance that resource. However, with the main resource limitation, some additional resources
become a limiting factor on the system. For example, in a dense tropical forest ecosystem, short

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heighted plants are primarily limited by availability of sunlight but when the sunlight limitation
is released nitrogen can turn into a limiting resource restraining plant response. Various resource
constraints can cause discrepancy between short-term and long-term responses to change as
initial changes are slowed or even reversed by the implementation of new constraints.

Sometime the ecological stabilization regulated by more than one potential limiting factors.
Environment alterations are occur either by natural or manmade resulted increases in the
resource. Consequential prompt alterations in state characteristics since present system
equilibrate to the new limitations. Example: Carbon and nitrogen are considered as
macronutrients which are essential for the plant growth and productivity but sometimes both the
elements serve as limiting factors for productivity in an ecosystem. Here, the system could be
prevented from responding to an increase in single resource except both limiting resources
change.

Compensatory dynamics

It is a fundamental homeostatic mechanism and takes place when exploitation of resources of

some species is coordinated by decreases in other species. While resource limitations produce the
circumstances for negative feedbacks, compensatory dynamics are often required for keeping a
stable state between resource use and resource accessibility. Without compensatory dynamics,
strong fluctuations in only a few dominant species would result in large changes in system
properties, regardless of the presence of constraints on the system. This balance between
increases and decreases in species populations is often referred to as species compensation or
compensatory dynamics. The inadequacy of resources impels a negative feedback to intensifying
consumption by the community. Because the resources are utilized by species for their survival,
reproduction, maintenance and the resource constriction control mortality, birth rate and net
production. So, resource limitations are crucial for stabilizing overall consumption as well as for
stabilizing system-level properties such as total abundance, standing, and biomass production.

3.5 TROPHIC LEVELS AND FOOD CHAIN

When we consider the function of an ecosystem, we must describe the flow of energy and the
cycling of nutrients. That is, we are interested in things like how the plants trapped the solar
energy and how much plant martial is eaten by herbivores, and how many herbivores are eaten
by the carnivores.

The word trophic derives from a Greek word (trophē) meaning food or nourishment. The concept
was first developed in 1942 by Raymond Lindeman, based on the terminology of August
Thienemann (1926) "producers", "consumers" and "reducers" (modified to "decomposers" by
Lindeman) (Thienemann 1926; Lindeman, 1942). The trophic level in an ecosystem may be
defined as a position occupied by an organism in a food chain. The food chain is a sequence of

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organisms which eat other organisms and may, in turn, be eaten themselves. The trophic level of
an organism is the number of steps it is from the start of the chain. Therefore, the number of
trophic levels is equal to the number of steps in a food chain. The various trophic levels in a food
chain are;

 Level 1: Primary producers (e.g., all the green plants synthesize their own food)
 Level 2: Herbivores or primary consumers (eat plants).
 Level 3: Carnivores or secondary consumers (eat herbivores).
 Level 4: Carnivores of higher level or tertiary consumers (eat other carnivores).
 Level 5: Apex predators: have no predators and are at the top of their food chain.

Any food chain necessarily starts from trophic level 1 with primary producers and proceeds to
herbivores at level 2, than carnivores at level 3 or higher, and terminates with apex predators at
level 4 or 5. For example: Let’s consider a food chain of the terrestrial ecosystem (Fig. 3.3), in
this food chain four trophic levels are present. Grass form the first trophic level and hawk forms
the last (forth trophic level) or top consumer. Grasshopper and frog are the intermediated trophic
levels between these two.

Fig. 3.3: Diagram showing the various trophic levels in a food chain

Limited number of trophic levels in a food chain

A large portion of energy is lost at each trophic level in a food chain. This results in lesser
amount of energy being transfer on by the organisms at one trophic level to the next trophic

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level. This is why the number of trophic levels in a food chain is limited. As the numbers of
trophic levels in a food chain increases, organisms at the extreme right side of the food chain
received least amount of energy. This limits the number of trophic levels or steps in a food chain
to five or six.

Organisms of one trophic level have the same food habit but may have several food resources
like leaves, seeds, fleshy food, grasses etc. thus, a group of species belonging to a trophic level
which consumes a common resource base is known as guild, e.g., nectar feeding birds, grazing
animals etc. Thus an ecosystem has a limited number of trophic levels because:

1. There is a loss of food energy at each transfer.

2. Food is not completely utilized by the organisms of a trophic level and some part of the
food goes waste.
3. A large amount of energy is used in respiration.

Food chain

There is passage of material from producers through primary, secoundry, tertiary to top
consumers. Individuals related in this manner constitute a food chain. Thus a food chain can be
defined as a group of organisms in which there is a transfer of food energy through a series of
repeated eating and being eaten.

Composition of food chain

A food chain being with producers green plants and ends with the top consumers, which is not
preyed upon by anyone. In general, a food chain may be represented as:

For the producers, the Sun is the source of the energy. Green plants along are able to trap the
solar energy which they use to reduce the carbon from CO 2. This carbon forms carbohydrates,
fats and proteins. Energy trapped in these compounds is stored in the plants and forms the
primary source of energy supply to all other living organisms. Thus plants are the producers of
the ecosystem.

In animal community, the herbivores are the primary consumers. These organisms are eaten by
the secoundry consumers which may include carnivores or omnivores.

Ecological principles of food chain

Following important ecological principles emerge from the study of food chain:

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1. A food chain always begins with photosynthesis by following a series of consumers and
end with decomposition. Thus the flow of energy from the sun to producers is
unidirectional.
2. The more steps in food chain lead to wastage of energy. Therefore, the shorter food chain
is more efficient.
3. The size of the population is determined by the number of trophic levels in a food chain.
With the decrease in useful energy at each step, there is a decrease in the population size.
Thus the size of the population of quaternary consumers is less than that of tertiary
consumers and that of tertiary consumers are smaller than secoundry consumers.

Types of food chain

Basically there are two types of food chain has recognized in an ecosystem: grazing food chain
and detritus food chain.

1. Grazing food chain: It is a normal type of food chain which starts from the green plants
and ends at carnivores by passing through herbivores. In herbivores, the assimilation of
food can be stored as carbohydrates, proteins ad fats. The ultimate disposition of energy
in herbivores occurs by three routes: respiration, decaying of organic matters by the
microorganisms and consumption by the carnivores. Primary carnivores or secoundry
carnivores eat herbivores or primary consumer. Similarly, secoundry carnivores or
tertiary carnivores eat primary carnivores. The total energy assimilated by the primary
carnivores is derived entirely from the tissues of herbivores. Its disposition into
respiration, decay and further consumption by other carnivores is analogous with that of
herbivores. The energy flow the grazing food chain can be described in term of trophic
level as:

The food chain demonstrated that the amount of energy found at any trophic level, the
transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next, and the amount of energy lost from
this food chain. Further, the predator food chain starts with herbivores and goes from
smaller to large predators. i.e., herbivorous are primary consumers and predators are the
secoundry and tertiary consumers. The size of the predators increases at ah level in the
food chain. Predators of the first level are smaller than those of secound level.

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The parasitic food chain also starts with the herbivores but food energy passes from large
to smaller organisms. Therefore, the larger animals are the host and the smaller organisms
which fulfill their nourishment from the host are described as parasitic.

2. Detritus food chain: The food chain that passes through dead organic matter is known as
detritus food chain. It represents an important component in the energy flow of an
ecosystem. In some ecosystems, considerably more energy flows through the detritus
food chain as compare to the grazing food chain. Here, the energy flow is continues
passage rather than a stepwise flow between different trophic levels. Detritus organisms
ingest partially decomposed organic matter, digest them partially after utilizing some of
the energy in the food to run their metabolism, excrete the remains in the form of simpler
organic molecules. The waste for one organism is immediately utilized by the secound
one which repeats the process.

Fig. 3.4: Different trophic levels of a detritus food chain

Detritus food chain operates in the decomposing, accumulating litter in temperate forest
and mangroves. For example, in mangroves, leaves of Rhizophora fall into the warm,
shallow waters. The fallen leaves are acted upon by saprophytic fungi, bacteria and
protozoa etc. and are eaten by a group of small animals, e.g., crabs, insect larvae,
shrimps, amphicpodes etc. All these animals are called detritus consumers. These
organisms are eaten by other organisms (game fish etc) which in turn are eaten by the
large fish and fish eaten otter or birds etc. Such animal are referred to as the top
consumers. Thus a detritus food chin ends up like a grazing food chain. However, in this
food chain, the detritus consumers are mixed population of various trophic levels. These
include herbivorous, omnivores and primary consumers. These detritus feeders obtain
some of their energy directly from plant material, most of it from microorganisms and
some through carnivores.

Detritus organisms ingest pieces of particular decomposed organic matter, digest them
partially, after extracting some of the chemical energy in the food to run their
metabolism, excrete the remainder in the form of slightly simpler organic molecules. The

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waste from one organism can immediately be utilized by a secound which repeats the
process. Gradually, the complex molecules present in the organic wastes or dead tissue
are broken down to much similar compounds, sometime all the way to carbon dioxide
and water. In most instances, however the organic material is broken down until all the
easily biodegradable material has been degraded, and all that is left are some refractory
organic substances termed humic acid or simply, humus. In a normal environment the
humus is quite stable and will form an essential part of the soil.

Links between grazing and detritus food chain

Just as the energy enters the detritus food chain from the grazing food chain as leaf litter or dead
organisms, energy can re-enter the grazing food chain from the detritus food chain if organisms
from the latter are composed by grazers (Verma and Agarwal 2008). Considering the diversity of
the detritus community, it is not surprising that many of these serve as prey for carnivores in the
grazing food chain. A common example is robins eating earthworms. In addition, many insects
among them beetle and files spend their larval period in the detritus food chain and their
adulthood in the grazing food chain. But through such links where energy passes from detritus
food chain basic into grazing food chain, very little amount of energy is passed in comparison to
the amount of energy which flow from grazing food chain to detritus food chain.

Food Web

The food chain, as a matter of fact, does not occur in isolation. Since many animals eat more
than one kind of food, different kinds of food chains exist in an ecosystem. This network of
interconnected food chain is called food web. Thus food web may be defined as the network of a
number of food chains existing in an ecosystem.

Unlike a food chain, food web as several alternative pathways for the flow of energy. In the food
web shown in Fig. 3.4, there are several food chains operating in a food web. The food web starts
from the plants which are producers and ends with the top carnivore.

Characteristic features of a food web

1. In a food web, no food chain is independent and no liner arrangement of food chain is
occurs.
2. It is formed by the interlinking of three types of food chains: predators chins, parasitic
chains and saprophytic chains.
3. Food web provides alternative pathways of food availability, i.e., if a particular crop fails
the herbivorous graze on other type of crop. Thus, greater the number alternative
pathways, more stable the ecosystem.

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4. Food web helps in checking over population of highly fecundative species of animals and
plants.
5. The position of n animal in a food web is determined by the age and the size of the
species and availability of the food source.
6. A food web operates according to taste and food preferences of the organism at each
trophic level. Availability of food source is also very important i.e., In Sunderban of
India, in the absence of its natural prey, tiger eats fish and crabs.

Fig. 3.4: Diagram showing the food web in an ecosystem where a number of food chains interlinked to
construct a food web

3.6 ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID

In the successive steps of grazing food chain- photosynthetic autotrophs, herbivorous
heterotrops, carnivorous heterotrops, decay bacteria- a number and mass of organisms in each
step is limited by the amount of energy available. Since some energy is lost as heat, in each
transformation the step become progressively smaller near to the top. This relationship is
sometimes called “ecological pyramid”. The ecological pyramids represent the trophic structure
and also trophic function of the ecosystem. In many ecological pyramids, the producers from the
base and the successive trophic levels make up the apex.

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Thus, communities of terrestrial ecosystems and shallow water ecosystems contain gradually
sloping ecological pyramids because these producers remain large and characterized by an
accumulation of organic matter. This trend however, does not hold for all ecosystems. In such
aqatic ecosystems as lakes and open sea, primary production is concentrated in the microscopic
algae. These algae have a short cycle, multiply rapidity, accumulate little organic matter and are
heavily exploited by herbivorous zooplankton. At any one point in the time the standing crop is
low. As a result, the pyramid of biomass for this aquatic ecosystem is invert: the base is much
smaller than the structure it supports.

Types of Ecological pyramids

The ecological pyramids (Fig. 3.5) may be the following types:

1. Pyramids of number: It depict the number of individual organisms at different trophic

levels of food chain. This pyramid was advanced by Charles Elton in 1927, who pointed
out the great differences in the numbers of the organisms involved in each step of the
food chain. The animals at the lower end (base of the pyramid) of the chain are the most
abundant. Successive links o carnivores decreases rapidly in the number until there are
very few carnivores at the top. The pyramids of number ignore the biomass of organisms
and it also does not indicate the energy transfer or the use of energy by the group
involved. The lake ecosystem provides a typical example for the pyramid of number.

2. Pyramids of biomass: the biomass of the members of the food chain present at any one
time forms the pyramid of the biomass. It indicates decrease of biomass in each trophic
level from base to apex. For example: the total biomass of producers ingested by
herbivores is more than the total biomass of the herbivores in an ecosystem. Likewise, the
total biomass of the carnivores will be less than the herbivores and so on.

3. Pyramid of energy: When production is considered in terms of energy, the pyramid

indicates not only the amount of energy flow at each level, but more important, the actual
role the various organisms play in the transfer of energy. The base upon which the
pyramid of energy is constructed is the quantity or organisms produced per unit time, or
in other words, the rate at which food material passes through the food chain. Some
organisms may have a small biomass but the total energy they assimilate and pass on may
be considerably greater than that of organisms with a much larger biomass. Energy
pyramids are always slopping because less energy is transferred from each trophic level
than was paid into it. In case such as in open water communities the producers have less
bulk than consumers but the energy they store and pass on must be greater than that of
the nest level. Otherwise, the biomass that producers support could not be greater than
that of the producers themselves. This high energy flow is maintained by a rapid turnover
of individual plankton, rather than an increase of the total mass.

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Importance of ecological pyramid

1. It shows the trophic levels of diverse organisms in different ecosystems.

2. The existing situation of any ecosystem can be examined with the help of ecological
pyramids.
3. Ecological pyramids are important in estimating the efficiency of energy transfer in an
ecosystem.

Fig. 3.5: Ecological Pyramids; (a). Pyramid of number, (b). Pyramid of biomass, (c). pyramid of energy

Limitations of the ecological pyramid

1. These pyramids are applicable only to simple food chains, which usually do not occur
naturally.
2. More than one species may occupy multiple trophic levels as in case of the food web.
Thus, this system does not take into account food webs.
3. They do not consider the possibility of the existence of the same species at different
levels.
4. The saprophytes are not considered in any of the pyramids even though they form an
important part of the various ecosystems.
5. These pyramids do not deliver any concept in relation to variations in season and climate.

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3.7 FUNCTIONING OF ECOSYSTEM

When we consider the function of an ecosystem, we must describe the flow of energy and the
cycling of nutrients .That is why, we are interested in thinks like how much sunlight is trapped
by plants in the year, how much plants material is eaten by herbivores, and how many herbivores
are eaten by carnivores. Ecosystem functions are conceived as a subset of ecological processes
and ecosystem structures. Natural processes, in turn, are the result of complex interactions
between biotic (living organisms) and abiotic (chemical and physical) components of ecosystems
through the universal driving forces of matter and energy. The flow of energy in an ecosystem
and nutrient cycle (biogeochemical cycle) discuss in this chapter in detail.

3.7.1 Ecological energetics and energy flow

Living organisms can use energy in several forms. But all can be grouped under one of the two
headings: radiant energy and fixed energy. Radiant energy occurs in the form of electromagnetic
waves such as light. Fixed energy is potential chemical energy bound up in various organic
substances which can be broken down or reached with something else in order to release their
energy content.

Only a small fraction of the light energy reaching the earth is trapped; considerable areas of the
earth have no plants and plants can utilize in photosynthesis only about 3% to 10% of the
incident energy. This radiant energy of sun is converted into chemical or potential energy by
photosynthesis in plants, the photosynthetic autotrophs:

Fig. 3.6: Diagram showing the production and utilization of fixed carbon by photosynthetic plants (After
Clapham Jr. 1973)

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The reaction is catalyzed by certain pigments (e.g., chlorophylls) in the cells. The product of this
reaction is carbohydrate such as sugar (glucose) shown above. This sugar can have several
destinations: it can be converted to a relatively inert energy rich organic substance such as starch,
and stored; it can be combined with other sugar molecules to form specialized such as starch and
stored; it can be combined with other sugar molecules to form specialized carbohydrate such as
cellulose, which are used by the plants for specific purposes; and it can be combined with other
substances-such as nutrient substances such as nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur to build
complex molecules like proteins, nucleic acids, pigments and hormones. All these types of
reactions are necessary for normal growth and maintenance of body tissues and functions of the
plants (Fig. 3.6). All required energy which is provided by oxidation of some of the sugar
produced by photosynthesis to give CO2, H2O and usable chemical energy. Oxidation of sugar or
any other organic molecule to get usable energy by organism is called respiration. The energy
released by respiration is lost permanently to the ecosystem.

Primary Production

All the energy that the plant actually fixes results in the formation of sugar. Conversely, all the
sugar produced in the leaves of green plants is derived from carbon dioxide and water which
have been combined by the solar energy. Thus, one can speak of the energy incorporated into
living tissue either in terms of the light energy utilized or in term of sugar produced. Because all
the energy used by the plant is converted into chemical energy, it should theoretically be possible
to determine the entire energy uptake by the plants by measuring the total amount of sugar
produced. This quantity is termed gross primary production or gross productivity. Because it is
not easy to measure gross primary production in most ecosystem because some of the sugar
produced by photosynthesis is lost immediately through respiration. So, if one measures the total
organic material actually present in the plant (biomass) then indirectly will measure the gross
primary production less the respiration or net primary production. In addition, there are direct
measurement techniques involving the rate of uptake of radioactive carbon 14C. Productivity is
generally express in term of grams or kilo-grams per sq meter per day or per year. It can be also
be expressed as Pg=Pn+R, where Pg is the gross productivity or energy used to do work, P n is net
productivity and R i the respiration or energy to do the work. Net production is an increase of
stored energy with time, while biomass is total stored energy at any time. If gross production
equals to the respiration (Pg=R) no change in energy content results. But when P g is less than R
biomass decreases and when Pg is greater than R there is an accumulation of biomass.

The gross productivity is dependent on many things, including climatic conditions such as
temperature, rainfall and total solar radiations and other abiotic factors as the availability of
nutrients material essential for life. Following Table 3.1 lists the gross primary production or
gross productivity over one year for several different environments.

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Table 3.1: Estimated annual gross primary production of a range of ecosystem (Odom 1971;
Clapham Jr. 1973).

Ecosystems Area Gross primary productivity

(106 km2) (ly./Yr.)
Marine
1. Open Ocean 326.0 100
2. Costal zones 34.0 200
3. Up welling zones 0.4 600
4. Estuaries and reefs 2.0 2000
Terrestrial
1. Desert and Tundras 40.0 20
2. Grasslands 42.0 250
3. Dry forests 9.4 250
4. Boreal coniferous forests 10.0 300
5. Cultivated lands 10.0 300
6. Moist temperate forests 4.9 800
7. Mechanized agriculture 4.0 1200
8. Wet tropical, sub tropical forests 14.7 2000

Secoundry Production

The potential energy resulting from primary production furnishers the energy required by the
other trophic levels in an ecosystem. Some energy, in the form of food is consumed by
herbivores or omnivores who may be eaten by carnivores that in turn may be eaten by the other
carnivores. However much of this ingested food is not assimilated; herbivores may assimilate
only 10 percent their ingested food, whereas the assimilation coefficiency of carnivores is
typically higher. For example various species of fish absorbed between 86 to 96 percent of the
ingested food but the efficiency absorption of different classes of food substances varied: about
92-98% of the ingested protein was absorbed, while only 80 percent of the fat and about 63-79%
of carbohydrates was the absorbed by the fish (Pandian, 1967). The unassimilated materials
leaves the animal’s body as waste material to serve as an energy source for other organisms (for
initiation of detritus food chain). Assimilated energy is used by these consumers species for
various metabolic process, such as respiration, excretion and secretion. The resultant amount of
energy stored in the tissues of heterotrophs is termed as net secoundary production. The gross
secoundary production is equivalent to the total plant material ingested by the herbivores, less
the materials lost as faeces. That is it is the food that actually possess through the walls of the
gut. Unlike gross primary production, gross secoundary production can be measured directly by
determining the amount of material defaecated.

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Patterns of flow of energy through the ecosystems

In the ecosystem one can observe the transfer or flow of energy from one trophic level to other in
succession. A trophic level can be define as the number of links by which it is separated from the
producers, or as the next position or the organism in the food chain. The patterns of eating and
being eaten from a linear chain called the food chain which can always be traced back to the
producers. Thus, the primary producers trap radiant energy of the sun and transfer that the
chemical or potential energy of organic compounds such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Fig. 3.7: A generalized food chain of the ecosystem

When a herbivore animal eats a plant and these organic composed are oxidized the energy
librated is just equal to the amount of energy used in the synthesizing the substances (first law of
thermodynamics), but some of the energy is heat and not useful energy (secound law of
thermodynamics). If this animal, in turn, is eaten by another animal, along with the transfer of
energy from a herbivore to carnivore a further decrease in useful energy occurs as the secound
animal (carnivore) oxidizes the organic substance of the first (herbivore) lo liberate energy to
synthesize its own cellular constituents. Such transfer of energy from organism to organism
sustains the ecosystem and when energy is transferred from individual to individual in a
particular community, as in the pound or lake or river, we come across the food chain (Fig. 3.7).

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The number of steps in a food chain is always restricted to four or five, since the energy
available decreases with each step. In other words, the energy fixed in organisms such as in
aquatic plants in pound passes through the ecosystem in the form of plant to herbivore to
carnivore, where only three steps are encountered in the chain. But very often, the chain are very
complicated with several steps includes plant to herbivore to carnivore 1 to carnivore2 to
carnivoren.

3.7.2 Biogeochemical cycles

According to the law of conservation of matter, matter is neither created nor destroyed;
obviously the carbon and nitrogen must have been used over and over again in the course of
time. The earth neither receives ant great amount of matter from other parts of the universe nor
does it loss significant amount of matter to outer space. The amount of each element such as
carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, calcium etc are taken from the environment,
made a part of some cellular component of an organisms and finally, perhaps by a quite
circuitous route involving several other organisms, are returned to the environment to be used
over again. The cyclic movements of chemical elements of the biosphere between the organism
and environment are referred to as biogeochemical cycle (Vernadsky 1934). Here, bio refers to
the living organisms and geo to the rocks, soil, air and water of the earth.

Types of Biogeochemical cycle

There are two types of biogeochemical cycles, the gaseous and sedimentary. In gaseous cycles
the main reservoir of nutrients is the atmosphere and the ocean. In sedimentary cycles the main
reservoir is the soil and the sedimentary and other rocks of the earth’s crust. Both involve biotic
and abiotic agents, both are driven by the flow of energy and both are tried to the water cycle.

Water cycle:

The atmosphere, ocean and masses from a single gigantic water system that is driven by solar
energy. The presence and movement of water in any part of the system affects the presence and
movement in other parts. In fact, the atmosphere has great significance in words water system.
At any one time the atmosphere holds no more than a 10 to 11 day supply of rainfall in the form
of vapour, clouds and ice crystals. Thus the turnover of water molecules is rapid. Because the
source of water in the atmosphere is evaporation from land and sea, there are global differences
in the amount of evaporation and the amount of moisture in the atmosphere at any given point.
Evaporation at lower altitudes is considerably greater than higher altitudes, showing the greater
heat budget produced by the direct rays of the sun. Evaporation is greater over ocean than over
land.

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Fig. 3.8: The global budget of water. The mean annual global precipitation of 83.6 cm has been
converted into 100 units (after Smith, 1977)

Thus, evaporation, precipitation, detention and transportation maintain a stable water balance on
the earth. Consider the amount of water that falls on the earth terms as 100 units (Fig. 3.8). On
the average, 84 % of water is lost from the ocean by evaporation, while only 77% of water is
gained by it from precipitation. Land area loss 16 % of water by evaporation and gain 23 % of its
by precipitation. Water runoff through rivers from land to oceans makes up 7 %, which balance
the evaporation deficit of the ocean. The remaining 7 % of water circulate as atmosphere
moisture.

(A). Gaseous cycles

The gaseous cycles geochemical cycles are following types:

1. Carbon cycle: All organic compounds that enter into the composition of living matter
contain carbon. There are three main source of carbon in the living world:

 Carbon dioxide of the air and that dissolve in ocean.

 Carbonate rocks in the earth curst.
 Fossil fuel like coal and petroleum.

The atmosphere contains 0.03 % carbon dioxide. This comes to about 1.3 × 1012 tonnes.
Ocean contains about 1.3 × 1013 tones of carbon dioxide. The atmosphere ocean system
continuously exchanges carbon dioxide with the biosphere and the lithosphere. Most of the
carbon dioxide enters the living world through photosynthesis. Plants fixed nearly 1.3 × 1010
tonnes carbon dioxide annually.

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Inside the biosphere, the movement of carbon through the food chain from the producers to
the consumers and from both these group to the decomposers. Carbon goes back the
surrounding medium as carbon dioxide for cycling in following ways:

Fig. 3.9: The carbon cycle of the earth

 By biological process of the respiration in plants and animals.

 By decay and decomposition of the dead animals and plants by the decomposers.
 By burning of wood and fossil, petroleum substances and by the dissolution of the
carbonate rocks.

The graphic representation of the carbon cycle of the earth is describe in Fig. 3.9. Animal
remains like molluscan shells and protozoan tests are deposited as carbonate rocks. Calcium
carbonate as a byproduct of photosynthesis assimilation is released by plants living in
alkaline waters. In due course of time, calcium carbonate mixed with clay turns into
limestone. Also about 100 million tons of CO2 is annually released by weathering of rocks.
Hot springs and volcanic activities also release substantial quality of CO 2 in the atmosphere.
About 40,000× 109 tonnes of CO2from the atmosphere of the past geological period is lying
buried as fossil fuels. Humans are returning about billion tons of CO2 in each year by burning
the fossil fuels in homes and factories.

2. Nitrogen cycle: Nitrogen is an essential constituent of different biologically significant

organic molecules such as amino acids, protein, pigments, nucleic acids and vitamins. It
is also a major component of the atmosphere, comprising about 78.08% of it. The

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paradox is that in its gaseous state, N2 abundant through it is unavailable to most life.
Before, it can be utilized it must be converted to some chemically usable form. So
nitrogen cycle can define as “A biogeochemical process which transforms the inert
nitrogen present in the atmosphere to a more usable form for living organisms”. The
process of nitrogen cycle (Fig. 3.10) takes place in the following stages: nitrogen
fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification and denitrification.

a) Nitrogen fixation: In nitrogen fixation, atmospheric inert nitrogen gas (N2) is

converted into the usable form ammonia (NH3). During this process, atmospheric N2
is deposited into soils mostly through the precipitation and converted into NH 4+ by
separating two nitrogen atoms and combined with hydrogen. The nitrogen fixation is
take place by the several methods:

(i). Atmospheric fixation or electro-chemical or photochemical fixation: This is

a natural phenomenon where the high energy fixation like cosmic radiation,
meteorite trails and lightning provides the high energy needed to combine
nitrogen to oxygen and hydrogen of water. The resulting ammonia and nitrates
are brings them down to the earth surface by precipitation.

(ii). Industrial nitrogen fixation: Is a man-made alternative that aids in nitrogen

fixation by the use of ammonia. Ammonia is produced by the direct combination
of nitrogen and hydrogen and later, it is converted into various fertilizers such as
urea.

(iii). Biological nitrogen fixation: Biological agencies which fix free nitrogen of the
atmosphere are many soil and water bacteria. These may be free living or
symbiotic bacteria. Most of the atmospheric nitrogen fixation takes place by the
biological fixation. Some of these nitrogen fixing organism may be free living,
either in the soil (Azobacter and Clostridium) or in water (bule green algae:
Nostoc, Calothrix and Anabaena) and produce vast quantities of fixed nitrogen.
In other case, some symbiotic bacteria of genus Rhizobium although unable to fix
atmospheric nitrogen themselves and only can do this when in combination with
cells either from the root of legumes and of other angiosperms such as Alnus,
Myrica etc. Further both free soil bacteria produce ammonia as the first stable
product and like the symbiotic bacteria, they require molybdenum as an activator
and are inhibited by an accumulation of nitrates and ammonia in the soil.

Recently, certain lichens (Collema tunaeforme and Peltigera rufescens) were

also implicated in nitrogen fixation. Lichens with nitrogen-fixing ability possess
nitrogen fixing blue green species as their algae component.

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b) Nitrification: In this process, the ammonia is converted into nitrate by the presence
of bacteria in the soil. Nitrites are formed by the oxidation of Ammonia with the help
of Nitrosomonas bacterium species. Later, the produced nitrites are converted into
nitrates by Nitrobacter. This conversion is very important as ammonia gas is toxic for
plants. The reaction involved in the process of Nitrification is as follows:

2NH4+ + 3O2 → 2NO2– + 4H+ + 2H2O

2NO2– + O2 → 2NO3–

c) Assimilation: Primary producers (plants) take in the nitrogen compounds from the
soil with the help of their roots, which are available in the form of ammonia, nitrite
ions, nitrate ions or ammonium ions and are used in the formation of the plant and
animal proteins. This way, it enters the food web when the primary consumers eat the
plants.

Fig. 3.10: Nitrogen cycle

d) Ammonification: Proteins of animals are excreted out in the form of urea, uric acid
and ammonia. Proteins of dead plants and animals are broken into ammonium ions
and the process is called ammonification. This process of decomposition produces
ammonia, which is further used for other biological processes.

e) Denitrification: Denitrification is the process in which the nitrogen compounds

makes its way back into the atmosphere by converting nitrate (NO3-) into gaseous
nitrogen (N2). This process of the nitrogen cycle is the final stage and occurs in the
absence of oxygen. Denitrification is carried out by the denitrifying bacterial species

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like Pseudomonas, which will process nitrate to gain oxygen and gives out free
nitrogen gas as a byproduct.

(B). Sedimentary cycles

Plants and animals fulfill their mineral requirements from mineral solutions in their
environments. After the death of the living organisms the minerals are returns to the soil and
water through the process of decomposition by the microorganisms. There are different kinds of
sedimentary or mineral cycles, depending on the kind of elements, but following two cycles are
very significant to the ecosystem.

1. Sulphur cycle: The sedimentary phase of sulphur cycle (Fig. 3.11) is long termed and in
it sulphur is tied up in organic and inorganic deposits. From these deposits, it is released
by weathering and decomposition and is carried to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem in a
salt solution. Atmospheric phase of sulphur cycle is less pronounced and it permits
circulation on a global scale.

Sulphur enters the atmosphere from the several sources: the combustion of fossil fuels,
volcanic eruption, the surface of oceans and the gases released by the process of
decomposition. Initially sulphur enters the atmosphere as H2S which quickly oxidizes
into another volatile form SO2. It is soluble in water and carried back to earth in rainwater
as weak sulphuric acid. The soluble form of sulphur is absorbed by the plant roots, where
it incorporated into certain organic molecules such as amino acids and proteins. From
producers the sulphur in amino acids is transferred to the consumers with excess being
excreted in the faeces.

Excretion and death carry sulphur in living material back to the soil and to the bottom of
ponds, lakes and seas where the organic material is acted upon the bacteria of detritus
food chain. The sulphydryl group (̶ SH) of amino acids is separated from the rest of the
molecules as hydrogen sulphide (H2S) by the decomposing bacteria. In aerobic condition,
the H2S is oxidized to sulphate by bacteria specially adapted to perform this conversion:

H2S + 2O2 SO4- + 2H+

The sulphate produced then can be reuse by the autotrophs. In anaerobic environment, it is
impossible to oxidize sulphide by this means because the process of oxidation required oxygen.
But if infra red radiation is present, there are photosynthetic bacteria that can use it to
manufacture carbohydrates and oxidize sulphide either to elemental sulphur or to sulphate:

6CO2 + 12H2S + hv C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 12S

6CO2 + 12H2O + 3H2S + hv C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 3SO4- + 6H+

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Elemental sulphur can also be utilized by other bacteria to form sulphate. If oxygen is
present, the reaction is quite rapid.

2S + 3O2 + 2H2O 2SO4- + 4H+

Under anaerobic conditions, elemental sulphur can still be oxidized to sulphate by certain
bacteria if nitrate is present:

6NO3 + 5S + 2CaCO3 3SO4- + 2CaSO4 + 2CO2 + 3N2

None of these bacterial reactions is unidirectional; under certain conditions, sulphate can
also be reduced either to sulphide or to elemental sulphur by bacteria. This series of
reactions operating within the organic phase of the sulphur cycle provides a rather finely
turned mechanism for regulating the availability of the sulphur to autotrophs.

Fig. 3.11: Sulphur cycle in the atmosphere (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.)

The sulphur is removed from the organic phase in the form of elemental sulphur which is
insoluble and accumulates in sediments. If iron is present in the sediment, it can combine
with sulphide to form iron sulphides, all of which are highly insoluble:

Fe++ + S- FeS

Fe (ionic) + 2S (ionic) FeS2 (Ferrous sulphide or pyrite)

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FeS2 is highly insoluble under neutral and alkaline conditions and is firmly held in mud
and wet soil. Some ferrous sulphide is contained in sedimentary rocks overlying coal
deposites. Exposed to the air in deep and surface mining, the ferrous sulhate oxidizes and
in the present of water produced ferrous sulphate and sulphuric acid.

In this manner, sulphur in pyrite rocks, suddenly exposed to weathering by man,

discharge heavily slugs of sulphur, sulphuric acid, ferric sulphate and ferrous hydroxide
into a aquatic ecosystems. These compounds destroy aquatic life and cause acidic water.

2. Phosphorus cycle: Phosphorus cycle has no atmospheric phase (Fig. 3.12). It occurs
naturally in environment as phosphate (PO4- or one of its analogous HPO4- or H2PO4),
either as soluable inorganic phosphate ions, as soluble organic phosphate (as a part of a
soluble organic molecule), as particulate phosphate (as part of an insoluble organic or
inorganic molecules) or as mineral phosphate (as part of mineral grain as found in a rock
sediment). The ultimate source of phosphate in the ecosystem us crystalline rocks.

Fig. 3.12: Phosphorus cycle in the environment

As there are eroded and weathered phosphate is made available to living organisms,
generally as ionic phosphate. This is introduced into autotrophic plants through their
roots, where it is incorporated into living tissues. From autotrophs, it is passed along the

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grazing food chain in the same fashion as nitrogen and sulphur, with excess phosphate
being excreted in the faeces. An extreme example of faecal phosphate is the tremendous
guano deposit build up by birds on the desert west coast of South America. Phosphates
can also be released as particulate matter from forest and grassland fires.

In the detritus food chain, a large organic molecules containing phosphate are degraded,
the phosphate is liberated as inorganic phosphate. In this form it can be immediately be
taken up by autotrophs, or it can be incorporated into a sediment particle, either in the soil
of a terrestrial ecosystem or in a sediment of an aquatic ecosystem. The sedimentary
phase of phosphorus cycle remains comparatively slow than the organic phase.

3.8 SUMMARY

In this chapter we have learned about the overall structure of ecosystem and how it works. The
ecosystem is the major ecological unit which has their own specific structure and functions. It
refers to as a community of life forms interacting with non-living components in a same system.
The earth contains many ecosystems and all these ecosystems are interlinked to one another. The
structure of an ecosystem principally gives the information regarding the living components
(organisms) and physical factors (temperature, moisture, pH etc) of the environment as well as
the allocation of nutrients in a meticulous habitat. From the structural point of view, the
ecosystem can be divided into two components i.e., abiotic and biotic components. Abiotic
components of the ecosystem include those components which are non living. These are
basically the inorganic and organic elements and compounds of the environment or habitat of the
organism. Biotic components included all the living organisms present in the environment of
ecosystem. The biotic components can be categorized into two components according to their
nutrition point of view i.e., autotrophic components (all green plant which synthesized their
own food) and heterotrophic components (non-green plants and all animals including human).
They may be consumers and decomposers. Consumers further divided into four categories:
Primary consumers, Secondary consumers, Tertiary consumers and Quaternary consumers. The
decomposers are chiefly microscopic or very small in size (fungi and bacteria) which decompose
the dead residue of producers and consumers.

The biological balancing between various components of ecosystem is known as homeostasis or

biological equilibrium or balance of nature. This process is controlled by the numerous factors
including carrying capacity of the system, capability of recycling and the reproduction potential
of the organisms. The nature adopts positive feedback (increasing the population of organisms at
any level when impose the positive effects on other level organisms) and negative feedback
(when growing populations of organisms compel the negative effects on the population of
others) mechanism to balance the ecosystem.

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When we consider the function of an ecosystem, we must describe the flow of energy and the
cycling of nutrients. That is why, we are interested in things like how the plants trapped the solar
energy and how much plant martial is eaten by herbivores, and how many herbivores are eaten
by the carnivores. The concept of trophic levels was first developed in 1942 by Raymond
Lindeman which means food or nourishment. The trophic level in an ecosystem may be defined
as a position occupied by an organism in a food chain. The food chain is a sequence of
organisms which eat other organisms and may, in turn, be eaten themselves. There are two types
of food chain occurs naturally in ecosystem. First is grazing food chain (It is a normal type of
food chain which starts from the green plants and ends at carnivores by passing through
herbivores) and secound is detritus food chain (The food chain that passes through dead organic
matter).

The food chain, as a matter of fact, does not occur in isolation. Since many animals eat more
than one kind of food, different kinds of food chains exist in an ecosystem. This network of
interconnected food chain is called food web. Thus food web may be defined as the network of a
number of food chains existing in an ecosystem.

The ecological pyramids represent the trophic structure and also trophic function of the
ecosystem. In many ecological pyramids, the producers from the base and the successive trophic
levels make up the apex. The ecological pyramids may be three types: Pyramids of number (the
number of individual organisms at different trophic levels of food chain), Pyramids of biomass
(the biomass of the members of the food chain at each trophic level) and Pyramid of energy (It
indicates not only the amount of energy flow at each level).

Living organisms can use energy in several forms. But all can be grouped under one of the two
headings: radiant energy and fixed energy. Only a small fraction of the light energy reaching the
earth is trapped. This radiant energy of sun is converted into chemical or potential energy by
photosynthesis in plants, the photosynthetic autotrophs. All the energy that the plant actually
fixes results in the formation of sugar. The energy used by the plant is converted into chemical
energy, it should theoretically be possible to determine the entire energy uptake by the plants by
measuring the total amount of sugar produced. This quantity is termed gross primary production
or gross productivity. The gross productivity is dependent on many things, including climatic
conditions such as temperature, rainfall and total solar radiations and other abiotic factors.

The biogeochemical cycle refers to the cyclic movements of chemical elements of the biosphere
between the organism and environment is referred to as biogeochemical cycle. The
biogeochemical cycle are can broadly divided into: gaseous cycle (includes carbon, nitrogen
cycle etc) and sedimentary cycle (includes sulphur and phosphorus cycle etc). The geochemical

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cycle of different chemical substances are closed: the atoms are used over and over again. To
keep the cycles going does not require new matter but it does require energy. Further, the
patterns of flow, both the energy and the chemical substances are of great significance.

3.9 GLOSSARY

Abiotic: Nonliving factors of the environment includes light, temperature, soil, climate and
atmospheric gases etc.
Absorption: The taking in of water and dissolved minerals and nutrients across cell membranes.
Aerobic: Pertaining to the presence of free oxygen. Aerobic organisms require oxygen for their
life processes.
Anaerobic: Pertaining to the absence of free oxygen. Anaerobic organisms do not require
oxygen for their life processes, in fact oxygen is toxic to many of them. Most anaerobic
organisms are bacteria or archaeans.
Autotroph: Any organism that is able to manufacture its own food.
Biodiversity: The variety of plant and animal life in a habitat.
Biotic: All living component of the ecosystems including plant animal and microorganisms.
Carnivore: Organism that eats meat for energy.
Chemical energy: That part of the energy in a substance that can be released by a chemical
reaction.
Consumer: Organism that consumes another organism as food for energy.
Decomposer: Organism that breaks down organic material.
Detritivore: Organism that obtains its energy by feeding on dear organisms or wastes.
Detritus: Accumulated organic debris from dead organisms, often an important source of
nutrients in a food web.
Ecological pyramid: A graph that illustrates the trophic level in food chain.
Ecosystem: A system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical
environment.
Food chain: An interconnected chain of organisms that indicate which predators are and which
are prey in relation to one another.
Food web: A network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.
Herbivore: Organism that eats plants for energy.
Herbivore: Organisms that eats only plants or algae.
Heterotrophy: An organism that feeds on complex organic substances.
Litter: Leaf litter, or forest litter, is the detritus of fallen leaves and bark which accumulate in
forests.
Omnivore: Organism that eats plants and meat for energy.
Photosynthesis: Process that producers use.

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Phytoplankton: Tiny, free-floating, photosynthetic organisms in aquatic systems. They

include diatoms, desmids, and dinoflagellates.
Plankton: Very small, free-floating organisms of the ocean or other aquatic systems, including
phytoplankton, which produce their own nutrients through photosynthesis, or zooplankton,
which get their nutrients from organisms.
Predator: An animal that hunts and kills other animals for food
Predator: Organism which hunts and eats other organisms. This includes both carnivores, which
eat animals, and herbivores, which eat plants.
Prey: Animal hunted or caught for food.
Prey: Organism hunted and eaten by a predator.
Primary productivity: The amount of organic material that the photosynthetic organisms of an
ecosystem produce.
Producer: Any organism which brings energy into an ecosystem from inorganic sources.
Saprophyte: Organism which feeds on dead and decaying organisms, allowing the nutrients to
be recycled into the ecosystem. Fungi and bacteria are two groups with many important
saprophytes.
Scavenger: An organism that feeds upon dead and dying organisms.
Solar radiation: Radiation emitted by the Sun.
Zooplankton: Tiny, free-floating organisms in aquatic systems that cannot produce their own
food.

3.10 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

3.10.1 Multiple Choice Questions

1. Ecosystem is smallest unit of

(a) Ionosphere (b) Lithosphere
(c) Biosphere (d) Mesosphere

2. Which one of the following is not a functional unit of an ecosystem?

(a) Productivity (b) Stratification
(c) Energy flow (d) Decomposition

3. The source of energy in ecosystem is

(a) AMP (b) ATP
(c) NADP (d) Sunlight

4. Energy in an ecosystem is
(a) Released (b) Absorbed
(c) Flows (d) None of the above

5. The ratio between energy flow at different points in a food chain is known as:
(a) Ecological capacity (b) Ecological efficiency

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(c) Ecological assimilation (d) Ecological potential

6. In an ecosystem, the energy flow is always

(a) Always unidirectional (b) Always bidirectional
(c) In any direction (d) Always down directional

7. Name the organisms that manufacture organic compounds from simple inorganic
compounds without using sunlight?
(a) Detrivores (b) Organotrophs
(c) Phototrophs (d) Chemotrophs

8. “The pyramid of energy is always upright” states that

(a) The energy conversion efficiency of herbivores is better than carnivores
(b) The energy conversion efficiency of carnivores is better than herbivores
(c) Producers have the lowest energy conversion efficiency
(d) Energy conversion efficiency is the same in all trophic levels.

9. What type of food chain is it: dead animals → blowfly maggot → maggots → frog →
snake
(a) Detritus food chain (b) Decomposer food chain
(c) Predator food chain (d) Grazing food chain

10. Which of the following type of productivity counts the total fixation of energy by
photosynthesis?
(a) Secondary productivity (b) Primary productivity
(c) NPP (d) GPP

3.10.2 Fill in the blanks

1. Vertical distribution of different species occupying different levels in an ecosystem is

called…………
2. The rate of production of biomass is termed as………...
3. The degradation of humus by some microbes to release the inorganic nutrients is
called……..
4. The ………….of organisms are the beginning of the detritus food chain.
5. The …………are the saprotrophs (heterotrophs) which meet their energy requirements by
degrading the detritus.
6. The amount of energy ………… at each successive trophic level.
7. The pyramid of number in a grassland ecosystem is…………
8. The …………. for the first time put forth the concept of ecosystem.
9. All the living organisms are ………….. component of ecosystem.
10. From the structural point of view, the ecosystem can be divided into ……… and ………..
components

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3.10.3 True and False

1. In an ecological pyramid, the amount of energy available at the lower trophic level is
always more than that at a higher trophic level.
2. The functioning of ecosystem is associated with energy flow and cyclic of nutrients in
ecosystem through the structural components.
3. Algae are eaten by insects, and insects are eaten by the fish. In this food chain system; the
algae is primary consumer, insect is secondary consumer, and the fish is tertiary
consumer. False.
4. Birds and animals are the examples of abiotic environment.
5. An organism that breaks down dead and decaying matter is called omnivore.
6. Many feeding relationships that are linked together are called a food web.
7. When an animal is hunted by its predator, this is called parasitism.
8. The living and nonliving factors in an environment and all their interactions called
ecology.
9. Phosphorus cycle occur in the nature in the form of gaseous cycle.
10. If gross production equals to the respiration (Pg=R) no change in energy content results.

Answer Key:
3.10.1: 1 (c), 2 (b), 3 (d), 4 (c), 5 (b), 6 (a), 7 (d), 8 (a), 9 (a), 10 (d)
3.10.2: 1. Stratification, 2. Productivity, 3. Mineralisation, 4. Death, 5. Decomposers, 6.
Decrease, 7. Upright, 8. A.G. Tansley, 9. Heterotrophic, 10. Abiotic and biotic.
3.10.3: 1. True, 2. True, 3. False, 4. False, 5. False, 6. True, 7. False, 8. False, 9. False, 10. True

3.11 REFERENCES

Clapham Jr WB (1973) Natural ecosystems. The Micmillan Company, New York.

Definition of Trophic. www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
Elton C (1949). Population Interspersion: An Essay on Animal Community Patterns. Journal of
Ecology 37(1), 1-23. doi:10.2307/2256726
https://www.biologydiscussion.com/ecosystem/ecosystem-its-structure-and-functions-with-
diagram/6666#:~:text=An%20ecosystem%20is%20a%20discrete,and%20life%20sustaining%20
environmental%20system.&text=Biotic%20component%20of%20the%20ecosystem,includes%2
0inorganic%20matter%20and%20energy.
https://www.ecologycenter.us/population-dynamics-2/maintenance-of-homeostasis-in-
ecological-systems.html
https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5ecol.html
Lindeman RL (1942) The trophic-dynamic aspect of ecology. Ecology 23: 399–418.
Odom EP (1971) Fundamentals of ecology. W.B. Saunders, Toppan Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
Pandian TJ (1967) Intake, digestion, absorption and conversion of food in the fishes Megalops
cyprinoides and Ophiocephalus striatus. Marine Biology 1:16-32.

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Smith RL (1977) Elements of ecology and field biology. Harper and Row Publishers, New York.
Thienemann A (1926) Der Nahrungskreislauf im Wasser. Verh. deutsch. Zool. Ges., 31: 29-
79, link.
Verma PS, Agarwal VK (2008)Environmental Biology: Principles of Eology. S. Chand &
company Ltd., Ramnagar, New Delhi (India).

3.12 SUGGESTED READINGS

Jorgensen SE. (2009) Ecosystem Ecology. Elsevier B.V. Amsterdam, Netherland
Odom EP (1971) Fundamentals of ecology. W.B. Saunders, Toppan Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
Verma PS, Agarwal VK (2008) Environmental Biology: Principles of Eology. S. Chand &
company Ltd., Ramnagar, New Delhi (India).

3.13 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

3.13.1 Short answer type questions

1. Briefly describe the abiotic components of ecosystem.
2. What do you understand by positive and negative feedback of ecosystem balancing?
3. What are the differences between grazing and detritus food chain?
4. What is food web? Explain with example.
5. What are the importance and limitations of ecological pyramids?
6. What are biogeochemical cycles?
7. What is biological nitrogen fixation?
8. Discuss the water cycle in brief.

3.13.2 Long answer type questions

1. What do you understand by the structure of ecosystem?

2. Describe the concept and mechanism of homeostasis in detail.
3. Discuss the trophic level and food chain in an ecosystem.
4. Explain the ecological pyramid in detail.
5. Discuss the ecological energetic and flow of energy in an ecosystem in detail.
6. Discuss the nitrogen cycle in detail.
7. Discuss the sulphur cycle in detail.
8. Discuss the cycling of phosphorus in environment.

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UNIT-4- ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND

ECOSYSTEMS OF THE WORLD

Contents:
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Introduction
4.3 Type of succession
4.3.1 Primary succession
3.3.2 Secoundry succession
4.4 Process of succession
4.5 Hydrosere
4.6 Xerosere
4.7 Coevolution
4.8 Tropical ecosystem
4.9 Temperate ecosystem
4.10 Boreal ecosystem
4.11 Indian ecosystem
4.12 Summary
4.13 Glossary
4.14 Self-assessment questions
4.14.1 Multiple choice questions
4.14.2 Fill in the blanks
4.14.3 True and False
4.15 References
4.16 Suggested readings
4.17 Terminal questions
4.17.1 Short answer type questions
4.17.2 Long answer type questions

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4.1 OBJECTIVES
The present topic provides an overview of ecosystem development and outlines the world’s
major ecosystems. After reading this topic, learners will be able to answer the:

 Concept of succession
 Types of succession
 Process of succession
 Major ecosystem of the world
 Ecosystem of India based upon the altitude variations

4.2 INTRODUCTION

As we have already discussed in the previous chapter that the biotic community of the ecosystem
is very unstable and they change regularly over time. The lifespan of an individual organism is
affected by the many circumstances including the natural phenomena. In addition, there are other
levels of community change that function longer and are the cause of considerable changes in the
structure of the community. These include ecological succession and community evolution.

You have usually seen forest landscape containing complex diversity of flora and fauna but have
you wondered ever how it come to be or how did that forest constructed here? May be once upon
a time that land must have been empty rock or a pond, yet today, it contain a community
comprising a rich biodiversity of plants and animals which interact with each other on the same
piece of landscape. This conversion did not happen overnight while it’s a long, slow and gradual
process of change in ecological communities. Such an orderly and progressively replacement of
one community by another until a relatively stable community (i.e., climax community),
occupies the area is called ecological succession. In a simple sentence, Ecological succession
may be defined as the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over
time. The time scale can be decades (for example, after a wildfire), or even millions of years
after a mass extinction (Sahney and Benton 2008).

In the process of succession, the community begins with relatively few simplest plants or
animals species, collectively known as pioneering species which ultimately increases the
complexity of the system until or unless it becomes stable or self-perpetuating as the climax
community. Succession may be initiated either by formation of new, unoccupied habitat, such as
from a lava flow or a severe landslide, or by some form of disturbance of a community, such as
from a fire, severe wind throw, or logging. The changes in the structure and composition of the
community are rapid at first, slowing gradually until a point of dynamic equilibrium is reached,
and the community is more or less stable.

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Let us take some examples to understand the concept of succession more thoroughly. Suppose, a
lake is filled with silt that gradually transforms from a deep lake into a shallow pond, then into a
marsh and in some cases into a dry land which eventually converts into forest. In this case, the
principal cause of the change in the community was a physical process i.e., the filling in the lake
with silt. Suppose, a forest has turned into a bare ground due to severely forest fire. Now a series
of changes take place. Diverse plant communities invade and grow up there and replace one
another: first annual weeds, then perennial weeds or grasses, then shrubs and trees-until or unless
a forest ends the development. Here, a principal cause of succession was the growth of plants on
an existing soil. Likewise, if a landslide exposes a surface of rock in the mountains, the surface
may be successively occupied by a spare cover of lichens; a spreading moss mat; grasses, which
enter and become a meadow; a shrub thicket, which overtops and suppress the grasses; a first
forest stage of smaller tress, which seed into the shrub thicket, grow through it, and replace it;
and a final stage form a large and potentially permanent forest community. Here, the process of
succession proceeded by a back and forth interplay between organism and environment: as one
dominant species modified the soil and microclimate in ways that made possible the entry of a
third dominant species, which in turn altered it environment.

In all the mentioned above three examples, the causes of the successional changes are of varying
degrees, external to the community or internal to the community, many successions involve both
kinds of causes and reciprocal influences (Whittaker, 1970).

Succession was among the first theories advanced in ecology. Ecological succession was first
documented in the Indiana Dunes of Northwest Indiana and remains at the core of much
ecological science (Smith and Mark 2009). The basic idea of succession was first of all
forwarded by Anon Kerner in his book “Plant life of the Danube Basin” during the regeneration
of a swamp forest. However the term “ecological succession” was first of all used by Hult
(Verma and Agarwal 2008).

Factors affecting the process of succession

The process of succession influenced by the various factors including the site conditions, events
initiating succession (perturbations), interactions between species and stochastic factors
(availability of colonists or seeds or weather conditions) at the time of disturbance. Nowadays,
two main important disturbances are listed as: anthropogenic activities and climatic change
(Bazzaz 1996).

During the process of succession, invader communities dominated by fast-growing, well-

dispersed species (opportunist, fugitive, or r-selected life-histories). As succession proceeds,
these species will tend to be replaced by more competitive (k-selected) species. Species diversity
necessarily increases during early succession as new species arrive, but may decline in later
succession as competition eliminates opportunistic species and leads to dominance by locally
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superior competitors. Net Primary Productivity, biomass, and trophic properties all show variable
patterns over succession, depending on the particular system and site.

Ecological succession was formerly seen as having a stable end-stage called the climax,
sometimes referred to as the 'potential vegetation' of a site, and shaped primarily by the local
climate. This idea has been largely abandoned by modern ecologists in favor of non-equilibrium
ideas of ecosystems dynamics.

The development of some ecosystem attributes, such as soil properties and nutrient cycles, are
both influenced by community properties, and, in turn, influence further successional
development.

4.3 TYPE OF SUCCESSION

The first organisms to become established in an ecosystem undergoing succession are known as
pioneers; the stable community that ends the succession is termed the climax community. The
whole series of communities which are involved in the ecological succession at a given area,
such as from grass to shrub to forest, and which terminates in a final stable climax community, is
called a sere and each of the changes that take place is a seral stage. Each seral stage is a
community, although temporary, with its own characteristics and it may remain for a very short
time or for many years. Seres are sometimes classified according to the predominant force that is
bringing them about. These forces are biotic, climatic, physiographic and geologic and their
resultant seres are commonly called bioseres, cliseres, eoseres and geoseres.
The succession may be of the following two types in any of the basic environments such as
terrestrial, freshwater or marine:

4.3.1. Primary Succession: It is the process of species colonization and replacement in

which the environment is initially virtually free of life. That is, the process starts with base
rock or sand dune or river delta or glacial debris and it ends when climax is reached. The
sere involved in primary succession is called presere.
4.3.2. Secondary succession: In this process, the changes occur after an ecosystem is
disturbed but does not completely disintegrate. In this situation, organic matter and some
organisms from the original community with remain: thus the successional process does not
start from scratch. Consequently, secondary succession is more rapid than primary. It is
seen in areas burned by fire or cut by farmers for cultivation. The sere involved in secondary
succession is called subsere.

The primary and the secondary succession may be the following type depending upon the
moisture contents:

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(i). Hydrach or hydrosere: The succession when starts in the aquatic environment such
as ponds, lakes, streams, swamp, bogs etc.

(ii). Mesarch: The succession when began in the area where adequate moisture is present.
(iii). Xerach: The succession when starts in xeric or dry habit having minimum amount of
moisture. Example: dry dessert, rocks, etc. A temporary community in an ecological
succession on dry habitat is called xerosere. It may be of three types: Lithosere
(succession initiated in the rocks); Psammosere (succession initiated on sand); and
Halosere (succession initiated on saline water or soil).
Further, a succession progressing entirely as a result of interactions of the organisms and their
environment (i.e., driving force is internal to the community) is known as autogenic community.
Example: succession on sand dunes. The succession moving under the influence of external
factors, as input of nutrients is called allogenic community. Example: succession in a small pond.

4.4 PROCESS OF SUCCESSION

The complete process of a primary autotrophic ecological succession involves the following
sequential steps which follow one another.
1. Nudation: The formation of the bare zone or nudation take place by many natural
phenomena (such as volcanic eruption, landslide, flooding, erosion, fire, disease or other
catastrophic agency etc) leads to beginning of succession. Humans have also created
some new lifeless bare land (i.e., Walls, stone quarrying, flooding large land areas under
reservoirs etc).
2. Invasion: It is the process of entering reproductive bodies (seeds, propagules etc) of
various organisms and their establishment in bare land. In any bare land plant must be
considered as pioneer invaders because the animal depends on the plants for their food
requirements. Invasion include the following steps:
(i) Dispersal or migration: The seeds, spores or the other propagules of the species
reach the bare area through the air, water and animals. The process starting from the
time a propagule leaves the parent plant to the time it arrive on the bare area is called
migration.

(ii) Ecesis: This is the successful establishment of migrated plant species into the new
area. It includes the germination of seeds or propagules, growth of seedlings and
starting of reproduction by adult plants. Only a few immigrant propagules are
capable of doing this under primitive hard conditions and thus most of them
disappear.

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(iii) Aggregation: In this final stage of invasion, the successful immigrant individuals of
a species increase their number by reproduction and aggregate in a large population
in the area and in consequence individuals of the species come close to each other.

3. Competition and reaction: As the number of the individual increase, they aggregated at
the limited space, now the competition started due to the similar requirements
(intraspecific competition) of food, reproduction, shelter etc. They also compete with
individuals of other species that may enter the area (interspecific competition). All
individuals also compete with the environmental stress. All these combined effects of
stress due to intraspecific and interspecific competition along with the abiotic stress, the
environment of the ecosystem modified and progressively becoming unsuitable for the
existing community which sooner or later is replaced by the new invaders.
4. Stabilization or climax: Eventually a stage is reached when the final terminal
community becomes more or less stabilized for a longer period of time and it can
maintain itself in the equilibrium. The vegetation is tolerant of the environment
conditions it has imposed upon itself. It has a wide diversity of species, a well-developed
spatial structure and complex food chains and its living biomass is in a steady state. This
final stable community of the sere is the climax community and the vegetation supporting
it is the climax vegetation. A climax community therefore, refers to as stable ecosystem
in its final stage of ecological succession.

4.5 HYDROSERE

In a simple word it can be called aquatic succession. It occurs in the fresh water bodies, pool,
pond, lake etc. There are several stages take place during the process of succession. The fresh
water was dried out succeed by swamp and marsh and ultimately tuned into woodland. It is a
very slow procedure and takes centuries or millennia to reach its climax stage, although,
intermediate stages may be shorter or longer than others. The whole process of aquatic
succession comprises the subsequent stages describe in below (Fig. 4.1):
Stage 1: Phytoplankton stage: During the early stage of succession the spores of the
phytoplanktons (cyanobacteria), green algae, diatoms, etc. are carried out wind or water and
deposited into the fresh water bodies. The simplest, unicellular and colonial microorganisms
(bacteria, diatoms, phytoplanktonic algae etc) are the first invaders, therefore, this stage is
called phytoplankton stage. Sooner or later, to get the favorable conditions of temperature,
moisture and nutrients, large algal blooms appear.
Zooplankton makes their appearance after phytoplankton including Amoeba, paramecium,
Euglena etc. If the growth of the phytoplankton and zooplankton become sufficient enough,
the pond support the other forms of large animals. All these organisms add large amount of
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organic matter and nutrients throughout their life span by various activities. They settle at the
bottom of the pond after death, and decay into humus that mixes with silt and clay particles
brought into the basin by runoff water and wave action and form soil. As soil builds, the
pond becomes shallower and further environmental changes follow.

Stage 2: Submerged stage: The muddy bottom and increasing light penetration in the
shallower water of the pond provide the suitable conditions for the establishment of rooted
submerged hydrophytes plants like branching green algae, Chara, Hydrilla, Myriophyllum,
Potamogeton, Vallisneria, Ceratophyllum etc. These plants reproduced and colonize which
ultimately bind the loose bottom sediment into a firmer matrix and add the organic matter on
it. The organisms common to the barren pond floor cannot exist under submerged vegetation
conditions. Already living species have now been replaced by other species that are able to
creep over submerged flora. Dragonflies, mayflies and some other small crustaceans like
Asellas, Cypris, Cyclops, Daphnia, Gammarus etc. inhabit the pond at this stage.
Stage 3: Floating stage: Continuously deposition of sediments and organic matter on the
bottom reduce the depth of the pond. The roots of floating hydrophytes embedded in bottom
while the leaves float on the surface of water (e.g., Nelumbo, Nymphaea, Marsilea,
Limnanthemum, Aponogeton, Trapa, Monochoria etc). Some plants may occur free floating
on the surface of the water without having substratum (e.g., Azolla, Lemna, Wolffia, Pistia,
Spirodella, Salvinia etc.).
In this stage the faunal diversity of the ecosystem is also increase. Frogs, salamanders, gill
breathing snail, beetles are capable of utilizing the under surfaces of floating leaves appear.
Sometime snakes and turtle also invade.
Stage 4: Reed swamp stage: As the water body reduced in area, the marsh vegetation
encroaches upon newly exposed shallow water areas and a reed swamp is reached. In this
stage the pond is now invaded by emergent plants such as Ranunculus, Saggittaria,
Phragmites, Typha, Rumex, Cyperus, and Zizania. Shoots of these plants are partially or
completely exposed to air. These plants have creeping rhizomes which knit the mud together
to produce large quantities of leaf litter. This litter is resistant to decay and reed peat builds
up, accelerating the autogenic change.
Animal diversity progressively changes by those that inhabit the vegetation. Gill breathing
snails give way to lung breathers like Lymnea, Physa and Gyraulus. Different species of
mayflies, dragonflies, water scorpion, giant water bug etc. are present at this stage.

Stage 5: Sedge meadow stage: Since the root system and the annual deposition of leaf
growth add great quantities of organic matter to the bottom and entrap sediments, the
substrate build up rapidly after the emergent have appeared. Much of the old open water area
is covered by the species of Cyperaceae and Graminae, such as numerous species of sedges

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as Juncus, Carex, Eleocharis, Polygonum etc. and many species of forbs like Mentha, Colha,
Campanula etc. to form marsh or swamp.

Further as the level of the pond increase the ground water level, the remnant of the open pond
dries up in summer. It has now become a temporary pond drying in summer and freezing in
winter. In a gradual manner as land builds higher, drainage improves, emergent disappear
and the soil lies above the water table and grasses accompanied by land animals invade to
form a marsh meadow in forest regions and a prairie in grass country. With the approach of
mesic conditions the herbs and woody plants invade the area.

Fig. 4.1: Process of succession in hydrosere. (Stage 1= Phytoplankton, Stage 2= Submerged, Stage 3=
Floating, Stage 4=Reed-swamp, Stage 5= Sedge-meadow, Stage 6= Woodland, Stage 7= Forest)

Stage 6: Woodland stage: This stage is characterized by the plants that can tolerate water
logged soil around their roots. Some common plants species of this stage include Salix,
Cornus, Cephalanthus, Alnus, Populus, Willows tree etc. The root system of these tree
species spread horizontally instead of vertically in the soil due to high water table. These
plants react upon the habitat by producing shade, lower the water table still further by
transpiration, build up the soil, and lead to the accumulation of humus with associated
microorganisms. This type of wet woodland is also known as carr. By this time there is much

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accumulation of humus with rich flora fauna of micro organisms. Thus, mineralization of soil
favours the arrival of new tree species.

Stage 7: Forest stage: This is the climax community. The wood land community is rapidly
invaded by several trees. In tropical climates with heavy rainfall, there develop tropical rain
forest whereas in temperate region, there develops mixed forests of aspen, elm, red and silver
maples, ash, oak, white pine etc. in regions of moderate rainfall, there develops tropical
deciduous forests. A forest is characterized by presence of all types of vegetation including
herbs, shrubs, mosses, shade-loving plants and trees. Decomposers are frequent in climax
vegetation.

Moreover, as the forest floor becomes drier and the crown closes, seedlings of intolerant
forest trees are unable to develop, but seedlings of sugar maple, hemlock, spruce and cedar
able are able to grow low light intensities of a temperate forest and dominate the understory
and subsequently replace the intolerant trees. Since these trees tolerate the environmental
conditions they create, the forest cover becomes stabilized.

4.6 XEROSERE

The ecological succession which is limited by the water availability is called xerosere. It initiates
in extremely dried conditions including sand dunes, salt and rock disserts etc (Fig. 4.2).
According to Cooper (1913) xerosere may contain on rock (lithoseres) and on sand
(psammoseres).

Stage 1: Bare rocks: The bare rocks form after a volcanic eruptions or recede of glaciers.
The rainwater along with atmospheric CO2 creates crevices into the surface of the rocks,
which eventually lead to the expansion of the boulders. Now, due to some natural phenomena
(i.e., gravitational force, blowing the wind etc) these boulders wear some partials from
surroundings and accelerate the formation of a little soil on bare rock surface. Some algal and
fungal spores reach the rock through the air and sporulate over it and form symbiotic
association. This association is termed as lichen which acts as pioneer species of bare rocks.
The process of succession starts when autotrophic organisms start living in the rocks.
Animals such as spiders which can hide between boulders or stones invade these rocks.

Stage 2: Foliose and fruticose lichen stage: The foliose and fruticose lichens do not
completely cover the soil because they are attached to the substratum only at a point. Lichens
are able to accumulate soil moisture and therefore retain more water. They built humus from
its dead remains due to their massive foliage structure. The humus mixed with the soil
particles provides a suitable substratum for invader species.

Stage 3: Moss stage: In this stage, the lichen species is being succeeded by moss. The spores
of some xerophytic mosses (e.g., Grimmia, Polytrichum Tortula etc.) are brought to the rock
by various means, sprouting and flourish their communities. As the mosses develop in
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patches, they capture soil particles from the air and help increase the amount of substrate.
Due to containing organic and inorganic compounds in it, mosses also enhance the soil
fertility. The altering conditions of environment lead to migration of lichens and facilitate the
growth of small herbaceous flora that can be able to replace mosses completely.

Fig. 4.2: Process of succession in xerosere. (Source: Kaufman and Franz 2000)

Stage 4: Herb stage: Some annuals weeds, such as evening primroses, asters, milk weeds
etc. invade the rock. Roots of these plants promote the weathering of rocks by root secreting
substances. Ground vegetation cover reduced the evaporation from the soil. Consequently,
the xeric conditions begin to change and biennial and perennial herbs and xeric grasses such
as Aristida, Festuca, and Poa, begin to inhabit.

Stage 5: Shrub stage: Sooner the grasses invaded by the shrubs (Physocarpus, Rhus etc.).
However, this invasion is slow, but once shrubs are established in this fragile ecosystem, they
invite the aves for their shelter and food, which helps in the dissemination of shrub seeds.
These outcomes a dense shrub cover begins to migrate the herb cover in the newly
established microclimate. The soil continues to form and soil moisture increases due to
shading.

Stage 6: Tree stage: Prolonged changes in environmental conditions favor the colonization/
aggregation of tree species. The tree saplings begin to raise and establish themselves among
the shrubs. This establishment depends on the soil conditions, for example, pine established
in acidic soil etc. The tree canopy support the growth of shade loving shrub as secoundry
vegetation, while the sun loving shrubs are eliminated by this newly developed ecosystem.
Litter decomposition adds humus continuously so that it can encourage other trees to grow.
Mosses and ferns make their appearance and fungi population grows in abundance.

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Stage 7: Forest stage (Climax stage): The succession concludes in a climax community, the
forest. Many intermediate tree stages extend prior to establishment of a climax community.
The forest type depends upon climatic conditions.

 Oak-hickory climax forest in dry habitat with ferns, mosses, herbs and shrub as
ground cover vegetation.
 Beech-hemlock climax forest in mesic climates comprises ferns, mosses and herbs as
ground cover vegetation
 Spruce-alpine fir climax forest at high altitude having ferns, mosses, herbs and
grasses etc as vegetation cover vegetation.

4.7 COEVOLUTION

Coevolution is the process of evolutionary changes which happen between pairs of species or
among different group of species in natural environment. Every activities of each species that
participates in interaction with other species apply selection pressure on the other. For example,
in prey-predator interaction, the appearance of faster prey may select against individuals in the
predatory species that are unable to keep pace. Thus, only fast individuals or those with
adaptations allow them to capture prey using other means, which will pass on their genes to the
next generation. So, coevolution is also a method to organized biological communities. The
diverse species interact with one another and these ecological interactions contain:

1. Parasite-host and Predator-prey: It is the relationship called parasitism between two

individuals wherein one individual called parasite receives benefits at the expense of
other individual called host. It is a kind of harmful coordination between two species. A
parasite usually parasitizes a host that is larger in body size than it. Further a parasite
does not ordinarily kill its host at least not until the parasite has completed its
reproductive cycle. However, some secondary infection can cause host death.

The relationship between predator and prey is called predation. It is a form of

disoperation, at least in point of immediate effects, as one species kills another for food.
Like parasitism, predation is important in community dynamics, but both differ in the
point that a predator trends to be larger than its prey, and it catches its prey from without,
while a parasite is smaller than its host and consumes if from within.

2. Competitive species: Competition refers to the type of interaction in which two

individuals or species compete for limited resources. This can occur between the
individuals of the same species called intraspecific competition or between the
individuals of two or more species of community called interspecific competition. Both
types of competition have population regulating and evolutionary roles.
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3. Mutualistic species: Mutualism is an obligatory interaction that is beneficial to both

species. The term symbiosis has often been applied to this relationship but symbiosis
properly refers to intimate association of two or more dissimilar organisms, regardless of
benefits or the lack of them and hence includes mutualism, commensalism and
parasitism. Mutualism may be facultative, when the species involved are capable of
existence independent of one another, or obligate, when the relationship is imperative to
the existence of one or both species. Mutualism in plant is demonstrated in the
association of fungi and algae to form lichen, of nitrogen fixing bacteria with the roots of
legumes, and of fungal mycorrhizae with the roots of many flowering plants.

4.8 TROPICAL ECOSYSTEM

In the world map, the tropical regions lie in between tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn
where the daylight, temperature and humidity are never experienced very low (Fig. 4.3) The
seasonality is not clearly marked, while the region has wet and dry seasons driven by the tropical
rain belt.
There are many different habitats within the tropics including: tropical rainforest, cloud forest,
wetlands, dry deciduous forest, spiny forest, desert and even alpine habitat on the highest
mountains. For each 1,000 foot rise in altitude, there is a 4°F drop in temperature. This has a
dramatic effect on plant and animal distribution.

Fig. 4.3: Distribution of tropical zone across the world (Source: Beck et al. 2018)

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A. Tropical Rainforests
Distribution and climate conditions: Tropical rainforest occur near the equator in Central and
South America, Central and Western Africa (Cango, Zambesin river), Southeast Asia (Part of
India and Malaysia), Malaya, Borneo, New Guinea and Northwest Australia. Both temperature
and humidity are high and constant. The annual rainfall which exceeds 200 to 225 cm in
generally evenly distributed throughout the year.

Floral diversity: Tropical rainforest contain the high biodiversity of flora and fauna. The highly
diversified and dense vegetation of the forests remains vertically stratified with tall trees. The
vegetation of the forest can be divided into following layers:

(i). Emergent layer: These giant trees rise above the dense canopy layer. They contain vast
mushroom-shaped crowns and obtain the greatest amount of sunlight due to their height. but
must also withstand high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds. The leaves are thick,
waxy and smaller than lower down. E.g., Ceiba pentandra.

(ii) Canopy layer: The broad, irregular crowns of these trees form a tight, continuous canopy 60
to 90 feet above the ground. The branches are often densely covered with other plants
(epiphytes) and tied together with vines (lianas). The canopy is home to 90% of the organisms
found in the rainforest; many seeking the brighter light in the treetops.

(iii) Understory: It is a dark place receiving only 2-15% of the sunlight. It is relatively open and
contains young trees and leafy herbaceous plants that tolerate low light, with larger, thinner
leaves to catch as much light as possible

(iv) Forest floor: The forest floor receives less than 2% of the sunlight and consequently, little
grows here except plants adapted to very low light. On the floor is a thin layer of fallen leaves,
seeds, fruits, and branches that very quickly decomposes.

Soil: The soil is red latosols and they may be exceedingly thick. The high rate of leaching makes
soil virtually useless for agriculture purpose, but if they are left undisturbed the extremely rapid
cycling of nutrients within the litter layer can compensate for the natural poverty of the soil.

Fauna diversity: Invertebrate density and abundance are very high in tropical rainforests but
while vertebrates are diverse, they are not as abundant as in many other communities.

B. Tropical seasonal forests

Distribution and climate conditions: Tropical seasonal forests occur in region whose total
annual rainfall is very high, but segregated into pronounced wet and dry periods. Tropical
seasonal forests are found in Southeast Asia, Central and South America, Northern Australia,

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Western Africa and the tropical islands of the pacific as well as India and Southeast Asia. In
exceedingly wet tropical seasonal forests, commonly known as monsoon forests, the annual
precipitation may be several times that of the tropical rainforests.

Flora and fauna diversity: They are also containing high diversity of flora and fauna. Trees may
reach heights over 40 m, but are more commonly 20-30 m high. Stratification is of a relatively
simple type with a single understory tree layer, canopy is deciduous and understory is evergreen.
Teak is often a major large tree in the best known tropical seasonal forests, those of India
(Central India) and Southeast Asia.

Soil: Soil fertility is the primary influence on forest structure and wood production. On poorer
soils, trees are designed to minimize waste of mineral nutrients, and they devote more of their
resources to root-making.

4.9 TEMPERATE ECOSYSTEM

The interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings
in regions of or related to moderate climates, intermediate between tropical and polar zones and
having distinct warm to hot summer seasons and cool to cold winter seasons.

A. Temperate deciduous forest: The temperate forest are characterized by a moderate

climate broad leaved deciduous trees, which shed their leaves, are bare over winter and grow
new foliage in the spring.

Distribution: These forests are the characteristics of North America, Europe Eastern Asia Chile,
some parts of Japan and Australia (Fig. 4.4).

Climate: This zone has experienced a cold winter and a annual rainfall of 75-150 ºC cm and a
temperature of 10-20 ºC. In this region, the precipitation may be fairly uniform throughout the
year. In India, at elevations of 9009-12000 feet in Himalayas occurs temperate vegetation
including pines, fir, yew and juniper trees with an undergrowth of scrubby Rhododendrons.

Soil: Soils of temperate forests are podozolic and fairly deep.

Floral diversity Trees are quite tall about 40-50 m in height and their leaves are thin and broad.
The predominant genera of this zone are Acer, Fagus, Quercus, Carya, Tilia, Castnea, Populas,
Platanus, Ulmus, Salix etc. In some locations, coniferous vegetation may be quite prominent and
that includes Pinus strubos, Tsuga Canadensis, Juniperus virginianus. The understory of shrubs
and herbs in the deciduous forest is typically well developed and richly diversified, with a

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considerable portion of the photosynthesis and flowering attuned to the short days of the spring
season, prior to the leafing out of and consequent shading by the tree canopy.

Fauna diversity: The diverse amount of fauna are present in this region includes the vertebrates
and non vertebrates. All these animals and plants show a profound seasonality: some may even
hibernate throughout the winter. The range of animal size and adaptations is wide: the largest
animals include such forms as the deer and black bear. The dominant carnivores are large,
including the wolf and mountain lion, although smaller carnivores such as fox and skunk are also
common. Diversity of fauna is lower than in any of the rain forest and a few species seems
clearly to be dominant.

Fig. 4.4: Distribution of temperate zone across the world (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica 1997)

B. Temperate rain forest: The temperate rain forest is a colder ecosystem than any other
rainforest. Such a forest has a definite seasonality, with both temperature and rainfall varying
throughout the year. Rainfall is high but fog may be very heavy and actually more important as a
source of water than rainfall. The diversity is much lower, both in plants and animals, in
comparison to warmer rainforests, yet it remains still higher than other temperate forests. The
dominant trees are coast redwood of the Pacific coast of North America and the alpine ash of
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Australia and Tasmania both of which reach more than 100 m in height. The animals of
temperate rainforests are similar to those of deciduous forests, but show a somewhat higher
diversity.

C. Temperate evergreen woodland: Many parts of the world have a Mediterranean type
climate with warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. These are commonly inhabited by low
evergreen trees with small hard needles or slightly broader leaves. St important area of the
temperate evergreen woodland in North America is the “Chaparral” of the Pacific Coast, the
Mediterranean “Maquis”, Spanish “encinar” and “melle scrab” on Australia’s South Coast are
the some type of community. In such woodland, trees are essentially lacking although shrub may
range up to 3-4 m in height. Species diversity is roughly intermediate between that of a
temperate deciduous forest and drier grassland. Fire is an important factor in this ecosystem and
the adaptations of the plants enable them to regenerate quickly after being burned.

The characteristic animals of temperate evergreen woodland or chaparral are mule deer, brush
rabbits, wood rats, chipmunks, lizards wem-tits and brown towhees. Small-hooved cursorial
ungulates are the dominant herbivores. Saltatorial (jumping) animals and many fast moving
ungulates are also common in the fauna.

4.10 BOREAL ECOSYSTEM

Distribution: The boreal ecosystem distributed in Northern Hemisphere in between 50° to

70°N latitude across the world. The climate is subarctic having long winters. These ecosystems
are located in Boreal forests which are commonly known as the taiga, particularly
in Europe and Asia (Fig. 4.5).

Climate: Cold region with high rainfall and strongly seasonal climates with long winters and
fairly short summers are characterized by boreal conifer forest which is transcontinental.
Soil: Boreal forest soils are thin podozols and rather poor both because the weathering of rock
proceeds slowly in the cold environment and because the litter derived from conifer needle is
broken down slowly and is not particularly rich in nutrients. Theses soils are acidic and mineral
deficient, the result of the movement of a large amount of water through the soil: in the absence
of a significant counter upward movement of evaporation, soluble essential nutrients like
calcium, nitrogen and potassium are leached sometimes beyond the reach of roots thereby
leaving no alkaline oriented cations to encounter the organic acids of the accumulating litter
(Padalia et al 2018).

Floral diversity and fauna diversity: For example adjacent to the tundra region either at latitude
or high altitude is the northern boreal forest or coniferous, which stretches across both North

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America and Eurasia just south of the tundra (i.e., Canada, Sweden, Finland, Siberia and
Mussoories). The term taiga is applied to the northern range of coniferous forests. This is
characterized by evergreen plant species such as Picea, Abies balsamea, Pinus resinosa, Pinus
strobus etc. Species diversity is low, and pure stands of trees and shrubs are common.
Understory trees are uncommon as a result of the continual low light penetration. Among
common understory associates are orchids and ericaceous shrubs like the blue berry. The thalloid
mosses and lichens being very rich understory vegetation. The animals such as snow shoe hare,
the lynx, wolf bears, red fox, porcupines, squirrel, amphibians like Hyla and Rana etc.

Fig. 4.5: Distribution of Boreal ecosystem across the globe

4.11 INDIAN ECOSYSTEM

India is a home to an extraordinary variety of climatic regions, ranging from tropical in the south
to temperate and alpine in the Himalayan north, where elevated regions receive sustained winter
snowfall. According to the climate, vegetation and altitude the Indian terrestrial ecosystem can
be divided into the following zones (Fig. 4.6):

A. Tropical wet region

The tropical region experience constant warm, humid and high temperatures throughout the year.
The temperature usually does not fall below 18 °C and the winters are pleasant. This region
contains the high biodiversity of flora and fauna. In India, tropical region can be divided into two
climatic subtypes:
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i. Tropical monsoon region

Distribution: It covers up a stripe of southwestern lowlands adjoining the Malabar Coast,
southern Assam and the Western Ghats. Lakshadweep and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands are
also falls under this region.
Climate: The climate is moderate and experiences the high temperature throughout the year,
even in the foothill region. The rainfall is high about 2000 mm annually and most of the
precipitations occur during the months of monsoon seasons (May to November).

Vegetation: The high moisture content and rainfall favoure the growth of diverse type of
vegetation. It sustains the evergreen forest and other vegetation. There is not any particular time
for leaves shedding. The forest are well stratified and can be divided into three zone: shrubs and
creepers; short height trees and; tall trees more than 60 m. mahogany, ebony, aini, rosewood etc
are the dominant forest vegetation.

Fauna: The fauna diversity is high including many herbivore and carnivore. Many varieties of
invertebrates are also reported in this region.

ii. Tropical wet and dry region:

Distribution: This is a drier region with tropical monsoon climate, it dominates most inland
peninsular India except for a semi-arid rain shadow east of the Western Ghats.
Climate: In an annual cycle, the region experiences long and dry winter and early summer on an
average 18 °C air temperature. The summers are extremely hot and sometime temperature reach
beyond 50°C during May and June. Heat waves are common during summer season. The region
experiences yearly shower between 750-1,500 mm annually from June to September.
Vegetation: Due to deficit of regular rainfall, tree species prevents from surviving in this region.
The abundant vegetation of this region are shrubs and grasses with some scattered distributed
tree species. Vegetation has adopted many practices to withstand the long and dry conditions of
prevailing climatic conditions.
Fauna: The grasslands sustain herbivores animal that survive in the grasses. These animals live
in herds for safety and migrate in search of food and water. The carnivores hunt the herbivores.

B. Arid and semi-arid region

Tropical arid and semi-arid are those zones where the rate of evapotranspiration is higher than
the precipitation. These can be divided into three regions: (i). tropical semi-arid steppe, (ii). arid
climate, tropical and (iii). sub-tropical steppe climate.

i. Tropical semi-arid steppe climate:

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Distribution: This region falls under south of Tropic of Cancer and east of the Western Ghats
and the Cardamom Hills. The region includes Central part of Maharashtra, Western part of
Andhra Pradesh, inland Tamil Nadu and some part of Karnataka.

Climate: The climate is prone to drought, as it receives less rainfall due to failure of the
southwest monsoon or sporadic lateness. The Krishna river is responsible for the most of
precipitation during the summer season in North, while in South, post monsoonal shower occurs
in October and November. Climate is dry and hot. The mean monthly temperature during
summer is accounted 32 °C with 320 mm rainfall. The winter is not so cold and maintains the
temperature of 21-22°C.

Vegetation: Semi-arid climates tend to support short or scrubby vegetation and are usually
dominated by either grasses or shrubs.

ii. Arid climatic:

Distribution: Most of western part of Rajasthan falls under arid climatic region.

Climate: This region received very less amount of precipitation about 300 mm annually from
July to September therefore, the survival in this region is very harsh. Summers (especially April
to June) are very hot where temperatures reach beyond 50°C. Temperature fall below freezing
point during winter due to cold air waves from Central Asia.

Vegetation: The dominant forest is dry deciduous forest, broad leaved hill forest, Dhauk forest,
thorn forest, Riverine forest and Teak mixed forest.

Fauna: Camel, Chinkara, deer, leopard, asses, calves and goats, and many species of birds in
which great India bustard is most noticeable.

iii. Thar Desert:

Distribution: The Great Indian Desert called “Thar” covered provenance of Rajasthan, Gujrat,
Punjab, and Haryana region.

Climate: The climate of this region is very harsh. The daytime temperature is very high while
the night is cold. The summer season is extremely hot where the temperature reach beyond 50 °C
is normal. Winter day is not too cold but the temperature drops down to –2 °C at night. The
region receives little or no rainfall in summer. The annual precipitation ranges from 100 to 500
mm.

Vegetation: The highly drought resistant plants grow in this region. They adopt the mechanisms
to survive without water for long. The variegation is mostly shrubby and herbaceous. In tree

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species Acacia, Ziziphus, Calotropis, Aerva, Euphorbia, Cordia, Mimosa etc are occur. In herbs
and grasses genus Ochthochloa, Dactyloctenium, Cenchrus, Lasiurus, Cynodon, Saccharum,
Desmostachya, Eragrostis, Ergamopagan, Phragmites, Tribulus, Typha, Sorghum, Citrullus are
commonly grow.

Fauna: Very less populated grassland carry gazelles, blackbucks and some feathered migratory
birds (sand grouse, ducks, and geese are common), quail, partridges etc are also common.

Fig. 4.6: Distribution of different type of vegetation in India (Source: www.mapsofindia.com)

C. Subtropical humid region

Distribution: A large area of North India and Northeast are subject to subtropical humid
climate.

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Climate: The summers are very hot and dry where the temperature reaches beyond 40°C. The
winters are very cold, freezing and dry or with very less precipitation where the temperature
droop down to 0°C. The annual precipitation in the west is recorded less than 1000 mm while in
the northeast it is over 2500 mm.

Vegetation: The floral diversity of forest is generally high. The evergreen forest, dry mixed
deciduous forests and semi evergreen deciduous forest dominated with Dodonaea sp, Olea
cuspidata, Shorea robusta etc.

Fauna: Many threatened species including the royal Bengal tiger, elephant, otter, leopard,
squirrel, flying squirrel etc are the common fauna. Golden langur, endemic to Assam region is
also restricted to a small range of broadleaf forest. More than 340 species of birds reported in this
region in which chestnut-breasted partridge is endemic to this region. The globally
threatened white-winged wood duck and five hornbill species are found here.

D. Mountain region

Distribution: The northern region of India is mostly classified as a mountainous region. This
region extends from Himalayan range (including Jammu & Kashmir, Mizoram, Meghalaya,
Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim etc) in north to Western ghats, Nilgiris and Vindhya range in
South.

Climate: The climate in this region is very diverse. The climate in the foothills region is tropical
while snowline also exists in higher altitudes. The temperature fluctuates within a short distance
depending upon the slop, day light intensity and altitude variations. The rainfall is also
inconsistence within a little distance. In northern side of western Himalaya has a cold desert.

Vegetation: Mountain forests in India are normally classified into two types, i.e. the northern
mountain forests and the southern mountain forests. In Northern mountain, at the elevation of
4000-5300 m alpine forests are predominant in which junipers, pines, willows, Rhododendron
are occur. At the altitude of 2700-4000 and 1300-2700 m coniferous and evergreen forests are
dominant, respectively. In southern mountains of India, subtropical vegetation or moist and dry
forests are dominant. Sal, Teak, Mahua, shisham, Bel, etc are the main tree species of low
altitude while Laurel Magnolia, Wattle, and Cinchona are frequently occur in higher altitude
regions.

Fauna: Mountain regions are the home of many herbivores and carnivorous species. Himalayan
brown bear is native to this region. Clouded leopards, langoors, Himalayan goat antelopes, musk
deer, Kashmir stag, yak etc are some other denizens animals.

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E. Littoral and Swamp region

Distribution: Littoral or swamp are primarily found in reservoirs of Swamps in North East
India, Deccan Plateau, saline coast of Gujarat, Gulf of Kutch, Rajasthan, Eastern Coast Deltas,
lakes and rivers of Kashmir and Ladakh.

Climate: The climate is moderate having no clear seasonality. The rainfall range from 75 to 500
cm annually.

Vegetation: India is rich in Littoral and Swamp Forests. Chilika Lake (in Odisha)
and Keoladeo National Park (in Bharatpur, Rajasthan) are protected as water-fowl habitats under
the Convention of Wetlands of International Importance (i.e. Ramsar Convention). Mangrove
grows along the coasts in the salt marshes, tidal creeks, mud flats, and estuaries; and, it has a
number of salt-tolerant species of plants. In India, the mangrove forests spread over 6,740 sq.
km, which is 7% of the world’s mangrove forests. Mangroves are largely found in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands and the Sunderbans of West Bengal.

Fauna: It is home to a large variety of birds.

4.12 SUMMARY

Succession was among the first theories advanced in ecology. Ecological succession was first
documented in the Indiana Dunes of Northwest Indiana and remains at the core of much
ecological science. The basic idea of succession was firstly introduced by Anon Kerner in his
book “Plant life of the Danube Basin” during the regeneration of a swamp forest. However the
term “ecological succession” was first of all used by Hult. Ecological succession may be define
as an orderly and progressively replacement of one community by another until a relatively
stable community (i.e., climax community), occupies the area. In this process, the community
begins with simplest form of life known as pioneering species which ultimately generate a
complex system until it becomes stable climax community. The changes in the structure and
composition of the community are rapid at first, slowing gradually until a point of dynamic
equilibrium is reached, and the community is more or less stable.

The process of succession influenced by the various factors including the site conditions, events
initiating succession, interactions between species, availability of colonists or seeds, weather
conditions etc at the time of disturbance. Nowadays, two main important disturbances are listed
as: anthropogenic activities and climatic change.

The succession can be categorized into two division: Primary succession (process of species
colonization and replacement in which the environment is initially virtually free of life.) and

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secoundry succession (changes occur after an ecosystem is disturbed but does not completely
disintegrate). The primary and the secondary succession may be Hydrach (succession when
starts in the aquatic environment), Mesarch (succession when began in the area where adequate
moisture is present) and Xerach (succession when starts in xeric or dry habit having minimum
amount of moisture) depending upon the moisture contents.

The process of succession completed into following steps; Nudation (formation of the bare
zone), Invasion (process of entering reproductive bodies i.e., seeds, propagules etc),
Competition (competition can be intraspecific or interspecific), Stabilization or climax
(terminal community becomes more or less stabilized for a longer period).

Coevolution is the process of evolutionary changes which happen between pairs of species or
among different group of species in natural environment. The Coevolution relation is three types:
Parasite-host and Predator-prey (relationship between two individuals wherein one individual
called parasite/prey receives benefits at the expense of other individual called host/predator),
Competitive species, (two individuals or species compete for limited resources), Mutualistic
species (obligatory interaction that is beneficial to both species).

The world ecosystem can be broadly divided into six terrestrial ecosystems: tundra, taiga (boreal
ecosystem), temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland and deserts. Here, we have
discussed only tropical, temperate and boreal ecosystem. The tropical regions lie in between
tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn where the daylight, temperature and humidity are never
experienced very low. This region contains the high biodiversity of flora and fauna. The
temperate forest are characterized by a moderate climate broad leaved deciduous trees, which
shed their leaves, are bare over winter and grow new foliage in the spring. These forests are the
characteristics of North America, Europe Eastern Asia Chile, some parts of Japan and Australia.
The boreal ecosystem distributed in Northern Hemisphere in between 50° to 70°N latitude across
the world. The climate is subarctic having long winters. This is characterized by evergreen plant
species.

If we talk about Indian terrestrial ecosystem according to their altitude variation, it can be
divided into following zone: Tropical wet; Arid and semi-arid regions, Subtropical humid,
Mountain, Littoral and Swamp area.

4.13 GLOSSARY

Aggregation: It is coming together of organisms into a group, as in locusts.

Biomass conversion: The changing of organic matter that has been produced by photosynthesis
into useful liquid, gas or fuel.
Biomes: A community of living organisms of a single major ecological region.
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Ecosystem: A community of living organisms and their interrelated physical and chemical
environment.
Endangered species: A species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant
portion of its range.
Biodiversity: Diversity among and within plant and animal species in a given environment.
Biogeochemical cycle: A pathway through which a chemical element or molecule moves
through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere.
Biomass: The sum of all living organisms in a given area.
Biota: The total collection of organisms belonging to a particular geographic region or extant
during a particular time period.
Boreal forest: Forest areas of the northern temperate zone, mostly consisting of conifers. Also
called taiga in Siberia.
Climax community: A community of biological species that has reached a stable state, occurring
when the different species are best adapted to average conditions in a given area.
Coniferous forest: One of the primary terrestrial biomes, culminating in the taiga.
Deciduous broadleaf forest: Any forest situated in a temperate zone whose trees shed their
leaves during the cold season.
Decomposition: The process by which tissues of dead organisms break down into simpler forms
of organic matter, thereby clearing the limited available space in a biome.
Desert: A landscape that receives less than 10 inches of rain per year.
Ecology: The scientific study of interactions between living organisms and their environment.
Ecosystem: The total of interacting organisms (biocoenosis) and non-living things (biotope) in a
specific environment.
Endangered species: A species at imminent risk of becoming extinct.
Evaporation: The slow vaporization of water from either the soil or from surface water.
Habitat: A specific ecological area that is inhabited by specific plant and animal species.
Limiting factor: Any essential resource that is in short supply in a given environment and
therefore limits the possibilities for change in other aspects of the same environment.
Parasite: An organism that depends for its survival on a symbiotic relationship with another
organism its host which it does not usually kill directly but does negatively affect.
Prey: An organism upon which a predator feeds.
Primary production: The production of organic compounds out of carbon dioxide present in
the Earth's atmosphere. All life on Earth directly or indirectly depends on it.
Producer: An organism that produces its own food from inorganic material present in the
environment, through photosynthesis or, in the deep sea, through chemosynthesis. Also called
a primary producer.
Soil: The naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering of Earth's surface; part of
the pedosphere.
Succession: The changes in vegetation and animal life by which one kind of population or
community is replaced by others: it culminates into climax.
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Trophic level: The position of an organism within a food chain: what it eats, and what eats it.
Tropical rain forest: A biome characterized by regular, heavy rainfall, a humidity of at least 80
percent, and great biodiversity.
Tundra: A permanently frozen, treeless expanse between the ice cap and tree
line of arctic regions.
Wetland: A type of ecosystem consisting of land permanently or seasonally saturated with
water; the habitat of aquatic plants.
Xerophyte: A plant adapted to dry conditions.

4.14 SELF ASSESSEMNET QUESTIONS

4.14.1 Multiple choice questions

1. After landslide which of the following type of succession occurs?
(a). Primary (b). Secondary
(c). Tertiary (d). Cyclic
2. Which of the following ecosystem consists of forest, grassland and deserts?
(a). Artificial ecosystem (b). Natural ecosystem
(c). Aquatic ecosystem (d). Terrestrial ecosystem
3. Which two biomes are the most similar with regard to rainfall?
(a). Tundra and desert (b). Tundra and taiga
(c). Rain forest and savanna (d). Temperate forest and prairie
4. Which biome is characterized by a layer of permafrost
(a). Taiga (b). Savanna
(c). Chaparral (d). Tundra
5. The eastern portion of the United States is dominated by what biome?
(a). Temperate forest (b). Desert
c. Taiga (d). Prairie
6. In which biome of Africa would you find lions, giraffes, and elephants?
(a). Savanna (b). Chaparral
(c). Desert (d). Tropical rain forest
7. Which of the following would represent an ecosystem?
(a). A lake (b). A fish tank
(c). A prairie (d). All of these
8. All the nonliving parts of an ecosystem are referred to as:
(a). The community (b). Biotic factors
(c). Abiotic factors (d). Biomes
9. Which of the following would be a biotic factor in an ecosystem?
(a). Bacteria (b). Soil
(c). Temperature (d). Rainfall

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10. The types and numbers of species in a given area is most greatly determined by the
area's:
(a). Climate (b). Biotic factors
(c). Precipitation (d). Biodiversity

4.14.2 Fill in the blanks

1. A _________ is called for the term used to express a community in its final stage of
succession.
2. The term in which all the living organisms that occupy an area undergoing primary
succession in the beginning stages is called _________
3. The _________ is called for the process when older communities of plants and
animals are replaced by newer communities?
4. The succession driven by the biotic components of an ecosystem is called _________
5. The first process in ecological succession starts with _________

4.14.3 True and False

1. In the process of succession, the community begins with relatively few simplest
plants or animals species.
2. In succession, progressively replacement of one community by another until a
relatively stable community.
3. The basic idea of succession was first of all forwarded by Anon Kerner.
4. Climatic change is the only reason for affecting the process of succession.
5. Primary succession is the changes occur after an ecosystem is disturbed but does not
completely disintegrate.
6. Lithosere is the succession initiated on saline water or soil.
7. The foliose and fruticose lichens do not completely cover the soil because they are
attached to the substratum.
8. Mutualism is the relationship between host and parasite.
9. In Northern mountain, at the elevation of 4000-5300 m alpine forests are
predominant.
10. Tropical distributed in Northern Hemisphere in between 50° to 70°N latitude across
the world.

Answer Key:
4.14.1: 1(a); 2(d); 3(a); 4(d); 5(a); 6(a); 7(d); 8(c); 9(a); 10(a)
4.14.2: 1. Climax community; 2. Pioneer community; 3. Ecological succession; 4.
Autogenic succession; 5. Nudation.

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4.14.3: 1. True; 2. True; 3. True; 4. False; 5. False; 6. False; 7. True; 8. False; 9. True; 10.
False

4.15 REFERENCES

 Bazzaz FA (1996) Plants in changing environments. UK: Cambridge University Press.

p. 1. ISBN 9-780521-398435.
 Beck HE, Zimmermann NE, McVicar TR, Vergopolan N, Berg A, Wood EF (2018)
Present and future Köppen Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Nature
Scientific Data. Doi: 10.1038/sdata.2018.214.
 Cooper WS (1913) The climax forest of Isle Royale, Lake Superior, and its development.
Bot. gazette.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_succession
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerosere
 https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/community-structure-and-
diversity/a/ecological-succession
 Kaufman DG, Franz CM (2000) Protecting our global environment. 3rd ed., New York:
Harper Collins Publishers, P.86.
 Padalia K, Bargali SS, Bargali K, Khulbe K (2018) Microbial biomass carbon and
nitrogen in relation to cropping systems in Central Himalaya, India. Current Science,
115(9): 1741-1750
 Sahney S, Benton MJ (2008) Recovery from the most profound mass extinction of all
time. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1636): 759–65.
doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1370
 Smith S, Mark S (2009) The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the
Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore
Journal, 3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2015-
11-22.
 Verma PS, Agarwal VK (2008) Environmental Biology: Principles of Ecology. S. Chand
& company Ltd., Ramnagar, New Delhi (India).

4.16 SUGGESTED READINGS

 Jorgensen SE. (2009) Ecosystem Ecology. Elsevier B.V. Amsterdam, Netherland.

 Odom EP (1971) Fundamentals of ecology. W.B. Saunders, Toppan Co. Ltd., Tokyo,
Japan.

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 Verma PS, Agarwal VK (2008) Environmental Biology: Principles of Eology. S. Chand

& company Ltd., Ramnagar, New Delhi (India).

4.17 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

4.17.1 Short answer type questions

1. Write a short note on primary and secoundry succession.

2. Briefly discuss the factors affecting the process of succession.
3. Write a short note on the vegetation of tropical ecosystem.
4. What do you understand by invasion?
5. Differentiate between interspecific and intraspecific competition.
6. Write a short note on reed swamp stage.
7. Discuss the relation of Parasite-host and Predator-prey in brief.
8. Describe the distribution and climatic conditions of boreal ecosystem.
9. Discuss the distribution, climate and vegetation of the great Indian Thar desert.
10. What do you understand by littoral and swamp region.

4.17.2 Long answer type questions

1. What do you understand by succession? Classified the succession in detail.

2. Write a detailed note on succession on Hydrosere.
3. Write a note on the tropical ecosystem.
4. Discuss the Indian ecosystem based on altitude in detail.
5. What do you understand by temperate and boreal ecosystem?

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UNIT-5- POPULATION, ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS

IN SPECIES AND SURVIVAL STRATEGIES

5.1 Objectives
5.2 Introduction
5.3 Characteristics of population
5.3.1 Population density
5.3.2 Population size
5.3.3 Population distribution
5.3.4 Birth rate
5.3.5 Mortality
5.3.6 Life tables
5.3.7 Population growth
5.3.8 Age structure
5.4 Population resource relationship
5.5 Ecotypes
5.5.1 Characteristic of ecotypes
5.5.2 Origin of new ecotypes
5.5.3 Kinds of ecotypes
5.4.4 Significance of ecotypes
5.6 Ecological adaptations in species and survival strategies
5.6.1 Hydrophytes
5.6.2 Mesophytes
5.6.3 Xerophytes
5.6.4 Halophytes
5.7 Summary
5.8 Glossary
5.9 Self assessment questions
5.10 References
5.11 Suggested readings
5.12 Terminal questions

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5.1 OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit students will be able to:

 Understand the population biology.

 Know the population resource relationship.
 Learn different types of ecotypes.
 Know the ecological adaptations of species.
 Understand different types of ecological adaptations and survival strategies in plants.

5.2 INTRODUCTION

A population is a group of organisms of the same species that live in the particular geographic
area at the same time, with the capability of interbreeding. For interbreeding, the individuals
must be able to produce offspring. However, populations contain genetic variation within
themselves, and not all individuals are equally able to reproduce and survive.

The population that is very small in size and resides in a small area is called local population.
Local population occupies a small area like a pond or a small patch of soil. A group of such a
closely related local population is known as metapopulation where the populations are connected
by the dispersion of individuals. Populations can also occur in large scales such as vast
geographical regions, islands, continents and seas.

Population biology is the study of population characteristics and the factors that affect the size
and distribution of it. The characteristics which are studied include the population density,
the demographics (the birth and death rates, sex ratio and age distribution),
the population genetics, migratory patterns, the life history traits and the group dynamics (the
interactions within and between populations). Population ecology is the study of how these
populations interact with the environment.

Most populations are not stable; they fluctuate in size over time. The fluctuations are usually in
response to changes in the biotic and abiotic factors of the environment, which act as limiting
factors against indefinite exponential growth of populations. For example, when food resources
are sufficient and environmental conditions are favorable, populations may grow. Conversely,
when predation is more, populations may deplete.

The characteristics of the population can influence how it is affected by certain factors. The
effects of density-dependent factors on a population are determined by its size; for example, a
larger, denser population will be destroyed more quickly by the spread of disease than a widely
dispersed population. Life history traits, such as the maturation rate and life span, can affect the

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rate of growth of a population; if individuals mature later, the population will grow more slowly
than if they mature relatively young.

Due to the genetic variation within populations, the larger populations are usually more resilient
to the changes in their environment. This happens because there is a higher chance that
a genetic mutation within the gene pool is better adapted to survive in the new condition. In an
extreme condition, in which a large number of individuals within the population are unable to
survive, the remaining individuals with the favored genes will reproduce, thereby increasing the
frequency of these genes in the population by genetic drift. This is called a population bottleneck
(Fig. 5.1).

Fig 5.1 Bottleneck Effect

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_bottleneck accessed on 21-02-2022, 02 57 pm)

Although the individuals who survived the bottleneck are adapted to the new conditions, there is
not always a good rate of long-term success for the population. Genetic diversity within the new
population is low, and only increases very slowly as mutations occur in each successive
generation. This means that the new population is highly vulnerable to further changes to the
environment or availability of resources, as well as suffering the consequences
of inbreeding such as disease and deformity in offspring. If a bottleneck results in too few
individuals there is a considerable risk of extinction after a few generations.

5.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION

The populations have certain characteristics that can be measured as density, population size,
natality and mortality, distribution and growth.

5.3.1 Population density

Population density refers to the size of the population. It is the average number of individuals per
unit area or volume of a habitat. For example, 200 oak trees per hectare; 100 insects per 100

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square meter, 4 million diatoms per cubic meter of water. Population density changes over time
and space. A basic relative measure of how an organism responds to local environment is
typically employed as population density. The density will be low if conditions are unfavorable
for the species (organisms will be perished or emigrated out), but high if conditions are favorable
(organisms will be reproduced and /or immigrated into the area). The changes in density can
reveal information about the history of species preferences and tolerances of individuals of the
species. The dynamics of most populations of organisms are influenced by a combined action of
density dependent factors and density independent factors. The relative effects of the factors vary
among populations. The density dependent factors in ecology are any force that affects the size
of a population of a species in response to the density of the population. These factors are also
known as regulating factors because of their potential for controlling the density. For example,
competition for food, water and habitat rises among individuals of a population with the increase
in population density. However, as density decreases (mortality or migration), the affect of
density dependent factors also decreases as the competition for food, water and shelter become
less for few individuals. The density independent factors of the environment are physical factors
that do not depend upon density of a population. These factors differ depending on the
population and affect it regardless to its size. Temperature, natural disasters, pollution,
availability of oxygen in atmosphere etc. are density independent factors which affect the
individuals of a population regardless of the density of that population.

5.3.2 Population size

Population size is the number of individuals in a population. For example, a population of deer
might consist of 10 individual deer or many more. Population size depicts whether the species is
going to survive or extinct. Generally, very small populations are at greatest risk of extinction.
However, the density of a population may be more important than its size.

5.3.3 Population distribution

The individuals of a population are not spread out evenly in their habitat but they live in various
patterns (Fig 5.2). These patterns show the characteristics of the species or its environment.
Infact, the population distribution describes how the individuals of a population are distributed or
spread in their habitat. The evenness in dispersion of individuals is highest in uniform, lowest in
clumped or contagious and of intermediate level in random type of distribution. In uniform or
regular distribution individuals of a population are spread out in a regular pattern. It occurs
where members of a population compete for a limiting resource such as water in desert bushes.
Clumped distribution is found where the resources are confined to particular areas. Animals in
deserts have clumped distribution as the water resources are restricted to some areas only or we
can say that animal populations are distributed contagiously because the water bodies occur in
patches in arid regions. Random distribution occurs where the resources are distributed evenly

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but it can occur only where the environment is uniform and resources are available adequately
throughout the year thus individuals have no competition among them.

Fig 5.2: Types of population dispersion in a community (a) uniform or regular (b) random (apparently
irregular) (c) clumped (contagious).
(Source: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/population-ecology/a/population-size-density-and-dispersal
accessed on 21-02-2022, 2:52 pm)

5.3.4 Birth rate (Natality)

Natality is the rate of production of new individuals by birth (humans and animals), hatching
(birds), and germination (plants) or by fission (bacteria) etc. The birth rate may be expressed as
the number of individuals born per female per unit time.

Birth rate or Natality (B) = Number of birth per unit time/average population

The maximum number of birth given by the individual (female) under standard conditions of
environment is called potential natality. It is also known as reproductive potential, maximum
natality or absolute natality. Natality varies from individual to individual. It depends upon the
population density and environmental conditions. If the population density is low, the birth rate
is also low because of few individuals and if it is too high the birth rate may also be low because
of scarcity of resources, spread of diseases and other physiological reasons related to crowding.
There are two terms used to define natality.

(i) Physiological natality or Fecundity: It is the maximum production of new individuals

under ideal conditions when there are no ecological limiting factors such as competition with
other individuals, availability of resources (food, water, etc.). It is constant for a given
population.

(ii) Ecological natality: It is also called realized natality or just ‘Natality’ which is the number
of individuals produced under a specific environmental condition. It is also called fertility
rate. The degree of physical constraints in an ecosystem varies with time and space thus the
ecological natality is not constant for a population. The Natality is expressed as:

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∆Nn = Production of new individuals in a population

∆Nn/∆ t = Natality rate per unit time (B)
∆Nn/N ∆ t = Specific natality rate (b) (i.e., natality rate per unit of population).
Where, N = initial number of organisms.
n = new individuals in the population.
t = time

5.3.5 Mortality (Death rate):

Mortality means the death of individuals in the population under certain environmental
conditions. It refers to the number of death of individuals in a population per unit time. It has a
great role in regulating population size.

Mortality rate = D/ t where D is the number of death of individuals in the time t.

Mortality may be of following types:

(a). Minimum mortality: It is also known as specific or potential mortality; it represents the
theoretical minimum loss of individuals under favorable conditions. Though the
environmental conditions are ideal but individuals would die because of their old age.

(b). Ecological or realized mortality: It represents the actual loss of individuals under a
given environmental condition. Ecological mortality is not constant for a population but
varies with population and environmental conditions. The maximum mortality is
observed at initial stages of development like larval, egg, seedling stage in plants or old
age. It is a constant for a given population.

Several environmental conditions such as population density, competition for food and water,
predation, diseases, etc., affect mortality. Birth rates and Mortality rate are correlated with each
other and when the natality rate is equal to the mortality rate the population is said to be
stationary.

5.3.6 Life tables:

If we have the information of natality and mortality in different ages and sexes we can combine
it to form life tables. From these tables the growth or decline of a population can be estimated. In
each table there are columns for age of individuals, number of survivor of each age, the number
dying in each age group; the proportion dying from the previous age category; fertility rate; the
number of young born by each age group. The information obtained from these figures provides
the net reproductive rate of the population i.e., offspring left by each individual. Similarly
mortality is also estimated and these are then used to study the population growth.

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5.3.7 Population growth:

The size of a population for any species is not a constant parameter, it keeps changing with time.
The two simplest models of population growth use some equations to describe the rate of change
in the size of population over a period of time. The first model is exponential growth which
describes population that increases in numbers without any limit. The second model is logistic
growth which introduces limits to reproductive growth that become more vigorous as the
population size increases. Neither model perfectly describes the population found in nature, but
they provide some points of comparison.

 J-Shaped Curve: This type of curve is formed when the population grows exponentially
(Fig.5.3A). The population after attaining the peak may crash suddenly. The increase in
population is continued till large amount of food is available in the habitat. After some
time, due to the increase in population size the food supply becomes less available which
ultimately results in the decrease is population size. For example many insect populations
increase in numbers during the rainy season, but disappear at the end of the season. The
equation showing the J shaped growth is:

dN / dt= rN
where, dN / dt represents rate of change in population size, r is biotic potential and N
stands for population size.

 S-Shaped curve or Sigmoid Curve: When a few organisms are introduced in a new
environment, the population increases slowly in the beginning (positive acceleration
phase or lag phase) then increases rapidly (logarithmic phase) and finally in the last phase
i. e., negative acceleration phase the increase in population is slowed down until an
equilibrium is established (Fig. 5.3 B). The stage beyond which no remarkable increase
can occur is termed as saturation level or carrying capacity (K) of the environment for
that organism. K represents the point at which the upward curve starts to level, when the
numbers of individuals of a population are plotted over time. In this stage the new
individuals are almost equal to the number of dying individuals and thus population does
not increase in size further. For example Yeast, a microscopic fungus is used to make
bread and alcoholic beverages, exhibits the classical S-shaped curve when grown in test
tube. Its growth ceases as the yeast population consumes all the nutrients that are
necessary for its growth.

The S- shaped sigmoid growth form is represented by the following equation:

dN / dt = rN (K-N/ K) = rN(1-N / K)

where, dN / dt is the rate of change in population size, r is biotic potential

N is population size, K-N / K or 1-(N / K) is for environmental resistance.

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When N is very small, (K-N)/ K becomes close to K/K or. 1; we get rmax N which means
the population is growing exponentially and is not affected by carrying capacity.
Simultaneously when N is large, (K-N)/ K becomes close to zero, which means
population will grow slowly or even stop. Thus population growth becomes greatly slows
down in large populations by the carrying capacity K. This model also allows for
negative population decline. It occurs when the number of organisms in the population
exceeds the carrying capacity (value of (K-N)/ K is negative).

A graph of this equation yields an S-shaped curve; it is considered as a more-realistic

model of population growth than exponential growth. There are three different sections to
an S-shaped curve. At initial stage, growth is exponential because there are few
individuals and adequate food supply. Then, as food supply becomes limited, the growth
rate decreases. Finally, growth levels off at the carrying capacity of the environment, with
a minor change in population size over time.

Fig 5.3 Population growth curves A. J-shaped; B. S- shaped (sigmoid) curve. K is carrying capacity.
(Source: https://www.biologydiscussion.com/population/population-growth/population-growth-curves-
ecology/51854#google_vignette accessed on 24-02-2022,12:43 pm)

5.3.8 Age Structure (Pyramid):

Age structure is also a population characteristic. It refers to the proportion of individuals of

different ages in a population. When the age distribution is represented by plotting percentage of
individuals in the different age groups, it is called age pyramid (Fig 5.4). The age pyramids of
human population generally show the age distribution of males and females in a combined
diagram. The growth status of the population is represented by the shape of the pyramids.

(i). Expanding: It is represented by a pyramid with a broad base or triangular structure. It

indicates a higher percentage of young individuals. In a population when the birth rate is

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high the population growth may be exponential and indicates higher proportion of young
individuals with a decreasing proportion of older individuals.

(ii). Stable: It is represented by a bell shaped polygon which indicates a stationary or stable
population comprising of more or less equal number of pre reproductive (young) and
reproductive (middle aged) groups. The post reproductive group (old individuals) being
the smallest in number.

(iii). Declining: It is represented by an urn shaped pyramid which shows low percentage of
young individuals while increased number of middle aged and old population. This type
of pyramid indicates dying off or declining population.

Fig 5.4. Representation of age pyramids for human population

(Source: https://www.biologydiscussion.com/population/population-definition-attributes-and-growth-biology/56309 accessed on
21-02-2022, 10:46 am)

5.4 POPULATION RESOURCE RELATIONSHIP

Population and resources have a strong relationship with one another. The availability of natural
resources is affected by the growth or depletion of a population. On the other hand, the
availability of natural resources affects the fate of a population. Availability of resources is
described as the amount of natural resources that is present and can be utilized by the individuals
of a population. If the availability or supply of natural resources becomes limited, it will
negatively affect the size of a population.

In case of human if the population further increases, the possibility of resource consumption also
increases. The human resource consumption patterns have severe effect on habitat and water
availability, the increase in population size threatens biodiversity through the destruction of
ecosystems. The higher population density lead to increase stress on natural resources like
scarcity of water, decreased food security, slower development and consequently to deprivation.

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It is obvious that more individuals relying on same natural resources put these resources under
increasing pressure. As a result there will be fewer resources available per individual, which is
likely to impact negatively both food security and social and economic development of the area.

It is a matter of debate that whether high population density or deficiency of resources can be
held responsible for the population-resource imbalance. It is not always the high population
growth or deficiency of resources that gives rise to population-resource imbalance. The pattern
of social structure, the stage of technological development, the pattern of population dispersal
and distribution, government policies etc. sometimes become responsible for the nature of
balance between the individuals and resources of any particular area.

5.5 ECOTYPES

The ecotype refers to an ecospecies that describes a genetically similar variety, population or
race with in a species which is adapted to specific or we can say local environmental conditions.
The term ecotype was coined by G. Turreson (1922a, b). Ecotypes are also known as ecological
races or physiological races. Individuals (ecotypes) of a species growing /residing in different
habitats may exhibit phenotypic differences such as changes in morphology or physiology but
they are capable of interbreeding with other ecotypes growing/ residing in other geographical
area without losing fertility or vigor, they are kept in one taxonomic species. In plants the
response of a species to a particular environmental condition may be shown in morphological
changes like changes in the external appearance, variations in number and size of branches,
leaves, flowers and seeds etc. The variations become genetically permanent and are transferred
from one generation to the other generation. These variations are irreversible that is if they are
grown in a neutral habitat they will retain their features. The grass Euphorbia hirta has two
ecotypes. One has permanently adapted to survive in dry conditions and the other is adapted to
survive in moist conditions.

Gote Turesson developed the term ecotype as a result of a series of observations and experiments
on Plantago maritima. He collected live plants from different parts of Sweden and grew them
together in the same garden. He described the study of ecotypes as a new research field, called
genecology. The basic conclusions of Turesson’s study include the following aspects:

A species with wide ecological amplitude (the degree of adaptation of an organism to the
changes in its environment) exhibit a variation in morphological and physiological characters;
these characters vary from place to place within a habitat. (ii) This variation within species is
largely correlated with habitat differences. (iii) This variation is not only phenotypic variation
but also a result of the natural selection of specific genotypes from the pool of genetic variability
present in the species. Mutations and natural recombinations in the individuals of a species
produce small gene pool which becomes more adapted to the local environment.

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In India Mishra and Shiva Rao (1948) found two closely related species of Lindbergia namely,
L. polyantha and L. urticaefolia were not two distinct species but only ecotypes of the same
species. They differ from each other in respect to the tolerance to high doses of lime. In another
study Ramakrishnan (1965) showed two ecotypes of Euphorbia thymifolia one red ecotype and
another green ecotype. The red ecotype of E. thymifolia grows in calcium rich soil (calcicol) as
well as calcium deficient soils and the green ecotype grows only in calcium deficient soil
(calcifuges) The red ecotype possesses a pair of dominant alleles whereas the green type
possesses a pair of recessive alleles. Ecotypes have been reported in several plants like Portulaca
oleracea, Ageratum conizoides, Cenchrus ciliaris, Euphorbia hirta, Cassia tora etc.

5.5.1Characteristics of ecotypes

1. Ecotypes of one species are capable of interbreeding. They are fertile as they are of the
same taxonomic species.
2. They are genetically distinct and inheritable.
3. The variations are permanent and irreversible. They retain their variations and do not
change even when cultivated in natural habitat.
4. They show wide ecological amplitude and can be distinguished on the basis of
morphological and physiological characters.
5. The variations in ecotypes are not due to plastic response to change in environment but
due to the natural selection of locally adapted population.

5.5.2 Origin of new ecotypes:

Ecotypes can be produced by the following methods:

1. Hybridization: The ecotypes can be produced by the natural cross between two species.
For example, when Spartia stricta is naturally crossed with S. alternifolia the new hybrid
S. townsendii is produced. Both the parents of this species are eliminated from the habitat
as the hybrid species is more adaptive to its habitat.

2. Mutation: A tiny gene pool accumulates in a segregating population due to natural

mutation and recombination, making it better adapted to the particular environment or
habitat. Cultivation or protected growth can potentially develop novel ecotypes by
removing competitive selection.

3. Chromosomal changes: Alterations in genotypes and phenotypes come from structural

changes in the chromosomes, such as translocations, inversions and the loss or addition

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of chromosome segments, resulting in the formation of new ecotypes. Because polyploids

do not demonstrate the same level of ecological tolerance as their parents, polyploidy
results in the development of new ecotypes.

5.5.3 Kinds of ecotypes

1. Climatic ecotypes-This type of ecotypes develop in response to varying climatic factors

such as light, temperature, water etc. These are also called Climatic clines. Turreson
(1930) found climatic ecotypes in Leontodon autumnalis.

2. Edaphic ecotypes–These ecotypes develop due to differences in soil factors like

moisture, excess or deficiency in nutrients, soil pH etc. Gregor (1939) distinguished
ecotypes of Plantago maritima that grows in waterlogged conditions. The above
mentioned species Lindenbergia polyantha and L. urticaefolia are also an example of
edaphic ecotypes of the same species. The red and green colour edaphic ecotypes in
Euphorbia thymifolia are related to calcium content of the soil.

3. Climato-Edaphic ecotypes-These ecotypes are developed under the influence of both

climatic and edaphic factors. e.g., Cenchrus ciliaris.

4. Altitudinal and latitudinal ecotypes-These ecotypes are developed in response to

different altitudes and latitudes. Altitudinal ecotypes are found in Pinus and many other
gymnosperms. In Achillea it is discovered by Clausen. Latitudinal ecotypes are found in
Cassia tora (Senna) and Anagallis arvensis.

5. Physiological ecotypes-These ecotypes are developed due to physiological changes like

photoperiod, water absorption, nutrient uptake etc. Photoperiodic ecotypes are found in
Boutelona curtipendula (long day, short day), Prosopis, Argemone and Rumex.

5.5.4 Significance of ecotypes

1. Ecotypes help the species to extend its ecological range and dissemination into new
places.
2. It has been possible to cultivate economically important plants in a variety of habitats.
3. New ecotypes of a species allow it to adapt to climatically and ecologically diverse
environments.
4. Significant differences in the species that grow in different habitats can lead to the
formation or evolution of new species.

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5.6 ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS IN SPECIES AND SURVIVAL

STRATEGIES

In Ecology, adaptation refers to the process of adjusting in morphology, physiology or in

behavior to withstand the adverse conditions of the environment. The living organisms react with
their environment and they also have the effect of the environment in which they grow or live.
Any morphological, anatomical, physiological and reproductive feature of an organism which
enables it to survive in the environmental conditions of its habitat is called adaptation. Every
organism develops some adaptive features. Plants must be able to find sources of water and
nutrients. They must adapt to their environment and develop special survival strategies in order
to thrive in the ecosystem. In this section you will study about the ecological adaptations and
survival strategies by different groups of plants.

Ecological groups of plants

E. Warming in 1909 classified plant communities on the basis of their dependence on water.
Water is the most essential ecological factors in the growth and dispersion of vegetation. The
vegetative structure of a geographical region mostly depends on the availability of water.
Warming divided the plants into three major groups on the basis of their water requirements. The
comparative details of the morphological, physiological and physiological characteristics of the
above plant group are given in Table 5.1.

 Aquatic plants or hydrophytes: Aquatic plants or hydrophytes grow in water or

extremely wet soil where their roots, rhizomes and leaves submerge in water.

 Land (terrestrial) plants: These plants grow in moderate conditions of water and light.
Land plants exhibit various modes of adaptation. In deserts or the areas where water is
scarcely present xerophytes thrive better while mesophytes occur where the availabilit y
of water is adequate. Mesophytes hold the position between hydrophytes and xerophytes.

 Helophytes or Marsh plants: These plants grow in swamp or marshy places. The plant
body remains rooted in soil or mud below the water level.

5.6.1 Hydrophytes:
Hydrophytes are further divided into the following five categories (Fig. 5.5):

(i). Free floating Hydrophytes: Plants like Wolffia, Lemna, Azolla, Eichhornia, Salvinia
Pistia and Spirodella freely float on the water surface. They are not attached to the
soil. Some plants have minute leaves while some have quite large leaves.

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(ii). Rooted Hydrophytes with Floating Leaves: The roots of certain hydrophytes are
fixed in mud but their leaves have long petioles which help them float on the water
surface. The rest of the plant body remains submerged in water. Nelumbo, Trapa,
Marsilea, Nymphaea and Aponogeton ae some example of it.

(iii). Submerged floating: These hydrophytes remain in contact with water but not rooted
in the mud. Stems are long and leaves are generally small. Plants like Ceratophyllum,
Najas, Utricularia etc. are completely submerged in water.

(iv). Rooted submerged: Some hydrophytes such as Hydrilla, Vallisneria, Chara, Isoetes
and Potamogeton remain completely submerged in water and also rooted in the mud.
In Hydrilla, Potamogeton and Chara stem is long and bears small leaves at nodes. In
Hydrilla the plant body is slender and roots are fibrous. In Isoetes and Vallisneria the
stem is corm like (tubrous). The leaves are long and ribbon shaped.

Fig. 5.5 Hydrophytes: A & B free floating hydrophytes; C & D rooted hydrophytes with floating leaves;
E, F & G submerged hydrophytes.
(Source: https://www.brainkart.com/article/Hydrophytes-And-Classification-of-Hydrophytes_978/ accessed on 27-02-2022,
05.05 pm)

(v). Rooted emergent: Some hydrophytes grow in shallow waters but their shoots are
partly or completely exposed to air. In Ranunculus, Sagittaria, Limnophila and
Monochoria the stems are partly in water and partly in air (Fig. 5.6). In some other
hydrophytes such as Cyperus, Rumex, Typha etc., the shoots are completely exposed to
air like land plants. These plants are called marshy plants.

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Fig. 5.6 Rooted emergents. Sagittaria; Ranunculus.

(Source: https://www.brainkart.com/article/Hydrophytes-And-Classification-of-Hydrophytes_978/ accessed on 21-02-2022,
12:35 pm)

Ecological adaptations in Hydrophytes

The hydrophytes are adapted to survive in water. There are some changes in the external and
internal features of the plants in order to survive in its environment (water). Different parts of
plants undergo some changes or acquire some specialized features which enable them to become
adapted to their environment.

Morphological features:

1. Roots: In hydrophytes the roots may be entirely absent as in Ceratophyllum, Salvinia,

and Wolffia or they are well developed and branched with distinct root caps as in
Ranunculus and Typha. In Hydrilla the roots are poorly developed. In hydrophytes the
root hair and root caps are usually absent. However in free floating plants as in
Eichhornia root caps are replaced by root pockets. Roots are generally fibrous,
adventitious, short, unbranched or poorly branched. In Jussiaea repens floating aerial
roots are present where as in Lemna roots help in anchoring and balancing the plant.

2. Stems: In free floating forms, stem is thin and float horizontally on water surface e.g.,
Azolla or thick, short and spongy as in Eichhornia. The stem is long, slender, spongy and
flexible in submerged forms as Hydrilla and Potamogeton. In hydrophytes which are

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rooted with free floating leaves stem is a rhizome which is either well developed as in
Nelumbo or small as in Nymphaea.

Fig. 5.7 T.S. root of Eichhornia floating leaved hydrophyte

(Source: https://www.entrancei.com/chapter-organisms-and-their-environment/hydrophtes accessed on 17-02-2022 4:10 pm)

3. Leaves: The leaves are generally thin and small. In submerged hydrophytes the leaves
are translucent. The floating leaves of Nelumbo and Nymphaea are large, flat and their
upper surfaces are coated with wax, their petioles are long, flexible and often covered
with mucilage. In Eichhornia and Trapa the petioles are swollen and spongy. The leaves
are long and ribbon shaped in Vallisneria where as in Potamogeton they are long and
linear. Ranunculus, Sagitaria and Limnophylla show heterophylly (condition in which
several kinds of leaves are present in one plant) with submerged, floating and aerial
leaves.

4. Flowers and reproduction: The flowers are usually produced on the surface of water or
above it. But in Eichhornia, Pistia, and Vallisnaria the fruits ripens under water.
Pollination is carried out by the help of water, aquatic insects and birds. The vegetative
reproduction takes place by runners, stolons, stem and root tubers, dormant apices etc.

Anatomical features: In hydrophytes the cuticle is absent or poorly developed. Epidermis is

single layered made up of thin walled parenchymatous cells. In cortex the parenchyma and
arenchyma (air spaces) are highly developed. The arenchyma gives resistance to the bending
stress, offers buoyancy and permits gaseous exchange. The vascular and mechanical tissues are
rather poorly developed. In emergent forms as Ranunculus and Typha vascular tissues are
comparatively well developed. Stomata are completely absent in submerged species (Anarachis
and Potamogeton). In floating species like Nymphaea stomata are confined only to the upper
surface. The chlorophyll is present throughout the plant body (Fig. 5.7). In Azolla the roots also
contain chlorophyll. Mucilage cells and mucilage canals are present for mucilage secretion
which protects the plant body from decaying under water. In hydrophytes the reserve food

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material is in the form of starch grains found abundantly in pith and cortex. Cystoliths (sclerids)
are common in leaves and other tissues which provide some mechanical support to the tissues.

Physiological features: Aquatic plants exhibit a low osmotic concentration of cell sap. In these
plants the nutrients are absorbed through the plant surface. The exchange of gases takes place
through epidermis. The gases produced during respiration and photosynthesis are partly retained
in the arenchyma (air chambers). The emergent and free floating plants have high rate of
transpiration while there is no transpiration from submerged plants.

A B

Fig. 5.8 Anatomical features of some hydrophytes A. Cross section of Nymphea leaf; B, Part of petiole of
Nymphaea
(Source: https://quizlet.com/344282293/cross-sections-examplesplant-lab-flash-cards/ accessed on 21-02-2022 12:36 pm)

5.6.2 Mesophytes
Mesophytes represent the group of terrestrial plants which grow in moderate conditions of water
and temperature. They are broad-leaved trees growing in wet habitats along lakes and rivers.
They stand between hydrophytes and xerophytes and show features similar to both the groups.
Mesophytes do not possess special morphological and physiological adaptations as hydrophytes
and xerophytes.

Some of the significant morphological and anatomical features of mesophytes are: 1. The root
system is well developed, they are branched containing root hairs and root caps for the uptake of
water and minerals from the soil. 2. Stem is generally aerial, solid and branched. 3. Leaves are
generally large, broad and exhibit shape variations, aligned horizontally, they are green and lack
hairy or wax coating unlike hydrophytes. 4. In the aerial part cuticle is moderately developed but
epidermis is well developed and contain chloroplasts. Stomata are generally present on both the
surfaces of the leaves. Mesophylls are developed and differentiated into palisade and spongy
parenchyma with many intercellular spaces to aid in exchange of gases between the plant and its

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environment. Vascular bundles are well developed. Mesophytes may exhibit temporary wilting
during noon hours.

5.6.3 Xerophytes
Xerophytes are the plants which are able to survive in an environment with less availability of
water. Daubenmire (1959) defined xerophytes as “plants which grow on substrate that usually
become depleted of water to a depth of atleast two decimeters during normal growth season”.
Thus xerophytes are plants of relatively dry habitats and climate.

On the basis of morphology, physiology and life cycle patterns the xerophytes are classified into
three categories.

1. Ephimerals. These are also called drought evaders or drought escapers. They are short
lived annual plants which completes their life cycle when sufficient water is available.
These plants avoid dry seasons and thus escape dryness in external and internal
environments. The seed germination is followed by flowering and seed production with
the onset of rainfall. Thus the entire life cycle of a xerophyte is completed before the dry
season arrives. The main morphological adaptation of ephemerals is their small size and
large shoot in relation to the root system. Most of the plants are small, dense shrubs e.g.,
Argemone mexicana, Cassia tora Solanum xanthocarpum etc.

2. Succulents. These are the drought enduring xerophytes. These plants suffer dryness in
their external environment only. Their succulent, fleshy stems, leaves or roots serve as
storage organs which store large amounts of water during the rainy seasons. In some
xerophytes the roots become succulent (Asparagus, Ceiba parvifolia) while in some the
stems (Opuntia, Eurphobia) and the leaves (Aloe, Begonia, Agave, Bryophyllum, Yucca,
Tradescantia etc.) become succulent (Fig. 5.8). Except the succulent part the rest of the
plant body is generally reduced. The roots are shallow and fibrous which help in the
absorption of traces of water from the soil surface. In Cacti and Eurphobias the leaves are
absent or modified into spines. The cuticle is thick and vascular system is usually ill-
developed. The succulents have a physiological adaptation that they can utilize carbon
dioxide during night through the CAM pathway (crassulacean acid metabolism). These
plants adapt this type of mechanism because the stomata remain closed during the day to
avoid water loss and gaseous exchange can occur only during night when stomata are
open.

3. Non Succulents Perennial. These are drought resistant plants and are also known as true
xerophytes. They have the ability to maintain growth under critical dry conditions and
high temperature. These plants are woody trees, shrubs or herbs. The examples are
Acacia nelotica, Calotropis procera, Casuarina, Saccharum, Nerium, Zizyphus jujuba etc

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(Fig.5.9). They acquire some morpho-physiological features which help them to

withstand dryness internally as well as from external environment.

Fig. 5.9 Succulents A. Opuntia B. Aloe vera

(Source: Opuntia: https://nanopdf.com/download/phylogenetics-of-cacti-lab-exercise-copy_pdf accessed on 21-02-2022, 11.34
am; Aloe vera: https://studymateriall.com/ecological-adaptations-xerophytes-plants-plant-living-in-dry-places/ accessed on 21-
02-2022, 12:07 pm)

Fig. 5.10 Non succulent xerophytes.

(Source: Acacia nelotica http://botanystudies.com/family-fabaceae-acacia-nilotica/ accessed on 28-02-2022, 11.35 am;
Calotropis https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/rubber-bush-sodom-apple-stabragh-kings-1545599573 accessed on 28-
02-2022, 11.31am)

To prevent dessication they exhibit the several morphological and physiological adaptations.
They have very extensive root system for example in Alfaalfa, Calotropis and Prosopis roots
may be more than 125 feet long. To minimize the rate of transpiration the leaves are absent or
they fall very early (caducous). In Acacia nelotica the leaves are small sized while in Poa,

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Agropyron and Ammophila the leaf blades roll and fold back. Some leaves have heavy cuticular
and epidermal layers. The osmotic pressure of the cell sap is generally high. Plasmodesmata are
absent. In some xerophytes such as Banksia the leaves are stiff and hard (sclerophyllous).

Ecological adaptations in xerophytes

In the above section we have studied about different types of xerophytes and their characteristics
features. These features which enable them to survive in the harsh xeric conditions are discussed
in details below:

Morphological features

1. Roots The xerophytes grow under water deficient conditions unlike hydrophytes. In order
to obtain water present in deep layers of soil, the root system is well developed. The roots
are long, tap roots with extensive branching have root hair and root caps which are well
developed.
2. Stems Mostly xerophytes are woody, dry, hard, ridged undersized plants with thick bark.
In some species the stem is underground (Saccharum) whereas in Cacti (Opuntia) it is
fleshy, green, leaf like (phylloclade) with spines. On stems hairs and wax coating is
generally present.
3. Leaves In xerophytes the leaves are much reduced, scale like and sometimes in form of
spines. Leaf lamina may be divided into small leaflets (Acacia) or needle like as in Pinus.
Foliage leaves may be thick, fleshy and succulent, sometimes tough and leathery. The
leaf surfaces are generally shiny and glazed to reflect the light and heat. In some species
like Ammophila, Agropyron and Poa leaves are folded and rolled to hide the sunken
stomata thus minimizing the rate of transpiration. In Acacia, Zizyphus, Eurphobia etc.,
the stipules are modified into spines.

Anatomical features

1. Roots Root hairs and root caps are well developed in xerophytes. The root hairs are even
present at the root tips (Opuntia). Roots become fleshy to accumulate water as in
Asparagus. In Calotropis and Pinus edulis the roots have rigid and thick cell walls.
2. Stems The anatomy of succulents shows that the stems possess water storage region. In
non succulent forms like Casuarina the cuticle is very thick and epidermis is well
developed with thick cell walls. The hypodermis is multi layered and sclerenchymatous
while stomata are sunken type. The vascular tissues are well differentiated and lignified
comprising of several layered bundle sheaths. Bark is thick often contains oil and resins.
3. Leaves In Peperomia the epidermanl cells also serve as water storing organs. In Aloe and
Salsola the mesophyll tissue store water. The cuticle is thick and outer walls of epidermal
cells are deposited with cutin and cellulose in succulent species. In non succulent
xerophytes such as Pinus and Nerium well developed cuticle, several layered thick

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epidermis and sclerenchymatous hypodermis is present. The mesophyll is differentiated

into palisade and spongy parenchyma. Stomata are sunken type and present only on the
lower epidermis. In Nerium the stomata are found in pits. The vascular tissues are well
developed comprising of xylem and phloem. In Nerium a large vascular bundle is situate
near mid rib while small vascular bundles are found in the entire leaf.

Table 5.1 A comparative account of some morphological, anatomical and physiological

features of three ecologically different groups of plant (Source: P.D. Sharma, 2016)

S.N. Hydrophytes Mesophytes Xerophytes

Roots are generally reduced or Root sestem is well developed. Extensive root system is present.
absent. If present, roots are Tap root system or fibrous roots Roots are deep, larger than stems,
Morphological features

unbranched and lack root hair are present with root hairs hard and woody.
as in emergent forms.
Stem reduced, thin and fragile, Stem is rigid and strong. Stems undersized, branched
sometimes modified into sometimes underground.
rhizomes.
Leaves thin, narrow with Leaves large, thin without waxy Leaves small, reduced to scales or
elongated petiole and large covering. sometimes modified into spines. In
lamina. Wax layer or hairs are some species leaves are thick and
present. leathery with shining surface and
glazed with wax and hairs.
Arenchyma is extended in all Lack arenchyma. Lack arenchyma.
vegetative parts.

Cuticle usually absent. Cuticle well developed. Cuticle well developed, thick.
Anatomical features

Stomata generally absent, or Stomata on one or both the Stomata sunken type, generally
confined to upper surface if surfaces. confined to lower surface.
present.
Mesophyll undifferentiated Mesophyll well developed, Mesophyll generally on both sides.
differentiated.

Epidermis thin walled Epidermis thickened. Epidermal cells distinctively thick.

Mechanical tissues and Mechanical and vascular tissues Mechanical and vascular tissues
Vascular bundles are less. are well developed. prominently well developed.

Special aerating organs are Physiological process normal. Minimum transpiration rates,
Physiological

present, withstand low oxygen some complete their life cycle in

features

conditions. short period of time, high osmotic

pressure, withstand dryness.

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5.6.4 Halophytes
These are special type of xerophytes which grow on physiologically dry soils such as saline soils
with high concentration of salts (sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, magnesium sulphate).
Warming (1909) have classified halophytes on the basis of the substratum on which they grow.
He divided halophytes into four categories:

1. Lithophilous (on rock and stones)

2. Psammophilous (on sand)
3. Pelophilous (on mud)
4. Helophilous types (in swamp): These are further divided into two types

(i). Salt desert and salt swamp

(ii). Littoral swamp forest (mangroves). The littoral swamp forests occur in all tropical
seas, on muddy shores, lagoons, estuaries etc. The soil is flooded with water
throughout the year or at high tide. These mangrove forests are found in tropical
and subtropical regions.
In India mangroves are common on seashores of Kerala and Mumbai and in Andaman and
Nicobar islands. The Sunderbans in the Bay of Bengal, is the largest mangrove forest in the
world. They grow on water logged soil in areas where high precipitation, high atmospheric
humidity and optimum temperature occur. Rhizophora mucronata and Xylocarpus granatum,
Sonneratia are the common examples of mangrove plants.

The xeromorphic characters of halophytes are as follows:

 Most of them are succulents; their leaves are evergreen, thin, small and leathery with
water storage tissues, thick cuticle and well developed palisade tissues.
 Most halophytes possess special type of negative geotropic roots that come out of the soil
surface to increase the oxygen uptake. These roots are called Pneumatophores and they
possess breathing pores for gaseous exchange.
 Some halophytes such as Rhizophora produce stilt roots which have well developed cork,
lacunar primary cortex, with sclerids and secretory cells and well developed mechanical
and vascular tissues.
 Their osmotic pressure values are very high.
 Some halophytes as Rhizophora show vivipary, i.e., the seeds germinate into seedling
before being shed from the parent plant. The xerophytic characters of Rhizophora
mucronata are discussed in detail below:

1. Roots: On the basis of anatomical characters the roots in R. mucronata are divided into
two types; aerial and subterranean. The transverse section of subterranean root shows the
following characters:

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 The cork is several layered.

 Cortex is made up of star shaped or stellate cells which are connected with each
other by lateral arms. The cortical cells have lignified, thickened ridges.
 Pith cells are thick walled with pitted thickenings of lignin.
 Oil and tannin are also found in some cortex and pith cells.

Fig.5.11 Rhizophora mucronata. Transverse section of young stem

(Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/851954454488217528/ accessed on 03-03-2022, 10:32 pm)

2. Stem: The transverse section of young stem shows:

 Thick cuticle.
 Thick epidermal cells with tannin and oil.
 Several layered hypodermis is present with thick cell walls.
 Primary cortex possesses lacunae filled with tannin and oil. The cells of the
lacunae are also thick walled. Some of the cells possess calcium oxalate crystals.
Spicules are present in these regions which are very thick and H-shaped. They
provide mechanical strength to the cortex.
 The inner cortex possesses several branched, thick walled cells –sclerids that also
provide mechanical strength to the plant.
 Several layered, sclerenchymatous pericycle is present.
 Pith also contains lacunae, H- shaped spicules and tannin.

3. Leaf: The leaves of halophytes possess:

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 Well developed cuticle.

 Heavily thickened epidermal cells with calcium oxalate crystals.
 Stomata are sunken and confined to the lower surface.
 Beneath the upper epidermis several layers of thin walled cells are present filled
with water, the outer layer of these cells is filled with oil and tannin. The
lowermost layer possesses mucilaginous cells that are embedded into the palisade
tissue. Mesophyll is well differentiated from other tissues.

Among the annual and perennial psammophilous halophytes the perennials show conspicuous
xerophytic features. Some of the common examples of this group are Suaeda fruticosa and
Salsola foetida.

5.7 SUMMARY

In this unit the learners have studied about the population and its characteristics, Ecological
adaptation in species. The term population ecology comes under the major field ecology which
refers to the study of dynamics of various species populations and their interaction with their
environment. Earlier the ecology is divided into autecology and synecology. The former deals
with the study of a single species in relation to the environment while the later is the study of
many species in relation to the environment. The term autecology comes from Greek word auto
means self, oikos means household and logos means knowledge. It encompasses the concepts
such as life cycles and behaviour like ability of an individual to adapt to the environment. The
synecology is divided into population ecology, community ecology and ecosystem ecology.

A population is defined as a group of individuals of same species who interact with each other.
The total number of individuals in a population is referred to as population size and the average
number of individuals in a population per unit area or volume is known as density. The
population size can be influenced by births, deaths, emigration and immigration. In a population
the maximum population size of the species that the environment can support is defined as the
carrying capacity. It is determined by the available resources such as food, water, light, shelter or
habitat etc. The size of a population is not a static parameter it keeps on changing. There are two
types of population growth patterns which depend on specific environmental conditions. An
exponential growth pattern occurs when the environmental conditions are ideal for a species. It is
denoted by J shaped curve. A logistic growth pattern occurs when environmental conditions
affect the rate of growth. It is denoted by S shaped curve. Likewise population growth patterns
age structure is also a population characteristic. It is a graphical representation of distribution of
the population by various ages in a population. It assumes the shape of a pyramid when the
population is increasing. Thus the pyramid can be used to represent the age of a population. The
age may be expressed as days, months or years and it can also be expressed in categories such as
pre reproductive, reproductive and post reproductive. The age distribution is depicted by plotting

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the percentage of individuals in various age classes as a function of the relative width of
successive horizontal bars, with the youngest at the bottom and the oldest at the top. A high
percentage of organisms in reproductive phase indicate the rapid growth in population. The
pyramid or age structure varies from population to population. A pyramid with a broad base
indicates young population which is said to be fast growing. It depicts that the birth rate is higher
than the mortality rate for a given population. The bell shaped polygon structure represents stable
population as the number of births and deaths are almost equal. The urn shaped pyramid
indicates declining population as the old individuals are in majority hence the population has a
low birth rate.

The availability of resources is also influenced by population size. If a population grows rapidly,
more resources are required to support it. The relationship between population and resource
availability is complicated. The availability of natural resources is determined by population
growth and decline. At the same time, natural resource availability influences population
dynamics.

Meanwhile, genetics is to blame for some physical and/or physiological variances in small group
populations, which are linked to habitat. They are, nevertheless, capable of mating with other
ecotypes of the same species. Ecotypes are colonies or groups of species that have adapted to
their local habitat.

Living creatures interact with their surroundings and develop certain morphological, anatomical,
and physiological traits in order to survive in harsh environments and maximize their potential.
Thus, Ecological adaptation refers to an organism's morphological, anatomical, and
physiological characteristics that enable it to survive and reproduce in a given environment.

Today, there are around 8.7 million species on the earth, which live in a variety of natural
environments such as acidic soil, saline soil, fresh water, saline water, marshy areas, desserts,
and so on.

5.8 GLOSSARY

Altitude: The height of a place above sea level.

Bottle neck effect: It refers to the way in which a subsequent increase or decrease in a size of a
population affects the distribution of genetic variation among its individuals.
Cystoliths: These are the outgrowths of the epidermal cell wall, usually made up of calcium
carbonate generally present in the leaf of plants.
Density: It is the number of individuals of a given species that occurs within a given sample unit
or study area.
Dispersion: It refers to how the individuals in a population are distributed in space at a given
time.

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Ecotype: A variety or race of a plant or animal species occupying a particular habitat in an

ecosystem.
Emigration: Number of individuals of a population that leave the group to reside in other place.
Ephimeral: A plant that grows flowers and dies in a short period of time.
Evenness: Species evenness in an environment refers to how close in numbers each species is.
Evolution: It is the change in heritable characteristics of organisms over successive generations.
Fecundity: It is an individual’s (usually female) physiological maximal potential reproductive
output throughout its lifetime.
Genecology: It is a branch of ecology under which genetic variation of species and
communities in comparison to their population distribution in a local environment is studied.
Habitat: place where and organism lives and grows.
Halophyte: It is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into
contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts,
mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs and seashores.
Hybridization: It is the process of crossbreeding between genetically dissimilar parents to
produce a hybrid.
Hydrophytes: These are plants which grow only in or on water.
Immigration: Number of individuals that comes in a population over a period of time.
Latitudes: Latitude is an angle which ranges from 0° at the Equator to 90° (North or South) at
the poles. It is used together with longitude to specify the precise location on the Earth.
Local population: A group of individuals within a same habitat.
Mesophytes: These are plants adapted to moderate condition of light and water.
Migration: Migration involves the movement of individuals from one place to another with
intentions of finding food, water, settling permanently or temporarily at a new geographic region.
Mortality: It is the number of individuals that die in a given period (deaths per unit time).
Mutation: It is a change in DNA sequence. It results from DNA copying mistakes made during
cell division, infection by viruses, exposure to chemicals (mutagens), exposure to ionizing
radiation etc.
Natality: It is the ratio of the number of births to the size of the population i.e., birth rate.
Photoperiod: It is the day length that is the period of time each day during which a plant
receives sunlight.
Pollination: It is the process of transferring pollen grains from the anther of a flower to the
stigma of flower on the same or different plant.
Population: A population is the number of living organisms of a species that live together in the
same place.
Species population: all individuals of a particular species.
Succulents: These plants are mostly inhabitants of dry areas. They are drought resistant plants in
which the leaves, stem or roots have become fleshy to retain water.
Xerophytes: These are the plants adapted to a dry habitat such as desert, salt marsh, saline soil
or acid bog.

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5.9 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION

5.9.1 Multiple choice questions

1. Which is not the characteristic of a population?
(a). Natality (b). Mortality
(c). Stratification (d). Age structure
2. Plant species with a genetically similar variety adapted to specific environmental
conditions is known as
(a). Ecotype (b). Population
(c). Ecosystem (d). Ecotone
3. The group of individuals that belongs to the same species and live in a geographical area
is known as
(a). Community (b). Keystone species
(c). Guild (d). Population
4. What is the most important factor for the survival of a population?
(a). Natality (b). Adaptability
(c). Habitat (d). Inter species activity
5. Exponential growth occurs when there is
(a). large environmental resistance (b). no environmental resistance
c. static carrying capacity (d). no biotic potential
6. The average number of individuals living in per unit area or volume is called
(a). Density (b). Natality
©. Mortality (d). Dispersion
7. The regular pattern of distribution of individuals of a population over an area is
(a). Natality (b). Dispersion
(c). Density (d). Pyramid
8. Hydrophytes exchange gases through
(a). Lenticels (b). Stomata
(c). Epidermis (d). All of these
9. Which plant is completely submerged in water and rooted in the mud?
(a). Wolffia (b). Polygonum
(c). Hydrilla (d). Casuarina
10. Plants growing on sand are known as
(a). Psammophilous (b). chrysophytes
(c). Pelophilous (d). Lithophilous

5.9.2 True and False

1. The size of the population is represented by the characteristics called density.

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2. Urn shaped structure can be seen in the diminishing population.

3. Pistia is a rooted submerged plant.
4. Lemna is free floating hydrophytes.
5. The natural place of an organism of a species is known as habitat.
6. Vivipary occurs in Rhizophora.
7. Sclerophyllous leaves are found in Banksia.
8. In hydrophytes the parenchyma and arenchyma are ill developed.
9. In Nymphea the leaves are modified into spines.
10. Ephemerals are long lived perennial plants.

5.9.3 Fill in the blanks.

1. A population is a ______of individuals of a species.

2. The number of individuals of a species living in an area at the same time is called ______
3. The rate at which the individuals die in a unit time is called ______.
4. The number of individuals of a population increased in unit time is called ______.
5. The relative number of individuals of each age in population is called ______.
6. The maximum number of birth given by the individual (female) under standard
conditions of environment is called ______.
7. ______ is an example of rooted hydrophytes with floating leaves.
8. Rhizophora mucronata is an example of ______ plant.
9. Plant that grows in saline soil is called ______.
10. Typha is an example of ______ plants.

Answer Key:
5.9.1: 1(c); 2(a); 3(d); 4(b); 5(b); 6(a); 7(b); 8(c); 9(c); 10(a)
5.9.2: 1.True; 2.True; 3.False; 4.True; 5.True; 6.True; 7.False; 8.False; 9.False; 10.False.
5.9.3: 1.Group; 2. Density; 3. Mortality; 4. Population growth; 5. Population structure; 6.
Potential natality; 7. Nelumbo; 8.Mangrove; 9. Halophyte; 10. Marsh.

5.10 REFERENCES
 Singh, J.S. Singh, S. P. Gupta, S. R. (2014) Ecology Environmental Science and
Conservation. S. Chand & Company Pvt. Ltd. 7361, Ran Nagar, New Delhi
 Verma P. S. Agarwal V.K. (1983) Environmental Biology (Principals of Ecology)
published by S. Chand & Company Pvt. Ltd. 7361, Ran Nagar, New Delhi.
 Sharma P.D. Ecology and Environment. Rastogi Publication.
 Misra R., Siva rao B. S. (1948) A study in the autecology of Lindenbergia polyantha
Royle. Journal of Indian Botanical Society. 27: 186-199.
 Gregor, J. W. (1939). Experimental Taxonomy. IV. The New Phytologist. 38, 293-322.

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 Daubenmire R. (1959) Vegeatation: Identification of Typal Communities Author(s): R.

Daubenmire Source: Science, New Series, Vol. 151, No. 3708 (Jan. 21, 1966), pp. 291-
298 Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science. Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/171718
 Turesson, G. (1922a). The species and the variety as ecological units. Hereditas, Lund, 3.
100-13.
 Turesson, G. (1922b). The genotypical response of the plant species to the habitat.
Hereditas, Lund, 3, 211-350.
 Ramakrishnan, PS (1965) Studies on edaphic ecotypes in Eurphobia thymifolia L. II.
Growth performance, mineral uptake and inter-ecotypic competition. The Journal of
Ecology. 53, 705.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_ecology
 https://biologydictionary.net/density-independent-factors/
 https://biologydictionary.net/population/
 https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-biology/chapter/environmental-limits-to-
population-growth/
 http://www.bhattadevuniversity.ac.in/docs/studyMaterial/Dr.BharatiGogoi_Geography/PG
_2_Sem_Population_-_Resource_Relationship.pdf
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotype
 https://ccelms.ap.gov.in/adminassets/docs/12112020095109-Ecotypes_EM.pdf
 https://www.britannica.com/science/density-independent-factor
 https://www.britannica.com/science/density-dependent-factor
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/population-
density
 https://www.biologydiscussion.com/ecology/gene-ecology-ecological-genetics-of-population/6758
 https://old.amu.ac.in/emp/studym/100010919.pdf

5.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

 J.S. Singh, S. P. Singh, S. R. Gupta (2014) Ecology Environmental Science and

Conservation. S. Chand & Company Pvt. Ltd. 7361, Ran Nagar, New Delhi
 Verma P. S. Agarwal V.K. (1983) Environmental Biology (Principals of Ecology)
published by S. Chand & Company Pvt. Ltd. 7361, Ran Nagar, New Delhi
 Sharma P.D. Ecology and Environment. Rastogi Publication.

5.12 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

5.12.1 Short Answer Type Questions

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1. What is population density give example?

2. How do you define population size?
3. Write a short note on population growth.
4. Write a short note on natality and mortality.
5. Write a short note on drought resistance.
6. Write a short note on halophytes.

5.12.2 Long Answer Type

1. What is population? Give an account of various characteristics of population.
2. With suitable examples give a detailed account of different group of hydrophytes.
3. Write a detailed note on ecological adaptations in xerophytes.
4. What are ecotypes? Explain.
5. What are the features of ecological adaptations in halophytes?

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UNIT-6- COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT

Contents:

6.1 Objectives
6.2 Introduction
6.3 Size and structure of biotic community
6.4 Classification of community
6.4.1 Physiognomic classification
6.4.2 Habitat classification
6.4.3 Floristic classification
6.4.4 Dynamic classification
6.5 Concept of Climax
6.5.1 Characteristics of Climax
6.5.2 Types of Climax
6.6 Ecotone
6.7 Ecological niche
6.8 Community diversity and continuum
6.9 Community development and co evolution
6.10 Summary
6.11 Glossary
6.12 Self assessment questions
6.13 References
6.14 Suggested readings
6.15 Terminal questions

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6.1 OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit students will be able to:

 Understand the community structure.

 Understand the characteristics if community.
 Understand the community classification and concept of climax.
 Understand about ecotone and ecological niches.
 Understand community diversity and its development.

6.2 INTRODUCTION

Dear learners in the previous unit you have learnt about the population of a species which refers
to a group of individuals of a species that lives in a specific geographical area. In the present unit
we will study about the community and its attributes. In ecology, a community, also known as
biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community or ecological community is a group or
association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical
area at the same time. Thus, Populations of species interact with one another and form biological
communities. The term community refers to groups of organisms in a certain area or time, such
as the fish community of a lake.

Robert Whittaker in 1975 proposed one of the early formal definitions of community ecology.
He defined it as an aggregation of living organisms that interact and form a community with a
distinct structure and species composition. It is critical to understand how a community functions
in order to promote and preserve biodiversity.
Community ecology or synecology is the study of interactions between many species in relation
to the environment. These interactions occur between coexisting populations on many spatial and
temporal scales like structure, distribution, abundance and demography. The interaction between
populations as specified by distinct genotypic and phenotypic features is the core focus of
community ecology.

Abiotic factors that influence species distributions or interactions are also considered in
community ecology (e.g. annual temperature or soil pH). Because of differences in yearly
precipitation, desert plant communities differ significantly from those found in tropical
rainforests. Habitat disruption, such as the introduction of invasive species, can also have an
impact on community structure.

The significance and value of the community notion in ecology is up for dispute on a deeper
level. Local processes creating (or destructing) an assemblage of species, such as how climate
change is anticipated to alter the make-up of grass ecosystems, have historically been understood

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on a fine scale. This local community focus has recently been criticised. Using evolutionary
taxonomy and biogeography, Ricklefs and Schluter (1993) argues that it is more appropriate to
think of communities on a regional scale, where certain species or clades evolve while others
become extinct. Many traits of communities are not seen in populations. The community is the
bigger unit of population. The sizes, habitats, and number of populations in communities vary.

Small communities rely on large communities and are heavily impacted by them, whereas large
communities are self-sufficient and independent. Ecologists divide communities into groups
based on a variety of factors. Depending on the development, size, and composition of the plants
and organisms, the communities can be classified as forests, grasslands, logs, deserts, and so on.
Communities that are increasing as a result of succession or changes are known as seral
communities, while communities that remain stable are called climax communities.

The study of how communities of organisms are structured and operate is known as community
ecology. Various populations of species interact with one another to create biological
communities. Every population of a species that interacts and coexists in a given space or
environment is considered as a community of organisms. Community ecology also examines the
interaction between the members of a community to their environment. The community is
usually categorized according to the habitat or biome. A forest, a pond and a desert are the
examples of natural communities. A community has its own structure, development history and
behaviours.

6.3 SIZE AND STRUCTURE OF BIOTIC COMMUNITY

The biotic community may be small or large. Some communities like ponds, tide flats, rocky
plateaus, rivers, meadows and many others occupy small areas others like forests, swamps,
deserts, grasslands, lakes and many more have an area of hundreds of kilometers. Biotic
communities have certain structural characteristics that are frequently used to identify them from
other types of communities. The study of plant communities is known as phytosociology.

The structural characteristics of a plant community can be categorized into two groups:
analytical and synthetic. The analytical characters are those that can be directly observed in the
field. These characters can be expressed and measured in quantitative terms depending on the
fact that they can be either quantitative or qualitative. Based on the information gathered for the
analytical characters, the synthetic characters were created.

6.3.1 Qualitative characters of community:

The following are the primary qualitative characteristics of plant community:

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6.3.1.1. Physiognomy:

The exterior appearance of the plant community or physiognomy can be described in terms of
the dominating plants as well as their density, height, colour, and other physical characteristics. It
does not place focus on any particular individual or species.

In fact, physiognomy was defined by Cain and Castro (1959) as the shape and organisation of the
vegetation or the appearance that comes from the life-form of the dominant plants. According to
Daubenmire in 1947, the term ‘life form’ refers to the shape or appearance of an organism
regardless of how it was created. The physiognomy of different communities is described by
names like woods, grasslands, savannahs, scrub and bog among others.

6.3.1.2. Growth-forms and life-forms:

The growth forms and living forms define the physical structure of a community. The structure
and growth forms depict the difference between various terrestrial communities. The vegetation
of the community can be categorised based on its growth forms. Short bushes, shrubs or tall
trees, woody or herbaceous plants, deciduous or evergreen plants may all be found in the same
plant community. Needle-leafed evergreens, sclerophylls, thorn trees, broad-leafed evergreen or
deciduous trees, shrubs, grasses, mosses, ferns and lichens are all sub-categories of herbs, shrubs,
and trees.

Raunkiaer (1905) classified the plants on the basis of life forms. He defined life forms based on
perennating tissue above ground or simply plant height. He proposed that all species in a given
area are classified into six major life forms: epiphytes, phanerophytes, chamaephytes,
hemicryptophytes, cryptophytes and therophytes. The communities are dominated by
phanerophytes where the climates are warm whereas cold climates are associated with
communities dominated by hemicryptophytes and chamaephytes.

Numerous efforts have been made by plant ecologists to categorise plants based on their form
(i.e., growth form and life form), habitat or other traits. Pound and Clements (1900) divided
plants into three categories based on their growth forms: shrubs, trees, and herbs. These
categories were then further divided into needle leaf evergreens, broad leaf evergreens, evergreen
sclerophyll (small, tough, evergreen leaves, like those found in greasewood), broadleaf
deciduous, thorn trees and shrubs, dwarf shrubs, ferns, grasses, forbs and liverworts.

The life form spectrum that shows the plant's adaptations to the environment, particularly
climates can be created by categorising all the species within a community into one of the five
classes and expressing the ratio between them as a percentage. For example, Warm temperatures
would be characterised by communities with a high percentage of perennating tissue much above
ground (phanerophytes). Deserts would have communities where therophytes and chamaephytes

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make up the majority of the plants, as well as communities where these two plant types
predominate. Here is a short description of those five classes of plants.

1. Phanerophytes (Gr., phaeros, visible). Perennial buds are subjected to various climatic
conditions while being flown high in the air. Trees and shrubs exceed 25 cm; they are
common in humid, warm climates. Subtypes of phanerophytes include woody lianas,
epiphytes and stem succulents (such as cacti and euphorbias).
2. Chamaephvtes (Gr., charrai, on the ground). Approximately 25 cm above the ground,
perennial shoots or buds can be found. Snow cover and fallen leaves provide protection
for buds. Examples are Thymus, Silene, Trifolium, Rhanmus, Druba, Grewia etc. that
grow in cool, dry climates.
3. Hemicryptophytes (Gr., hemisus , half ., krypos, hidden). Many plants, such as grasses
and herbs like Thalictrum, Fragonia, Primula, etc., have perennial buds at the surface of
the earth where they are sheltered by soil. These plants are characterised by rosette leaves
and are typical of cold, moist climates.
4. Cryptophytes (Gr., krypos, hidden). Perennial buds buried in the ground on a bulb and
rhizome to be protected from freezing and drying. This category consists of plants with
buds that remain submerged in water, such as hydrophytes, helophytes (marsh plants with
rhizomes under the soil), and geophytes (terrestrial plants with underground rhizomes,
tubers), etc.
5. Therophytes (Gr., thews, summer). Annuals that go through their entire life cycle from
seed to seed in a single season. Deserts and grasslands are known for having plants that
can withstand unfavourable conditions as seeds.

6.3.1.3. Phenology, periodicity or aspection:

The form of a plant changes with age, therefore the same species at various phases in its life
cycle represents a community with a distinct structure. Periodicity describes the recurrent
seasonal occurrence of different processes and their demonstrations (as formation of leaves,
flowering, seed shedding).

Aspection is the term used to describe how the community looks overall during various seasons
such as the rainy season, summer, spring, or winter. According to Lieth (1970, 1974), phenology
is the skill of studying animal and plant life cycles or activities in relation to their temporal
recurrence throughout the year. Phenophase refers to each stage of the life cycle. Diagrams and
symbols have been used in a variety of ways to describe the phenophases.

6.3.1.4. Stratification:

The biotic community has an unequal distribution of organisms. Both the vertical and horizontal
planes can be used to examine spatial distribution. Some additionally include the temporary
stratification among these stratifications.

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1 .Vertical stratification:

Stratification is the term for vertical shift in a pattern of community structure. In a biotic
community, stratification is the vertical layering of organisms or environmental factors. The size,
branching and leaves of plants, which in turn influence and are influenced by the vertical
gradient of light are a major factor in how a community is stratified. Numerous animal life forms
are physically adapted to live in the vertical structure of the plant community. Many
communities have been found to have vertical stratification and the following are some clear
examples of this phenomenon.

(i). Forest community: In a well established forest ecosystem there are multiple layers of
vegetation. These are the over story stratum, also known as the canopy, the understory
stratum, the transgressive stratum, or the shrub, the ground layer, the seedling stratum,
also known as the herb and the forest floor, The forest floor is also known as the
subterranean stratum which is the lowest subdivision. Subterranean materials include
plant roots, trash and living things like soil bacteria, protozoa, fungi etc. The Herb or
seedling substratum is located above the soil and contains the upper parts of growth
forms. The subterranean (forest floor) strata made up the majority of the vertical
stratification in the forest community Along with litters, fungi, bacteria, etc., herbaceous
plants, shrubs and forest strata, the higher portions of growth form (canopy). An
additional stratum is emergent trees which are found in tropical rain forests. These plants
rise above the canopy of the forest (fig. 6.1).

Figure 6.1: Structure of a rainforest

The roots of plants may be more widely dispersed or more deeply penetrating. Because
the roots are spaced apart, the plants may extract the nutrients and water they need from
various soil depths without interfering with one another. The canopy, which is the main

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location for energy fixation, has a significant impact on the rest of the forest. The
understory tree strata and the shrub will be well developed if it is somewhat open (a
forest in a dry environment) and receives a lot of sunlight. The shrub, understory trees
and even the herbaceous layers will not develop well in a closed canopy (a rain forest).
Additionally, the forest trees may benefit from reaching the canopy because the area
receives plenty of sunlight, which supports photosynthesis. However, the tree must
expend a significant amount of photosynthesis energy to grow woody tissue in its stem
and branches in order to support the foliage of the canopy.

The low light levels that the forest herbs must endure may seem to be a disadvantage, yet
the herbs do not need to invest their little photosynthetic profit in woody supporting
tissue. In order to adapt to the gradient of light intensity, forests contain a gradient of
growth-forms, including higher and lower trees, upper and lower shrubs, upper and lower
herbs, and soil-surface mosses.

Along the gradient, growth-form designs shift from one extreme that is the upper tree
with foliage in full sunlight, massive supporting stem and branch structure and a root
system with a mass smaller than the above ground structure to herbs with adaptations at
the other extreme (photosynthesis at low levels of light intensity, little investment in
above ground supporting structure and accumulation of reserve food in a root system that
is more massive than the above-ground structure.

Tall shrubs, understory trees and young trees constitute the understory strata; some of
these are the same species as those in the crown, while others are of different species.
Others eventually reach the canopy after some of the elder trees die or are cut down;
species that cannot endure shade and competition will perish.

Different forests have different shrub layers. The type of the herb layer depends on the
soil moisture levels, density, over story, slope positioning and slope characteristics, all of
which change from location to location throughout the forest. Small liverworts, prostate
plants and mosses on the ground may form another layer of vegetation below the herbs.
On the tree trunk and branches, lichens and epiphytes can be found growing in various
strata. The decomposition of the forest litter and the release of nutrients into the nutrient
cycle occur at the site of the topmost layer, the forest floor.

Additionally, the number and development of the forest's layers have a direct impact on
the type of life that exists there. For instance, stratification is more prevalent in rain
forests with greater species diversity. In contrast, all the plants in an agricultural field that
has been cleared of weeds from the same stratum. However, if particular layers are
lacking, the animals that they typically protect and support are also absent. Consequently,
a well-maintained forest supports a wide variety of living beings.

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(ii). Grassland Community: In grassland community, only three strata: the herbaceous layer,
the ground or mulch layer and the root layer can be easily distinguished. In comparison to
other ecosystems, grasslands have the most prominent root layer, which is home to a
variety of invertebrates including earthworms, spiders, insects and other invertebrates as
well as soil bacteria, fungus, protozoans and nematodes.

(iii). Aquatic Communities: Strata in aquatic ecosystems including ponds, lakes, and oceans
are determined by light penetration, temperature profiles and oxygen profiles. In
summers, well stratified lakes have a layer of freely flowing surface water, the
Epilimnion; the second layer is Metalimnion, represented by a thermocline (i.e., a very
steep and rapid decline in temperature); the third layer is hypolimnion, which is a deep,
cold layer of dense water about 4°C, with less oxygen; and a layer of bottom mud (fig.
6.2).

Figure 6.2: Thermal Stratification of a lake

On the basis of light penetration, two additional structural layers are identified: a lower
layer, where decomposition is most active and an upper layer roughly comparable to the
Epilimnion, where phytoplankton predominates and where photosynthesis occurs.
Hypolimnion and bottom mud are basically equivalent to the lowest layer.
Biological or tropical structures are common to all communities, whether they are
terrestrial or aquatic. They have an autotrophic layer that is concentrated in the areas with
the highest light and that stores solar energy while producing food from non-organic
materials. This layer is concentrated in the canopy of forests, the herbaceous layer of
grasslands and the upper layer of water in lakes and seas (i.e., in phytoplanktons). A
heterotrophic layer exists inside the biotic communities as well, which uses the food that
autotrophs have stored, transmits energy, and circulates matter through herbivores,
predation in the broadest sense and decomposition.

2. Horizontal stratification:

Horizontal stratification or dispersion relates to the distribution of organisms, principally plants,

in the horizontal space (i.e., on the ground) or across the canopy. Like vertical stratification, it

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can influence the presence and absence of certain forms of animal life. The following three
distribution patterns are observed for the organisms:
(i) Random distribution, in which no organism appears to be put with regard to another
organism's location and there is no interaction between individuals on the positive or negative
side, (ii) Clumped or contagions dispersion occurs when a number of people congregate in
various locations throughout the area. In contrast to a helter-skelter arrangement, ants are
organised into colonies, fish into schools, and people into cities. (iii) Regular or uniform
distribution is caused by the adverse effects of one organism on another; each organism is spaced
at specific intervals from others in the same species.

The creosote bush (Larrea spp.), which is fairly uniformly spaced, and some breeding birds that
build and defend territories from other individuals, which parcel out the space in a predictable
manner, are examples of desert plants with this distribution pattern. Most of the plants are
clumped to varied degrees. The following factors affect the horizontal spread of plants and some
animals:

(i). Seed distribution and vegetative reproduction: Plants with airborne seeds may be
extensively dispersed, but plants with heavy seeds or with noticeable runners or rhizomes
for vegetative reproduction will cluster close to the parent plant. The clustering of some
sessile animals, which release larvae that settle close to the reproducing adult, is also
explained by a similar dispersal process.
(ii). Environmental variations: Herbaceous plants in the forest may cluster in areas where
pools of light penetrate the canopy and reach the forest floor. Other variations in the
environment might also exist. Since the area is not uniform, certain places are better
suited than others for growth, reproduction and survival.
The mosaic design of the environment causes organisms to be distributed unevenly
within it. Clusters of organisms can form when they are individually influenced by the
same environment rather than because there is an attraction between them. Zonation is a
prominent type of horizontal stratification that is primarily brought on by variations in
climatic or edaphic circumstances that slow down or prevent rooted vegetation. Around
ponds and bogs, this form of stratification is particularly noticeable.
(iii). Species interrelations: Interactions between species can be either harmful or beneficial.
Positive interactions cause individuals to cluster, whereas negative interactions cause
them to be evenly spaced apart.

3. Temporal stratification:

In addition to the spatial stratification of communities, there is also a temporal stratification of

communities. Environmental elements like light, temperature and other environmental
parameters typically follow daily and yearly cycles in biotic communities surroundings. There
are also intricate rhythms created by the rise and fall of tides in some towns, especially those that

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are near coastal areas. Biotic communities generally experience functional rhythms as a response
to environmental cycles.

In many water bodies, the plankton population varies quickly, with different species replacing
one another over the course of days and weeks. Throughout the year, a variety of significant
species may be found to be the dominant plankton species. Thus, the winter plankton in
freshwater lakes may be dominated by species of diatoms and other yellow green algae. These
are replaced by desmids and other green algae when the water warms in the later spring and early
summer.

When temperatures are at their highest during the summer, blue green algae may dominate or
codominate with green algae; as the weather cools, the green and yellow green algae regain
supremacy. Every species has a dormant stage during which it can endure the seasons that are
unfavourable to its activity. Every species has a specific location in the yearly pattern,
determined by how it reacts to temperature changes and other environmental conditions. The
plankton community exhibits a difference in timing, with several groups of species occurring at
various points throughout the seasonal cycle. The total number of plankton species throughout
the year is substantially higher than the amount that is present at any given time.

In forests, seasonal and daily differentiation (stratification) also takes place. A certain type of
bug is active during the day, another type is active at night, and a third type may be active during
the twilight hours between dawn and night. Flycatchers, warblers and other insectivorous birds
are active throughout the day in terrestrial communities, followed by bats at night and
nighthawks after dusk. The emergence of various plant species in blossom as well as various
insect species visiting these flowers serve as indicators of the progress of the seasons. Spring
beauties, dogtooth violets and other herbs grow their foliage and bloom before the trees are in
leaf in deciduous forests.

6.3.1.5. Species abundance and species diversity:

The community is made up of a variety of species; most of which are rare and only few are
abundant. Species abundance or species richness in the community shows how widely the
species is distributed there. Despite being a qualitative estimate, it is related to density.

While a large number of individuals in an area will not be considered abundant, the same number
of individuals dispersed around the community may appear to be abundant. An arbitrary scale is
used to express the species richness or abundance, which is expressed in five degrees as follows:
On an arbitrary scale, the species richness or abundance is stated in five degrees as follows:
There are five different types of rarity: (i) rare (r), (ii) occasional (o) or sparse, (iii) frequent (f)
or not numerous, (iv) abundant (a) or numerous, and (v) very abundant (va) or very numerous.

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Species richness and species evenness are two factors that are helpful in determining the species
diversity of a community. A community with a small number of individuals of various species
will have a higher level of diversity than one with a similar number of individuals from a smaller
number of species.

For the purposes of comparison, the Shannon Wiener index is employed to measure species
diversity. This index calculates diversity using the following equation:

Where, H = the diversity of species

s = the number of species
pi = proportion of individuals of the total sample belonging to the species.

This index considers both the total number of species and their relative abundance.

Species diversity is useful in evaluating global ecosystems because it allows for comparison of
similar communities within a particular area. A latitudinal gradient would show a decline in plant
and animal populations as one left the tropics and moved north through the temperate zone to the
arctic zone.

Fisher (1960), discovered that nesting bird species approach 1395 in Colombia, decline to 1100
in Panama, 143 in Florida, 118 in Newfoundland, and 56 in Greenland. The same pattern can be
observed in fish, lizards, trees and mammals (Simpson, 1964; Pinaka, 1967; Monk, 1967). (Lowe
Mc Connell, 1969). The diversity of species increases from cold to warm climates. However, the
diversity of species in the oceans rises from the continental shelf, where there is plenty of food
but a more unstable environment, to the deep, cold water, where there is less food but a more
stable environment.

Additionally, peninsulas have fewer species than adjacent continental areas and mountains
generally support more species than flatlands. Compared to large islands and those closer to
continents, small or remote islands have fewer species (Smith, 1977).

The following theories have been put forward to explain why one island should have more
species than another or why the tropics should harbour more species than the temperate zone:

1. Time theory: Species diversity and evolutionary time have been linked by Fischer
(1960) and Simpson (1964). It has been discovered that older societies have more
diversity than younger ones. Tropical communities develop and diversify more quickly
than temperate or arctic groups, in part because the climate is more stable and natural
disasters are less common. This view is supported by certain paleontological evidences.

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2. Spatial heterogenity theory: According to Simpson (1964), the more complex and
heterogeneous the physical environment, the more complex and varied its flora and fauna
would be. There will be more variety of species present in a community if there is a
greater variance in topographic relief, a more complex vertical structure of the vegetation,
and a greater variety of microhabitats. A community will have more bird species present
if its vertical stratification is more complicated (MacArthur, 1972).
3. Climatic stability theory: According to Fischer (1960) theory, there would be more
species present in a more stable environment. The tropics have probably been the most
stable and largely free from harsh climatic circumstances that could have an impact on a
population throughout evolutionary time. Under tropical environments, competition
between individuals and members of different species has a significant impact on natural
selection.
4. Productivity theory: According to Connell and Orias (1964), the quantity of energy
moving through the food web affects how diverse a group is. The capacity of ecosystem
and the level of environmental stability both have an impact on the rate of energy flow.
5. Competition theory: Dobzhansky (1951) and Williams (1964) claimed that biological
competition has a more significant role in the evolution of species and the specialisation
of niches in tropical regions with milder climates than high physical stress environments
like the Arctic.
6. Predation theory: Paine (1966) suggested that predator populations are higher in more
diversified communities like the tropics, where they control the abundance of prey
species considerably reducing competition among prey species.
7. Stability-time hypotheses: According to Sanders (1968), there are two distinct types of
communities: those that are physically regulated and those that are biologically governed.
A stress gradient results in a steady decline in species numbers. The communities that are
predominately biologically adapted have the greatest diversity.

6.3.1.6 Sociability:

The term “sociability” shows how organisms relate to one another and denotes how closely
organisms are knit together within a community. Braun Blanquet (1932) identified the five
arbitrary forms of sociability as follows: S 1, plants that grow singly, S2 plants growing in small
groups, S3 plants found in small patches, S4 plants growing in big patches, and S5 plants growing
as large populations. Whitford (1949) used the following equation to explain the sociability of
plants in quantitative terms:

Sociability = Density × 100/Frequency

6.3.1.7 Vitality:

The ability of a plant species to grow normally and reproduce, which aids in sustaining its place
in the community is referred to as vitality.

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The following five kinds of vitality have frequently been recognised by plant ecologists: Plants
classified as V1 are those that germinate but do not live long enough to reproduce; V2 are those
that persist after germination but are unable to do so; V3 are those that reproduce only
vegetatively; V4 are those that reproduce sexually but do so rather poorly; and V5 are those that
reproduce very well sexually.

6.3.1.8 Disseminule type:

In recent years, the type of dispersion organ or disseminule of a plant species has also been
employed as a community feature. The following plant disseminule kinds have been recognised
by Dansereau and Lems (1957) (Table 6.1):

Table 6.1. Disseminule types of plants:

Disseminule type
Disseminule type
according to Examples
according to agent
morphology
Autochore Expulsive Vinca, Ruellia
(Self dispersed) Stoloniferous Fragaria
Tridax,
Pulmose Taraxacum
Anemochore Minute Orchids, ferns
(wind dispersed) Winged Tilia, Pinus
Tumbleweed Physalis
Catapult Papaver
Fleshy Rubus
Zoochore Nutlike Ficus, Psidium
(animal dispersed) Xanthium,
Adhesive Cenchrus
Eichhornia,
Hydrochore
Buoyant Hydrilla
(water dispersed)
Splash cup Marchantia

6.3.2 Quantitative Characters of Community

6.3.2.1. Density:
The strength of the species in the community is measured by density. Plants grow at various
distances from one another. The density of a unit area can be estimated by the number of plants
growing there.

A community's structure is influenced by changes in the species density within it through time
and space. Density reveals how competitive an area is. There is more competition amongst the
individuals of the species if the density is higher.

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Density is calculated as the number of organism per square meter and is stated as follows:
Density = Total number of individuals of the species in all the sampling units / Total number of
sampling units studied

6.3.2.2. Frequency

Frequency is expressed as the percentage occurrence of individuals of a species in a number of

samples. It denotes the homogeneity of the dispersion of the individuals of a species within the
community. It is measured as follows:

Number of sampling units in which the species occurred

Frequency (%)= × 100
Total number of sampling units analyzed

As a result, the size of the sampling unit affects the frequency estimate. Widely spread individual
frequency is underestimated by extremely tiny sampling units, whereas frequency is
overestimated by big sampling units.

The percentage frequency of the different species that were observed is then calculated, and
these are then divided into Raunkiaer's (1934) five frequency classes-A, B, C, D, and E
according to their percentage frequency:

A= 0 -20 per cent

B= 21 -40 percent
C= 41 -60 per cent
D= 61 -80 per cent
E= 81-100 per cent

According to Raunkiaer’s “law of frequency,” the percentage of species falling under each of the
five classes of frequency will be in the following order: A>B>C>D>E. He also suggested a
normal frequency diagram with the percent values A=53, B=14, C=9, D=8 and E=16 for the
various frequency classes. The diversity of the species has a significant impact on the frequency
distribution.

6.3.2.3. Species dominance

Physical or abiotic factors like substrate, lack of moisture and wave action, as well as some
biological mechanisms, regulate the nature of biotic communities. Communities that are
biologically managed are frequently influenced by a single species or by a number of species that
alter the environment. These species are known as dominants; for instance, huge trees are
dominant in forest communities, whereas shrubs and plants are typically subdominant.

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Determining a dominant species or describing one is difficult. A community's dominants may be

the most numerous, have the highest biomass, occupy the most space, contribute the most to the
flow of energy or the cycling of nutrients, or in some other way exert power or influence over the
other members of the community.

Consequently, trees predominate in a forest ecosystem. They reduce light intensity, raise relative
humidity, block precipitation, utilize the majority of soil moisture and nutrients, lower wind
speeds, and provide animals with food and shelter.
Grasses in grassland communities, sedges, rushes, and cattails in marsh communities, sagebrush
in the Great Basin's arid habitat, mussels and barnacles on a rocky shoreline, and so on all play
comparable but less obvious roles.

Even though some ecologists have stated that numerical superiority alone is insufficient,
dominant organism roles are not always allocated to those that are numerically abundant. For
instance, a plant species may be extensively dispersed in the region but have little impact on the
community as a whole.

Although there may be a numerical advantage for little or understory trees in the forest, the
larger trees tend to dominate the community. The dominating species in such a setting are those
with the highest biomass or those that occupy the majority of the canopy space and so control the
dispersion of light. Ecologists use biomass or basal area to quantify such dominants (i.e., cover).

(i). Community mass: Biomass, the weight of live or dead organic stuff, is referred to as the
community mass. The biomass of terrestrial ecosystems is inversely proportional to the
mass and complexity of the strata. Dense tropical forests growing on river flood plains
are where biomass is found to be at its highest.

These forests could have a dry weight per hectare of up to 1000 metric tons (Vyas and
Golley, 1975). The biomass of a 60-year-old Indian forest close to Varanasi was
calculated by Misra (1972) to be 239 metric tons per hectare. Grassland at Varanasi had a
biomass density of up to 33 metric tons per hectare. A drop in temperature, moisture or
both as well as an increase in biotic disturbance causes biomass to fall below the level
that is ideal for the community.

Animal biomass in terrestrial communities typically makes up less than 10% of plant
biomass. However, in aquatic ecosystems where the production takes the form of algae or
when the animals eat imported organic materials, the biomass of the plants may be
substantially smaller than that of the animals.

(ii). The canopy or basal cover: Cover, also known as basal cover or canopy cover, refers to
the space a plant occupies. The land area that the cross section of a stem occupies is
known as the basal cover. The total area of land covered by a plant's canopy is known as

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the canopy cover. In actuality, the basal area can only make up a small portion of the
entire land area in a community, but due to overlapping canopies, the canopy cover of the
dominant species can reach several times the total area.

Furthermore, even if the dominating organism is relatively rare, it still can influence the
community's makeup through its activity. For instance, the predatory starfish Piaster feeds on
several species that are related to it and lessens competition between them, allowing a variety of
prey species to coexist (Payne, 1966).

Several prey species vanish and one takes over if the predator is eliminated. Therefore, the
predator must be viewed as the dominant because it effectively controls the community's
structure.

In terms of energy flow and nutrient cycling, the dominant species may not even be the most
crucial species in the community. In order to maintain their dominance, dominant species take up
niches that could otherwise be inhabited by other species in the community.

For instance, when the American chestnut was eradicated by blight from an oak-chestnut forest,
other oaks and hickories came in to take its place. Even though dominant species frequently
influence populations at lower trophic levels in the community, dominance generally belongs to
species that are found at that level of the trophic pyramid.

To become dominant, a species or small group of species must relate to the entire population of
species, all of which have the same ecological needs. Because they can take advantage of the
variety of environmental requirements better than other species in the same tropic level, one or
more species become dominants.

The subdominant species can exist because they can occupy a niche or specific areas of it that
the dominant species cannot. Thus, dominant organisms are capable of using a variety of
physiological tolerances whereas subdominant species are more specialised in their
environmental requirements and have fewer physiological tolerances.

Finally the degree of dominance displayed by any one species seems to be partially influenced
by the community's location along a physical or chemical gradient. For instance, species A and B
might predominate at a specific location along a moisture gradient. Species B may become
subdominant as the gradient grows drier, with species C replacing it as the dominant species in
the community. The structure of the community may also change as a result of nutrient
enrichment.

When excessive sewage is discharged into lakes, a variety of nutrient-sparing diatoms are
replaced by a small number of blue green algae that may take advantage of a nutrient rich
environment (Smith, 1977).

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Keystone species: These are dominant species (plants or animals) that, in proportion to their
abundance, have a major impact on the composition and operation of a community. Strong
interrelations between these keystone species and other species control the variety and
abundance of other species in the community. Therefore, if we remove keystone species, the
community will significantly shift from its original composition and function.

A classic example of a keystone species is the starfish (Pisaster ochraceus). For mussels, sea
urchins, and a variety of other shellfish, it is the only naturally occurring predator. Therefore, if
we remove starfish, the mussel or urchin population will increase uncontrollably and alter the
community.

The prey-predator system, which includes microscopic predators like the weevil (Euhrychiopsis
lecontei), which consumes herbaceous plants, is another example. The predatory E. lecontei
(weevil) prevents the invasive Eurasian water milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) from eradicating
the dominant plant species in an inhabited region by eating on it. There must be fewer predators
given that there are fewer prey species (Eurasian water milfoil). The dominant species of the
community will be eliminated if the predator is removed because the prey will vastly outnumber
them. The community's characteristics will consequently shift without its real dominant species.
This example indicates that dominant species directly control community character, whereas
keystone species influence community character indirectly.

Several methods are employed to establish ecological dominance. Relative species abundance
refers to the distribution of a species within an ecosystem when a considerable number of
individuals of that species are discovered in a sample taken from a vast area.

a) Relative abundance: Species abundance is the number of individuals per species, while
relative abundance is the consistency of the distribution of individuals among species
within a community. The number of species in two communities may be same, but their
relative abundances may be different. For example, each community may comprise five
species and 300 individuals. In one community, all species are equally abundant (e.g., 60
individuals of each species), whereas in the second community, one species considerably
outnumbers the other five species.
b) Relative dominance: Measurements of dominance among species of the same size
include occupying the entire community's area as a species.
c) Relative frequency: is the frequency of one species or life form as a percentage of total
plant frequency. The sum of these three measurements gives each species a significant
value. These factors help the species to attain top position. The index species is a species
with a high level of significance value.
d) Sporadically/Locally abundant: The frequency of species occurrence in all the samples
examined is known as incidence which is related to the abundance. If the frequency or

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incidence is low but the abundance of species is high in the sample, the species is said to
be sporadically abundant.
There are various methods for calculating relative abundance of the community such as
Track count, spotlight count, monitoring point pressure, road kill counts and plant cover
for plant species etc.

No.of species from one sampling unit

Relative abundance of species =
Total no.of species of all sampling units

6.4 CLASSIFICATION OF COMMUNITY

The current, well-developed perspective sees a community as a continuum, yet the flora and
fauna of any vast area is so complicated that it needs to be divided into subdivisions. To be
researched, documented, or compared to similar community stands in other habitats, the
aggregation of organisms in any given site or habitat must really be seen as a unit. Despite the
fact that the communities in a region frequently cannot be divided into distinct units, some sort
of classification system is required to bring order to the study of communities. The most
prevalent classification schemes are those that take into account physiognomy, habitat, floristic
traits including species composition and dominance, as well as community dynamics.

6.4.1 Physigonmic classification

When surveying large areas and using general appearance to further divide major types into their
component communities, physiognomy is a very useful way for naming and designating
communities. Because animal distribution largely depends on vegetation structure rather than
species composition, classifying organisms according to their physical characteristics will relate
both the animals and the vegetation of a region.

Communities that fall under this classification are typically named after the dominating form of
life, which is typically a plant. Examples of such communities include coniferous or deciduous
forests, sagebrush, short-grass prairies, and tundra.
These early attempts at physiognomyic classification by various plant ecologists might be
summed up as follows:

Warming (1909) distinguished between autotrophs and heterotrophs. The aerial autotrophs were
divided into atmophytes, ombrophytes (plants that grow in areas with abundant rainfall),
psychrophytes (plants that grow in cold soils), halophytes (plants that grow in soils with high salt
contents), psammophytes (plants that grow in sandy soils), agrophytes (plants that naturally
occur in crop fields), oxylophytes (plant of acidicasoils) etc.
Raunkiaer (1934) categorised plants based on how different living forms adapted to their local
climates. He assigned around 1000 different plant species from around the world to their

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respective life forms. Raunkiaer's system of classification has been used by certain plant
ecologists to categorise Indian populations. The classification of Iversen (1936) was based on the
water requirements of plants. The classes of terriphytes (land plants), telmatophytes (aerial plants
with arenchyma), amphiphytes (marsh plants), and limnophytes (water plants) were among those
he recognised. The physiogmonic categorization system also incorporates symbolic
classification, in which several species traits—such as life form, plant size, leaf shape and
function, texture of the leaves, etc. are symbolically represented. Kuchler (1967) used a variety
of alphabets, while Dansereau (1957) used visual symbols.

6.4.2 Habitat Classification

Communities are categorised and given names using physiography in places where the habitat is
clearly defined. Sand dunes, cliffs, tidal mud flats, lakes, ponds, and streams are a few examples.

6.4.3 Floristic Classification

The floristic classification comprises numerous concepts, including frequency, dominance,

stability, presence, and fidelity, as well as a thorough examination of individual community.
Communities were divided up into sociations by the Scandinavian ecologist Du Rietz (1921),
who characterised them as perennial plant communities with essentially uniform species
compositions and at least a few dominant species in each stratum. If a multilayered community is
only dominated by one species in the upper stratum, another floristic unit consociation was
suggested for the community. Therefore, the consociation can be described as a class made up of
distinct concrete sociations whose higher strata are dominated by the same species.

European ecologists group communities into classes, orders, alliances and associations.
Association is defined as a community of definite floristic composition, uniform physiognomy
and occurring in uniform habitat conditions. The associations are recognized on the basis of
common dominant species in several stands and they are used in naming the association for
example Anogeissus Boswellia association, Shorea- Terminalia association or Balanus- Mylitus
association. The floristic system of community classification works much better with plants
alone than animals or with both.

The stands are viewed as a continuum, which changes the floristic classification system. The
community complex of a major physiognomy is separated into five parts, wet, wet mesic, mesic,
dry mesic, and dry, according to species composition and connected with an environmental
gradient (Curtis 1959). For instance, Wisconsin's deciduous forest has been split into northern
forest, southern and northern hardwoods, and Wisconsin's deciduous forest. Using a moisture
gradient, these are further segregated. The dry southern hardwoods include brown, black, or
white oak as their dominating species, while the dry mesic has red oak or basswood, sugar
maple, and beech. The wet mesic has silver maple, elm, and ash, and the wet woods have willow
or cottonwood. Such a system acknowledges the effects of habitat on community structure.

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6.4.4 Dynamic System

By placing a strong emphasis on community dynamics, Clements (1928) transformed the

floristic system. He referred to the emergence of climax vegetation in a location with a
macroclimate (whenever the vegetation reaches highest development becoming more or less
stable for more or less definite period, under the existing climate, it is called formation). Each
formation was separated into a few associations, which were thought of as discrete climax
communities with a few dominant species. The two or three main species each have their own
relationship. The association was further classified into the following categories in a hierarchical
order:

1. Consociation. Unit containing a single dominating species. Consocies are the developing
or seral communities inside a climax consociation.
2. Faciation. Within the same general climate, an association emerged under several
microclimatic circumstances. It has two or more dominating species and is distinguished
by a particular temperature, precipitation, and evaporation pattern. As a result, the seral
communities are referred to as facies.
3. Lociation. This is a limited variation of an association that differs from it in the makeup
of some major subdominant and chief secondary species; seral communities are thus
referred to as locies.
4. Society. A group that includes one or more subdominants. The socies are the seral
communities.

6.5 CONCEPT OF CLIMAX

The climax community is final, terminal and self-perpetuating community in succession, as it is

in more or less equilibrium with itself and its environment. It represents a steady state of species
composition, community structure and energy flow. According to traditional ecological theory,
succession comes to an end when a species reaches equilibrium or a stable state with its biotic
and abiotic surroundings. The community is self-replicating and stable at this stage. It will last
forever unless there are significant disruptions. The climax is the point at which a series ends.

6.5.1 Characteristic of climax

The vegetation is resistant to environmental conditions. It has a large variety of species, well-
drained spatial habitats, and intricate food webs. Equilibrium exists in the climax ecosystem.
There is a balance between total respiration and gross primary production, between the energy
from sunlight and the energy produced during decomposition and between the intake of nutrients
from the soil and the return of nutrients through litter fall. The individuals in the climax stage are
replaced by the individuals of the same species. As a result, the species composition remains

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stable. It is an indicator of the local climatic conditions. The growth or life forms reveal the
climatic type. Theories relating to three schools of thought that describe the climax ideas are as
follows:

1. Monoclimax or Climatic Climax Theory: This theory, was introduced by Clements in

1916, he acknowledged only one climax whose attributes are completely regulated by
climate, or climatic climax. The effects of variations in topography, soil parent material
and other aspects are overridden by the processes of succession and environment
alteration. A uniform plant community would be present throughout the entire area.
Communities that are related to and distinct from the climax are known as subclimax,
postclimax, and disclimax.
2. Polyclimax Theory: Tansely put forth this hypothesis in 1935. It suggests that the
vegetation climax of an area is made up of several vegetation climaxes that are influenced
by topography, slope exposure, soil moisture, soil nutrients, fire and animal activity.
3. Climax pattern theory: Whittaker (1953) put forth this notion in 1953. The pattern
theory governed climax pattern of climaxes addresses a range of reactions by species
populations to biotic and abiotic environments. This hypothesis states that the
composition, species organization and balance of a climax community are all determined
by the ecosystem as a whole. The environment comprises biotic connections between
species as well as how they react to moisture, temperature, and nutrients. The potential
for flora and wildlife to inhabit the area, the likelihood that seeds and animals will be
dispersed, the soils, the climate and any disturbances like fire and wind. As the
environment changes, climax vegetation will change in nature. The climax community
symbolises a population pattern that changes in accordance with the pattern of the
environment. The climatic climax is the most important and widely dispersed
community.
4. Information theory:Leith (1970), Odum, and Golley have put forth this view. For
ecosystem development, succession and climax was taken into account. The diversity of
organisms tends to rise together with an increase in the amount of organic matter and
biomass sustained by the available energy during autotrophic succession (ecosystem
development). As a result, in a climax community, the biomass and energy available also
known as the information content increase. In contrast, a heterotrophic succession
gradually depletes energy since respiration rates are always higher than production rates.
The heterotrophic and autotrophic successions, however, work simultaneously within an
ecosystem. The autotrophic organisms take minerals from the soil and atmosphere, while
the heterotrophic organisms continue on the return of the nutrients to the soil and
atmosphere through the decomposition of complex dead organic matter. Consequently,
succession reaches a point, known as the climax stage, at which the energy and nutrients
that the plants took in from their environment are again returned to it in a quantity that is
more or less comparable through the process of decomposition by heterotrophs.

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6.5.2 Types of Climax

Climatic climax: Climatic climax refers to a situation where there is only one climax and the
growth of the climax community is governed by the local climate. Take the growth of the maple-
beech climax community over the moist soil as an example. Theoretically, a climate climax
occurs when the physical characteristics of substrates are not so extreme as to significantly alter
the impacts of the local climate.

Edaphic climate: The term edaphic climax refers to an area with many climax communities that
have been influenced by regional substrate conditions such as soil moisture, soil nutrients,
terrain, slope exposure, fire, and animal activity. When terrain, soil, water, fire and other
disturbances prevent the development of a climatic climax, succession ends in edaphic climates.

Catastrophic climax: Climax vegetation is susceptible to a catastrophic occurrence, such as

wildfire. For example, Chaparral vegetation is the final type of vegetation in California. The
mature vegetation is destroyed by the wildfire and decays. Before the shrub dominance is
regained, herbaceous vegetation develops quickly. It is referred to as a catastrophic climax.

Disclimax: Anthropogenic subclimax, also known as a disclimax or disturbance climax, refers to

a stable community that is sustained by humans or domesticated animals but is not the climatic
or edaphic climax for the particular place. For example, excessive grazing by livestock may
result in a desert ecosystem of bushes and cacti, even though the local climate would normally
allow grassland to persist.

Preclimax and post climax: In some places, various climax communities grow under similar
climatic circumstances. Pre climax is used to describe a community that has lesser life forms
than the anticipated climatic climax. A post climax community is one that possesses higher life
forms than the anticipated climactic climax. Pre climax strips grow in hotter, less humid
environments. Post climax strips, however, grow in places that are cooler and more humid than
the general environment.

6.6 ECOTONE

Ecotones are areas along an environmental gradient where there is a sharp transition between two
ecological communities, ecosystems or ecological zones (fig. 6.3). Ecotones are found at many
spatial sizes and can be either natural or created by humans. They include transitions between
broad biomes and ecoregions as well as mountain treelines (e.g., Mediterranean and arid).

Ecological gradients frequently have ecotones along them. These gradients are a result of
changes in elevation, climate, soil and many other environmental factors over time and space.
Ecotones frequently occur in regions of abrupt climatic change along environmental gradients.

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They can be found at a variety of geographical sizes, from small scale ecotones where local
vegetation communities and microhabitats overlap to continental scale transitions between major
biomes.

They display a variety of boundary types, such as manmade ecotones and natural barriers (such
as altitudinal and latitudinal transitions) e.g., forest clear cut edges or urban ecotones. Numerous
studies have demonstrated that species richness and abundances tend to increase in ecotonal
zones.

Figure 6.3: Diagrammatic representation of ecotone between forest and grassland community.

Ecotones serve as natural laboratories for the investigation of a variety of evolutionary processes
including speciation; the process through which new species arise. According to some studies,
ecotones should receive significant investment in conservation because they could act as hubs for
biodiversity and speciation.

Formation of Ecotones

An apparent and distinct interface between two populations is established when the physical
environment shifts, for example from a forest to undisturbed plain. Furthermore, when distinct
local species and species common to both interacting communities are present together, like in
mountain ranges, a progressive blended interface occurs. Most wetlands are ecotones, such as the
Western European forests.

Type of ecotone

a) Halocline (salinity gradient)

b) Thermocline (temperature gradient)
c) Pycnocline (water density gradient)
d) Chemocline (chemical gradient)

Characteristics of Ecotones
1. An ecotone is indicated by a sudden change in vegetation, such as the colour of the grass.
2. Physiognomy is a crucial ecotone marker for physical differences across plant species.

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3. Changes in species are characteristics of an ecotone, where we see some particular

organisms on one side of the ecotone boundary and others on the other.
4. Spatial mass effect: The introduction or migration of new plants hides an ecotone because
they are unable to establish self-sustaining populations in other ecotones. The ecotone
however, exhibits species richness if it persists between two groups.
5. Through careful observation of the abundance of foreign species, an ecotone can indicate
the effectiveness with which two communities share their territory as well as the kind of
biomes.
6. The best model for studying a diverse ecosystem.
7. Ecotone represents change in dominance.
8. For the species that colonise at the junction known as the edge effect, the ecotone serves
as an ecological niche.
9. Ecoclines: An ecoline is a zone of physical transition between two biological systems
that is related to an ecotone. It shows how physiochemical environmental changes, such
as microclimatic shifts or chemical signs like pH, salinity or hydrothermal gradients,
signal an ecotone.

Edge effects

In ecology, ecotone exhibit changes in population constituting community structure allowing

for greater biodiversity at the boundaries of the merged habitats and this is called as edge
effects. When two habitats are separated by wise edge effects called ecotone than they
develop their own type of vegetation and environmental conditions.

Types of edge effects

1. Narrow Edge Effect: A narrow edge effect is when one habitat abruptly ends where
another habitat starts.
2. Wide Edge effect: Also known as an ecotone, It occurs when two habitats are
significantly separated from one another.
3. Induced Edge effect: It refers to structural alterations that are brought about over time,
either by human intervention or by natural disruptions (such as fire).
4. Inherent Edge effect: The margin between two habitats that is maintained and divided
by natural features is known as the inherent edge effect.
5. The perforated edge effect: Gaps in the distance between two habitats that support
nearby habitats.
6. Convoluted Edge effect: This phenomenon results from the nonlinear partitioning of
two habitats.

Edge effects on Succession

Edge effects have an influence on succession as vegetation expands. Distinct species colonize the
centre or the periphery, resulting in a different distribution of species. The edge also shifts with

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the change in orientation, taking part in various vegetation patterns. Seasonal and diurnal
fluctuations are possible additional structural variables. The population of the communities
varies throughout time and space. The basis for community organisation is pattern diversity. The
patterns can be vertical stratification or horizontal segregation etc., among others.

6.7 ECOLOGICAL NICHE

The word niche (plural: niches) is derived from the French word nichier, which means ‘to
construct a nest’ and the Latin word nidus, which means ‘nest’. The interaction between a
species and all the biotic and abiotic elements that have an impact on it is referred to as an
ecological niche. The term ‘niche’ was first introduced by Joseph Grinnell in 1917; he saw it as
largely being equal to a species habitat. Elton (1927) believed that a niche was equivalent to a
species' place in a trophic web. Hutchinson (1957) used the term ‘niche’ to refer to the
multidimensional space of resources that a species can access and utilize.

Despite the fact that niches have been defined differently, it is now generally accepted that it has
to do with how an organism or a population adapts to competition and the distribution of
resources. It specifically describes the position of a population or an organism in an ecosystem.
A niche may be influenced by biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem. However, the niche of a
species in a particular ecosystem will help set the features of its environment as these features
will be crucial to its survival.

A habitat in ecology is a location where an organism or a biological community typically lives or

occurs. It could be a desert, forest, river or mountain. While a habitat is a physical location, a
niche refers to the species interaction with ecosystem elements. The niche of an organism reveals
how it functions and survives in its surroundings. As a result, a habitat may have numerous
niches and be home to a variety of species at any given moment. The concept of a niche focuses
on a single species existing in a habitat and engaging in all biological activities that are
influenced by both biotic and abiotic influences. Therefore, living factors could be used to define
the niche of organisms. In a broad sense, a niche is described as a cavity, hollow, or recess
particularly in a wall. An ecological or biological niche, on the other hand, can relate to any of
the following:
 The particular location that an organism resides in.
 The function of an organism or species within an environment.
 The interactions between a species and all of the biotic and abiotic elements that have an
impact on it.

Formation of Niche: Abiotic and biotic elements work together to create an ecosystem's
niche. Natural selection works to determine which niches will be favoured and which ones will
not by determining the abiotic elements of an ecosystem, such as temperature, climate, and soil
type. The species gradually acquires unique characteristics that aid in environment adaptation as

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a result of time. They could adapt and survive in environments that complemented their traits if
they blended in. Nevertheless, biological limitations including parasitism, competition and
predation may limit the size of their population.

 Competition for available nutrients, available space, available light and other essential
resources among co-habitats may limit the population of a species in a habitat.
 Depending on the number of predators and the level of predation, predation may also
limit the population of a species.
 In parasitism, the presence of parasites that use the species as their host and susceptibility
to infections that cause diseases are additional elements that might limit the population of
the species. As these elements alter, ecosystem niches develop and take different forms.

Niche Segregation: As a result of natural selection and the fact that each niche is occupied
by a particular species, niche segregation is the process by which competing species are forced
into distinct niches. A niche cannot be shared by two species. Nevertheless, coexistence might
enable competitor species to carve out distinct ecological niches. In order to avoid competing for
scarce resources, they must be able to discover ways to cohabit, such as by resource
differentiation (or niche partitioning). Without it, natural selection will prefer one of the two
competing species while driving the other one into extinction.

Types of Niches

 Fundamental niche: The niche that a species occupies when there is no competition is
referred to as a fundamental niche. In contrast, a realized niche is one that a species fills
as a result of pressures, such as the introduction of a rival species to its habitat (fig. 6.4).

Figure 6.4: Representation of fundamental and realized niches

 Niche overlap is the usage of the same resources or other environmental factors by two
different species. In many cases, niches only partially overlap because there are common
resources.

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 In an environment, a vacant niche is one that has not yet been filled. The idea of a vacant
niche, however, is still up for debate. However, ecological disruptions (such forest fires
and droughts) and evolutionary events are thought to be the root causes of unfilled niches
(i.e. when species failed to evolve).

The beaver niche and the dung beetle niche are both examples of ecological niches.
1. Niche of beavers: Beavers are nocturnal, semi-aquatic rodents of the genus Castor. They
are renowned for building hotels, canals, and dams. Because of this activity, the river
where they dwell may see changes in water flow, which could have an impact on both
biotic and abiotic aspects of their ecosystem. The ecological niche that beavers fill in
determining the characteristics of their surroundings may have an impact on other species
that reside close to the water bodies.
2. The niche of flightless dung beetle: Circellium bacchus, a species of flightless dung
beetle, fills a special ecological niche. They consume animal waste and deposit it as dung
balls in their burrows. Eggs are deposited inside the dung ball so that the larvae would
have access to food sources when they emerge. The feeding habit of dung beetle aerates
the soil and replenishes nutrients in the soil.

6.8 COMMUNITY DIVERSITY AND CONTINUUM

Community or Ecosystem diversity refers to the changes in ecosystems within a given

geographic area and how they affect both the environment and human life comprehensively.
Ecosystem diversity focuses on the characteristics of both biotic (biodiversity) and abiotic
properties (geodiversity). It is either a variety in the ecosystems present in a particular area or a
variation in ecosystems over the entire world. Both terrestrial and aquatic habitats can vary,
which is referred to as ecological diversity. Ecological diversity can also take into consideration
the variance in a complexity of biological community including the quantity of various niches
and other ecological processes. The ecosystems diversity such as deserts, forests, grasslands,
wetlands and oceans, would serve as an illustration of ecological diversity on a global scale. The
biggest scale of biodiversity is community diversity, and each community contains a vast
quantity of species and genetic variation.

Based on environmental variations, there are many different ecosystems on earth, each with their
own complement of unique interconnected species. India has a remarkable wealth in terms of
ecosystem diversity. Aquatic ecosystems like those found in the ocean, lakes, and rivers as well
as those found in mountain ranges, forests, deserts, and grasslands are examples of distinctive
natural ecosystems. In an ecosystem, there may be a variety of landforms, each of which
supports a particular type of flora. When natural ecosystems are exploited or overused, they
degenerate and become less productive.

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The boundaries of communities that are not well defined form and divide several sub-
ecosystems, making ecosystem diversity more difficult to quantify than species and genetic
variety. To characterize the ecosystem's diversity, communities in diverse ecological niches are
examined within the given ecosystem. Each community has distinct complexity related to the
structure and biodiversity of that community. The decline in environmental diversity is
ultimately what leads to the extinction of species and genetic diversity. Diversity of the
community is another name for ecosystem diversity. Community diversity refers to the variety of
ecological units or community types found within various and major ecological niches.

Community diversity is unique from habitat variety, which describes the various animal species
that live in various ecosystems. The number of species has a considerable impact on ecological
processes through functional variations between species rather than directly affecting ecosystem
processes. Ecosystems having a diversity of functional features (functional diversity) are more
efficient and offer high productivity as well as resistance to invasion.

In order to understand the functional diversity, Hooper proposed in 1998 that the scope of
functional differences within the species pool be investigated. Functional diversity is a term used
to describe the variety of tasks carried out by various organisms in ecological systems. The
species can be separated into functionally related taxonomic units, such as deposit feeders,
suspension feeders, etc., or into unique functional kinds, such as plant growth forms, feeding
guilds, within the community or habitat. The functionally related species in the habitat may come
from several taxonomic groups. There are three levels of community or ecological diversity:

a. Alpha Diversity (within habitat diversity): Alpha diversity (α -diversity) is measured

by the number of species in an ecosystem or by the species richness. It describes the
biological diversity found in a given area, community, or ecosystem. The number of
various groups of organisms in the environment, such as different species, genera and
families, or the number of taxonomic entities (number of taxa), can be used to calculate
the alpha diversity.
b. Beta Diversity: Beta diversity (β-diversity) is the quantitative measurement of
community diversity along environmental gradients. To calculate beta diversity, the
species diversity that is subjected to diverse environmental conditions across ecosystems
is compared. It is expressed as the rate at which species composition varies between
communities or between various ecological habitats.
c. Gamma Diversity: The species richness or overall number of species over a wide area is
referred to as gamma diversity (γ-diversity) (ecological, units). The quantitative
evaluation of total diversity for various ecosystems reveals gamma diversity, also known
as large-scale landscape diversity, within an area. The species diversity of the component
communities is a usual method of expressing it.

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Community unit concept

This viewpoint is also referred to as the discrete view of community. This point of view contends
that if a habitat occurs more than once in a particular geographic area, the related species group
also repeats itself. The uniformity in the species composition must be recognized as being
relative. This point of view places an emphasis on how each community functions as an
integrated whole with a defined border.

Each distinct community is made up of species that have coevolved (with similar distributions
along an environmental gradient). The distribution pattern of species along an environmental
gradient as anticipated by this theory is shown in fig. A distinct community or specific
association is formed by the species that share a range on an environmental gradient (horizontal
axis) and a pattern of increase and fall in importance value (vertical axis). Little overlap exists
across the boundaries of neighbouring associations, resulting in acute or dispersed ecotones.

The pioneer worker of this viewpoint, F. F. Clements (1916, 1920), compared communities to
organisms. According to the organismic idea, the community is a kind of super organism or an
organic entity that develops, grows, reaches maturity and then perishes or dies. The community
has particular traits and functions for different populations that make up its composition.
According to Clements, the Climax community is the fundamental, cohesive unit of vegetation
because it has the ability to reproduce itself, repeating the stages of its growth with a high degree
of consistency.

Continuum concept

Ramenski (1924) and Gleason (1926) put up an alternative explanation to the community unit
theory known as the individualistic hypothesis. In the 1950s, the continuum view was developed
out of this hypothesis. According to Gleason each species is dispersed differently, according to
its own genetic, physiological, and life cycle traits as well as how it interacts with its
environment and other species. As a result, no two species are distributed similarly.

The species do not cluster into distinct communities that define them. In other words, the
abundance and distribution of a species population are independent of with those of other species
populations. The vegetation of a region is thought to result from a combination of two factors:
the random and spontaneous movement of plants into the area, as well as the equally random and
varied environment, with a gradual and ongoing change in species composition along an
environmental gradient.

In other words, contrary to the discrete view, groups of species with similar distributions do not
result from the evolution of species in relation to one another.

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6.9 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CO EVOLUTION

As species interact with one another, they evolve in response to one another. One of the main
mechanisms by which biological communities are organised is through co evolutionary
processes, which refer to these reciprocal evolutionary changes in interacting species. Local
populations of interacting species adapt to one another through co evolution, occasionally even
creating new species in the process.

Scientists must distinguish between features that have coevolved and those that were previously
present in ancestors before the interspecific interaction started in order to comprehend how co
evolution influences interactions within communities. Hummingbirds, for example, use their
wings and beak to access the nectar found inside flowers. A hummingbird with a long bill may
have coevolved with a particular species of flower, but co evolution did not give rise to the
hummingbird's wings. Birds already had wings before hummingbirds evolved. Therefore, it is
important to investigate both the evolutionary ecology and the phylogeny (history) of the
interacting species. The phylogeny chart shows when each species within a lineage first appeared
as well as when each novel characteristic first appeared. The ecological studies can then
demonstrate how each of those characteristics has been used and shaped by various ecological
contexts.

The interaction between phylogeny and ecology is illustrated by research on the coevolution of
Prodoxidae moths and the plants that serve as their hosts. Some species of prodoxid moths have
evolved into important plant pollinators. Yucca moths (of the genus Tegeticula and
Parategeticula) and Greya moths are two of the pollinators for these plants. Greya moths
accidentally or passively pollinate the flowers they visit, whereas their closely related yucca
moths actively or purposefully do this. Female yucca moths have specialised appendages
attached to their mouthparts that they use to capture and transport pollen. Their progeny eat the
growing seeds and then they visit yucca flowers to lay their eggs in the floral ovary.

A female moth visits each flower and deposits some of the pollen she is carrying just on the
stigma of the flower. Her young ones will consequently always have developing seeds to eat.
These moths are the only pollinators the yuccas rely on due to evolution. They do not waste
energy trying to attract pollinators since, unlike many other plant species; they do not generate
nectar or any other kind of reward for the pollinators. They suffer some seed loss to yucca moth
larvae, but that is the price they pay for coevolving with such an effective pollinator.

Due to the fact that the relatives of yuccas produce nectar while the relatives of yucca moths, the
Greya moths, do not actively pollinate their host plants, phylogenetic studies have shown that the
loss of nectar production in yuccas and the evolution of active pollination in yucca moths are
novel traits that have arisen through co evolution. Other components of the connection make
advantage of the traits that did not develop simultaneously in yuccas and yucca moths. Instead,

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the ancestors had the traits. Regardless of the plants they feed on, all of the near relatives of
yucca moths share two characteristics, namely the ability to lay eggs in flowers and local
specialisation to one plant species.

Therefore, by combining ecological and phylogenetic data, scientists may reconstruct the co
evolutionary history of these species. As a result of their interactions, their ancestors
unintentionally improved their chances of survival and reproduction, which led to the beginning
of the coevolved mutualism between yuccas and yucca moths. Yuccas that did not waste energy
on nectar production to draw in other pollinators outcompeted plants that did; yucca moth
populations that aggressively pollinated the flowers in which they lay their eggs outcompeted
populations by ensuring the availability of developing seeds for their young ones. Despite the
fact that the process certainly had many more detours along the way, the integration of
evolutionary ecology and phylogenetic research enables at least a partial reconstruction of the co
evolutionary process.

Natural selection works on qualities that are already present within species, moulding them in
new ways by favouring new mutations that fine tune the relationship. All coevolved relationships
are similar to those between yuccas and yucca moths in this regard. The biologist Francois Jacob
compared the evolutionary process to playing rather than engineering and his comparison to
coevolution is undoubtedly valid. Coevolved interactions are not created from the ground up to
be as effective as possible. Instead, evolution interacts with already existing structures and
behaviours, adapting them to serve new purposes; essentially judge them. Consequently, this
improvised character of adaptation and co evolution is reflected in the structure of biological
groups.

Ecological adaptation: A detailed note is given in the chapter: Population, ecological

adaptations in species and survival strategies.

6.10 SUMMARY

In the previous chapter learners have studied the population ecology now in this chapter they
have understood the structure and development of community. Learners as you know that a
group of individuals of a species is known as population but when such various populations
reside in a geographical area, share the resources and interact with each other they form a
community or more appropriately a biotic community. A forest, grassland, a desert or a lake are
examples of communities. A community possess only biotic (living) components unlike
ecosystem which include biotic as well as abiotic (non living) components. The concept of
community dates back to the time of Theophrastus (370-250 BC) who identified plant
communities relation of species with their environment.

There are essentially two different types of communities: Major and minor communities.

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a) Major Community: It is a sizable, autonomous unit that is self-governing, self-sustaining,

and composed of a number of subordinate communities. A pond, a lake, a forest, a desert,
a meadow, and grassland are examples of major communities. These major communities
each contain a number of smaller communities.
b) Minor Community: It is a more compact community that cannot support itself. Its
survival is reliant on other communities. The plant community (plant population), the
animal community (animal population), and the microbiological community (bacteria and
fungi) are three of the numerous minor communities that make up the main community of
a forest.

Animal and plant communities are typically researched individually, which ultimately obscures
the community's unity and constricts our knowledge of its significance. The distribution of
animals can be connected to the life forms of plants and varieties of flora, which can help us
really overcome this problem. This leads to a more extensive classification that covers various
plant communities but also includes animal life related to them; this classification is known as a
biome. A wide ecological unit known as a biome is distinguished by homogeneity and distinctive
life forms of the climax species, whether they are plants or animals. The species composition of
the climax and its successional stages are homogeneous and distinct, dividing it into smaller
groups. Thus, rather than taxonomic composition, the emphasis is placed on the life forms of
plants.

6.11 GLOSSARY

Abiotic: abiotic components or abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of
the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.
Alpha diversity: It is the mean species diversity in a site at a local scale.
Beta diversity: It is the number of species unique to each environment that is used to measure
species diversity between two ecosystems.
Biogeography: It is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space
and through geological time.
Biomass: The quantity of organic material present in unit area at a particular time mostly
expressed as tons of dry matter per unit area; organic matter that can be used as fuel.
Biome: A biome is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed
in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate.
Biotic: related to, produced by, or caused by living organisms.
Coevolution: The reciprocal evolutionary change that occurs throughout time as a result of
interactions between a group of interacting populations is known as coevolution.
Community: a group of populations living in the same place or having a particular characteristic
in common.

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Continuum: theories or models that explain progressive changes without sudden shifts from one
state to another
Dominants: one or more species that occupy their ecological community due to their size,
number, productivity, or other associated qualities or because they contribute a larger share of
the biomass.
Ecological diversity: focuses on how ecological differences within a certain geographic area
affect the ecosystem, plant, and animal life in general.
Ecotone: An ecotone is a region of transition when two biological communities come together
and interact.
Ecological niche: It is defined as the compatibility of a species with a certain environmental
circumstance. The response of an organism or population to the distribution of resources and
competition, as well as how it changes those same factors, are described.
Environment: The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant resides or
functions.
Gamma diversity: it (γ-diversity) is the total species diversity in a landscape. The alpha
diversity and beta diversity constitute independent components of gamma diversity.
Greasewood: Also known as black greasewood, (species Sarcobatus vermiculatus), North
American weedy shrub of the Sarcobataceae family. It is a characteristic plant of strongly
alkaline and saline soils in the desert plains of western North America.
Homogenous: similar in structure because of common origin.
Interspecific: Existing, occurring or arising between species.
Keystone species: It is a species which has a disproportionately large effect on its natural
environment relative to its abundance.
Nocturnal: relating to or occurring at night.
Phenotypic: relating to the observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the
interaction of its genotype with the environment.
Physiognomy: the general form or appearance of something.
Physiological: relating to the way in which a living organism or bodily part functions.

Qualitative: relating to, measuring, or measured by the quality of something rather than its
quantity.
Quantitative: relating to, measuring, or measured by the quantity of something rather than its
quality.
Sampling unit: A Sampling unit is one of the units selected for the purpose of sampling. Each
unit being regarded as individual and indivisible when the selection is made.
Segregation: the process of separating of something from other.
Self perpetuating: capable of continuing or renewing oneself indefinitely.
Seral community: It is an intermediate stage found in ecological succession in an ecosystem
advancing towards its climax community.
Sessile animal: an animal that remains fixed in one place.

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Stratification: the arrangement or classification of something into different groups.

Ecological Succession: the steady and gradual change in a species of a given area with respect to
the changing environment.
Susceptibility: It is a tendency to be affected by something.
Taxonomy: A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially
or plants and animals.
Topography: the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area.
Transitional: involving, providing, or consisting of a passage, movement, or change from one
state, condition, subject, place, etc., to another.

6.12 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

6.12.1 Multiple choice questions:

1. Study of inter-relationships between an entire community and its environment is :

a) Autecology b) Resource Ecology
c) Species Ecology d) Synecology
2. The plants occurring together with a similar ecology in definite strata are called
a) Periodicity b) Stratification
c) Floristic d) Vitality
3. The number of species in a unit area is known as
a) Abundance b) Density
c) Frequency d) Cover
4. The estimation of individuals of species is called
a) Abundance b) Frequency
Frequency d) Cover
5. The rhythmic phenomena related to seasonal changes is called
a) Periodicity b) Stratification
c) Floristic d) Vitality
6. The capacity of plants to complete its life cycle is called:
a) Stratification b) Periodicity
c) Floristic d) Vitality
7. The relative occurrence of specie in an association or a group of related association is:
a) Fidelity b) Dominance
c) Constancy d) Presence
8. The species which have high number and large volume are
a) Constancy b) Fidelity
c) Dominants d) Presence
9. A geographical place where a species resides or occupies
a) Niche b) Ecosystem
c) Habitat d) Physiognomy

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10. Niche of a species in the absence of competition.

a) Realized niche b) Fundamental niche
c) Vacant niche d) None of the them

6.12.2 Fill in the blanks:

1. The relationship of a species with the abotic and biotic factors is termed as
___niche______.
2. The niche of a species due to pressure is known as_______.
3. Niche that is theorized to exist due to habitat disturbances or evolutionary eventualities is _____.
4. Transition zone between two ecosystems is called ______.
5. Set of ecosystems is called_____.
6. The female yucca moth have specialized appendages that they use to ______and
______pollen.
7. The female yucca moth deposits some of the _____ down to the ovary to fertilize the
plant & seeds will be available for offspring.

8. _______ results from the nonlinear partitioning of two habitats.

9. Two species _____occupy the same niche in the same place.
10. Species richness and species evenness are two factors that are helpful in determining the
__________ of a community.

6.12.3 True and False:

1. The biotic community interacts with its abiotic environment to form an ecosystem. The
whole earth can be considered as one large ecosystem.
2. Organisms that make their own food are called autotrophs.
3. Abiotic factors that influence species distributions or interactions are not considered in
community ecology.
4. The climax community is final, terminal and self-perpetuating community in succession.
5. The forest floor is also known as the subterranean stratum.
6. The biotic community has an equal distribution of organisms.
7. The exterior appearance of the plant community is known as phytosociology.
8. Well stratified lakes have a layer of freely flowing surface water, the Metalimnion.
9. Fundamental niche is the same as realized niche.
10. When disturbances in the ecosystem are frequent species who take a long time to grow
and become established will dominate.

Answer Key:

6.12.1: 1. (d), 2. (b), 3. (d), 4.(a), 5. (a), 6. (d), 7. (a), 8. (c), 9. (a), 10. (b).

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6.12.2: 1. niche, 2. fundamental niche, 3. vacant niche, 4. ecotone, 5. biome, 6. capture and
transport, 7. Pollen, 8. convoluted edge effect, 9. cannot, 10. species diversity
6.12.3: 1. True, 2. True, 3. False, 4. True, 5. True, 6. False, 7. False, 8. False, 9. False, 10.
True.

6.13 REFERENCES

 Braun-Blanquet, J., (1932) Plant Sociology: The study of plant communities. McGraw-
Hill Book Co. Inc., New York.
 Cain, S.A. and Castro, G.M.de.O., (1959) Manual of vegetation analysis. Harper and
Brothers, New York.
 Clements, F. E., (1916) Plant succession: An analysis of the development of the
vegetation. Carnegic Inst. Wash. Publ., Washington.
 Clements, F. E., (1928) Plant Succession and Indicators: A Definitive Version of Plant
Succession and Plant Indicators. New York: H. W. Wilson.
 Connell, J.H. Orias, E. (1964) The ecological regulation of species diversity. Amer. Nat.,
98: 399-414.
 Curtis, J.T. (1959) The vegetation of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press,
Madison, Wisconsin.
 Dansereau, P. (1957) Biography: An Ecological Perspective. Ronald Press, New York.
 Daubenmire, R. F., (1947) Plants and environments: A text book of plant autecology.
John Wiley and sons, Inc., New York.
 Dobzhansky, T (1951) Genetics and the Origin of Species. 3rd ed. New York: Columbia
University Press.
 Elton, C., (1927) Animal Ecology. Sidwick and Jackson Ltd., London.
 Fisher, A. G. (1960) Latitudinal variations in organic diversity. Evolution. 14: 64-81.
 Gleason H. A. (1926) The individualistic concept of the plant association. Bull. Torrey
Bot. club. 53: 7-26.
 http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/S000035ZO/P000891/M02061
0/ET/1498710670CommunitycharacteristicsstratificationPart2Quad1.pdf
 http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/S000035ZO/P000891/M02061
1/ET/1498710716CommunitycharacteristicsstratificationPart3Quad1.pdf
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_succession#:~:text=The%20climax%20pattern
%20theory%20recognizes,balance%20of%20a%20climax%20community.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem_diversity
 https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/ecological-niche
 https://www.biotecharticles.com/Environmental-Biotechnology-Article/The-Climax-
Concept- Theories-and-Categories
64.html#:~:text=The%20climax%20is%20the%20ultimate,the%20physical%20and%20b
iotic%20environment
 https://www.britannica.com/science/biogeographic-region/Components-of-species-
diversity-species-richness-and-relative-abundance
 https://www.britannica.com/science/community-ecology/Commensalism-and-other-
types-of-interaction

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 https://www.guyhowto.com/community-ecology-definition-examples/
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/ecotones
 Hutchinson, G. E., (1957) A treatise on Limnology, vol. I: Geography, Physics and
Chemistry. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York.
 Iversen, J. (1936) Biologische Pflanzentypen als Hilfsmittel in der Vegetations-
forschung. Thesis, Cpoenhegen. 224pp.
 Kuchler A. W. (1967) Vegetation Mapping. The Ronald Press Co., New York
 Kuchler, A.W. (1967) Vegetation mapping. The Ronal Press Co., New York.
 Leith, H., (1970) Phenology in productivity studies. In D. E. Reichle (ed.) Analysis of
temperature of forest ecosystem. Springer, Berlin.
 Lowe McConnell, R. H. (1969) Speciation in tropical fresh water fishes. Biol. J. Linn.
Soc., 1: 52-75.
 MacArther, R. H., (1972) Geographical Ecology: Patterns in the distribution of species.
Harper and Row, Publishers, New York.
 Monk, C.A., (1967) Tree species diversity in the eastern deciduous forest with particular
reference to north central Florida.
 Paine, R.T. (1966) Food web complexity and species diversity. Amer. Nat., 100: 65-75.
 Pound, R., Clements, F.E. (1900) The Phytogeography of Nebraska. Univ. Nebraska.
 Ramenski, L. G., - 1924 - The main regularities of the vegetation cover (In Russian).
Vêstnik opȳtnogo dêla Sredne-Chernoz. Obl., Voronezh pp. 37–73.
 Raunkiaer, C. (1905) Types biologiques pour la géographie botanique. Kongelige Danske
Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger. 5: 347-438.
 Raunkiaer, C. (1934) The Life Forms of Plants and Statistical Plant Geography.
Clarendon Press, Oxford.
 Ricklefs, R.E., Schluter., D (1993) Species Diversity in Ecological Communities (eds).
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
 Rietz, E. G.Du (1921) Zur methodologischen Grundlage der modernen
Pflanzensoziologie. Thesis, Uppsala, 272 pp
 Sanders, H. L., (1968) Marine benthic diversity: a comparative study. Am, Naturalist,
102: 243-282.
 Sharma P.D. Ecology and Environment. Rastogi Publication.
 Simpson, G.G. (1964) Species density of North American recent mammals. Syst. Zool.,
13: 57-73.
 Smith, R.L., (1977) Elements of ecology and field biology. Harper and Row, Publishers,
New York.
 Tansely, A. G., (1935) Ecology, 16:284-307.
 Verma P. S. Agarwal V.K. (1983) Environmental Biology (Principals of Ecology)
published by S. Chand & Company Pvt. Ltd. 7361, Ran Nagar, New Delhi.
 Vyas, A. B. and Golley, F. B. (1975) Ecological Principles. International scientific
publications, Jaipur.
 Warming, E. (1909) Oecology of plants. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
 Whitford, B. P., (1949) Distribution of woodland plants in relation to succession and
clonal growth. Ecology, 30: 199-208.

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 Whittaker, R. H. (1953) A consideration of the climax theory: the climax as a population

and pattern. Ecol. Monogr. 23: 41-78.
 Whittaker, R.H. (1975) Communities and Ecosystems. 2nd Revise Edition, MacMillan
Publishing Co., New York.
 Williams, C. B. (1964) Patterns in the balance of nature. Academic Press, NY, USA.

6.14 SUGGESTED READINGS

 Singh, J.S, S. P. Singh, S. R. Gupta (2014) Ecology Environmental Science and

Conservation. S. Chand & Company Pvt. Ltd. 7361, Ran Nagar, New Delhi
 Verma P. S. Agarwal V.K. (1983) Environmental Biology (Principals of Ecology)
published by S. Chand & Company Pvt. Ltd. 7361, Ran Nagar, New Delhi
 Sharma P.D. Ecology and Environment. Rastogi Publication.
 Odum and Barrett (2005) Fundamental of Ecology published by Cengage learning New
Delhi.

6.15 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

6.15.1 Short answer type questions

1. Write a short note on phenology.

2. Write short note on Ecotone.
3. Write a short note on keystone species.
4. Write a short note on cover and basal area.
5. Write a short note on edge effects.
6. Write a short note on niche segregation and types of niches.

6.15.2 Long answer type questions

1. Define biotic community. Describe the various features that characterize a community.
2. Give a detailed account of analytical and synthetic characters of a plant community.
3. Write a detailed note on stratification.
4. Write a detailed note on ecological niche and the factors that influence a species
ecological niche.
5. Write an essay on community diversity and continuum concept.

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BLOCK-3- CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS AND CONSERVATION
PLANT ECOLOGY MSCBOT-602

UNIT-7- LAND DEGRADATION

Content

7.1 Objectives
7.2 Introduction
7.3 Concept
7.4 Types of Land Degradation
7.5 Causes of Land Degradation
7.6 Effects of Land Degradation
7.7 Prevention and Control of Land Degradation
7.8 Summary
7.9 Glossary
7.10 Self-Assessment Questions
7.11 References
7.12 Suggested Reading
7.13 Terminal Questions

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7.1 OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit student will be able:

 To know about land degradation

 To Understand about its concept
 To learn its causes and consequences
 To know about types of degraded land
 To understand about prevention and control measures of land degradation

7.2 INTRODUCTION

Any change which decreases productivity of the land is land degradation. It is a process in
which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-
induced process acting upon the land. Land degradation means:

 Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients.

 Less vegetation cover.
 Changes in climatic conditions because of unbalanced created in the environment.
 Pollutions of water resources from the contamination of soil through which water
sweeps into ground or runoff to the water bodies.
 Any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be unfavorable or undesirable.

According to UN/FAO, Land degradation generally signifies the temporary or permanent

decline in the productive capacity of the land. It is a natural or human-induced process that
negatively affects the land. Some environments are naturally more vulnerable to land
degradation than others. Steep slopes, heavy rainfall, and soil organic matter all influence the
likelihood of degradation. Generally, it refers to process that negatively affects the land’s
natural functions of water, energy, and nutrient acceptance, recycling and storage leading to a
decline in land productivity. Many scientists gave different definitions of land degradation.
These definitions provide a broad view on the nature of land resources (they include soil,
vegetation and water) and the range of products, goods and services people obtain from the
land.

According to Barrow (1991) it is impossible to give a precise definition of land degradation.

It may be defined “as the loss of utility or the reduction, loss or change of features or
organisms which cannot be replaced”.
Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) describe that land is degraded when “it suffers a loss of
intrinsic qualities or a decline in its capabilities”.

Winfried (1986) defined as “weathering down of the land surface”.

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According to Young (1997), land degradation is the lowering of the productivity, capacity of
the land through processes such as soil erosion, loss of soil fertility and soil salinity.

The degradation of the earth’s surface (i.e., land degradation) is one of the most severe
problems. The process of land degradation not only reduces the capability but also accelerates
the process of converting productive land into wasteland and wasteland cannot support the
life, so it must be conserved in order to continue the support. India is basically an agricultural
country. Out of India’s total land mass of 305 million hectares nearly half is waste land,
hence nearly 143 million hectares are used for agricultural purposes. From remaining, nearly
18 million hectares are under urban productive use, 21 million hectares are rocky or
snowcapped, 17 million hectares are culturable waste lands, 23 million hectares are fallows,
83 million hectares are forest and pasture lands.

7.3 CONCEPT

The word "land degradation" is broad and can be used in a variety of ways in the subject area.
The idea of land degradation was taken into account in four different ways, including the
impact on the environment and soil productivity, decline in the usability of the land, loss of
biodiversity, shifting ecological risk, and a reduction in the land's potential for production.

The concept of land degradation originates from soil degradation and it’s often used as a
synonym for soil degradation. It is evident that if soil is degraded it has huge impacts on both
the land and landscape, because soil degradation prevents or disrupts plant growth. The
characteristics and quality of soil adversely affects its fertility. Eventually, land degradation
stresses the world's agricultural land and grazing land, which provide food, water, and clean
air to all people on the planet. Land degradation means much more than the degradation of
the land/soil. It is a global issue that impacts everyone due to food poverty, climate change,
environmental threats, the loss of biodiversity, and ecosystem services is the deterioration or
loss of the productive potential of soils for the present and the future.

Land degradation processes can have both natural and human (anthropogenic) origins. The
loss of a sustained economic, cultural, or ecological function as a result of human activity in
conjunction with natural processes is a pure anthropogenic definition of land degradation. It
is obvious that since the appearance of human beings on the earth the importance of
anthropogenic processes is enormous and has grown exponentially with time. Global
processes like global climate change, land use and land cover change, together with
population increase, accelerate and increase land degradation. Especially, third world
countries suffer from degradation processes. In these countries overexploitation of natural
resources in environmentally sensitive areas also contribute to the acceleration of degradation
processes. The effect of global warming on already degraded land also increases the intensity
of degradation.

Land degradation is a threat to natural resources with consequences for food security, poverty
and ecological and political stability. The increasing frequency of climatic extremes e.g., heat

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waves, droughts, heavy rainfall affects land degradation processes including floods, mass
movements, soil erosion by water and wind and salinization in all regions of the world.

7.4 TYPES OF LAND DEGRADATION

The impact of a land degradation process varies depending on the land's inherent
characteristics, specifically soil type, slope, vegetation, and climate. Thus, an activity that is
not degrading in one location may be degrading in another due to differences in soil
characteristics, topography, climatic conditions, or other circumstances. As a result, equally
erosive rainstorms that occur above different soil types will result in varying rates of soil loss.
As a result, determining the cause of land degradation must take into account the interactions
between different elements in the landscape that affect degradation, as well as the site-
specificity of degradation. There can be many types of land degradation. Some of the major
types are:

1. Soil erosion- A partial or complete loss of the top fertile layer of soil. It is the most
widely recognized and most common form of land degradation. It comprises various
processes that are described separately below; however, any one of these processes
may occur in the same locality, either in combination or at different times of year.
Soil erosion by water is often widespread and can occur in all parts of drylands where
rainfall is sufficiently intense for surface runoff to occur. This category includes
processes such as splash, sheet, rill and gully erosion. Soil erosion by wind is also
widespread throughout drylands that are exposed to strong winds. It includes both the
removal and re-depostion of soil particles by wind action and abrasive effects of
moving particles as they are transported.

2. Soil contamination-Soil contamination is the occurrence of contaminants in soil

above a certain level causing deterioration or loss of one or more soil functions. When
xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals are present or other changes are made to the
natural soil environment, it contributes to the degradation of the land. It is typically
caused by industrial activities, agricultural chemicals or improper disposal of waste. It
alters soil biodiversity, reduces soil organic matter and soils capacity to act as a filter.
It also contaminates the water stored in the soil and ground water, and cause an
imbalance of soil nutrients. Mining, dumping of oil and non-degradable waste,
radioactive wastes on soil leading to pollution or degradation of the soil quality and
ecosystem.

3. Desertification: It is defined as "a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry

land region gradually becomes arid, typically losing bodies of water as well as
vegetation and wildlife." Agriculture is threatened by increasing desertification of the
soil. When soil loses all its water and green matter, land becomes desert due to factors
such as climate change, loss of vegetation and agricultural mismanagement. In this
case, it’s very hard to restore the land.

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4. Soil Acidification: Soil acidification can be defined as a reduction in the pH of the

soil. When the soil becomes too acidic, it loses its productivity. It can be caused by
soil amendments, acid rain, nitrogen emissions in the air, and other factors. Soil
acidification and the formation of acid sulphate soil resulting in barren soil.

5. Soil Salinity-Soil salinity is defined as increase in the salt content of the soil.
Salinisation greatly reduces soil quality and vegetation cover. Due to the destruction
of the soil structure, saline and sodic soils are more easily eroded by water and wind.
Salination induces desertification effects such as soil crusting, loss of soil fertility, soil
structure destruction and compaction etc. Salinization is used in its broad sense to
refer to all types of soil degradation brought about by the increase of salts in the soil.
When the soil becomes to saline, it loses its productivity. It can be used by ocean
environments, over irrigation, water sources with salinity issues, and other factors.

6. Loss of vegetation cover: Vegetation cover is defined as the percentage of soil

covered by green vegetation. Vegetation has a blanketing effect on loss of
atmospheric humidity and temperature changes during day or night, or summer and
winter. The summers are less hot and winters are warmer when the soil is covered
with vegetation. The erosion of soil brings about the loss of vegetation cover and
hence its moderating effect on climate. Vegetation is important in many ways. It
protects the soil from erosion by wind and water and it provides organic material to
maintain levels of nutrients essential for healthy plant growth. Plant roots help to
maintain soil structure and facilitate water infiltration. Vegetation cover is a critical
factor in land degradation. Reduced perennial cover is regarded as an important
indicator of the onset of desertification. Vegetation cover is very important in
protecting the soil surface from raindrop splashing, increasing soil organic matter, soil
aggregate stability, water holding capacity, hydraulic conductivity, retarding and
reducing surface water runoff, and so on.

7.5 CAUSES OF LAND DEGRADATION

Land degradation may be generally caused by natural processes associated to the

characteristics of the given land resources and ecosystems. Human activities, on the other
hand, frequently accelerate these degradation processes. Mining, dumping of oil and non-
biodegradable waste, and radioactive wastes on soil all contribute to pollution or degradation
of soil quality and ecosystem, resulting in a rapid decline in the quality and quantity of land
resources as well as the ecosystem services that flow from them. Arid regions are particularly
fragile and vulnerable to land degradation. A variety of complex interconnected degradation
processes contribute to land degradation. One of the primary causes of increased land
degradation is overexploitation of natural resources. The main causes of land degradation are:

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1. Soil Erosion: The loss of soil or disturbance of the soil structure is called soil erosion.
Soil erosion may be defined as the loss of the superficial fertile layer (top soil) of the
soil. The chief agents responsible for it are water, ocean waves, glaciers, rains, over-
grazing, over-cropping and improper tilling. Soil erosion due to water and wind, and
degradation of vegetation cover were the main processes that has led to land
degradation.

2. Overgrazing: Overgrazing is the grazing of natural pastures at stocking intensifies

above the livestock carrying capacity. Degradation occurs when the recovery of
vegetation and soil properties during periods of normal rainfall does not reach its
previous statue. It can reduce ground cover, enabling erosion and compaction of the
land by wind and rain. This reduces the ability for plants to grow and water to
penetrate, which harms soil microbes and results in serious erosion of land. Over-
grazing have a major impact on the productivity of our crop lands and are responsible
for soil erosion. In India pasture land area is decreasing day by day due to expansion
of agricultural land. Recent satellite data show that the area under pasture land is
severely degraded. This poor condition of pasture lands is due to excessive grazing.

3. Desertification: Desertification is the process leading to desert formation.

Desertification is a widespread process of land degradation on arid, semi-arid, and dry
sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and
human activities. The UNO conference on Desertification (1977) has defined
desertification as the “diminution or destruction of the biological potential of land can
lead ultimately to desert like conditions”. Desertification happens over land which
loses its vegetation, where rainfall is conspicuously absent or due to human errors.

4. Shifting cultivation: It is also one of the causes of land degradation. Many tribal
communities, particularly in the north-eastern India, follows the practice of jhum
(shifting) cultivation In jhum cultivation, a path of ground is cleared by cutting down
trees and setting them on fire and then crops are raised on the resulting ash. The
cultivations keep on shifting from one part to another where new patches of land are
cleared. Excessive jhuming cycles degrade forest and disturb soil fertility.

5. Fertilizer misuse: Fertilizers are the widely used medium to increase the food
productivity. The farmers maintain productivity of soil by applying chemical
fertilizers but make less use of organic manures. However, overuse of chemical
fertilizers has lead to several problems such as serious soil degradation, soil
compaction, nitrogen leaching, reduction in soil organic matter, and loss of soil
carbon. Fertilizers may affect the accumulation of heavy metals in soil and plant
system.

6. Mining: It is the most important factor for land degradation. Mining disturbs the
physical, chemical and biological features of the soil. Mineral processing, grinding of

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lime stone, ceramic industry releases a heavy amount of dust, which later settles down
in the surrounding areas.

7. Water logging: Over irrigation of land is also responsible for land degradation, water
logging, increases salinity and alkalinity in soil making it unfit for cultivation. Soil
alkalinisation owing to irrigation with water containing sodium bicarbonate leading to
poor soil structure and reduced crop yields. Excessive irrigation and improper
drainage facility in the fields cause rise in the ground water level. Thus ground water
mixes with surface water used for irrigation and creates a situation called water-
logging. Soil water logging in irrigated land which calls for some form of sub surface
land drainage to remediate the negative effects.

8. Industrilization: Development of industries for the economic growth leads to

excessive deforestation and utilization of land in such a way that it has lost its natural
up gradation quality. Large areas of fertile and productive lands are lost due to
encroachment of urban, industrial and agricultural developments, construction of
dams, canals, roads, railways, airports, mining etc. The development of industries
such as paper and pulp mills, oil refineries, chemical fertilizer industry, coal mining,
and so on has an impact on the chemical and biological properties of soil. Waste
disposal from these industries may result in the entry of hazardous chemicals into the
food chain via soil, resulting in adverse effects. Radioactive pollutants (uranium, Th,
Ra, carbon isotopes, and potassium) from nuclear testing laboratories or industries
may enter soil and water. All these have, thus aggravated the problem of land
degradation.

9. Urbanization: Increasing growth of population and demand for more residential

areas and commercial sector is one of the reasons for land degradation. Global
population growth and uncontrolled urbanization places additional pressure on land
resources for food production. This leads to soil erosion and loss of arable lands for
housing.

10. Deforestation: Deforestation refers to the decrease in forest areas across the world
that are lost for other uses such as urban development, mining, agricultural croplands
or other land uses. Deforestation is when forests are destroyed by cutting trees and not
replanting them. The loss of trees, which anchor the soil with their roots, causes
widespread erosion. As it looses soil slowly the land starts losing its fertility and all
the nutrients present in them. Deforestation has resulted in many ecological problems
like habitat, loss, mass extinction, increases CO 2 emissions etc.

11. Salination: Increase in the concentration of soluble salts in the soil is called as
salination. This could be either salinization, an increase in salt in the soil water
solution, or sodication, an increase of sodium cation (Na+) on the soil particles.
Salinization often occurs in conjuction with poor irrigation management. In most
cases salination is caused by dissolved salts in the water supply. This supply of water

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can be caused by flooding of the land by sea water, seepage of seawater or brackish
groundwater through the soil from below. Mostly, sodication tends to occur naturally;
areas where the water table fluctuates may be prone to sodication.

12. Siltation: The accumulation of slit (fine particles of sand, mud, and other materials)
in the reservoir is known as siltation. Some slit in water is normal, but many tonnes of
slit pollute the water. Every river carries slit which doesn’t necessarily mean that it is
polluted, it is just soil erosion and water is mearly carrying these particles. It can
become a serious problem, especially in water reservoirs where siltation occurs as a
result of ground erosion and since the water is not moving it has nowhere to go.

7.6 EFFECTS OF LAND DEGRADATION

Land degradation is any change in the condition of the land which reduces its productive
potential. This includes the loss of top soil, the loss of vegetative and increasing soil salinity.
It not only affects soil productivity but also have more significant impacts on receiving water
resources. It is the process through which land becomes unfit for cultivation. Several land
degradation affected a significant portion of the arable lands, decreasing the wealth and
economic development of nations. The major outcomes of land degradation are as follows:

1. Loss of Soil fertility: Land degradation affected soil productivity by affecting

physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. The impact of land degradation
on physical properties of soil such as- decline in soil structure, decrease in root zone
depth, low porosity, decrease in moisture and nutrient retention capacity, decrease in
aeration etc, biological properties such as -reduction in microbial population,
reduction in soil respiration rate, reduction in organic matter content due to loss of
vegetation from top soil, decline in land biodiversity etc, and chemical properties such
as- reduction in soil pH which cause acidity in soil, decrease in cation exchange
capacity, accumulation of weathered salt causes alkalinity and salinity etc. The loss of
fertile soil makes land less productive for agriculture, creates new deserts, vegetation
cover of the soil is reduced, pollutes waterways and potentially making flooding more
common.

2. Siltation: Soil particles carried by river water are deposited in the plains. Siltation
over the flood plains on the river banks destroys crop land. Siltation is caused by
human activities that cause fine soil to leach into nearby rivers. This result in an
abnormally large accumulation of slit that remains in that specific area of the river.
Rainstorms may also carry these soils into other bodies of water. In their native
waters, sensitive marine life and freshwater fish may be harmed by suspended slit.
Because they are filter feeders, benthic organisms such as coral, oysters, shrimp, and
mussels are particularly vulnerable to slit. Slit accumulations may also impair the
function of waterways and irrigation canals. Other negative effects of siltation include
human health concerns, the loss of wetlands, changes in coastlines, and changes in

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fish migration patterns. Silt is a major issue because it causes the river bed to become
shallower, causing river channels to hold less water. Floods are also common in these
areas.

3. Forest degradation: Biotic resources are being depleted and the productive capacity
of forests is being lowered as a result of human activity. Erosion on the hill slopes
destroys the forest vegetation of the mountains and foot hills. Overexploitation of the
natural resources is one of the main factors for the increase in land degradation.

4. Climate change: Land degradation also contributes to climate change, releasing

massive quantities of carbon (stored in soil) into the atmosphere. Soil is the biggest
terrestrial carbon sink. The world’s soils store more carbon than the planets biomass
and atmosphere combine. Soil carbon is the solid carbon stored in global soils. This
includes both soil organic matter and inorganic carbon as carbonate minerals. Loss of
soil organic carbon is one of the principal signs of land degradation, and land
degradation is one of the leading challenges for sustainable development, biodiversity
conservation, and mitigating and adapting to climate change.

5. Famine: Soil erosion results on the reduction of productivity of the land, reduces
water availability for irrigational purposes and reduced hydroelectric power during
dry periods of the year. When the seasonal rain fails, there is little water and the other
inputs available for supporting crops. Hence famine overtakes the area.

6. Spread of desert: The sand particles picked up by wind from a desert area are
deposited over the adjacent crop lands, ponds, lakes and irrigation channels.
Vegetation gets killed through abrasion and suffocation while the soil becomes sterile.
The filling up of water reservoirs and channel further increases aridity and gives rise
to desert condition.

7.7 PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF LAND DEGRADATION

Land resources are non-renewable and it is necessary to ensure sustainable management of

these finite resources. Human life can sustain only if lands are productive. Continuous use of
land over a, long period of time without taking appropriate measures to conserve and manage,
it has resulted in land degradation. This has serious repercussions on society and the
environment. Land degradation has become a major global problem, limiting the
sustainability of ecosystem services and agricultural production. Land is a limited resource,
and its importance in our lives is usually ignored. Regarding the world's increasing
population and limited natural resources, sustainable land management is defined as a basic
requirement for long-term agricultural management and agricultural sustainability success.
Natural processes affected by human activity, such as climate change and biodiversity loss,
worsen land degradation. The damaged caused by erosion is due to loss of surface soil, plant
nutrients, sub-soil water, silting up of water channels, reduction of land productivity and

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ultimately lowering the standard of living. Soil conservation is the only way to protect the
productive lands. It increases crop yield and also prevents deterioration of the land. Modern
approach to soil conservation is based on sound land use and treatment of land with those
adaptable practical measures that keep the soil permanently productive while in use.

Land degradation can be controlled by afforestation and agrostological methods. To check

the spread of sand dunes or desert conditions or blowing away of fertile top soil, trees are
planted which reduce the velocity of the wind. Strips of grasses, laid in between growing
fields crops are highly beneficial in conserving soil, soil water and productive capacity of the
soil. Shifting cultivation can be replaced by crop rotation, mixed cropping or developing
plantation crops which would improve fertility and support a larger population.
Following are some practices for controlling land degradation:
1. Reforestation: The forests, which are supposed to be the national wealth, which
provide timber, fuel, wood, pulp, gums, resins, turpentine etc, are also important in
checking floods and soil erosion. By restoring forest and grass over, soil erosion and
flood can be checked. The forests build up a thick layer or humus, they protect soil
from erosion. The rocks of plants also serve as natural dams in holding water and soil.
Thus for the control of land degradation, the cutting of timbers, forest fires should be
prevented.

2. Crop rotation: It is one of the agricultural practice in which different crops are
grown in same area following a rotation system. Crop rotation is the method of
alternating saving of leguminous and cereal crops. The crop rotation prevents soil,
depletion and especially when used with fern manures and commercial fertilizers in
valuable in the control of erosion, weeds and many plant diseases. Shifting cultivation
can be replaced by crop rotation practices. Mixed cropping or developing plantation
crops would improve soil fertility and support a larger population.

3. Contours plantation: This method is practiced on hill slopes. In this method the land
is ploughed against the slope instead of up and down the slope. This result in the
formation of cross wise ridges and check the flow of water. The log slopes are broken
up into a number of strips laid out across the slopes so that crop rows are on the level.
Sometimes the slope is divided into a series of small flat fields called terraces (this
method is known as terracing), these consists of a broad bottomed channel and an
outlet. Sometimes low ridges are also build us across the terraces which serve as small
dams, for holding water and thus in checking soil erosion.

4. Mulching: Mulching is a process in which any material such as-grasses, straw,

leaves, crop residues and other forms of plant litter placed on a soil surface. In this
method soil is allowed to remain untilled. Mulching retains soil moisture, decreases
run-off, increases soil infiltration, provides thermal insulation, reduces the incidence
of weeds, stimulate, growth of soil and increases humification. The covered soil does
not come in direct contact of the agencies of erosion.

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5. Control of grazing: Grazing eliminates not only the seedlings, herbs and undershrub
but the soil is also trampled, made compact and hard and becomes unfit for plant
growth Different animals like buffaloes, horses, sheep, goats etc has definite
references as to the type of vegetation grazed and each animal affect the pasture in a
markedly different manner. Overgrazing by these animals causes soil erosion and
partly spreads the desert conditions. By continuous grazing for a period of years, soil
becomes lose and it is easily eroded by wind or water. To control grazing, a certain
area should not be allowed to be grazed for a long time. Control grazing is the
management of forage with grazing animals. It limits excess to grazing by
subdividing pastures with permanent and temporary fences.

6. Organic farming: Organic farming is an agricultural technique where the land is

supplemented with organic fertilizers instead of chemical ones. Legume root nodules
are the best source for nitrogen and natural fertilizers such as cow dung, agricultural
wastes also improve nutrients value of the soils.

7. Strip farming: It is the practice in which two different kinds of crops are planted in
alternate rows. One set of rows consists of crops in which individual plants can be
relatively widely spaced, such as cotton, soyabeans, corn etc. The second set of rows
contains plants that grow very close together, such as wheat, legumes etc. As a result
of this type of farming, water is channeled along the contour of the land, not down its
slope. In addition, the closely planted crops in one row protect the exposed soil in the
more widely spaced crops in the second row. The strip farming is determined by a
number of factors, such as length and steepness of the slope. It is used when a slope is
too steep or when there is no alternative method of preventing soil erosion. Strip
farming helps to stop soil erosion by creating natural dams for water, helping to
preserve the strength of the soil. It helps the soil to retain its nutrients.

8. Ridge and furrows formation: It is a conservation farming method in which seeds

are planted in ridges, which creates warmer soil temperatures and traps rainwater in
the furrows between the ridges. Ridge and furrows formed act as continuous barrier to
the free movement of water downwards thus provides more infiltration time. Hence,
the removal of soil along with nutrients is checked to a great extent leading to
increment in soil fertility and crop yield. Ridges and furrows is one of the various in
situ soil and water conservation methods for black and red soils. Microclimates under
mulched ridges and furrows favour soil microbial activity, increase soil biodiversity,
and improve environmental benefits.

9. Construction of dams: A check dam is a small dam constructed across a drainage

ditch, swale, or channel to lower the velocity of flow. A check dam may be built from
stone, sandbags filled with pea gravel, or loss. Check dams can be used where
temporary channels or permanent channels are not yet vegetated, channel lining is
infeasible and velocity checks are required. Check dams are commonly used to reduce

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flow in small temporary channels that are presently undergoing degradation, stabilize
sedimentation, limit catchment erosion, and increase the reservoir storage capacity of
dam. They block active gullies and divert the water flows to a stable area.

There are some other measures to control land degradation are as follows:

a) Adequate drainage should be made to prevent salinity of soil.

b) Salt affected lands can be recovered by bleaching them with more water.
c) Sufficient plantation of appropriate plant species can prevent shifting sand,
mulching or covering the area with artificial protective covering also prevents
shifting sand.
d) Using the farm machineries of lesser weight.
e) Reducing the number of passes of implements during tillage operations.
f) Keeping off the soil when it is in wet condition.
g) Reducing the soil compaction by deep ploughing, occasionally.
h) Reducing soil crusting by light cultivation, adding Gypsum (CaSO4) and
mulching.

7.8 SUMMARY

Land degradation is defined as the temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity
of the land. The concept of land degradation originates from soil degradation and it’s often
used as a synonym for soil degradation. It is a natural or human-induced process that
negatively affects the land. Land degradation usually result from different human activities,
such as waste dumping, agricultural practices, deforestation, mining operations and
urbanization. The top layer of the soil is most important since all nutrients required by plants
are present in this layer. Besides pollution, soil faces several problems associated with
degradation. These include salination of soil, deforestation, erosion, flooding and water-
logging, and ill planned urban encroachment.

The change in the characteristics and quality of soil which adversely affects its fertility is
called degradation. It is a natural or human-induced process that negatively affects the land.
The concept of land degradation originates from soil degradation and its often used as a
synonym for soil degradation. This includes the loss of top soil, the loss of vegetative and
increasing soil salinity. Main causes of Land degradation are- Soil erosion, over grazing,
Desertification, shifting cultivation, Fertilizer misuse, mining, water logging.
Industrialization, Urbanization, Deforestation, Salination. Several land degradation affected a
significant portion of the arable lands, decreasing the wealth and economic development of
nations. The major outcomes of land degradation are Loss of soil fertility, siltation, Loss of
forest vegetation, climate change, Famine, or spread of desert. There can be many types of
land degradation such as- soil erosion, soil contamination, desertification, soil acidification,
soil salinity, Loss of vegetation cover etc. Soil conservation is the only way to protect the
productive lands. Human life can sustain only if lands are productive. Reforestation, crop

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rotation, contours plantation, Mulching, control of grazing, organic farming, strip farming,
ridge and furrows formation, construction of dams are some practices for controlling land
degradation.

7.9 GLOSSARY

Land Degradation: The disturbances in the natural structure and properties of soil due to
direct or indirect anthropogenic (human) influences.
Organic farming: Farming without artificial fertilizers or pesticides.
Mulching: It is the process of covering the soil to make more favourable conditions for plant
growth, development and efficient crop production.
Siltation: is a process by which water becomes dirty as a result of fine mineral particles in the
water.
Shifting cultivation: It is a system of cultivation in which a plot of land is cleared and
cultivated for a short period of time, then abandoned and allowed to revert to producing its
normal vegetation while the cultivator moves on to another plot.
Jhum: It is the process of growing crops by first clearing the land of trees and vegetation and
burning them thereafter.
Soil acidification: It is process where the soil pH decreases over time.
Arable: It is defined as land that is able to produce crops.
Agrostological methods: In this method grasses are grown to check the soil erosion.
Humification: It is a process in which humus is produced by the decomposition of plant
twigs, wood, etc.
Wetland: An area of land that is either covered by water or saturated with water.

7.10 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

7.10.1. Multiple choice Questions:

1. The problem with the shifting cultivation is that it requires:
(a) Lot of fossil fuel (b) lot of inorganic fertilizers
(c) Continued application of pesticides (d) long time for the soil to recover
2. Land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops is called as:
(a) Dry land (b) Domestic land
(c) Arable land (d) Unarable land
3. Wearing away of a field’s topsoil by the natural physical forces of water and wind is
known as:
(a) Soil erosion (b) Wind erosion
(c) Sand erosion (d) None
4. Process of conversion of productive land to arid or semiarid lands is known as-
(a) Deformation (b) Desertification
(c) Land form (d) Deforestation

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5. What is salinisation?
(a) It is a process of accumulation of soluble acid in upper soil horizons.
(b) It is a process of accumulation of soluble minerals in upper soil horizons.
(c) It is a process of accumulation of soluble salts in upper soil horizons.
(d) It is a process of accumulation of soluble base in upper soil horizons.
6. What is deforestation?
(a) Heavy construction working (b) Excessive paper production
(c) The removal of trees from forested lands (d) None
7. Decline in the productive capacity of land for some time or permanently:
(a) Land profile (b) Land degradation
(c) Land reclamation (d) None
8. It is the uppermost layer, rich in humus and minerals and consists of sand, slit and clay:
(a) Top soil (b) Black soil
(c) Sub soil (d) b or c
9. Land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops is known as-
(a) Dry land (b) Arable land
(c) Domestic land (d) None
10. Process of conversion of productive land to arid or semi arid lands is called as-
(a) Desertification (b) Land form
(c) Deforestation (d) Deformation

7.10.1 Answer key: 1-(d), 2-(c), 3-(a), 4-(b), 5-(c), 6-(c), 7-(b), 8-(a), 9-(b), 10-(a)

7.11 REFERENCES

 Sharma P.D. ‘Ecology and Environment’, Rastogi Publication, Meerut

 Shukla R.S. and Chandel P.S. ‘A textbook of Plant Ecology’, S.Chand& Company pvt.
Ltd., New Delhi
 www.yourarticlelibrary.com>land
 [link.springer.com>…]
 megamanual.geosyntec. com>npsmanual
 www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/Toolbar
 Sivakumar M.V.K., Ndiangui N. (Eds.), Climate and Land Degradation.

7.12 SUGGESTED READING

 Sharma P.D. ‘Ecology and Environment’, Rastogi Publication, Meerut

 Shukla R.S. and Chandel P.S. ‘A textbook of Plant Ecology’, S.Chand & Company pvt.
Ltd., New Delhi
 Pandey B.P. Botany for Degree Students, S.Chand& Company pvt. Ltd., New Delhi

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7.13 TERMINAL QUESTION

7.13.1: Short Answer Type Questions:

1. Define land degradation. How can we conserve land resources?
2. Write a short note on strip farming.
3. What are the effects of land degradation?
4. How can we prevent land degradation?
5. What are the important measures of land degradation?

7.13.2: Long Answer Type Questions:

1. Define land degradation. What factors lead to land degradation?
2. Explain about the causes of land degradation?
3. What is land degradation? Discuss about its concept.
4. Describe the major types of land degradation.
5. Discuss about the prevention and control of land degradation.
6. Write short notes on:
a) Salination
b) Shifting cultivation
c) Desertification
d) Mulching

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UNIT-8- ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND

HUMAN HEALTH

Content

8.1 Objectives
8.2 Introduction
8.3 Pollution and Pollutants
8.4 Types of Pollution
8.4.1 Air pollution
8.4.2 Water pollution
8.4.3 Soil pollution
8.4.4 Noise pollution
8.4.5 Radioactive pollution
8.4.6 Solid waste pollution
8.5 Summary
8.6 Glossary
8.7 Self-Assessment Questions
8.8 References
8.9 Suggested Reading
8.10 Terminal Questions

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8.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit student will be able:

 To know about the pollution and pollutants

 To learn about different types of pollutions- air, water, soil, noise, radioactive, solid
waste.
 To understand about the causes, effects and control of pollutions.

8.2 INTRODUCTION

The presence or introduction of harmful or poisonous substances into the environment is

called as pollution. The biosphere and ecosystem are self-sustaining and nature maintains a
balance between the land, water, air and living organism. Any kind of imbalance in the
biosphere is causes environmental pollution.

The term pollution is derived from the latin word polluere, which means ‘to contaminate any
feature of the environment’. The idea about pollution first given in 1949 by the delegates at
the first world science conference on the conservation and utilization resources convened by
the United Nations and held at lake Sussess in 1949. According to Pollution Committee of
National Academy of Sciences 1966, the unnecessary changes in physical, chemical or
biological properties of soil, air and water is pollution.

Odum (1971) has defined pollution as “an undesirable change in the physical, chemical or
biological characteristics of our air, land, and water that may or will harmfully affects human
life or that of desirable species, our industrial processes, living conditions, and cultural
assets”. Southwick (1976) has defined pollution as the unfavourable alteration of our
environment, largely as a result of human activities. According to certain ecologists such as
Smith (1977), Odum (1971), Southwick (1976), many factors such as human population
explosion unplanned urbanization and deforestation, profit oriented capitalism and
technological advancement, which may have originated pollution crisis on earth.

The introduction of contaminants into natural environment makes it less favourable for
organisms. Pollution is linked to human activities such as- transportation, waste disposal,
consumption, energy generation. Humans are responsible for impacting biophysical
environment, biodiversity and other resources and the working mechanism of the
environment. Pollution is result of the ignorance of humans towards their environment.
Humans pollute the air, land, water by burning fossil fuels over reusing chemicals and
pesticides, and creating sewage run-off. Pollution adversely affects biological species,
including humans. In the modern era, humans adapt natural resources to make them more
useful and live with the trash they create after using them. These waste materials harm the
environment. Negative effects on nature result from the introduction of undesired and
dangerous substances into the environment.

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8.3 POLLUTANTS

A substance that makes the air, soil, water or another natural resource toxic is called as
pollutant. The term "pollutant" refers to a group of compounds that are present in dangerous
concentrations and act as pollution-causing agents that have a negative impact on the
environment and living things.

A pollutant is the byproduct of man’s action. It can be any chemical, geochemical substance,
biological organism or product, or physical property (heat) that is released intentionally or in
advertently by man into the environment with actual or potential adverse, harmful or
unpleasant and inconvenient effects. Some of the important pollutants are:

1. Deposited matter-smoke, tar, dust

2. Gases-sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrogen sulphide,
ammonia, fluorine, chlorine etc.
3. Metals- Lead, iron, mercury, zinc, tin, cadmium etc.
4. Agriculture pollutions- pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, fertilizers etc.
5. Organic pollutants- benzene, acetic acid, ether, benzopyrenes etc.
6. Photochemical- Oxidation pollutants from automobiles such as photochemical smog,
ozone, peroxyacetyl nitrates, oxides of nitrogen, aldehydes, ketones.
7. Noise and Heat etc.
8. Solid wastes.

Pollutants are divided into two categories

1. Biodegradable pollutants: They consist of domestic sewage, cloth, paper, wood etc,
which can be rapidly decomposed by natural processes like the action of
microorganisms etc. They may create problems when their input into the environment
exceeds their decomposition.
2. Non-biodegradable pollutants: The materials and poisonous substances like
aluminium, cans, mercuric salts, plastics, waste glasses, phenolics, DDT etc, that do
not degrade or degrade very slowly in the natural environmental conditions are called
non-degradable pollutants. They are not recycled in an ecosystem naturally. These
pollutants are ‘biologically magnified’, i.e. they pass from one biological system to
another.

Pollutants are also classified into the following two categories on the basis of their forms they
exist in the environment after their release.

a) Primary pollutants: These are the pollutants which exist as such after being added or
released into the environment, e.g., oxides of Sulphur, nitrogen etc.
b) Secondary pollutants: These are the pollutants formed by the reactions of primary
pollutants, particularly in the environment in presence of sunlight, e.g., hydrocarbons
and nitrogen oxides react in atmosphere in presence of sunlight to form a group of
nitrous compounds like peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN).

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Pollutants can be introduced into the environment both naturally such as volcanic ash and by
humans such as industrial pollution.

8.4 TYPES OF POLLUTION

Environmental pollution is the inappropriate discharge of mass or energy into the planet's
natural resources, such as the land, the air, and the water, which has an adverse long- or
short-term effect on the environment and the health of its ecosystem, as well as a negative
qualitative and quantitative impact on the living things and their existence. Various types of
pollution are classified on the basis of the type of environment being polluted, or the pollutant
involved.
1. Air pollution
2. Water pollution
3. Soil pollution
4. Noise pollution
5. Radioactive pollution
6. Solid waste pollution

8.4.1 Air Pollution

The addition of undesirable substances in air causes the air pollution. The air pollution may
be defined as the presence of material in air in such concentration which are harmful to man
and environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Air pollution as “limited to
situation in which the outer ambient atmosphere contains materials in concentrations which
are harmful to man and his environment”.

The importance of air pollution can be estimated by a calculated fact that air constitutes
nearly 80 percent of man’s daily intake by weight. A man breathes about 22,000 times a day
inhaling about 16 kg of air. Approximately 91% of people worldwide currently reside in
areas where the air quality does not match the safe levels set by the World Health
Organization. Air pollution has direct or indirect consequences on human health, physiology
and growth of plants and animals, and structure and processes of ecosystems (see winner,
1994).

Sources of Air Pollution: The main sources of air pollution are combustion such as-
Transportation, fuel burning and refuse burning. All these three kinds of combustion release
several types of gases. Air pollution sources are divisible into two categories:

1. Mobile sources: Mobile source air pollution includes any air pollution emitted by
automobiles, airplanes, locomotive and other engines and equipment that can be
moved from one location to another. Transportation as a whole account for 70% of
CO, 44% of oxides of nitrogen, 33% volatile organic compounds, and 21% particulate
matter annually generated into air.

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2. Stationary Sources: Stationary source in air quality terminology is any fixed emitter
(non-mobile) of air pollutants. The stationary sources of air pollution include thermal
power stations, refineries, factories, power plants and boilers. Petroleum refineries are
responsible for hydrocarbons and particulate pollution. In India, industries such as
steel and iron, fertilizers, pulp and paper mills, thermal power plants,
copper/aluminium/zinc smelters, oil and cement refineries are major stationary
sources of pollution (CPCB, 2000a).

Other sources: Packing and disposal of packages generate pollution, dust from fertilizers,
livestock feedlots; mining operation, insecticide, radioactive fallout etc are other sources of
air pollution.

Air pollution results from gaseous emissions, mainly from industries, thermal power stations,
automobiles, domestic combustion, etc. Besides, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, natural
organic and inorganic decays let out large quantities of harmful dust and sulphurous gases.
Industries and automobiles give out huge amount of gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen
oxide, fluorides and large amounts of carbon particles, called smoke. Petroleum refineries are
the other major source of gaseous pollutants, especially SO 2 and NOx. Cement factories emit
large amount of dust. Food and fertilizer industries also emit many gaseous pollutants.
Thermal power stations produce a considerable amount of fly ash, SO 2 and other gases and
hydrocarbons. Solid wastes are a major source of air pollution in urban areas. Backyard
burning and open burning of the heaps of the solid wastes results in the emission of smoke
and gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen etc.

Common air pollutants: Air is easily polluted by gases, smoke, dust, etc. which are
lighter objects and get mixed up in atmosphere. Some of the significant air pollutants are:

1. Nitrogen Oxide: Oxides of nitrogen are a mixture of gases that are composed of
nitrogen and oxygen. Oxides of nitrogen include nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide
(NO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), dinitrogen trioxide (N2O3) and dinitrogen pentaoxide
(N2O5) which are generally represented by the symbol NOx. Out of these two more
toxicologically significant pollutants among them are nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen
dioxide (NO2). The main source of the nitrogen oxides is the combustion of fossil
fuels (Coal, gas, and oil). Natural source of nitrogen oxides include volcano. Nitrogen
oxides are important gaseous air pollutants which arise due to burning of fossil fuels
in power plants and automobiles.
2. Oxides of Carbon: The important pollutants of carbon are Carbon dioxide (CO2) and
carbon monoxide (CO) which are produced by cigarette smoking, automobiles,
burning of fuels in houses, industrial plants, power houses and carbon dioxide is also
produced by respiratory activity of animals and plants. CO is colorless, odorless and
tasteless gas which is very toxic air pollutant. Carbon monoxide combines with
atmospheric oxygen to increase carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. This
will adversely affect the environment by leading to ozone depletion and global
warming.

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3. Sulphur compounds: Sulphur dioxide is a colorless, acidic gas with a pungent and
suffocating smell. These include Sulphur dioxide (SO2), Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and
Sulphuric acid (H2SO4). Sulphur dioxide is originated primarily from the combustion
of coal and petroleum. It is estimated that Sulphur dioxide remains in the air for an
average of two to four days. In the atmosphere, Sulphur dioxide reacts with moisture
to form Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) which causes many respiratory diseases. H2SO4 and
acid rainfall reduces forest growth.
4. Photochemical oxidants: It is formed by photochemical reactions between primary
pollutants like oxides of nitrogen and hydro-carbons. The oxides of nitrogen react
with unburnt hydrocarbons derived from incomplete combustion of automobile fuel in
presence of sunlight, e.g., peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), ozone, aldehydes and other
organic compounds in the air. These are called secondary pollutants.
5. Hydrocarbons: Compounds of hydrogen and carbon are called hydrocarbon such as-
ethane, methane etc. The chief sources of hydrocarbons are motor vehicles; they are
emitted by evaporation of gasoline through carburetors, crank case, etc. Methane is
produced during decay of garbage and aquatic vegetation and also released by burning
of natural gas and also from factories. From amongst many, the chief air pollutants are
methane, benzene, and benzopyrene. Benzene a liquid pollutant is emitted from
gasoline. It causes lung cancer. Benzopyrene is most potent cancer-inducing
hydrocarbon pollutant. Hydrocarbons are the principle constituents of natural gas and
petroleum products.
6. Fluoride: Fluoride is a wide spread, non biodegradable and relatively persistent
pollutant. Fluoride in atmosphere come from industrial process of phosphate
fertilizers, aluminum, ceramics, fluorinated hydrocarbons (refrigerants, aerosol,
propellants etc), fluorinated plastic, uranium and other matters. Anthropogenic
fluorine emitted into the atmosphere is highly reactive and readily hydrolyzes to form
hydrogen fluoride (highly corrosive and irritant gas).
7. Particulate pollutants: These are fly ash, dust, grit and other suspended particulate
matter (SPM) released from power plants and industries (stone crushers) etc. There
are also bacterial cells, fungal spores and pollens in air as biological particulate
pollutant.
8. Aerosols: An aerosol is defined as a suspension or dispersion of fine solid particles or
liquid droplets in air or another gas such as- Smoke, mist, fog etc. Aerosols are such
as fluorocarbons (carbon compounds having fluorine) released by jet aeroplane
emissions causing thinning of ozone layer which forms a protective shield against
harmful ultraviolet radiations reaching the earth.
9. Radioactive substances: A large number of radioactive elements are released in the
atmosphere from atomic power reactors. It happens due to the release of radioactive
substances into the environment during nuclear explosions and nuclear weapons
testing, production and decommissioning of nuclear weapons, the mining of
radioactive minerals, the handling and disposal of radioactive waste, and accidents at
nuclear power plants.

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10. Metals: These include chiefly lead, nickel, arsenic, beryllium, tin, vanadium,
titanium, cadmium etc; present in air as solid particles or liquid droplets or gases.
They are produced mostly by metallurgical processes, automobiles, seaspray etc.

Effects of air pollution: Air pollution has a performed influence on the biological system
and environment. Some major effects of air pollution are as follows:
1. On human health: Many gaseous and particulate pollutants have a serious effect on
human health. Air borne small, solid particles and liquid droplets are commonly
known as particulates. They are present in air in excess and pose a serious threat to air
pollution problems. The particulate, matter when entered in the human body system
increase blood viscosity, blood flow resulting in blood clot and heart problems. The
effects of particulate pollutants are largely dependent on the particle size. Air borne
particles such as dust, soot, fumes, and mists are potentially dangerous for human
health. The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health
problems. Fine particles (PM 2.5) pose the greatest health risk. These fine particles can
get deep into lungs and some may even get into the blood stream. Exposure to these
particles can affect a person’s lungs and heart. Coarse particles (PM 10-2.5) are of less
concern, although they can irritate a person’s eyes, nose and throat. Lung cancer
bronchitis, emphysema and asthma are some chronic diseases caused mainly due to
exposure to polluted air. Sulphur dioxide cause intense irritation to eyes and
respiratory tract. H2S causes headache, nausea, conjunctivitis and irritation by mucous
membranes, collapse, coma and finally death due to respiratory failure. SO2 forms
sulphur particles which, if inhaled regularly can cause bronchitis and asthma. Carbon
monoxide when inhaled, it combines with the blood haemoglobin and causes oxygen
deficiency. This results in hard breathing, headache and irritation of mucous
membranes. Nitrogen oxides and PAN (Peroxyacetyl nitrate, produced
photochemically in the atmosphere containing olefins and nitrogen oxides) damage
lungs and heart and causes eye irritation. Food and drinks are the most important
sources of human fluoride intake. There is a disease of fluorosis, which is due to
chronic fluoride intoxication. Several other inorganic gases like ammonia, chlorine
and phosgene, cause lung and respiratory tract diseases. The fine dust particles of
metals present in the air causes number of diseases. Lead can damage the brain of
young children and even cause death; in adults it effects the functioning of nervous
system. Cadmium is a respiratory poison and leads to high blood pressure and heart
diseases. Mercury can damage the nervous system, liver and eyes, besides headache,
fatigue, anxiety, lethargy and loss of appetite. Atmospheric pollution arising from
smoke and grit causes lung irritation, asthma, bronchitis, etc. Cotton dust causes
occupational disease byssinosis, very common in India. Various kinds of biological
particulate matter like bacterial cells, spores and pollens cause bronchial disorders,
allergy and many other diseases. In humans, strontium-90 is concentrated in tissue,
and causes damage to bone and marrow cells and may also result in production of
tumour.

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2. Effects on animals: The effects of air pollution on domestic animals are similar to
those observed in humans. Chronic poisoning results from the ingestion of forage
contaminated with atmospheric pollutants. The major metallic contaminants are
arsenic, lead and molybdenum. In addition, various fluorine compounds which fall on
foliage of plants are eaten by livestock causing abnormal calcification of bones and
teeth in them, called fluoride toxicity, i.e., fluorosis. It may cause lameness, loss of
weight and frequent diarrhea in animals.

3. Effects on plants: Air pollution has adversely effects on plants. Some of them are:
a) High concentration of SO2 leads to chronic injury in plants. Cotton, wheat, barley and
apple are some crops which are fairly sensitive to SO2. Sulphur dioxide causes
chlorosis, i.e., loss of chlorophyll.
b) At higher concentration Carbon monoxide causes leaf drop, leaf curling, reduction in
leaf size, premature ageing etc and also inhibits cellular respiration in plants.
c) Fluorides destroy the leaf tissues causing chlorosis and necrosis of leaf apex and
margins.
d) The increase in atmospheric NO2 causes leaf injury and growth retardation in plants.
e) Ozone causes tip burn in pine seedlings. Ozone also damages cereals. Fruits, cotton,
crops etc. It also causes immature yellowing and shedding of leaves.
f) Hydrocarbons, such as ethylene, causes epinasty and inhibition of mutation in tomato
and sweet pea.

4. Effect on materials: Acid rains and photochemical smog affect metals and buildings.
The pollutants most destructive to materials are smoke, grit and dust and oxides of
Sulphur. Acid rain has a corrosion action on metal surfaces and causes fading of
textiles and deterioration of fabrics, corrodes building, monuments, bridges, railing
etc. Aluminum and copper and their alloys, iron and steel are corroded when exposed
to contaminated air. H2S decolorizes silver and lead paints.

5. Effect on environment: Air pollution impacts the environment by reducing visibility

and blocking sunlight, causing acid rain, and harming forests, wildlife and agriculture.
Acid rain forms when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide mix with water droplets in
the atmosphere to make sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Winds can carry these pollutants
for thousands of miles, until they fall to the earth’s surface as acid rain. A high level
of particulate pollution reduces the amount of sunlight that reaches the surface and
even changes the appearance of the sky.
The hole in the ozone layer is caused by air pollutants. Chemicals used as refrigerants,
such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), contain chlorine atoms. Releasing chlorine
atoms into the atmosphere destroys ozone. The ozone layer blocks harmful
ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation from the Sun. Air pollution includes greenhouse gases
such as carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gas pollution is causing climate
change. It actually prevents earth from freezing cold temperatures. They trap some
amount of heat from Sun and prevent it from escaping earth, thereby maintaining a
moderately warm environment which is good enough for living things to survive.

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Increased level of greenhouse gases will result in more heat getting trapped on the
earth and when there is more heat trapped the result will be an increased in an adverse
temperature of earth and this phenomenon is called global warming with the increase
of the amount of these gases the heat is also increasing leading to global warming.
Melting icesheets, warming oceans, and extreme weather conditions are examples of
how climate changes caused by greenhouse gas pollution. When the earth is becoming
warmer the polarice cap will start melting and this will lead to the rise in water levels
of oceans and seas all across the earth which will cause disaster like floods bring
about severe and dramatic climatic changes and also submerge islands and coastal
areas.

Prevention and control of air pollution: Problems of environment are so much that all
phases of human activity is intimately associated with the environment, release of toxic
chemicals, automobiles emissions, nuclear testing, depletion of natural sources have all
contributed to the rapid deterioration of the biosphere. Environmental aims at not only
controlling pollution problems but also improvement and development of the atmosphere.
Some steps to control air pollution are as follows:

(i). Factories and industries should be situated as far as possible from the city limits
with in a limited industrial zone.
(ii). The chimneys of factories should be fitted with special fitters such as scrubbers,
cyclone separators or electric precipitators to filter out the larger particles of carbon
pollutants.
(iii). To check automobile pollution by the use of unleaded petrol, better engines with
low emissions and proper maintenance of vehicles.
(iv). Tree plantation should be increased which will reduce carbon dioxide contents of
the environment and make it pure by releasing oxygen.
(v). Indiscriminate use of pesticides and biocide should be checked.
(vi). Appropriate acts are required to control air pollution by motor vehicles, industries,
etc. We have air pollution boards at central and state level. They can issue and
cancel licenses to polluting industries enforce emission standards and frame rules
and regulation for the control of air pollution.
(vii). The automobile industry should manufacture battery operated and solar energy
operated cars rather petrol or diesel run vehicles.
(viii). Excessive and undesirable burning of vegetation should be stopped.
(ix). Nuclear explosion should be avoided.

The most important and fundamental programme for dealing with environment problems is to
impart environmental education. Every citizen should be made aware of the problems of
environmental pollution.

8.4.2 Water pollution

The term water pollution is referred to any type of aquatic contamination between following
to extremes: (i) a highly enriched, over productive biotic community, such as river or lake

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with nutrients from sewage or fertilizers (cultural eutrophication), or (ii) a body of water
poisoned by toxic chemicals which eliminate living organisms or even exclude all forms of
life (See Southwick, 1976).

The contamination of water bodies such as ocean, lake, river, ponds, ground water etc, is
known as water pollution. Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by
anthropogenic contaminants. The water is one of the greatest natural resources which are
helpful in transportation, hydroelectric power, food and ration. Water pollution may be
defined as ‘the adverse change in composition or condition of the water such that it becomes
less suitable for the purposes for which it would be suitable in its natural state’.

The waste products such as vegetable wastes from houses and industries, papers, tins, plastics
etc. are creating greater problems for this disposal. A general survey has revealed that nearly
70 percent streams and rivers in our country contain polluted water. Water pollution is one of
the most serious environmental problems for the world as a whole. It disturbs ecological
balance and cause hazards to public health. The sources of water can be classified as- Point
source pollution which originates from a single, identifiable source, such as discharges pipe
from a factory or sewage treatment plant and Non-point source pollution which is also called
as ‘area’ or diffuse sources refers to diffuse contamination that does not originate from a
single source. For example- sediment, pesticide or nitrates entering surface because of runoff
from agricultural farms.

Water quality standards: Dissolved oxygen (DO), Biological oxygen demand (BOD),
and Chemical oxygen demand (COD) are important parameters in the assessment of water
quality.
1. Dissolved oxygen (DO): Water with dissolved oxygen below 8.0 mgL -1 may be
considered as contaminated and below 4.0 mgL-1 heavily polluted.
2. Biological oxygen demand (BOD): It is indirect measure of water quality. It is a
measure of the amount of oxygen required for biological oxidation by microbes in any
unit volume of water at 200C in five days. Higher is the amount of oxygen consumed,
greater is the degree of organic pollutants.
3. Chemical oxygen demand (COD): It is also an indirect measure of water quality. It
is a measure of amount of oxygen required to oxidize all the pollutants (both
biodegradable and non-biodegradable) in any unit volume of water at 200C in five
days.

Types of water pollutants: Types of water pollution can be classified by the medium in
which they occur such as surface water, ground water, etc.; the habitat in which they occur
(such as rivers, lakes, etc.), and the source or type of contamination (such as nutrient
pollution, thermal pollution, radioactive pollution, etc.). Water pollutants can be divided in
various ways, one simple way is given below:

1. Organic pollutants: These comprise the remains of dead and rotting animals and
plants. Some synthetic compounds also act as organic pollutant such as-
polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides.

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2. Inorganic pollutants: It includes inorganic salts, alkalies, mineral acids, metals and
their compounds.
3. Microbiological pollutants: These include microorganisms like viruses, algae,
bacteria, protozoa etc.
4. Radioactive pollutants: It includes radioactive substances produced by nuclear
power reactors and radioisotope. For example- Radium, thorium, uranium etc.

Types of water pollution: Water pollution may be classified as:

1. Ground water pollution: Ground water is present below the surface of ground. It
generally considered being safe for drinking, agricultural and industrial purposes. But
now-a days, it is no more safe and is heavily polluted in cities and industrial areas.
2. Surface or fresh water pollution: Earth's surface water consists of oceans, lakes,
rivers, and other waterways. These bodies of water can be contaminated from
industrial runoff and inadequate wastewater treatment systems, agricultural runoff,
precipitation, seepage etc which is unsafe for humans, animals and plants alike. One
of the main sources of pollution is the untreated industrial effluents that are dumped
into surface water. As sanitation standards are generally poor, surface water is also
contaminated by human waste, soap, detergents, paper, and cloth in addition to
industrial pollutants. Additionally, waste is being dumped into water bodies from
towns, cities, and rural areas. One of the main causes of water body pollution is the
use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals in agricultural practices,
such as dichloro-diphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), benzene hexchloride (BHC), etc. In
industries like power plants, water is used to dissipate heat from the water. Following
its release into water bodies, this heated water has a negative impact on aquatic life.
Besides heat, nuclear power plants dispose of nuclear wastes (radioactive material)
into water bodies.
3. Microbiological pollution: Microbial contamination refers to contamination caused
by microorganisms in water. In most cases, this type of pollution occurs naturally, and
in many cases the bacteria, protozoa, and viruses are harmless or beneficial to the
ecosystems in which they live. However, this is not always the case. , some microbial
contaminants can upset the delicate balance of such environments, killing plants and
animals and causing disease in those who consume or use the water.
4. Nutrient pollution: Fertilizers, pesticides, and other products used in agricultural
processes often contain large amounts of nutrients such as phosphorus and ammonia.
They are used in particular to protect plants from pests and diseases, or to promote
plant growth and maximize yields. When these chemicals enter water sources through
runoff, they can cause nutrient imbalances and promote the growth of some organisms
(such as algae) while harming others.
5. Suspended Matter: Waste such as plastics, rubber, and other man-made materials
that are improperly disposed of and that do not readily break down in water are
known as particulate or suspended matter. Suspended solids settle to the bottom of
water sources, damaging marine life, washing toxic chemicals into drinking water, or
floating to the surface, preventing oxygen and sunlight from penetrating into the water

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below. When broken down into particles, airborne toxic chemicals threaten the
survival of aquatic plants and animals.
6. Chemical Water Pollution: Different chemicals are used in different activities such as
agriculture, factories and households. Such chemicals seriously pollute and endanger
water. Metal waste, chemicals and solvents are often discharged directly into nearby
bodies of water. Also, the chemicals used by Farmer to protect plants from insects
contaminate the water.
7. Oxygen Depleting: There are microbes in water. These include aerobic and anaerobic
organisms. Too much biodegradable material (things that break down easily)
encourages microbes to grow and consume more oxygen in the water. When oxygen
is depleted, aerobic organisms die and anaerobic organisms continue to grow and
produce harmful toxins such as ammonia and sulfides.
8. Oil Spillage: Oil spills typically affect wildlife only locally, but can spread for miles.
The oil kills many fish and sticks to the wings of seabirds, causing them to lose their
ability to fly.

Sources of Water Pollution: There are many sources of water pollution. Some of them
are as follows:
(i). Domestic wastes and Sewage: Sewage is the waterborne waste derived from house
(domestic waste) and animal or food processing plants. Discharge of untreated sewage
into rivers is primary sources of pollution.
(ii). Industrial wastes: Industrial wastes contain a wide variety of organic substances and
minerals including cyanides, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, carcinogens, which are toxic
to human, animal and plant life. Agricultural drainage carries dangerous pesticide
residues and unused fertilizer ingredients. When wastes are let out in the aquatic
environment without adequate treatment, they cause water pollution.
(iii). Oil spills: Offshore exploration for petroleum is increasing at a rapid rate. The major
pollutants due to offshore oil drilling are mercury and oil. The main cause of pollution
due to offshore oil drilling is accidental oil spill. These spills may be caused by an oil
wall blow out, a platform accident, a large marine pipeline rupture, or a heavily
leaking tanker. In this way a large quantity of oil escapes to the environment.
(iv). Thermal pollution: Certain industrial processes utilize water for cooling and
resultant warmed water has often been discharged into lakes or streams. Coal or oil
fired generators and atomic energy plants result into large amounts of waste heat
which is carried away as hot water and cause thermal pollution.
(v). Silt pollution: Intensive agriculture, earth moving for projects construction, poor
conservation practices and downpour with resultant floods result in the increased
production of silt in streams and lakes. This load of particulate matter cuts down
primary productivity by decreasing the depth of light penetration.
(vi). Marine pollution: There are substantial evidence to indicate pollution of coastal
waters and open oceans due to the dumping of domestic and industrial wastes,
sewage, oil drilling in coastal waters etc. The oceans have the final settling basin for
millions of tons of waste products from human activities. Due to oceanic pollution,
the marine biotin has been seriously affected.

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Table 1: Major Water Pollutants and their different Sources

Source of Pollutants Pollutant
Domestic sewage, decay of animals and plants, animal
Organic wastes waste and excreta, waste and discharge from food
processing factories
Pesticides Chemicals required to kill insects, weeds, fungi, etc
Microorganisms Domestic sewage and discharges
Heat Water discharges after undergoing cooling in industries
Toxic heavy metals Different factories and plants such as chemical factory
Plants nutrients Chemical fertilizers
Radioactive substances Mining of uranium containing minerals
Sediments Soil erosion due to strip mining and agriculture

Effects of water pollution: Water pollution affects the aquatic ecosystem and human life
as well. The various effects are as follows:
(i). Sewage pollution: The domestic sewage consists a rich amount of carbon, organic
phosphorous and nitrogenous compounds. These elements favour the growth of algae
which produce water blooms. It causes depletion of O2 content, may cause algal
obnoxious blooms, floating scums (blanket of algae etc), spread of water borne
diseases. Pollution of water promotes vigorous growth of algae and other microbes
which results in the development of yellow or grey scum on the surface of water.
Sometimes water smells stingy and appears to be coloured. This is referred to as water
bloom. Most of the oxygen evolved in algal photosynthesis it utilized by bacteria in
oxidizing the organic matter present therein and the water reservoir thus gets depleted
of oxygen. In poorly oxygenated conditions, with increased CO 2, fish, other animals
and plants die and the clean water is turned into stinking water. Beside, sewage results
into epidemics of such fatal diseases as cholera, typhoid, dysentery etc.

(ii). Industrial pollution: Most of the rivers and fresh water streams are polluted by
industrial wastes which come along waste waters of different industries like fertilizer
factories, petro-chemical factories, oil refineries, coal, washeries etc. Industrial wastes
of these industries include metals like copper, mercury, zinc etc., chlorine, arsenic,
detergents and many more inorganic and organic toxicants. All of these chemicals of
industrial wastes are toxic to animals and may cause death or sublethal pathology of
the kidneys, liver, reproductive system, respiratory system, nervous system of aquatic
animals. Chlorine which is, added to water to control growth of algae and bacteria in
the cooling system of power station may persist in streams to cause mortality of
plankton fish. H2SO4 as acid waste from coal mines increases the hardness of water,
has disastrous effect on live organisms and corrodes concrete etc.

(iii). Effects on aquatic system: Organic and inorganic wastes decrease the dissolved
oxygen (DO) content of water bodies. DO content water is important for the survival
of aquatic organisms. The demand of oxygen is directly related to increasing input of

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organic wastes and is referred to as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of water.

Higher the BOD, lower would be dissolved oxygen (DO). Hot water of thermal plant
and nuclear reactor decreases the decomposition of organic waste and kills the aquatic
organisms. The temperature of the water body increases where oxygen content
decreases with the rise in temperature. It reduces the ‘DO’ level of the aquatic system
making it incapable of supporting life. Oil spill damage marine biodiversity and also
damage coral reef. Industrial effluents result in the addition of poisonous chemicals
such as arsenic, mercury, cadmium, lead etc which kill aquatic organisms and may
reach human body through contaminated food (i.e, fishes etc) leads to
biomagnifications.

(iv). Eutrophication: Eutrophication is the phenomenon of a sudden increase in organic

and inorganic nutrient supply in an aquatic environment. These nutrients, which are
primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, promote the growth of algae and grazing bacteria,
resulting in oxygen depletion. Due to eutrophication there is stimulated luxuriant
growth of algae (particularly blue-greens) in water. They form floating scums and
water blooms. Decomposition of blooms leads to oxygen depletion in water. Aquatic
life begins to die in an oxygen-depleted CO2 rich aquatic environment, and a clean
water body is transformed into a stinking drain. The best method is to treat waste
water before discharging it into a body of water. Phosphorus and nitrate dissolved in
water act as nutrients, accelerating the growth of algae, which can form a mat on the
water's surface. Eutrophication refers to this increased productivity.

(v). Biological magnification: The increase in concentration of contaminated substances

or toxic chemicals in the body of living organisms at each tropic level of a food chain
is called biological magnification. Such pollutants are non-biodegradable. The
contaminants might be heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, and pesticides such as
DDT and polychlorinated. Biomagnifications happens when toxic substances are
consumed indirectly by organisms in the higher food chain consumes the lower
organism containing such chemicals; the chemicals can get accumulated in the higher
organism. Once they are absorbed by an organism, they cannot be metabolized and
broken down or excreted out. In other words, it travels through the food chin harming
every single stratum. For example:

Water Zooplanktons Fish Humans

In aquatic ecosystems, toxins get consumed by smaller species like zooplanktons,
which in turn consumed by fishes. The toxins then travel to human, in such a way that
it affects every trophic level. Human beings at the top of any food chain are in the
most dangerous situation.

(vi). Effects on human health: The heavy metal contamination of water causes serious
ailments of human beings. Mercury poisoning, also known as Minamata disease is
caused by consumption of fish captured from Hg- contaminated Minamata Bay in
Japan. This disease was detected for the first time in 1952. People can get diseases

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such as hepatitis by eating seafood that has been poisoned. In many poor nations,
there is always outbreak of cholera and diseases as a result of poor drinking water
treatment from contaminated water. Lack of pure drinking water could result in a
decrease of population numbers. Moreover, if wastes become scarce resources, people
are likely to fight for their share and this may even leads to wars. Pathogen
contaminated water is responsible for causing many infectious diseases like cholera,
jaundice, typhoid, hepatitis etc. Excess of metals and non-metals also causes many
diseases. Cadmium poisoning causes itai-itai disease (painful joints and bones).
Skeletal fluorosis or knock knee disease is caused due to excess of fluorides. Excess
of nitrates in water causes ‘blue-baby syndrome’. This is because nitrate combines
with hemoglobin of blood to form methaemoglobin which interferes with the oxygen
carrying of the blood and it causes blue colouration of a skin.

Control of water pollution: Most cities of developed countries like USA, Britain, etc, and
some cities of developing countries like India have evolved certain engineering systems, such
as, septic tanks, oxidation ponds, filter beds, waste-water treatment plants and municipal
sewage treatment plants for the removal of many harmful bacteria and other microbes,
organic wastes and other pollutants from the sewage, before that is discharged into the water
body. The various methods for the control of water pollution are discussed below:

1. Sewage treatment: One of the methods of preventing water pollution is to treat the
sewage properly. This can be achieved by using septic tanks, oxidation ponds and
filter beds. In rural and semi-urban areas, sanitary latrines should be provided for the
public. Treating waste products before disposing of it in a water body helps reduce
water pollution on a large scale. Agriculture or other industries can reuse this waste
water by reducing its toxic contents.
2. Industrial waste water treatment: Most industrial facilities churn out a lot of waste
water that is quite like domestic waste water and can also be treated by waste water
treatment plants. Some industries generate waste water with very high concentration
of nutrients like ammonia, toxic pollutants (e.g., organic compounds that are volatile
heavy metals), organic matter (e.g., grease and oil), need extra and well suited
treatment systems.
3. Chemical treatment: The main pollutants from agricultural drainage are poisonous
pesticide residues and mineral fertilizers such as phosphates and nitrates. The
concentration of pesticide is magnified several times as they pass through the food
chain of aquatic plants and animals. Such pollution can be controlled if organic
fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are used in place of
mineral fertilizers.
4. Stabilisation of the ecosystem: This is the most scientific way to control water
pollution. The basic principles involved are the reduction in waste input, harvesting
and removal of biomass, trapping of nutrients, fish management and aeration.
5. Removal of pollutants: Various pollutants (radioactive, chemical, biological) present
in water body can be removed by appropriate methods such as absorption,
electrodialysis, ion exchange, reverse-osmosis etc.

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Absorption: Activated carbon, a porous, highly adsorbent form of carbon with a

huge surface area, is used to treat waste water. Because of adsorption, this treatment
eliminates a lot of the substances that cause unpleasant tastes and odours.
Electrodialysis: In this procedure, large tanks equipped with membranes made of
sheets of ion-exchange resins are used to expose the waste water to an electrical
potential difference. These sheets only allow cations or anions to pass through them.
As a result, the anions and cations in the waste water move through the membranes in
the direction of the anode and cathode, respectively. The organic matter in the waste
water is not removed by electrodialysis.
Reverse Osmosis: In this method, fresh water and waste water are separated using a
semipermeable membrane (SPM), which is permeable to water but impermeable to
dissolved materials. Waste water is subjected to pressure that is significantly higher
than the osmotic pressure of the waste water, which forces pure water to the other side
of the membrane. This process is known as reverse osmosis (RO). Both organic and
inorganic matter are removed from the waste water.
Ion exchange: Ion exchange resins may be involved in the process. Cation-exchange
resins exchange H+ ions for metallic cations found in waste water, whereas anion-
exchange resins exchange OH ions for chloride and other anions found in water.
Sulphuric acid is used to regenerate cationic resins and sodium hydroxide is used to
regenerate anionic resins, making this process convenient. Ion exchange process is
highly effective and produces high quality water.
6. Marine pollution should also be checked, especially in sensitive coastal ecosystems.
This can be done by avoiding oil spills, curbing developmental activities on the
coastal lines and avoiding the dumping of toxic wastes.
7. The government has undertaken several projects to clean the rivers, the first of which
was the Ganga Action plan.
8. Afforestation should be encouraged.

8.4.3 Soil pollution

Soil may be defined as “the upper loose layer of the earth suitable for plant growth”. The
process of soil formation is very slow and is governed by geological, biological and
climatology factors. There are several natural and synthetic materials that adversely affect the
physical, chemical and biological properties of soil and seriously affect its productivity. Soil
pollution can be defined as the occurrence of toxic chemicals in the soil and any substance
that reduces the productivity of soil is called soil pollutant.

According to Environmental pollution centers, Soil pollution is, “the presence of toxic
chemicals (pollutants or contaminants) in soil, in high enough concentrations to pose a risk to
human health and the ecosystem. In the case of contaminants which occur naturally in soil,
even when their levels are not high enough to pose a risk, soil pollution is still said to occur if
the levels of the contaminants in soil exceeds the levels that should naturally be present”.

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Sources of soil pollution: Soil pollution is an extremely complicated process. Polluted air
and water combinedly effect the pollution of soil. Air polluting gases like SO2, NO2 etc;
when reach on the earth surface with rain water cause soil pollution. Fallout from
atmospheric pollution also contributes to soil pollution. Disposal of industrial and urban solid
wastes is the major source of soil pollution. The industrial wastes are mainly discharged from
coal and mineral mining industries, mental processing industries and engineering industries.
They contain toxic metals such as lead, copper etc. Urban wastes comprise both commercial
and domestic wastes including dries sludge of sewage. Agricultural practices also pollute the
soil. Since agriculture is becoming more and more intensive, increasing quantities of
fertilizers, pesticides and soil conditioning agents are used. The residues of these materials
cause several soil pollution problems. Digested sewage sludge which is used as manure also
causes soil pollution. Faculty sanitation and waste water are also responsible for soil
pollution.

Causes of soil pollution: Soil pollution is a complex phenomenon, and it can be triggered
by a variety of things and activities. Some causes of soil pollution are following:
1. Industrial wastes: These pollutants affect and alter the chemical and biological
properties of soil. As a result, hazardous chemicals can enter into human food chain
from the soil or water, disturb the biochemical process and finally lead to serious
effects on living organisms.
2. Urban wastes: Every human produces a certain amount of personal waste products
by way or urine and feces. Even the sewer systems end at the landfill, where the
biological waste pollutes the soil and water.
3. Accidental oil spills: Oil leaks can happen during storage and transport of chemicals.
This can be seen at most of the fuel stations. The chemicals present in the fuel
deteriorate the quality of soil and make them unsuitable for cultivation.
4. Acid rain: Acid rain is caused when pollutants present in the air mix up with the rain
and fall back on the ground. The polluted water could dissolve away some of the
important nutrients from the soil and change the structure of the soil.
5. Inorganic fertilizers: Excessive use of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers leads to
acidification of soil and contaminate the agricultural soil.
6. Solid waste: Disposal of plastics, cans, and other solid waste falls into the category of
soil pollution. Disposal of electrical goods such as batteries cause an adverse effect on
the soil due to the presence of harmful chemicals, lithium present in batteries can
cause leaching of soil.

Effects of soil pollution: Some of the soil pollution effects are:

1. Effect on Human Health: Crops and plants are grown on polluted soil absorb much
of the pollution and then pass these on to us. Long term exposure to such soil can
affect the genetic make-up of the body, causing congenital illness and chronic health
problems that cannot be cured easily. In fact, it can sicken the livestock to a
considerable extent and cause food poisoning and a big period of time. Soil pollution

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may cause a variety of health problems- headache, nausea, fatigue, skin rash, and eye
irritation.
2. Effect on plants: The pollutants consumed by the plants from the soil, making them
nutrition less. At the extreme level of consumption, they are becoming poisonous i.e.,
injurious to health. The acid rain is also one of the major soil pollution effects. Due to
increased pH levels leads to death of plants growing in this soil.
3. Effect on Economy: Soil pollution results in degradation of crops grown. The crop
produced in polluted soil is less or is of inferior quality, which affects on the sales of
crop. Declining the income to an average farmer whose livelihood is entirely
dependent on the crops.
4. Effects on Ecosystem: Soil pollution reduces soil fertility due to increase in
alkalinity, salinity, pH and nitrogen fixation due to the reduce number of nitrogen
fixers. Soil is an important habitat for different types of microorganisms, insects, etc.
Thus change in the chemistry of soil can negatively impact the lives of the living
organisms and result in the gradual death of many soil organisms (For e.g. -
earthworms), which can lead to alteration of soil structure.

Control of soil pollution: Soil pollution has been a major cause of concern for many
nations now. It is also essential for the public to have awareness of the harm they are
knowingly or unknowingly causing. Strict penalties must be imposed on law violators.
There are different measures for the prevention and control of soil pollution are listed below:
1. Domestic waste control: Products such as glass, paper and fabric wrapping can be
used indoors to reduce soil pollution. The household wastes such as plastics and the
electronic waste being sent to the landfill.
2. Waste management: Soil pollution can be controlled by using proper disposal
methods. The garbage from the factories should be sent to the purifying plants first
and they should be immersed only after proper treatment.
3. Reducing the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides: Organic farming practices
should be increased. Biological fertilizers should be used instead of chemical
fertilizers. Organic methods can also help to control crop pests and diseases, which
can reduce soil pollution.
4. Physical methods: By using the correct temperature, indirectly or directly through the
heating system, pollution fumes can escape from the evaporation process.

8.4.4 Noise Pollution

Noise is an unwanted sound or sound without agreeable musical quality. Noise is generally
defined as an unwanted sound into the atmosphere. It is that form of sound energy which is
not appreciated by human ears. The word noise has been derived from latin word ‘nausea’
which meant unpleasant sound. Sound travels in pressure waves and effects ear drums. The
intensity of sound is measured in decibel (dB). Some people feel discomfort with sound of 85
dB, whereas most do not feel discomfort with sound of 115dB. Pain is usually felt at 145dB.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), a level of 45 dB is considered a safe noise

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level for city. By international standard, a noise level up to 65 dB may be taken as tolerable.
Noise level above 80 dB causes noise pollution. Noise is a physical form of pollution and has
no persistent effects on the life-supporting systems but it has direct effects on the recipients.
Modern civilization creates more and more noise and now it has become a major
environmental pollutant. The World health Organization stated that “noise must be
recognized as a measure threat to human well being”.

Sources of noise pollution: The main sources of noise pollution are industries, transport
vehicles and home appliances. Trains, trucks, buses, motor cycles, cars, scooters, jet planes
etc, are major sources of noise pollution. Modern domestic gadgets such as food blenders,
exhaust fans, desert coolers, air-conditioners, vacuum cleaners, television, radios, dish washer
etc.
Table 2: Intensity of Sound and Noise Sources
Noise Source Intensity of Sound (dB)
Breathing 10
Sound of leaves 20
Whispering 30
Normal conversation 30-40
Homes and Restaurant 45-50
Loud conversation 65
Lawn mower 60-80
Vacuum cleaner 80
Traffic noise 60-90
Heavy trucks 90-100
Thunderstorm 110
Rock music 120
Jet take off (100 m distance) 120
Jet engine (at 25 m distance) 140
Rocket Engine 170-180

Effects of noise pollution: Noise is a form of pollution causing greatest concern to public.
Continued exposure to high levels of noise results in permanent hearing loss, and there is
increasing evidence that noise may have other physiological and psychological effects. The
various effects of noise pollution on human beings are given below-
1. Hearing problems: Any unwanted sound that our ears have not been built to filter
can cause problems within the body. The short-term auditory effects of noise include
some temporary loss in hearing at high noise levels. Explosions or other high intensity
sounds may cause immediate deafness by rupturing the ear drums or damaging the
cochlea.
2. Health issues: Noise can create sleep disorders. Frequent and prolonged sleep
disturbances can result in physical, mental or emotional illness. Noise pollution can
cause dilation in the pupils of the eye. Noise pollution also takes a toll on the heart.
This could lead to side-effects like elevated heart beat frequencies, palpitations,
breathlessness etc.; insomnia as a result of lack of undisturbed and refreshing sleep.

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3. Trouble communicating: High decibel noise can put trouble and may not allow two
people to communicate freely. Constant sharp noise can give you a source headache
and disturb your emotional balance.

Control of noise Pollution: Some control measures to combat noise pollution are as
follows-
1. Industrial noise pollution can be controlled by reduction of noise at source, sound
proofing of the noise producing machinery or equipment.
2. Control of noise at source may be achieved by designing and fabricating silencing
devices and their use in air-craft engines, tracks, cars, auto-scooters and industrial
machines.
3. A uniform law should be introduced for controlling and abatement of noise.
4. The use of loud speakers and other noise producing activities should be banned during
nights.
5. Noise-free zones should be introduced for controlling and abatement of noise.
6. Public awareness to the hazards of noise should be aroused.

8.4.4 Radioactive pollution:

Radioactive pollution is defined as the increase in the natural radiation levels caused by
human activities. It is physical pollution of air, water and soil with radioactive materials for
example- uranium, thorium, radium etc. Radiation substances are also major source of
environmental pollution. Radioactive pollution is a sub-category of what is broadly known as
radiation pollution. Radioactive materials cannot be destroyed and hence they have
cumulative effect. Radioactive pollution is the chief type of radiation pollution caused by
radionuclides as they emit hazardous radioactive rays, namely x-rays, beta-rays and gamma
rays, which are ionizing radiations capable of causing genetic mutations in living organisms.
Radioactive pollution occurs when there is presence or deposition of radioactive materials in
the atmosphere or environment, especially where their presence is accidental and when it
presents an environmental threat due to radioactive decay. Radioactive pollution refers to the
increase in radiation that is injurious to life. The main radiation hazard comes from ionizing
radiations (x-rays, beta rays etc).

Types of radiation: Radiation is classified as being ionizing or non-ionizing. Electrically

charged molecules and atoms are called ions. The radiation that can produce ions is called
ionizing radiation. Both types can be harmful to human and other organisms.
(i). Non-ionizing radiation: It is electromagnetic radiation with a comparatively long
wave length. In comparison to ionizing radiation, non-ionizing radiation is generally
regarded as less dangerous, such as microwave, radio wave, and ultraviolet. However,
some types of non-ionizing radiation, like ultraviolet, can harm biological molecules
and result in health issues.
(ii). Ionizing radiation: It is the short-wavelength radiation or particle radiation produced
by some unstable isotopes as a result of radioactive decay. For example- Alpha and
beta particles or gamma rays. They can cause other items to release their electrons.

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They can damage biomolecules such as nucleic acid, protein, lipids causing cancer
and even death.

Human exposure to radiation is usually measured in rems (Roentgen equivalent man) or mili
rems (10-rems), a measure of the biological damage to tissue. In S.I. units, the exposure is
measured in Sieverts (SV). One rem equals 0.0100 SV. They give an estimate of the potential
damage radiation might do to a sample of living tissue. The effects of large dose (1000 to
1000,000 rems) are easily seen and can be quantified, because there is a high incidence of
death at these levels, moderate dose (10- 100 rems) are known to increase the risk of cancer
and birth defects. The higher the dose, the higher the incidence of abnormality. Lower doses
may result in momentary cellular changes, but it is difficult to demonstrate long term effect.

Table 3: Biological effects of radiations

Source Dose Biological Effect
Nuclear bomb blast or 100,000 Immediate death
exposure in a nuclear facility rems/incident Coma, death within one or two
10,000 rems/incident days
1000 rems/incident Nausea, lining of intestine
damaged, death in one to two
weeks
X rays for cancer patients
100 rems/incident Increased probability of leukemia
10 rems/incident Early embryos may show
abnormalities
Upper limit for occupationally 5 rems/year Effects difficult to demonstrate
exposed people
X ray of the intestine 1 rem/procedure Effects difficult to demonstrate
Upper limit for release from 0.5 rem/year Effects difficult to demonstrate
nuclear installations
(except nuclear power plants)
Natural background radiation 0.-0.3 rem/ year Effects difficult to demonstrate
Upper limit for release by 0.005 rem/year Effects difficult to demonstrate
nuclear power plants

Sources of radiation pollution: The elements which emit ionizing radiations are known
as radioactive elements. There are three main types of ionizing radiations which are emitted
from radioactive compounds-alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays. Alpha particles
are positively charged and alpha rays arise from the disintegration of unstable isotopes of
elements having atomic weight >150 and travel only a few centimeters in the air and produce
large amount of energy by collisions. Beta particles are negatively charged. Beta rays are
high speed electrons travelling a few meters in air. Gamma rays are electromagnetic
radiations of short wavelengths with much more energy. These rays travel great distances.
Other ionizing radiations are x-rays which are similar to gamma rays. Sources of
environmental radiations are natural and man-made.

1. Natural Sources: This includes cosmic rays that reach the surface of the earth from
space and terrestrial radiations from radioactive elements present in the earth's crust.

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The primary sources of natural radiations are the ores of Uranium and thorium. These
contain a wide variety of radioactive nuclides. Many radioactive elements such as
radium 224, uranium 235, uranium 238, thorium 232, radon 222, potassium 40,
carbon 14 occurs in rocks, soil and water.
2. Man-made sources: Man-made radiation originates from the activities of man
associated with the use of radioactive materials. The important man-made sources are
as follows:
(i). Radioactive wastes generated during the mining and processing of radioactive
minerals. Radioactive waste is spread through the earth’s atmosphere. It is called
fall out. Example nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
(ii). Nuclear power plants emit radiation to very small extent except accident
(Chernobyl incident and Fukushima Japan). Nuclear weapons tests produce large
amount of radioactive elements into the environment and make other materials
also radioactive. They include strontium 90, cesium 137, iodine 131 etc. The
radio nuclides settle down with rain contaminating the soil and water bodies.
These enter into food chain causing serious problems to the living organisms.
(iii). The nuclear power plants produce a lot of nuclear radio-active wastes. The
disposal of these wastes has become a global problem. Some countries producing
large quantity of nuclear wastes dump in ocean near other countries.
(iv). Radio-isotopes are also prepared artificially either by nuclear fusion or by
nuclear fission. If these radio-isotopes are not properly handled, these emit
radiations causing pollution.
(v). Mobile phone produces radiations which can also cause cancer.
(vi). A number of radioactive isotopes are used in medicine either for treatment or
diagnostics. These can be left to decay over a shorter period after which they are
disposed as normal waste.

Other Sources: The cell phones, cordless phones, cell phone towers, TV’s, Computers,
microwave ovens, military and aviation radars, broadcast antennas, wireless internet and
satellites are all sources of radiation. And so are the common medical x-rays. Infact, the use
x-rays for medical diagnosis constitutes an important source of radiation pollution as they are
highly penetrating in nature and are detrimental to the living cells. Some of the radioactive
elements (isotopes) are used in experimental laboratories for scientific researches which
cause radioactive pollution.

Effects of radioactive pollution: Man is the final victim of radioactive pollution and is at
the end of all reactions and interactions. Effect of radioactivity was noted in early 20 th
century (1909) when minor working in uranium mines suffered skin burning and cancer.
Marie curie, the Nobel prize laureate for discovery of radioactivity in 1903, became victim of
radioactivity and died of leukemia.

Direct contamination occurs through exposure to radiation by radioactive particles in air,

radioactive gases, and absorption of contaminants by respiratory tract. Indirect contamination
occurs by the consumption through food chain.

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1. Effect on Human: The biological effects of radiation may be somatic or genetic. The
somatic effects are the direct results of the action of radiation on the body cells and
tissues. Such effects occur within an individual’s life time and appear in the form of
skin damage, eye cataracts, damage to liver, spleen and thyroid, and reduced fertility.
However, most genetic effects are brought about by man-made radiations. The
greatest damage is on the dividing cells, causing cancers, abnormal births and
mutations affecting future generations.
2. Effects on Wildlife: The higher-level organisms get more affected than insects and
flies. Herbivores especially cattle, graze the contaminated land. The radionuclides
enter their metabolic cycles and affects their DNA’s this ends up having a mutated
animal generation with a higher risk to health issues by just a small amount of
radionuclides.
3. Effects on vegetation: Effect of radiation on vegetation is worse. Due to the increase
in ultraviolet waves which is directly proportional to the amount of exposure damage
the plants. Different parts get affected differently. The stomata stop to stop the
evaporation during the increase of radiation. When the chromosomes are hit the
reproduction is disturbed, resulting plants in altered shapes, size and health. Many
affected plants deleted by high amount of exposure.
4. Effects on Sea life: The power plants releasing radio isotopes into the water since
decades. Few are cesium, radon, crypton, ruthenium, zinc and copper. These
radionuclides can be detected in the soft tissues or on the bones of the fishes.
Radioisotope of ruthenium found in sea-weed.

Control of radioactive pollution: Radioactive is not only affects the individual but also
future generation. As there is no cure for radiation damage, all efforts should be made to
prevent radioactive pollution. It can be reduced by the following ways-
1. Leakages from reactors, careless handling, transport and use of radioactive fuels,
fission products and radioisotopes should be totally stopped.
2. Radioactive pollution weeds to the stored in specialized containers, which do not
break easily and which do not allow radiation to seep out.
3. Proper use of radiation technology in hospitals to avoid injuries to technicians and
patients.
4. Industrial wastes may be discharged into the environment only after necessary
treatment so that the radioactivity is at a lower level. Radioactive wastes can be buried
into mine repositories, subsea-bed, ice sheet, very deep hole or thrown into space or
transmutated. The wastes may be sealed in concrete-filled steel drums and discharged
to a depth of 1000 fathoms (1 fathom= 6 feet) or more in sea.
5. Use of nuclear weapons should be completely banned.

8.4.5 Solid Waste Pollution

Solid waste is any trash, refuse, or sludge that comes from a waste water treatment facility, a
water supply treatment facility, a pollution control facility, or other wasted materials from

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business, industrial, commercial, mining, agricultural, and community activities. Every action
we take leaves some type of garbage behind.

Solid wastes are useless and unwanted substances that are discarded by human society. The
solid waste includes glass containers, plastic containers, polythene, automobile spares, and
building materials etc. that are thrown away as garbage. Solid waste is generated from
industrial, residential and commercial activities in a given area and may be handled in a
variety of ways. The solid wastes are causing a great problem globally. In India also several
million tons of solid waste is dumped along highways and other places in large cities, there is
a problem of disposal of these wastes.

Types of solid waste: Some major types of Solid waste are as follows:
1. Muncipal solid waste: It is solid waste from a city, town or village that requires
routine collection and transport to a processing or disposal site. It contains food waste,
paper, plastic, news paper, glass bottles etc. It is non-hazardous.
2. Hazardous waste: Hazardous wastes are the substances which causes hazard to
plants, animals and human beings. Few of the common hazardous waste is biological
wastes, radioactive substances, chemicals, explosives and flammable wastes. It can
cause harm to human and the environment. Some of them are pesticides, heavy
metals, gasoline, alcohol, acids, base etc.
3. Industrial waste: Food processing industries, chemical and pharmaceutical units,
breweries, sugar mills, paper and pulp industries, fertilizers and pesticide industries
are major ones which discharge toxic wastes.
4. Agricultural wastes: The waste generated by agriculture includes waste from crops
and livestock. Some agro-based industries produce waste e.g., rice milling, production
of tea, tobacco etc. Agricultural wastes are rice, husk, degasses, ground nut shell,
maize cobs, straw of cereals etc.

Factors affecting solid waste pollution: People have a habit of using various things and
throwing them away. In affluent societies, per capita consumption is so high that people
throw away many items on a regular basis, significantly increasing solid waste. The per
capita generation of MSW (Municipal Solid waste) in class one cities is in between ranges
from 100 to 500 gm/day/cap. The mixed solid waste other than fecal matter (produced at an
average rate of 500g per capita per day wet weight). is thrown out in a dump to be collected
by municipal workers. It is estimated that 291 class I, and 345 class II towns together
generate 52,000 tonns of MSW/day, which corresponds to per capita generation of 0.346
kg/day. Out of this only about 2832 tonns/day of MSW gets properly treated. Waste
collection efficiency is less than 50 % in many cities. According to Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB) solid waste generated in small, medium and large cities is –Small cities-0.1kg,
Medium cities-0.3-0.4 kg, large cities- 0.5 to 0.6 kg.

Effects of solid waste pollution: Due to improper waste disposal systems particularly by
municipal waste management teams, waste heap up and become a problem. People clean
their homes and places of work and litter their surroundings which affect the environment and

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the community. This type of dumping of waste material forces biodegradable materials to not
decompose under improper, unhygienic and uncontrolled conditions. After a few days of
decomposition, a foul smell is produced and it becomes a breeding ground for different types
of disease causing insect as well as infections organisms. Solid wastes from industries are a
source of toxic metals, hazardous wastes, and chemicals. When released to the environment,
the solid wastes can cause biological and physicochemical problems to the environment and
may affect or alter the productivity of the soils in that particular area. Leachates from refuge
dumps perlocates into the soil and contaminate underground water. Rats dwelling with
infectious solid wastes may spread diseases like plague etc.

Solid waste management: The process of collecting, treating, and disposing of solid
wastes is known as solid waste management. Solid waste includes garbage from the home,
the agriculture, or even industries. After being collected at the source, the garbage is further
separated and sorted according to known hazardous and recyclable items and hazardous
waste that needs to be processed, treated, and disposed of appropriately.
Solid waste should be managed properly. Solid waste can be disposed to land or oceans.
Solid waste can also be recovered and reprocessed, a procedure popularly known as
recycling. Before disposal or recovery however, the waste must be collected. The principles
of solid waste management are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The proper management of solid
waste is to collect waste from different places, store in the specific places and dispose and use
them properly. Collection, disposal and recovery form a part of the solid waste management.
(i). Collection: The common method for collection is through trucks. Collection of solid
waste by trucks, it’s loading and transport to dumping or recovery site requires much
time and energy. Several other devices are thus used to cut down the collection cost.
(ii). Disposal: Disposal of solid waste is done commonly through a sanitary landfill,
incineration landfill, composting, recycling, pyrolysis etc. The dump is the most
popular means of solid waste disposal. Open dumping places far from cities are more
suitable for disposal of solid waste.
Sanitary landfill: a method of disposing of trash and garbage in which the waste is
buried beneath layers of soil and other materials to minimize contamination of the
surrounding area. Each day, the trash had to be placed in trenches and covered with
soil. Because it is safer and cleaner than open air-piles, this model is known as a
sanitary landfill. Methane is produced as a result of this process, which aids in
producing electricity.
Incineration: It is the process of burning municipal solid waste in a well-designed
furnace under proper temperature and operating conditions. Reduce municipal waste
by weight by approximately 90%, 75%.
Composting: Bacterial decomposition of the organic components of municipal waste
leads to the formation of humus and compost, a process called composting. It helps in
the disposal of solid waste and the production of valuable manure for crops. It is also
known as biodegradation.
Recycling: It is the process of collecting and processing waste materials or turning
them into new products. For example, aluminum cans, paper, plastic, wood, iron,
scrap iron, bottles, etc.

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Pyrolysis: It is the thermal decomposition of waste into gas and solid phases in the
absence of the external oxygen/air supply. This process usually takes place at
temperatures around 500-600°C. During pyrolysis, plastics and tires are decomposed
into small molecules of pyrolysis oil, pyrolysis gas and soot. Pyrolysis oil recovered
from the process can be used as diesel generator fuel or burner fuel.
(iii). Resource Recovery: In this process, waste is cleaned, sold to an industry,
transported, remanufactured and sold once again to consumers. Materials like paper,
metals, glass, organics can be easily recycled. The process aims at reducing energy
loss, consumption of new material and reduction of landfills.

8.5 SUMMARY

Environmental pollution may be defined as “undesirable change in physical, chemical or

biological conditions of our air, water and soil which may have harmful effect upon human
life, or that on desirable species or that may waste or deteriorate our raw material resources.
Pollutants which affect the environment are- carbon monoxide (CO), Sulphur dioxide (SO2),
nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hydrocarbons, particulate matter etc. Pollution are classified as -Air
pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, noise pollution, radioactive pollution, solid waste
pollution etc. Air pollution may by describe as the imbalance in the quality of air, so as to
cause ill effects. Water pollutants adversely affect the physical, chemical and biological
health of the aquatic ecosystems, quality of ground water and human health. Proper collection
and disposal of domestic sewage is the most important step for preventing water pollution.
Soil pollution usually results from different human activities, such waste dumping,
agricultural practices, deforestation, mining operations and urbanization. The dumping of
solid waste creates both aesthetic and public health problems. Recycling of solid wastes,
burning of waste, and utilizing heat to worn residential units, generation of electricity is the
best way to control soil pollution. Noise is that form of sound energy which is not appreciated
by the human ears. The main sources of noise are various industries, transport vehicles, home
appliances etc. Continued exposure to high levels of noise cause hearing loss and various
other physiological and psychological effects. Radioactive pollution is a phenomenon of
physical pollution to all-life supporting system like air, water and land. Radioactivity is
spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance which results in the emission of
radioactive rays. As there is no cure for radiation damage, all efforts should be made to
prevent radioactive pollution. Solid waste pollution is a type of pollution in which the
pollutant includes- glass containers, crockeries, plastic containers, polythene etc. Most of the
solid waste item can be recycled. Several laws have been enacted in India for controlling
environmental pollution.

8.6 GLOSSARY

Air pollution: Degradation of air quality and natural atmospheric condition.

Eutrophication: Release of large amounts of organic matter or phosphate and nitrate into
water resulting in lowering of dissolved oxygen concentration.

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Pollutant: Substance that causes pollution.

Sewage: Liquid and solid wastes from home and industries.
Noise pollution: The release of unwanted or undesirable sound into the atmosphere is called
noise pollution.
Biological magnification: Biological magnification is the process by which specific
chemicals accumulate in living things to concentrations that are higher than those found in
the inorganic, non-living environment.
Water pollution: Water pollution is the contamination of water sources with substances that
make the water unsuitable for drinking, cooking, cleaning, swimming and other activities.
Radioactive pollution: When radioactive substances are introduced or deposited into an
environment where their presence is unanticipated or the levels of radioactivity are unwanted,
it is referred to as radioactive pollution.
Photochemical smog: Photochemical smog is a type of smog that occurs when the sun's
ultraviolet rays react with nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere.
Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN): Peroxyacetyl nitrate is an unstable highly oxygenated
compound found only in the atmosphere. It is an important intermediate in the formation of
ozone, an air pollutant.
Radioactive fallout: Fallout is the radioactive material produced by a nuclear explosion or
reactor accident that is released into the atmosphere and eventually falls to Earth. This fallout
consists of tiny radioactive particles of dust, dirt and other debris.
Hydrocarbons: Hydrocarbons are organic compounds composed entirely of only two types
of atoms: carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons are usually colourless gases with a very weak
odor.
Particulate matter: Particulate matter is a dangerous mixture of solid and liquid particles in
the air.
Aerosols: Aerosols are suspensions of fine solid particles or droplets in air or another gas.
Metallurgical processes: Metallurgical processes include the refining of metals and the
production of metal alloys.
Acid rain: Acid rain consists of water droplets that are highly acidic due to disproportionate
amounts of sulphur and nitrogen emitted by air emissions, particularly from vehicles and
manufacturing processes.

8.7 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

8.7.1: Multiple choice Questions

1. Eutrophication causes decrease in:
(a) Dissolved hydrogen (b) Dissolved salts
(c) Dissolved oxygen (d) All of these
2. Biological oxygen demand is a measure of:
(a) Amount of oxygen needed by green plants during night
(b) Amount of carbon monoxide in separately combined with haemoglobin
(c) Industrial wastes poured into water bodies

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(d) Extent to which water is polluted with organic compounds

3. Sound becomes a hazardous noise pollution if its level is above:
(a) 30 db (b) 80 dB
(c) 120 dB (d) 150 dB
4. Pollution of water is caused by-
(a) Industrial effluents (b) Sewage
(c) Form run off (d) All of these
5. Which of the following is secondary air pollutant?
(a) SO2 (b) CO2
(c) PAN (d) Aerosol
6. Minamata disease in Japan was the result of water pollution by:
(a) Lead (b) Radioactive substances
(c) Mercury (d) DDT
7. Biological magnification’ is the phenomenon of:
(a) Increase in concentration of pesticides (chlorinated hydrocarbons) at successive
trophic levels
(b) Increase in concentration of sewage in water
(c) Increase in biological activity of micro-organisms
(d) Biodegradation of sewage waste
8. Acid rain is mainly a mixture of –
(a) Sulphuric acid and nitric acid (b) Hexane and methane
(c) Acetic acid and bromine (d) Ascorbic acid and citric acid
9. Carbon monoxide is a major pollution of-
(a) Air (b) Water
(c) Noise (d) Soil
10. Global warming is caused due to __________ concentration of CO2 in air
(a) Increased (b) decreased
(c) Both a and b (d) None

8.7.2 True or False

1. DDT is a biodegradable pollutant.
2. Air is polluted mainly through combustion.
3. BOD is assessed to measure the pollution lead of soil.
4. The best example of a biodegradable pollutant is the domestic sewage which can be
rapidly decomposed by natural processes.

Answer Keys:
8.7.1: 1-(c), 2-(d), 3-(b), 4-(d), 5-(c), 6-(c), 7-(a), 8-(a), 9-(a), 10-(a)
8.7.2 : 1-False, 2-True, 3-False, 4-True

8.8 REFERENCES

 Sharma P.D., ‘Ecology and Environment’, Rastogi Publication, Meerut

 Shukla R.S. and Chandel P.S., ‘A textbook of Plant Ecology’, S. Chand & Company
pvt. Ltd., New Delhi

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 Pandey B.P., Botany for Degree Students, S. Chand & Company pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
 Verma P.S. and Agarwal V.K., Environmental Biology (Principles of Ecology), S.
Chand & Company pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
 Anjaneyulu Y., Introduction to Environmental Science published by BS Publications,
Hyderabad.
 www.conserve-energy-future.com
 www.eagrovision.com
 www.goodhousekeeping.com
 www.environmentalpollution.in

8.9 SUGGESTED READING

 Sharma P.D., ‘Ecology and Environment’, Rastogi Publication, Meerut

 Shukla R.S. and Chandel P.S., ‘A textbook of Plant Ecology’, S.Chand& Company
pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
 Pandey B.P., Botany for Degree Students, S.Chand& Company pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
 Verma P.S. and Agarwal V.K., Environmental Biology (Principles of Ecology), S.
Chand& Company pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
 Anjaneyulu Y., Introduction to Environmental Science published by BS Publications,
Hyderabad.

8.10 TERMINAL QUESTION

8.10.1 Short Answer type questions:

1. What are major gaseous pollutants? How do they affect vegetation and human life?
2. What are important sources of air pollution in India?
3. Write short note soil pollution.
4. What is radioactivity? Discuss the man-made radioactive pollution.
5. Write a brief account of solid waste pollution.
6. Discuss biological magnification.

8.10.2 Long Answer type questions:

1. Define Soil pollution. What are the control measures used for controlling soil
pollution.
2. What is Water pollution? Give an account of various types of water pollutants.
3. What do you mean by air pollution? Discuss in detail about the harmful effects of air
pollution?
4. Describe the sources of air pollution and discuss its prevention and control measures.
5. What is noise pollution? Mentions the steps which can reduce noise pollution.

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UNIT-9- GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

AND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES
Contents:
9.1 Objectives
9.2 Introduction
9.3 Population explosion
9.3.1 Demography
9.3.2 History of human population growth
9.3.3 Factors regulating human population
9.4 Climate change
9.5 Loss of biodiversity
9.6 Depletion of ozone layer
9.7 Acid rain
9.8 Pollution of international water
9.9 Conservation strategy
9.10 National conservation strategies
9.11 Summary
9.12 Glossary
9.13 Self-assessment questions
9.13.1 Multiple choice questions
9.13.2 True and False
9.13.3 Fill in the blanks
9.14 References
9.15 Suggested readings
9.16 Terminal questions
9.16.1 Short answer type questions
9.16.2 Long answer type questions

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9.1 OBJECTIVES
The present topic provides an overview of global environmental problems and outlines of
conservation strategies. After reading this topic, learners will be able to answer the:

 Global environmental problems

 Population explosion
 Climate change
 Loss of biodiversity
 Depletion of ozone layer
 Acid rain
 Pollution of international water
 Conservation strategies of global environmental problems

9.2 INTRODUCTION

In early 1896, Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish scientist predicted that excessive and uncontrolled
anthropogenic activities would disrupt the way of the sun interacts with the earth, which would
eventually lead to the causes of climate change and global warming. Looking at the present
scenario of climate and environmental issues, it seems that his prediction proved to be correct.
Global warming, loss of biodiversity, pollution, ozone layer depletion etc are some current
burring issues of global environmental problems. All these are not the problems of a particular
area or region or country, whereas these are global problems where the whole world is
stakeholder and all human beings, plants, animal diversity and our planet paying for it. In
analyzing the problems and formulating policy, one has to distinguish between global and
universally occurring environmental problems. According to the German Global Change Council
"Global environmental problems can be attributed directly or indirectly by human who are the
major cause of changes in the oceans, in the atmosphere and on land. These alterations of
composition affect the natural metabolic cycle, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, as well as the
economy and society (WBGU 1995).

Now the world has become aware to restoring damaged, so over the past few decades has set
several protocols, conventions and treaties improve global environmental health. The interest in
global environmental problems has grown considerably in both practical and theoretical terms,
particularly in view of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio
(UN, 1992). The adopting of global perspective is the only adequate approach to address the
causes of environmental problems. For example, if we talk about the profound anthropogenic
greenhouse effect that threatens the global climate system. It can be deal only with the

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international collaboration through the international harmony, agreements, joint efforts and
targets.

It is precisely this need that makes an ecologically effective, economically efficient, and socially
acceptable solution an enormously difficult proposition. Many national and international
standardization and rules are implemented by the internationally or nationality to sustain the
environmental health. A major problem facing international environmental policy is that its goals
must be implemented by means of voluntary action and enforced by states. There should be
mechanisms to induce states to enforce international environmental policy.

In this chapter, we will discuss about all the global environmental problems and their
management policies implemented by the nationally and globally in detail.

9.3 POPULATION EXPLOSION

There has been a great deal of talk in recent year about the “population explosion”. It is said that
the human population is increasing so rapidly that widespread famine is inevitable in the near
future. Apart from this, there are so many of other adverse impacts of overpopulation on human
society and the environment. There is an urgent need to control the human population to sustain
the ecosystem of earth. This is a very controversial topic, as it linked with the individual’s
sentiments, religion, economics, social and political issue.

In this chapter, we will simply look at some of the available information about what has
happened to the human population in the past and then we will try to apply some of the
principles of ecology to explain the changes in population and talk about the possibilities for the
future.

9.3.1 Demography

Demography is the account and statistical analysis of the vital process and movements of human
populations. By considering the total human population of the world one finds that the
generalized population formula is appreciable: population equals biotic potential minus
environmental resistance (Verma and Agarwal 2008). Human population shows an uneven or
clumping pattern of distribution on earth. The density of human population in a village, district,
provenance, country or any area can be obtained by dividing the total number of people living in
the given region by the total land area of that region. The average number of people per square
unit of land area tells us how dense the population in a given area is.

According to usage by the demographers, biotic potentials can be expressed in terms of

fecundity, which is defined as the theoretical or the maximum capacity of the individual to
reproduce. Fertility is the actual reproductive performance of a given population.

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Human birth rate is the fertility expressed as the average numbers of live births per thousand
population per year. Since not all age groups in a population have equal fertility.

Human mortality rate is the average number of individuals who die per thousand population per
year. Again, demographers often use more sensitive measures, for different mortality rates. Both
the very young and very old segments of the population have higher mortality rates.

9.3.2 History of human population growth

The ecology of human and trend of growth in population can be studied at the following three
levels: primitive man, agricultural man and industrial man.

A. Primitive man: Around 30,000 B.C mankind has spread from Africa to every other parts of
the world. Around 9000 years ago, the total human population has been very limited, usually
estimated at less than 20 million. Ecologically, the primitive man was and still is omnivorous, in
a simple word they were a primary consumer as well as a secoundry or tertiary consumers.
However, it does not mean that man could eat everything but that they could eat almost any kind
of food and plant products (fruit, tuber, root, seed etc.). Primitive humans are the part of almost
all food chains. In fact, as long as man remained at this stage of cultural development, he was
just another member of the complex food web of the community. The human population soon
reached some maximal population levels in balance with the rest of the community. After that,
human began to use fire, they obtained their fuel from the tree wood.

B. Agricultural man: After that around 7000 B.C. certain groups of primitive man began to
modifying their environment by domesticating food animals and cultivating some specific plants.
They have started hunting wild animals that harm their cultivated products or domesticated
animals. During the agricultural revolution, a most sustain a way of life evolved, which allowed
the construction of a permanent dwelling in which man could seek shelter. As the life sustain the
mortality rate of the newborns decreased and the human population increase rapidly. Around
8000 B.C., the human population is estimated approximately 5 million and by reaching 1650
A.D, it become more than 453 million. The average rate of increasing population this period
(7000 B.C to 1650 A.D.) was about 50,000 per year (Verma and Agarwal 2008).

C. Industrial man: As human population is increasing, they constantly modifying their

environment accordingly. With the invention of wheel, there seems to be great deal of
revaluation in human. Life has become more comfortable. They were move easily in search of
food and better environmental conditions. Thus this migration allowing human to gathered in a
large population in a favorable place. The discovery and utilization of non-renewable sources (oil
and coal) permitted to human population to increase beyond the limits. After this industrial
revolution saw that development of tools and machines that resulted in the construction of more
and better housing, textile, production of more and better food items, food storage, prevention,

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transportation techniques and many more. After the development of new techniques and
researches in the field of medical science, the mortality rate of the human population decreased
and the birth rate became higher than before.

The human population is increasing at an alarming rate. It is estimated that if the current birth
rates and death rates are maintained, the human population will reach more than six billion by
2025 A.D. Hence, there is an urgent need to implement family planning measures to maintain the
quality of human life and availability of resources.

9.3.3 Factors regulating human population

Human surpass animals in being able to control his environment in some degree but human
beings are also control by a number agencies. Some of the major causes are given below:

1. Scarcity of food: Due to the unfavorable weather, crop failure, insect attack, and many other
reasons, the human population is largely affected, especially on those particular area where
the dense human population is resides. Malnutrition may lead to physical impairment with
greater susceptibility to disease and death.

2. Shelter: Inadequate shelter in extremely cold and hot weather is an important factor to
regulate the population.

3. Natural calamities: Floods, droughts, earthquake, hurricanes, volcanic eruption etc are some
natural calamities claim great toll of human population.

4. Enemies: large predatory animal like lion, tiger, leopard, poisonous snakes etc cause many
deaths in less civilized regions.

5. Wars: Warfare is a form of competition between human races or nations for land, power,
resources, trade routes or other desired reasons of human environment. Wars have remained a
major mortality factor throughout human history, not only by causing direct battle causalities,
but also by stimulating disease and famine.

6. Disease: It is the only single cause to control or reducing the human population in a large
extends. Diseases like bubonic plague, cholera, typhus, small pox, malaria, yellow fever,
sleeping sickness etc has been among the great killers of human population throughout the
world in history. A recent example of widespread disease is COVID-19 which has been
declared as pandemic by the WHO in 2019. It is a viral disease and cause of nearly 2.6 million
deaths worldwide and 121 million people have been infected with the virus since March 2021
(Source: WHO, 2021).

7. Other reasons: Explosion, fire, pollution, transport accidents cause many death in modern
civilization.

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9.4 CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change refers to a significant long-term change in the global climate. It comprises
increase in temperature across the globe or simply called global warming motivated by the
uncontrolled human activities including the emissions of greenhouse gases that resulting large-
scale shifts in weather patterns. The global warming is the slow increase in the average
temperature of the earth’s atmosphere because an increased amount of the energy (heat) striking
the earth from the sun is being trapped in the atmosphere and not radiated out into space. The
major percentage of global warming is shared by the emission of gases in which carbon
dioxide and methane contributing more than 90% and causing greenhouse effect. The burning of
fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) is the prime source of these emissions followed by
agriculture, deforestation, and manufacturing as an additional contributors.

The increase in land temperature due to global warming is almost twice the global average
increase, resulting consequences as expansion of desert land, heat waves, wildfires, change in the
pattern of precipitation, rising sea level and changes to land and ocean carbon sinks etc. The
Arctic and snow capped areas of polar region are also not untouched by the effects of climate
change. Temperature rise also amplified the melting permafrost, glacial retreat and sea ice loss in
these regions (IPCC 2019). Apart from above mentioned, the warmer temperatures have also
other adverse impacts like causing more intense storms and weather extremes, increasing rates of
evaporation, relocation or extinction of many species as their environment changes. Destruction
of coral reefs and Arctic region is the most immediate burning examples of the climate
change. Climate change have not only the ecological and environmental impacts but
also threatens the socio-economic status of the humans including food and water scarcity,
extreme heat, floods, infectious diseases, displacement and economic losses. These human
impacts have led the World Health Organization to call climate change the greatest threat to
global health in the 21st century.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concern about climate change and
published a series of reports which highlighted the noteworthy increases in these consequences
as warming continues to 1.5°C or beyond (IPCC 2018). Limiting climate change or mitigation
consists of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and removing them from the atmosphere can be
the best approach to minimize or reduce the impacts of this global problem. Methods to reach the
goal include reduce the utilization of fossil fuels, enhanced energy efficiency, promote the low-
carbon energy sources such as wind and solar energy, forest preservation and tree fostering
(Bargali et al. 2019; Bisht et al. 2021). Adaptation of these methods could only be the techniques
for restoration of environmental conditions, ecological protection and better disaster
management.

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Greenhouse gases

The surface of the earth absorbs the sunlight and subsequently emits it as heat. Greenhouse gases
(GHGs) absorb and reemit infrared radiation, slow down the rate at which it can pass through the
atmosphere and escape into space (NASA 2019) which ultimately increases the earth
temperature. The most common GHGs are:

 Carbon dioxide or CO2: It refers to as a main GHG, contributing a major share

(almost 55%) of the total long-term GHGs. CO2 is produced whenever something is
combusted. The primary source of CO2 emissions is burning of fossil fuels to maintain
the constant supply of energy in heating, transport, electricity and manufacturing. In
addition, deforestation and manufacturing processes of aluminum, steel, cement, fertilizer
etc also release the CO2 by the chemical reactions. United States Environmental
Protection Agency used CO2 as marker because of its ubiquity. CO2 is assigned a Global
Warming Potential (GWP) of 1.

 Methane or CH4: It is itself an important GHG and produced mainly by the combustion
processes and furthermore by the anaerobic decomposition, pig manure ponds, in paddy
fields, wastewater, coal mining, as well as oil and gas extraction. Methane breaks down
in approximately 10 years, but is a pioneer of ozone. Methane has a GWP of 28-36.

 Nitrous oxide or N2O: It produced as a byproduct of fertilizer manufacturing and a large

amount is come from the microbial decomposition of inorganic and organic fertilizer.
The combustion of certain materials and many industrial processes also enhance the
production of this gas. Nitrous oxide persists a long lasting in the atmosphere and its
GWP is 265-298.

 Fluorinated gases: They do not have any natural sources of production these gases
because these are purely man-made. These were fashioned as replacements for ozone
depleting refrigerants. It has proven that these are extremely long lasting in the
atmosphere and extremely warming GHGs. At the 100 year point of comparison, their
GWPs range from 1,800 to 8,000 and some variants top 10,000.

 Sulphur hexafluoride or SF6: It is used for special medical events, but mainly for what
is called a dielectric, especially dielectric liquids. It is used as insulators in high voltage
applications such as grid switching gear and transformers. SF6 remain persists in the
upper atmosphere for last thousands of years and has a GWP of 22,800.
Uncontrolled anthropogenic activities, especially burning fossil fuels and extracting have
amplified the significant amount of GHGs in the atmosphere, resultant the environmental
imbalance (Jonathan 2020). The concentrations of methane and CO2 in 2018 had increased by
about 160% and 45%, respectively since 1750 (World Meteorological Organization 2020). The
GHGs have very adverse impacts in all forms of life including flora, fauna and environment.
Some are mentioned in Fig 9.1.

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Even though prolong emissions of greenhouse gas and deforestation, our Earth is self sustainable
in some extent, particularly its forests wealth, remain a noteworthy carbon sink for CO2. The
processes of photosynthesis by the green plants and carbon sequestration by the vegetation and
soil compensate the GHGs contributions. The land serves as sink of carbon and is estimated to
remove approximately 29% of annual global CO2 emissions (IPCC 2019). In addition, the ocean
also provides a reservoir of carbon sinks through a two-step process. In the first step: carbon
dioxide dissolves in the water. After that, the ocean's overturning circulation distributes it deep
into the ocean's interior, where it accumulates over time as part of the carbon cycle. It is
estimated that the world's oceans have sequestered 20 to 30% of CO2 over the last two decades
(Bindoff et al., 2019).

Fig 9.1: Impacts of GHGs (Source: US Environmental Protection agency)

Impacts of climate change

The climate change has the impacts on all forms of lives on the earth including our physical
environment. Some are discuss briefly:

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(A) Impacts on physical environment: The climate change has the significant impact of our
physical environment. This adversely affecting weather conditions, oceans and ice. When we
considered the climatic data from past decades and analyze it with today’s climate data through
the modern observations, we can clearly see changes in Earth’s environmental conditions. Some
abnormal events like heat waves and droughts appear more common, extremely wet or dry phase
during the monsoon, intense rainfall in some regions, cloud bust is likely more common in
mountainian region, increasing frequency of typhoons and hurricanes are some consequences of
climate change.

The receding and shrinking of glacial is caused rising of global sea level, melting of ice in
Greenland and Antarctica due to thermal expansion, increasing warmness of oceans etc change
the water cycle of the nature and niche and habitat of many species. Higher concentrations of
atmospheric CO2 have led to alter the ocean chemistry. The oceans become more acidic due to
the higher concentration of dissolve CO2 (Deutsch et al., 2011) and deficient of oxygen because
oxygen is less soluble in warmer water. The combine effects of higher dissolve CO2 and less O2
cause deoxygenation, eutrophication, loss of biodiversity, migration or relocation of many
species, expanding hypoxic dead zones as a result of algal blooms.

(B) Impacts on nature and wildlife: The high concentration of CO2 in atmosphere,
undetermined seasonal changes, drought, intense rainfall and heat waves has reduced the
productivity of ecosystem. Climate change also spreading out the drier climate zones for
example expansion of deserts in the subtropics (Turner et al., 2020).

The warming has determined a lot of impacts on freshwater and terrestrial species
resulted extinction and migration of many species. The oceans are large water bodies, therefore,
they warm up slowly as compared to terrestrial region but the rate of migration of species in
oceans toward the colder poles is faster than the migration of terrestrial species (Smale et al.
2019). The heat waves extensive are bleaching the beautiful coral reefs (IPCC SROCC 2019).
The ocean’s organisms like seabirds, fishes, kelp, corals and many more species are frequently
facing the challenges of global warming. Acidification of ocean water due to the increasing level
of dissolved CO2 in the water adversely impacting those organisms that produce skeletons and
shells like mussels and barnacles.
The more common occurrence of destructive algae bloom is the outcome of climate change. The
anoxia, comprehensive mortality of marine life, destruction and disruption of food webs by
eutrophication are other noteworthy impacts. Coastal ecosystems are also the subject of
meticulous pressure, with roughly half of wetlands having gone as a consequence of climate
change and other anthropogenic activities.

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(C) Impacts on humans: The impact of climate change on humans has also been detected
worldwide in the form of shifting in precipitation due to the warming. The provincial impacts of
climate change are commonly observed in all continents. Continuous emission of GHGs leads to
further warming and long-lasting changes in the climate system. The climate change affects the
humans as:

(i). Food and health: The climate change affects the human health both directly and indirectly.
In direct impact, extreme climatic conditions foremost cause of injury and loss of life while
famine and malnutrition due to crop failure are the indirect impacts of climate change.

In addition, various diseases such as dengue and malaria are transmitted more easily in a warmer
climate. The older people and young children are the most vulnerable to scarcity of food together
with severe heat. It is estimated by The World Health Organization (WHO) that approximately
250,000 accompanying deaths/ year in between 2030-2050 due to the excessive heat and
increases the number of cases of diarrheal disease, malaria, dengue, coastal flooding, and
childhood under nutrition (Springmann et al. 2016) very frequently. Quality of water and air is
another major health concerns associated with climate change.

Globally reduction in the yield of some major crops (soybeans, wheat and maize) was observed
between 1981 and 2010, affecting food security (Zhao et al. 2017). Warming of sea water crash
the fish stocks globally. The provinces at a high risk of climate change those are reliant on
glacier water, those already dried out and those small islands of water stress.

(ii) Migration: Gradual but persistent environmental change and sudden natural disasters both
influence the nature and extent of human migration in search of better environment and socio-
economic conditions.

(iii) Economic impact: The climate change has significant impacts on economy of the world.
Global losses unveil speedily intensifying costs due to unpredictable weather events since past
decades. However, this warns an increasing vulnerability of social systems to climate change. In
a modeling conducted in 2019 revealed that climate change had add on global economic
disparity.

Mitigation and adaptation strategies of climate change

(i) Mitigation: The impact of climate change can be mitigated by minimizing the emission of
GHGs and by promoting the sinks of those GHGs from the atmosphere. To facilitate limiting the
global warming, it requires comprehensive systemic changes on energy, transport, cities, land,
buildings, and industry. In order to lessen the stress on ecosystems and improve their carbon
sequestration potential, agriculture and forest policy must be change, for example, maintaining
natural ecosystems by massive forest plantations.

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(ii) Clean energy: By using clean energy, the production and impact of GHGs can be reduced.
The long-term decarbonisation situations summit to rapid and important asset in renewable
energy (i.e., solar and wind power, bioenergy, geothermal energy, and hydropower (Hsiang et
al., 2013; Ranson 2014). Onshore wind and photovoltaic solar are adding some new and
cheapest power generation. The utilization of low carbon fuel substitution and electric vehicles in
transportation are the best approach to mitigate the impact climate change and improving human
health by minimizing air pollution.

(iii) Energy efficiency: Limiting energy requirements is an additional important characteristic of

decarbonisation and plans (Kopp et al. 2017). Besides, the directly reducing emissions, energy
demand reduction measures provide more flexibility for low carbon energy development.

(iv) Carbon sequestration: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) may be able to play a significant
role in limiting CO2 emissions. Forests are the natural carbon sinks which have the potential to
sequester significantly larger amounts of CO2 beyond naturally occurring levels. Tree planting
and reforestation on barren land or non-forest area are among the most mature sequestration
techniques. Apart from the carbon sequestration they insure the food security and other by
products too. Soil and coastal line area are also help in carbon sequestration.

9.5 LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity refers to the total number of species present in a given area. It includes both the
genetic and species diversity of the organisms occurring in a particular geographical area. The
loss of biodiversity is a decline in the number of individuals, biological communities, loss of
variety within species and loss of genetic variability, in given geographic area or ecosystem. So,
it always imposed overall the negative impact on the productivity and restoration of ecosystem.

In recent times, the composition of both biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem is
undergoing drastic changes. For example: deforestation leads to reduce the shading, change in
soil moisture and temperature gradients, loss of natural habitats of many living organisms, and
changes in nutrient dynamics that are provide by the ecosystem as ecosystem services (Padalia et
al., 2018, 2022). The consequences of these changes direct the abrupt population declines in
some species. Declines in genetic diversity that accompany rapid falls in population may
increase inbreeding, which could produce a further decline in genetic diversity or biodiversity
loss.

Loss rate of biodiversity

It is estimated by the scientists that the present speed of loss of biodiversity is estimated to be
hundred to thousand times higher than the naturally occurring background extinction rate, faster
than at any other time in human history (Carrington 2021) and probable to still rise in the

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forthcoming years. The speedily increment in extinction affecting almost all form of life
including amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and many more etc.

You can calculate by a statement discussed here that how much is situation become depressed
and worst. In 2006, many more species were classified as endangered or threatened or rare;
furthermore, scientists have projected that millions more species are at risks which have not been
formally recognized. In 2021, about 28 percent of the 134,400 species evaluated using the IUCN
Red List criteria are now listed as threatened with extinction, a total of 37,400 species compared
to 16,119 threatened species in 2006 (IUCN 2021). Some examples of rate of loss of biodiversity
are:

 A scientist, Malcom MacCallum, estimated that the existing rate of extinction of

amphibians could be 211 times the background extinction rate.
 A testimony of BBC on a global-scale study published in the journal Science that
found climate change could wipe out 20% of the world's lizard species by 2080.
 According to a joint research conducted by the Zoological Society of London and
International Union for Conservation of Nature that 19% of the world’s reptiles are
predictable to be threatened with extinction,
 A research article published in journal Science, notified commercial seafood and fish
species may all crash by 2048.
 A report published in 2013 estimated that 100 million sharks are being killed each year.
 The report of UN’s 3rd Global Biodiversity Outlook also proclaimed that the shallow-
water wetlands (i.e., swamps, marshes and shallow lakes) have decreased considerably in
several parts of the world.
 A 20-year study has revealed that introduction of non-native species and deforestation
has led to about 12.5% of the world’s vegetation to become critically rare.

Causes of loss of biodiversity

The major causes of loss of biodiversity can be divided into two categories:

(a). Natural biodiversity loss: Natural ecological disasters or disturbances, such as flood,
hurricanes, earthquake, volcanic eruption, wildfire etc alter the ecosystems drastically by
abolishing regional populations of some species and renewing entire biological communities.
However, these disturbances are temporary, as natural disturbances are common and ecosystems
have adapted more readily to their challenges. The diversity of a particular region is depends on
the natural cycle. Seasonal changes affect the biodiversity of the region. For example, the
abundance of food and favorable environmental conditions during the summer season trigger
reproduction in many species, which ultimately increases the biodiversity. Conversely food
shortage and other harsh environmental conditions during the winter season reduce biodiversity

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as migratory animals leave those regions, warm adapted insects and other organisms die due to
extreme winters. Additionally, seasonal changes also alters the food chain as adverse conditions
reduce plant and invertebrate populations (plankton and insects) that serve as food for other
forms of life. Loss of biodiversity is commonly linked with more enduring ecological changes
in landscapes, ecosystems, and the global biosphere.

(b). Anthropogenic biodiversity loss: The disturbance caused by the humans is called
anthropogenic disturbance. These possess more long lasting and severe impact on environment.
Humans depend on agriculture to full fill their food requirements. It is estimated that approx. 51
million square km of land (half of the world’s habitable land) has been changed into agriculture
land of which around 40 million square km land is utilized for grazing purpose by herbivorous
animals and other livestock. The substantial conversion of natural terrestrial ecosystems has turn
down in number of vertebrates which causes enormous loss of biodiversity across the world. The
humans population doubled in number between 1970 to 2014. The recent research estimated that
existing rate of species loss varies between 100 and 10,000 times the background extinction rate.
In addition, a report published by Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services in 2019 claimed that up to 1 million flora and fauna are facing
extinction due to excessive human disturbance. Wetland filling, forest clearing, stream
channeling & rerouting, concrete construction etc are some frequently occurring efforts that
create a substantial change in the ecological course of a landscape. As the population increased,
human beings in search of essential livelihood requirements transformed the aquatic as well as
terrestrial ecosystems to get maximum benefits from them.

Researchers have identified five important drivers of biodiversity loss. The thread to biodiversity
can be summarized in the following points (Fig 9.2).

(i) Casual factors: The uncontrolled human population growth is the main cause of the loss of
biodiversity. The increasing population consumes the natural resources which exert the extra
pressure on the environment. The over exploitation of resources eventually leads to migration or
extinction of many species on that particular region.

(ii) Indirect drivers: There are so many of indirect causes of loss of biodiversity. The primitive
humans were migrants and traveled from place to place in search of food and shelter. They were
completely dependent upon the forest for their daily requirements. But with the evolution of
human beings they got settled in a group and stared living a more stable life. They started
agriculture by clearing forests and domesticated some livestock as well. Sooner, urbanization and
industrial revaluation make human life easier at the cost of health of the environment.

The hazards produced from the industries as waste cause the different type pollution (water, land,
air, sound etc), and complete or partially destruction of so many of species. The whole ecosystem
is polluted by various ways and nowadays the situation has become even more pathetic.

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(iii) Direct pressures: The direct causes of biodiversity loss include habitat loss and
degradation, introduction of invasive species, overexploitation of resources, pollution and
climate change.

Fig 9.2: Impacts of GHGs (Source: US Environmental Protection agency)

The construction, urbanization, industrialization, deforestation, loss of natural habitat, filling or

destruction of wet lands, polluted air, water and land, human greed etc are the major causes of
habitat loss of many species. If those species could not migrate or adapt the new environment,
they become vulnerable, threatened, and extinct or whip out species.

The invasive species are those species which are not the native species but introduce to a
particular region by deliberately or accidently. These species significantly disrupt or modify
entire ecosystem for their luxurious growth and impose the adverse effects on the native species
of the ecosystem. Invasive species trigger the decline of population of the native species and
become the cause of biodiversity loss.

The natural resources full fill many requirements of humans and animals. But the
overexploitation of the resources causes loss of biodiversity. In addition pollution is also share a
major proportion of loss of loss of diversity. It can be diluted, dispersed, recycled, decomposed,
or stored in some harmless form contributes to biodiversity loss by producing health problems in

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exposed organisms. In some situations, exposure may occur in doses high enough to kill outright
or create reproductive problems that threaten the endurance of the species. Global warming
coupled with climate change altered the climate of the earth. The major cause of global warming,
their effects, ecological and economic impact is already discussed in this chapter in detail.

(iv) State of global biodiversity: There has been drastic decline in biodiversity around the
world. The different types of ecosystems including terrestrial, fresh water, marine and wet land
ecosystem have adversity affected and their diversity continues to decline. It is estimated in a
survey that over the years, in central Asia and Europe has seen massive decline in biodiversity.
As much as 42% of terrestrial plant and animal species have vanished in the last decade. Another
sector that is under threat is freshwater and wet land ecosystem. The human activities, including
land use, natural resource extraction and pollution, are major reasons for this decline, apart from
climate change.

(v) Ecosystem services: Nature serves a lot. They provide lots of benefits to human as
ecosystem services. We can categories these services into 4 categories viz., Provisioning
Services (refers to basic needs of life including food, fruits, vegetables, trees, livestock);
Regulating Services (includes climate regulation, decomposition, erosion, pollination, water and
air purification, carbon storage, flood control); Cultural Services (includes cultural, intellectual,
and social development); Supporting Services (allow the Earth to sustain basic life forms
including formation of soils water cycle, nutrient cycling, photosynthesis). The overexploitation
of all these benefits from the nature is cause the major biodiversity loss. Excessive human
interference causes damage the ecosystem and its regulatory factions.

Effects of loss of biodiversity

(i) Ecological effects: The burden of biodiversity loss is most prominent on those
species whose populations are constant declining. The individuals threatens and genes loss are
the lasting survival of a species, while mates become inadequate and pressure
from inbreeding rise when directly linked survivors mate. In addition, the comprehensive
destruction of populations increases the risk that a particular species will become extinct.

Diversity in organisms plays an important role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Reduction in

the diversity threatens the functioning and structure of the ecosystem Declining biodiversity
diminish the productivity of an ecosystem (the quantity of food energy which is transformed into
biomass) and quality of the ecosystem services (sustainability of soil, water purification,
availability of food, shade, climate regulation etc).However, all ecosystems are competent to
cope with some degree of stresses with loss of biodiversity. But beyond a critical level of species
exclusion or depreciation, the ecosystem can become destabilized and collapse.

The reduction in diversity produces a sort of “ecosystem homogenization” across the regions
and biosphere as well. Specialist species (i.e., species tailored to narrow habitats, inadequate

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food resources, or other precise conditions of environmental) are repeatedly most vulnerable to
dramatic population declines and extinction when conditions change. In contrast, some species
(i.e., livestock, pets, crops, and ornamental plants) favoured by humans along with generalist
species (i.e., species adapted to a broad selection of habitats, food resources, and environmental
conditions) become the major component of ecosystems depart from by specialist species. As
specialist species and unique species (as well as their interactions with other species) are lost
across a broad area, each of the ecosystems in the area loses some amount of distinctiveness and
complexity, as the structure of their food chains and nutrient-cycling processes become
increasingly similar.

(ii) Social and economic effects: The loss of biodiversity distresses the human society and
economic systems as well. Humans depend on a variety of animals, plants, and other organisms
for health system, food, shelter, and their accessibility as commodities is important to
many cultures. The depletion in biodiversity among these vital natural resources pressures global
food security and the expansion of new pharmaceuticals to combat upcoming new diseases.

Financial reduction among frequent food crops may be more obvious than loss of diversity of
ecosystems and landscapes distant from global markets. About 75 % of food crops have become
wiped out since 1900, mainly due to an overreliance on a few high-yield crop varieties. The loss
of diversity among crops threatens food security, as varieties can be vulnerable to various pests,
many disease, impact of climate change and introduction of invasive species. Similar tendency
take place in livestock production, where high-producing improved breeds of domestic
animals and poultry are preferred over lower-producing, wilder breeds. The mainstream health
care system as well as the traditional medicines can be derivative from chemicals isolated from
the plants and animals. Thus the vanished species symbolize the lost of opportunities to cure and
treat of many disease.

9.6 DEPLETION OF OZONE LAYER

Ozone is considered as the protective layer of the earth. This layer is occurs about 9 to 18 miles
(15 to 30 km) above the Earth surface and concentrated mostly in the stratosphere layer of the
Earth’s atmosphere. Ozone (O3) is a naturally occur molecule constructed by the three atoms of
oxygen. Ozone molecules are constantly being destroyed and created in stratosphere. The
formation of new ozone molecules are constantly built by the action of the sun's ultraviolet
radiation on oxygen molecules (known as photochemical reactions).

The ozone layer is very important for the earth’s environment because ozone this layer absorbs
the harmful ultra ultraviolet (UV-B and UV-C) radiation (causing skin diseases, genetic
complications, cancers, cataracts in terrestrial and marine living organisms including some crop
destruction) of the Sun and preventing it to reaching on the earth (Fig 9.3). For the ecosystem,

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the ozonic umbrella is of vital importance because its absorption of ultraviolet radiation prevents
the latter from reaching the surface of the earth, where it would be lethal to most living
organisms. Moreover, because of its extra heat ozonosphere also act like a blanket that reduces
the cooling rate of the earth and thus adds to the effect of water vapour.

Fig 9.3: The ozone layer in the stratosphere shield life on Earth from UV-B and UV-C radiation, the most
harmful varieties of UV radiation (Credit: NASA; Source: UCAR-Center for Science Education)

Depletion of ozone layer

Destruction or reduction of ozone layer is called depletion of ozone. Although formation of new
ozone molecules and the destruction of old ones is a natural phenomena and these two processes
take place simultaneously in a set proportion, therefore, it has no adverse effect on the overall
thickening of the ozone layer. But ozone can be destroyed more quickly than it is naturally
created when some other agents (mainly contain chlorine and bromine atoms) come in contact
with the ozone layer. These destructive agents are called ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
ODS which liberate chlorine includes methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride,
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) etc while bromine is mostly
released by methyl bromide and halons. They drastically destroy the ozone molecules. It is
estimated by the scientist that 1 atom of chlorine can wipe out over 100,000 ozone molecules
before it eliminated from the stratosphere layer.

CFCs or Freon are inert in normal chemical reactions but they get accumulated in greater
amounts at higher altitudes and there in the stratosphere there inert gaseous compounds release
chlorine or bromine atoms under the influence of intense short wave ultraviolet radiation. Each
atom of chlorine/ bromine chain then reacts with huge number of ozone molecules that
converting ozone to oxygen. The reduction in stratospheric ozone permits greater penetration of

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UV light at the earth’s surface. Some scientists feel that this intensified radiation will cause a
significant increase in skin cancer and eventually have lethal effects on many organisms,
including man.

The protective ozone layer is also considered by many ecologists to be endangered by supersonic
jets, the SSTs. The jet engines of supersonic aircraft flying at high altitudes release nitrogen
oxide which catalytically destroys ozone molecules.

Ozone hole

The ozone hole is not actually a hole but quite a thinning of the ozone layer. The term ‘ozone
hole’ refers to the depletion of the protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere, especially in
the polar regions of the Earth. This phenomenon was firstly discovered in 1985 in the Antarctic
region. The main cause of the formation and extending of ozone hole is ozone depleting
chemicals- chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) with halons, which persist in the atmosphere for decades
to over a century.

The ozone is primarily produced in tropical latitudes. The air circulation patterns in the lower
stratosphere move ozone toward the poles, where its concentration builds up. In addition, strong
winter polar vortices are also imperative to directed ozone at the poles. The air becomes
extremely cold and heavy during the chilling and dark winter in polar region which provide all
the suitable conditions for the polar stratospheric cloud formation. These clouds generate the
circumstances for severe destruction of ozone layer by providing a surface for chlorine to change
into ozone-destroying form. Here, the atoms of the CFCs coalesce into ice particles in the clouds.
In the spring season, when the sun comes out, the melting of ice releases the ozone-depleting
molecules from surface of the snowflakes. CFCs react with the ozone and breaking the molecular
bonds in UV radiation-absorbing ozone. All living organisms underneath the ozone hole are
harmed by the direct solar radiation causing serious health problems.

Seasonal variation has a significant impact on the size of the Antarctic ozone hole. Over the
course of an annual cycle, sometime the size of the hole become larger and other time is smaller.
This is because, as we discussed in the above paragraph, at the onset of spring, the CFCs atoms
which were trapped in the ice are released by the melting of ice and start destroying of the ozone.

Effects of depletion of ozone layer

The depletion of ozone has significant impacts of all living forms of life including our
environment. Some noteworthy impacts are discussed here in brief.

 It has harmful impact on the human health, animals, environment and marine life.

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 Some studies reveal that increasing amount of UV radiation causes the higher risk of
skin, eye and immune system related troubles viz., sunburns, quick ageing, cancer,
development of malignant melanoma, eye cataracts, blindness and weekend.

 Planktons and zooplankton are also significantly affected by the exposure to UV

radiation. These are higher in the aquatic food chain. If the planktons declines, it would
likely have wide-reaching effects for all marine life in the lower food chain.

 UV-B rays depressingly influence plant growth and agricultural production. It may lead
to diminish the physiology plant including growth and photosynthesis process. They have
also the morphological impacts as well in plant like less flowering, reducing leaf size area
and lower quality crops. Decline in plant productivity would in turn affect soil erosion
and the carbon cycle (Manral et al. 2018; Bargali et al. 2019).

Solutions to ozone layer depletion

Depletion of ozone is not a local problem or a regional problem but it is a huge and an
international environment problem. Every countries of the Earth is more or less is affected by the
global warming and the ozone depletion. Therefore collective protective measurements must be
implemented jointly by the world community.

An international initiative taken by the world community known as the Montreal Protocol, was
an agreement signed by more than 70 countries in 1986 to address the global problem of ozone
devastation and to cut down the production of ozone-depleting substances (ODS). The set goals
of Montreal Protocol are to reducing production of CFCs 20% by 1993 and 50% by 1998. Since
the agreement was signed, these targets have been strengthened to call for the elimination of the
most dangerous CFCs by 1996 and for regulation of other ozone-depleting chemicals.
Apart from the international initiative, every individual should also take action to avert the
depletion of the ozone layer. By adopting of natural methods to get rid of pests in instead of
using uncontrolled application of chemical pesticides can help to restore the environment. The
use of vehicles should be lessening as much as likely because they emit a large amount of
greenhouse gases that cause the ozone depletion as well as global warming. We should use eco-
friendly products. Maintain air conditioners, as their malfunctions cause CFCs to escape into the
atmosphere.

9.7 ACID RAIN

Acid rain, or acid precipitation or acid deposition, includes any form of precipitation (viz., rain,
fog, hail, snow or even dust) possessing a pH of about 5.2 with acidic components (i.e., as
sulfuric or nitric acid) that fall to the earth from the atmosphere. In most of the case, acid rain is

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the outcome of the anthropogenic activities. The acid rain reduces the pH of the sensitive
landscapes and water bodies that untimely cause of loss of biodiversity.

Causes of acid rain

Acid rain fallout when oxides of sulfur (SO2) and nitrogen (NOx; the combination of NO and
NO2) are released into the atmosphere and transported by air currents and wind. The oxide of
sulfur and nitrogen react with water, oxygen and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric
acids. These then mix with water and other materials before falling into any substrate. Majority
of acid rain is caused by the human activities including burning of fossil fuels, coal, Vehicles and
heavy equipments, refineries and other industries etc while a very small portion of the SO2 and
NOX that cause acid rain is from natural sources like volcanic eruption.

Forms of acid deposition

The acid rain deposited into the earth in two forms;

(i) Wet Deposition: It is the most common type of deposition where the acid rain comes in
contact to the substances with containing moisture in it viz., rain, fog, hail and snow etc. It is the
most common type of deposition.
(ii) Dry Deposition: Sometime the deposition of acid occurs in the form of gases and acid
particles, this type of deposition is called dry deposition. These acidic particles or gases can
accumulate on vegetation, architectural objects and water bodies or transport by water or wind to
built large particles that damage ecosystem. These accumulated acids are washed away by the
next rain shower, where it is carried or transported into another place and harm the plants and
wildlife. The concentration of dry acid deposition depends on the amount of rainfall received by
a particular area. For example: a region receives several inches rainfall per year have much lower
ratio of dry to wet deposition as compare to the desert.

Process of formation of acid rain:

Oxides of nitrogen and sulphur are produced during combustion of fuels and finally converted
into nitric acid and sulphuric acid, respectively (Fig 9.4).
In gaseous phase, sulphur dioxide is oxidized by reacting with hydroxyl radical (OH·) by means
of an intermolecular reaction.
SO2 + OH· → HOSO2
Which is followed by:
HOSO2· + O2 → HO2· + SO3
SO3 (g) + H2O (l) → H2SO4 (aq) (Sulphuric acid)

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NO2 reacts with OH forming nitric acid

NO2 + OH· → HNO3 (Nitric acid)

Fig 9.4: Formation of acid rain from air pollutant gases

(Source: https://www.worldofchemicals.com/615/chemistry-articles/everything-about-acid-rain-you-
need-to-learn.html)

Cloud Droplets Chemistry: It has been estimated that the loss rates of sulphur dioxide is
accelerated in the occurrence of clouds due to containing water droplets by the clouds.

Hydrolysis: Sulfur dioxide dissolves in water. Thereafter, series of hydrolyses equilibrium

reactions take place:

Oxidation: Large number of aqueous reactions is there that oxidizes sulfur, leading to the
production of sulfuric acid. The most important oxidation reactions take place with oxygen,
hydrogen peroxide and ozone.

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Effects of acid rain

Acid rain has a multiple harmful impacts on the environment as well as in all living organisms. It
also reduces the visibility through the air. The strength of the effects depends on the acidity of
the water, type of the deposition, the concentration of the acid rain and buffering capacity of the
soils involved. Some impacts of the acid rain are discussed here in brief:

A. The Effects of Acid Rain on Ecosystems:

As we all know that the ecosystem is a complex structure where one species is related to another.
So, if something harms of any component (i.e., biotic and abiotic) of the ecosystem, it can
certainly affect everything else.

(i) Effects on the terrestrial ecosystem: Some trees like ashes, maple, spruce etc vulnerable to
acid deposition. The acidic rain not directly kills the tree but weaken the tree through the
dieback, bleaching of leaf chlorophyll, reducing the functionality of the leaves, limiting the
nutrients uptake, and exposing tree to toxic substances. It may also erode cuticle and leaching the
nutrients from the leaves. The collective all these effects finally impose the adverse effects on the
forest community.

(ii) Soil acidification and buffering capacity: Acid rain affects the biogeochemical processes of
the soil such as production and leaching of carbonic, organic and nitric acids, humus, weathering
and uptake of minerals.
The soil may neutralize some or all the acidity of the acid rainwater. This ability of soil called
buffering capacity, and without this soil become more acidic in nature. The higher the base
saturation, the more buffering capacity of soils has to absorb the H+ ions. Acidic water dissolves
the nutrients and helpful minerals in the soils and then washed them away before vegetation can
use them.
(iii) Effects of acid rain on aquatic ecosystem: The acid rain imposes adverse impacts on
ecology of aquatic environments including both fresh and marine water ecosystem. It can be
harmful to all aquatic living organisms. As acidic water floods through the soil, it can leach
aluminum from soil and then mix into streams and lakes. Several studies have declared that when
more acid rain is introduced into an ecosystem there is a great release of aluminum. Some
species of aquatic life can tolerate moderate concentration of acidic water and aluminum
deposition but most of the species are intolerant or sensitive for the both. Usually, the young
ones of the most species are more susceptible than adults. The high H + concentrations in lakes
and ponds lead to high mortality of adult fish, sometimes complete destruction of fish species
and most fish eggs do not hatch. Even, if a species of fish or other organism can tolerate
moderately acidic water, it has found difficulties to follow their normal food chain. For example,
the critical pH of frog is around 4, but the mayflies they usually eat are more intolerant and
cannot survive at a acidic medium below pH of 5.5.

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B. Effects of acid rain on materials

One of the most significant adverse impacts of acid rain is accelerated weathering of many
precious statues and buildings, especially limestone marble. The damage monuments need
special care to save them acid rains. Metals also corrode when exposed to acid rain. It is the
matter of great concern. The effect of acid rain on the Taj Mahal in India is an example of how
acid rain affects buildings and monuments.

C. Other effects of acid rain

(i) Visibility: In the atmosphere, oxides of nitrogen and sulphur can be convert into nitrate and
sulphate particles, while some oxides of nitrogen (NOx) form ozone while react with other
pollutants. All these elements collectively make the air hazy and create difficulties in visibility.
(ii) Human Health: For human beings walking in acid rain, or even swimming in a lake affected
by acid rain, is no more dangerous. However, when it contains higher concentration of sulfate
and nitrate particles as well as SO2 and NOX, they can be harmful. The oxides of nitrogen and
sulphur form fine particles of nitrate and sulfate that people can inhale causing serious lungs
diseases and life threatening. Shortness of breathing and asthma are the most common
consequences of weakening of the lungs. Many scientific studies have revealed that these
pollutants affect the functioning the heart as well which causes heart attack, cardiac arrest and
other heart related diseases in humans.

9.8 POLLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL WATER

Water is the necessity of life and without it life cannot be imagined. Water covers around 71% of
the earth’s total area where 97% of water found in the ocean (too saline for drinking and
agriculture). Only 3% is fresh water and out of them almost 2.5% is unavailable as locked in
polar ice, glaciers and atmosphere, soil, or lies too far under the earth's surface to be extracted at
an affordable cost and rest are highly polluted. Therefore, only 0.5% is available for us as fresh
water.
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters refers to any kind of water bodies (viz.,
fresh water and marine water) that transcend international boundaries. Lakes, rivers,
underground water, wetlands, marine ecosystems, oceans, seas and estuaries are some examples
of International water (International Waters Archived 2009). Both freshwater and marine
ecosystems cross the national borders, therefore, many countries share
common groundwater aquifers, lakes, rivers, wetlands, coral reefs, oceans etc. Internationally,
more than 360 aquifers and 300 watersheds traverse the political boundaries of two or more
countries and cover almost half of the Earth’s land surfaces.

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Water quality is one of the main challenges that societies will face during the 21st century,
threatening human health, limiting food production, reducing ecosystem functions, and hindering
economic growth. Water quality degradation translates directly into environmental, social and
economic problems. The availability of the world’s scarce water resources is increasingly limited
due to the worsening pollution of freshwater resources caused by the disposal of large quantities
of insufficiently treated, or untreated, wastewater into rivers, lakes, aquifers and coastal waters.
Furthermore, newly emerging pollutants like personal care products and pharmaceuticals,
pesticides, and industrial and household chemicals, and changing climate patterns represent a
new water quality challenge, with still unknown long-term impacts on human health and
ecosystems.

Healthy freshwater and marine ecosystems are vital to supporting life and they strengthen, link
ecosystems, human health, and key economic sectors, yet they are facing unprecedented
pressure. Ocean ecosystems disturbed by pollution, acidification climate change, habitat loss,
fishing, shipping, and seabed mining. Often oceans are considered as so vast that they are
virtually unlimited in their ability to accumulate the waste products of human civilization. But
there are substantial evidence to indicate global pollution of coastal waters and open oceans due
to dumping of domestic and industrial wastes, sewage, oil drilling in coastal waters, spilling of
oil tankers etc. the oceans have in fact, become the final setting basin for millions of tons of
waste products from human activities. Table 5.1 showing the list of some sources of industrial
and agricultural pollutants that polluted of water reservoir.
Table 5.1: Examples of industrial and agricultural pollutants discharged into the international
water bodies (after Southwick, 1976)

S.N. Pollutants Source

1. Petroleum and industrial hydrocarbons Offshore wells, oil tankers, industrial wastes
2. Hydrocarbons (airborne) Vehicles, industries, power plants
3. Air borne lead Vehicles
4. Mercury Industrial operations
5. Aldrin-Toxaphene (converted into dieldrin) Agricultural and public heath operations
6. Benzene hexachloride Agricultural and public heath operations
7. DDT Agricultural and public heath operations
8. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Plastic industries

This tremendous burden of pollutants is evidently affecting the health and integrity of the word’s
oceans. Due to the international water pollution the marine biota has been seriously affected.
Scientist estimated that it causes decline in the overall productivity. They also observed a serious
shrinkage of coral reefs in many tropical areas of the world and a displacement of these rich and
varied communities with turbid and relatively barren waters. There has occurred a decline in
populations of many fishes due to oceanic pollution. Oil spills have killed water birds, mammals,
fish and vegetation.

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Freshwater ecosystems are also facing the challenges of urbanization, pollution, climate change,
and increasing demand of human populations. Protecting these ecosystems and ensuring that
they are sustainably managed, therefore, requires that various countries take joint actions to
secure a healthy environment for present and future generations. Given the vital role of
freshwater and marine ecosystem and the pressure they encountering, well built management
addresses are essential.

Conservation strategies
The GEFs International Water Focal area has a unique consent: sustain transboundary assistance
in shared freshwater and marine ecosystems. The GEF has established successful in building
trust between states that often find themselves locked in complex and long-lasting freshwater-use
or marine resource disagreement and attaining lasting profits. The Convention on the Protection
and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) aims to
protect and ensure the quantity, quality and sustainable use of these transboundary water
resources by facilitating and promoting cooperation. It is implemented in water-rich as well as
water-scarce countries. GEF investment in International Waters has three key objectives:

Strengthening National Blue Economy Opportunities: The GEF helps countries identify
sustainable public and private national investments in the Blue Economy, through funding of
collective management of coastal and marine systems and implementation of the full range of
integrated ocean policies, legal and institutional reforms. The Blue Economy concept identifies
the oceans as areas for potential sustainable development of existing and new sectors, including
tourism, extractive industries, renewable energy production, fisheries and aquaculture, coastal
development and marine transport.
Improving Management in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: The complex
ecosystems in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction — commonly called the high seas, those
areas of ocean for which no one nation has sole responsibility for management — making the
sustainable management of fisheries resources and biodiversity conservation especially
challenging. Urgent action is needed to improve conservation and sustainable use of the open
oceans that covers 40% of the planet, and are increasingly threatened by over-fishing of iconic
pelagic migratory species, maritime navigation, ocean energy facilities, bottom trawling on
seamounts, pollution, and extraction of minerals and hydrocarbons. Building on GEFs past
experience in successfully supporting an applied ecosystem-based approach to fisheries
management of deep sea fisheries, including seamounts, as well as regional tuna fisheries
management organizations in the high seas.

Enhancing water security in freshwater ecosystems: Transboundary river basins cover about
50% of the earth’s land surface and are home to about 40% of the world’s population. More than
1 billion people live in river basins where human water use has surpassed sustainable limits.
Cooperation on water, therefore, is vital to most international basins to support the need for
water, food, energy, and ecosystems security and increase resilience for each nation. Shared

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groundwater resources are especially hard to manage due to the limited knowledge of the
resource and its ‘invisibility.’ With mounting pressures on water resources and increasing
pressures from climate variability and change managing surface and groundwater is the only
sustainable path. GEF support in freshwater basins will therefore focus on three areas of strategic
action: advance information exchange and early warning; enhance regional and national
cooperation on shared freshwater surface and groundwater basins; and invest in water, food,
energy and environmental security.

9.9 CONSERVATION STRATEGY

The word conservation refers to the “management of human use of organisms or ecosystems to
ensure such use is sustainable, as well as the protection, maintenance, rehabilitation, restoration,
and enhancement of populations and ecosystems”.

The state of the world environment is in its alarming time. Conservation measurement practices
are urgently needed to protect the environment. The objectives of conservation must be achieved
as a matter of urgency because the planet's capacity to support people is being irreversibly
reduced in both developing and developed countries; destruction of soil causes deforestation and
poor land management, conversion of farmlands into buildings and roads is appearing more
common in every year; over exploitation of consumable recourses, the resource base of major
industries is shrinking: tropical forests are contracting so rapidly that by the end of this century
the remaining area of unlogged productive forest will have been halved; the coastal support
systems of many fisheries are being destroyed or polluted.

To overcome the impact of destruction of nature, conservation strategies can facilitate the setting
of goals and the development of action plans for the sustainable use of resources, usually by
seeking broad-scale consensus through comprehensive consultations. Destruction of natural
environment is not the problem of only one county but all the countries have to come together to
deal with it. In the context of joint efforts of conservation, World Conservation Strategy (WCS)
awakens a hope. The WCS aimed at providing a framework and policy guidance for resource
conservation. The WCS was created by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF). The World Conservation Strategy defines living resource conservation, explains its
objectives, its contribution to human existence and the barriers to its achievement. It sets out the
priority requirements to achieve each objective. The WCS proposes national and subnational
strategies to meet the priority requirements, describing a framework and principles for those
strategies. It also proposes an integrated method of assessment of land and water reimburses and
outlines a procedure for the rational allocation of land and water uses.

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The WCS recommends anticipatory environmental policies, cross-sectoral conservation policy,

broader system of national accounting in order to integrate conservation with development at the
policy making level. This organization also reviews the legislation concerning living resources,
suggests general principles for organization within government, improving the organizational
capacities for soil conservation and marine living resources. WCS promotes the greater public
participation in planning and decision making concerning living resource use, environmental
education programmes and campaigns to build support for conservation.

WCS suggests ways to increase the number of trained personnel, proposes more management-
oriented research and research-oriented management, so that the most urgently needed basic
information is generated more quickly, to help rural communities to conserve their living
resources, as the essential basis of the development they need.

The main purposes of the World Conservation Strategy are to encourage a more focused
approach to the management of resources (renewable and nonrenewable sources) and to set the
guidance on how this can be implemented to conserve the resources by three main groups:

 Government policy makers and their advisers

 Development practitioners, including NGOs, private sectors, industries, trade unions,
donors and agencies.
 Conservationists and others directly concerned with living resources

Aim:
There are three principle aims of the World Conservation Strategy (IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1980
P1)

1. Ecological balance: To maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems

(such as soil regeneration and protection, the recycling of nutrients, and the cleansing of
waters), on which human survival and development depend.
2. Preserve genetic diversity: (the range of genetic material found in the world's
organisms), on which depend the functioning of many of the above processes and life-
support systems, the breeding programmes necessary for the protection and improvement
of cultivated plants, domesticated animals and microorganisms, as well as much scientific
and medical advance, technical innovation, and the security of the many industries that
use living resources.
3. Sustainability: to ensure the sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems (notably
fish and other wildlife, forests and grazing lands), which support millions of rural
communities as well as major industries.

The main obstacles to achieving conservation are:

a. The belief that living resource conservation is a limited sector, rather than a process that
cuts across and must be considered by all sectors.

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b. The consequent failure to integrate conservation with development;

c. A development process that is often inflexible and needlessly destructive, due to
inadequacies in environmental planning, a lack of rational use allocation and undue
emphasis on narrow short term interests rather than broader longer term ones.
d. The lack of a capacity to conserve, due to inadequate legislation and lack of enforcement;
poor organization (notably government agencies with insufficient mandates and a lack of
coordination); lack of trained personnel; and a lack of basic information on priorities, on
the productive and regenerative capacities of living resources, and on the trade-offs
between one management option and another;
e. The lack of support for conservation, due to a lack of awareness (other than at the most
superficial level) of the benefits of conservation and of the responsibility to conserve
among those who use or have an impact on living resources, including in many cases
governments.

f. The failure to deliver conservation-based development where it is most needed, notably

the rural areas of developing countries:
In addition, the Strategy recommends international action to promote, support and (where
necessary) coordinate national action, emphasizing in particular the need for:
a. stronger more comprehensive international conservation law, and increased development
assistance for living resource conservation (section 15)

b. International programmes to promote the action necessary to conserve tropical forests

and drylands (section 16), to protect areas essential for the preservation of genetic
resources (section 17), and to conserve the global "commons"-the open ocean, the
atmosphere, and Antarctica.
c. Regional strategies to advance the conservation of shared living resources particularly
with respect to international river basins and seas (section 19).

9.10 NATIONAL CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

The WCS challenged individual nations and the wider international community to face the crisis
of resource depletion by integrating conservation and development. While it clarified threats to
the environment through irrational and unmanaged resource use and allocation, it did not layout
specific solutions.

Instead it offered a process through which nations could respond to the priorities cited in the
WCS to create their own national and regional conservation strategies. Many responded, and by

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the 1986 Conference on Conservation and Development (Ottawa), nations from all continents
were prepared to present the results of their own strategy development. By 1986, such nations as
Indonesia, Australia, and Zambia had nation- ai-level strategies in place.

The aim of a national or regional conservation strategy is to provide a framework for reviewing
conservation priorities and obstacles, and to identify means to integrate conservation objectives
into the mainstream of national and regional planning. As well, such strategies typically provide
the means to co-ordinate the efforts of government agencies with conservation and social
organizations to achieve shared objectives. Each national conservation strategy is a unique
expression of that country's needs and objectives.

However, most strategies aim to fulfill three common functions, deriving from the WCS
priorities:
 to establish priority requirements for achieving the three conservation objectives.
 to identify obstacles to meeting these requirements
 to propose cost-effective means of overcoming these obstacles

A nation's conservation strategy is best viewed as an operational document, setting policy

directions and actions for achieving the three conservation objectives. Yet, the process by which
the strategy is developed is also very important, and the WCS offers guidance for the planning
and analysis through which conservation strategies are formulated. The process of developing a
national conservation strategy begins with three steps:

1. Strategic review: In developing conservation strategy, planners review their national

development objectives in light of the three conservation objectives. The status of – and
threats to- living resources are an integral part of this review. Specific measures to reach
the objectives are identified. The strategic review is also the time to identify the main
obstacles to achieving development and conservation objectives and limiting threats to
resources. Where there is a conflict, or in cases where neither set of objectives is being
met, the strategy may establish a set of priority requirements aimed at ensuring that
development planning and conservation are compatible. Also, this step can include a
review of the state of the nation's living resources; ecosystems and species at risk are
identified, and priority requirements for their protection established (IUCN/
UNEP/WWF1980;1991).

2. Analysis. The next step in developing a conservation strategy is to carry out an indepth
analysis of practices and to identify areas for change. This analysis critically examines
development activities – current and anticipated - with respect to the three conservation
objectives and the priority requirements established during the strategic review. Analysis
of activities can also measure their performance against the development objectives
established during the review. It can highlight for change activities inconsistent with

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conservation and development objectives and promote practices that would further the
objectives. Economic and financial analyses are normally included in this step; an
operational conservation strategy relies on an understanding of the financial resources
available to implement needed change. Finally, the analysis can incorporate an
examination of the political and social resources - including legislation, public support,
and organizations - available to further the objectives and priority requirements of a
conservation strategy.

3. Action planning. Once the strategic review has established objectives and priority
requirements and analysis has identified areas for change, an action plan should be
formulated. The action plan proposes means of supplying the economic, social, and
political resources necessary to meet the conservation objectives. The plan can also
identify responsibilities for implementation, and explicitly authorize appropriate
ministries, agencies, and organizations to carry out the required actions. Where possible,
time lines and measurable objectives are incorporated into an action plan. This plan is
also the foundation for a program of legislative and policy measures, which will forward
the objectives of the conservation strategy and facilitate its implementation

The purpose of these steps is to begin a process of understanding how specific elements of a
nation's development strategy impact on conservation objectives. Through review, analysis, and
development of action plans, countries can formulate conservation strategies that refer
specifically to national objectives, needs, and resources. This approach recognizes that each
country will be facing unique conservation challenges and strategies for achieving the three
objectives of conservation must address these challenges in ways that are meaningful and
supportable in the national context. While the WCS provide a framework, it rests with each
country to develop a national strategy and provide the necessary resources and political
commitment to advance its implementation.

9.11 SUMMARY

The present topic provides an overview of demology, global environmental problems and
outlines of conservation strategies. Demography is the account and statistical analysis of the vital
process and movements of human populations. The history of human is around 30,000 BC from
primitive man to industrial man. There are many factors regulating the human population e.g.,
scarcity of food, shelter, natural calamities, enemies, diseases, pollution and many other
anthropogenic causes control the demography of a region. The excessive interference of the
human causes the destruction of the environment. Excessive and uncontrolled anthropogenic
activities would disrupt the natural processes of the earth, which would eventually lead to the
causes of imbalance in earth’s ecosystem.

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Global warming, loss of biodiversity, pollution, ozone layer depletion, acid rain etc are some
current burring issues of global environmental problems. All these are not the problems of a
particular area or region or a country, whereas these are global problems where the whole world
is stakeholder and all human beings, plants, animal diversity and our planet paying for it. The
adopting of global perspective is the only adequate approach to address the causes of
environmental problems. It can be deal only with the international collaboration through the
international harmony, agreements, joint efforts and targets.

Climate change refers to a significant long-term change in the global climate. It comprises
increase in temperature across the globe by the uncontrolled human activities including the
emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) that resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. The
main GHGs are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases and sulphur
hexafluoride. Uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels and extracting have amplified the significant
amount of GHGs in the atmosphere. The impact of climate change can be mitigated by
minimizing the emission of GHGs and by promoting the sinks of those GHGs from the
atmosphere, promote the utilization of clean energy. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is also
play a significant role in limiting CO2 emissions. Forests are the natural carbon sinks which have
the potential to sequester significantly larger amounts of CO2 beyond naturally occurring levels.

Biodiversity refers to the total number of species present in a given area. It includes both the
genetic and species diversity of the organisms occurring in a particular geographical area. It is
estimated by the scientists that the present speed of loss of biodiversity is estimated to be
hundred to thousand times higher than the naturally occurring background extinction rate, faster
than at any other time in human history and probable to still rise in the forthcoming years. There
are many causes of loss of biodiversity which includes the natural phenomena like flood,
hurricanes, earthquake, volcanic eruption, wildfire etc. Apart from this, the major cause is
anthropogenic activities which are more long lasting and severe impact on environment. Loss of
biodiversity threatens not only the functioning, structure, productivity of the ecosystem
but distresses the human society and economic systems as well.

Ozone is considered as the protective layer above the Earth surface and concentrated mostly in
the stratosphere layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. Destruction or reduction of ozone layer is called
depletion of ozone. Although formation of new ozone molecule is natural process but ozone can
be destroyed more quickly than it is naturally created when some other agents come in contact
with the ozone layer. These destructive agents are called ozone-depleting substances (ODS)
includes methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) etc while bromine is mostly released by methyl bromide
and halons. The depletion of ozone has significant impacts of all living forms of life including
our environment, human health, animals, environment and marine life, increase the risk of skin,
eye and immune system related troubles in humans including sunburns, quick ageing, cancer,
development of malignant melanoma, eye cataracts, blindness and weekend.

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Acid rain includes any form of precipitation possessing a pH of about 5.2 with acidic
components (i.e., as sulfuric or nitric acid) that fall to the earth from the atmosphere. Acid rain
occurs when oxides of sulfur and nitrogen are released into the atmosphere and carried by air
currents. Majority of acid rain is caused by the human activities including burning of fossil fuels,
coal, vehicles and heavy equipments, refineries and other industries etc while a very small
portion of the SO2 and NOX that cause acid rain is from natural sources like volcanic eruption.
The acid rain deposited into the earth in two forms i.e., wet deposition and dry deposition. Acid
rain has a multiple harmful impacts on the environment as well as in all living organisms. It also
reduces the visibility through the air, affects the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem, soil, important
monuments, visibility and human health.

The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters refers to any kind of water bodies that
transcend international boundaries. Lakes, rivers, underground water, wetlands, marine
ecosystems, oceans, seas and estuaries are some examples of International water. Internationally,
more than 360 aquifers and 300 watersheds traverse the political boundaries of two or more
countries and cover almost half of the Earth’s land surfaces. The pollution of freshwater
resources caused by the disposal of large quantities of insufficiently treated, or untreated,
wastewater, personal care products, pharmaceuticals elements, pesticides, industrial and
household chemicals into rivers, lakes, aquifers and coastal waters. The Convention on the
Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention)
aims to protect and ensure the quantity, quality and sustainable use of these transboundary water
resources by facilitating and promoting cooperation.

The destruction of natural environment is not the problem of only one county but all the
countries have to come together to deal with it. In the context of joint efforts of conservation,
World Conservation Strategy (WCS) awakens a hope. The WCS aimed at providing a framework
and policy guidance for resource conservation. The WCS was created by the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The WCS recommends anticipatory environmental policies,
cross-sectoral conservation policy, broader system of national accounting in order to integrate
conservation with development at the policy making level. This organization also reviews the
legislation concerning living resources, suggests general principles for organization within
government, improving the organizational capacities for soil conservation and marine living
resources. Conservationists and others directly concerned with living resources.

9.12 GLOSSARY

Acid rain: rain or other forms of precipitation that is unusually acidic.

Afforestation: planting new forests on lands that have not been recently forested.
Anthropogenic: man-made, not natural.

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Atmosphere: The Earth's atmosphere consists of the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,

thermosphere, exosphere and magnetosphere.
Biomass: The quantity of organic material present in unit area at a particular time mostly
expressed as tons of dry matter per unit area; organic matter that can be used as fuel.
Biotic: relating to, produced by, or caused by living organisms.
Birth rate: the fertility expressed as the average numbers of live births per thousand population
per year.
Carbon pool: a storage reservoir of carbon.
Carbon sink: any carbon storage system that causes a net removal of greenhouse gases from the
atmosphere.
Carbon source: opposite of carbon sink; a net source of carbon for the atmosphere.
Carbon stocks: the quantity of carbon held within a carbon pool at a specified time.
CFC or Chlorofluorocarbons: one of the more widely known family of haloalkanes.
Deforestation: the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land for agriculture, urban use,
development, or wasteland.
Demography: the account and statistical analysis of the vital process and movements of human
populations.
Ecological niche: the habitat of a species or population within its ecosystem.
Ecological sustainability: the capacity of ecosystems to maintain their essential processes and
function and to retain their biological diversity without impoverishment.
Ecosystem: a dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities and their non-
living environment all interacting as a functional unit.
Emissions: substances such as gases or particles discharged into the atmosphere as a result of
natural processes of human activities.
Energy efficiency: using less energy to provide the same level of energy service.
Enhanced greenhouse effect: the increase in the natural greenhouse effect resulting from
increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases due to emissions from human
activities.
Epidemiology: the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as
the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive
medicine.
Fertility rate: number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years cf. birth rate,
mortality rate.
Fertility: the actual reproductive performance of a given population.
Food chain: the feeding relationships between species within an ecosystem.
Forest: land with a canopy cover greater than 30%.
Fossil fuel: any hydrocarbon deposit that can be burned for heat or power, such as coal, oil and
natural gas (produces carbon dioxide when burnt); fuels formed from once-living organisms that
have become fossilized over geological time.

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Genetic diversity: one of the three levels of biodiversity that refers to the total number of
genetic characteristics.
Greenhouse effect: the process in which the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere
warms a planet's surface.
Greenhouse gases: any gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect included carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
Hydrocarbons: chemicals made up of carbon and hydrogen that are found in raw materials such
as petroleum, coal and natural gas, and derived products such as plastics.
Insecticide: a pesticide used to control insects in all developmental forms.
Microorganism: an organism visible only through a microscope.
Mortality rate: the average number of individuals who die per thousand population per year.
Nutrients: chemicals required for the growth of organisms.
Ocean acidification: reduction in ocean water pH.
Phytoplankton: plant plankton cf. Plankton.
Plankton: microscopic organism suspended in water and a valuable component of aquatic food
chain.
Productivity: the capacity of a given area to produce biomass; different ecosystems.
Sequestration: the removal of carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere and storage in a sink
as when trees absorb CO2 in photosynthesis and store it in their tissues.
Sewage: water and raw effluent disposed through toilets, kitchens and bathrooms.
Soil acidification: reduction in pH in soil.
Sustainability: the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Tropical: occurring in the tropics (the region on either side of the equator) having hot and humid
environment.

9.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

9.13.1 Multiple choice questions

1. This process is functional in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
a. Lightning b. Deforestation
c. Burning of fossil fuels d. Photosynthesis
2. Mainly, Ozonosphere is depleted by
a. CFCs b. Excess CO2
c. Ozone d. Excess CO
3. This is not a possible adverse effect of global warming
a. Sea level rise b. An increase of UVB radiation
c. Retreat of glaciers d. Extraordinary weather patterns
4. CFCs have a continuing effect on the ozone layer as

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a. They are efficiently absorbed by atmospheric water vapours

b. They are being produced in increasing amounts all over the world
c. Cl atoms formed by them are used up in reactions causing degradation of the ozone
d. Cl atoms formed by them only act as catalysts in reactions causing degradation of the
ozone
5. Which of the following is not a major greenhouse gas?
a. Ozone b. Water vapour
c. Methane d. Carbon dioxide
6. Ultraviolet radiations from sunlight cause a reaction producing
a. Carbon monoxide b. Ozone
c. Fluorides d. Sulphur dioxide
7. Acid Rain is caused by emissions of
a. Sulphur dioxide b. Nitrogen oxide
c. Both a and b d. Carbon dioxide
8. The adverse effect(s) of acid rain is (are)
a. Causing paint to peel b. Corrosion of steel structures
c. Killing insects d. All of the above
9. For which of the following reason, it is necessary to secure a large area for forest?
a. Absorption of carbon dioxide b. Conservation of wild
c. More rain d. Ecological balance
10. Among the following climatic factors, which one has the least effect upon a terrestrial
ecosystem?
a. Temperature variation b. Wind
c. Conditions of sunlight d. Availability of water

9.13.2 True and false

1. The acidic air pollutants reach the Earth’s surface because of wet deposition only.
2. Hydro electric power is a renewable source of energy.
3. The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which relates to climate change.
4. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas.
5. Deforestation refers to the loss of soil cover.
6. Energy derived from running water is a called nuclear energy.
7. Tropical zone has the maximum rate of deforestation
8. The Earth summit was organised by United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) in Rio.
9. World Environmental day is celebrated on 5th June at every year.
10. Environment includes abiotic and Biotic component.

9.13.3 Fill in the blanks

1. The Ozone hole over Antarctica was discovered in ________.

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2. The first protocol to ban the emissions of choloro fluorocarbons in the atmosphere was
made in ________.
3. When was the World Wildlife Fund founded ________.
4. Rio Summit is associated with ________.
5. ________ is the actual reproductive performance of a given population.
6. Carbon dioxide is called as ________ because it traps infrared radiation
7. Some effects of SO2 and its transformation products on plants include destruction of
________.
8. If ________ pollution continuous at its present rate, it will eventually make oxygen
molecules unavailable to water plants.
9. Biologists celebrate 5th June as ________.
10. Substances that are easily broken down into harmless substances by decomposers are
termed ________.

Answer Key:

9.13.1: 1(d); 2(a); 3(b); 4(d); 5(a); 6(b); 7(c); 8(d); 9(d); 10(b)
9.13.2: 1. False; 2. True; 3. True; 4. True; 5. False; 6. False; 7. True; 8. True; 9. True; 10. True
9.13.3: 1. 1985; 2. Montreal protocol; 3. 1961; 4. Convention on Biological Diversity; 5.
Fertility; 6. greenhouse gas; 7. Chlorophyll; 8. Water; 9. World Environment Day, 10.
biodegradable

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in four independent estimates. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences. 114 (35): 9326–9331.

9.15 SUGGESTED READINGS

 Verma PS, Agarwal VK (2008) Environmental Biology: Principles of Ecology. S. Chand

& company Ltd., Ramnagar, New Delhi (India).
 Southwick CH (1976) Ecology and quality of our environment. D. Van Nostrand
Company, New York.
 Zhao C, Liu B. et al. (2017). Temperature increase reduces global yields of major crops
in four independent estimates. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences. 114 (35): 9326–9331.

9.16 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

9.16.1 Short Answer Type Questions

1. What do you understand by population explosion?

2. What do you understand by green house gases?
3. Write the impacts of loss of biodiversity.
4. What do you understand by the depletion of ozone layer?
5. What do you understand by the international water? Write a brief note

9.16.2 Long Answer Type Questions

1. What do you understand by climate change? What are the major impacts of climate
change and its mitigation techniques?
2. What are the major causes of loss of biodiversity? Discuss the effects of decline in
biodiversity in detail.
3. Write a detailed note on the depletion of ozone layer, its impacts and restoration process.
4. What is acid rain? Write a detailed note on the process of formation of acid rain and its
impacts.

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UNIT-10- MANAGEMENT ECOSYSTEMS FOR

SUSTAINABLE LIVING
Contents:
10.1 Objectives
10.2 Introduction
10.3 Concept of ecosystem managements
10.4 Principles of sustainable development
10.5 Limitations
10.6 Ecological urbanization
10.7 Summary
10.8 Glossary
10.9 Self-assessment questions
10.9.1 Multiple choice questions
10.9.2 True and False
10.9.3 Fill in the blanks
10.10 References
10.11 Suggested readings
10.12 Terminal questions
10.12.1 Short answer type questions
10.12.2 Long answer type questions

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10.1 OBJECTIVES

The present topic provides an overview on management ecosystems for sustainable living. After
reading this topic, learners will be able to answer the:

 What is sustainable development?

 Concept and principles of sustainable development
 How to meet daily requirements from ecosystem with a sustainable approach
 What is ecological urbanization
 How to cope up the problems of ecological urbanization

10.2 INTRODUCTION

Sustainable living is a way of life which aims to limit an individual's or society generally
consumption of natural and personal resources on the planet. Its consumers or recipients
frequently try to lower their environmental footprint (including carbon footprint) by modifying
their transport, energy usage, and/or nutrition. Its supporters strive to live in a way that is
consistent with sustainability, natural balance, and a respectful symbiotic relationship with the
natural ecology of the Earth. The overall principles of sustainable development are closely
followed by the practice and general philosophy of ecological living.

Furthermore, long-term economic expansion creates jobs and strengthens economies. A

sustainable society, on the other hand, is one that can go on indefinitely. Its consumption level
should be in line with environmental and resource balance. It should guarantee equality,
freedom, and a decent standard of living to its population. As a result, adopting measuring
standards that describe individual, societal, and environmental health is a pressing requirement,
and our next generation bears the burden. They should consider and act in the interests of the
ecology to which they are connected.

It is vital to gain a better grasp of the structure and functioning of the ecosystems from which we
draw resources for our survival if we are to live in a sustainable manner. As a result, swift and
long-term empirical investigations should be conducted to evaluate the services provided by
these ecosystems. It is important to gain a better understanding of the structure and functioning
of ecosystems from which we draw resources for our existence if we are to live in a sustainable
way. Consequently, quick and long-term empirical investigations need to be conducted to
evaluate the services provided by these ecosystems.

So, in this chapter, we will discuss in detail how we can use ecosystem or environment with a
sustainable approach and how to manage ecosystem for sustainable living.

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10.3 CONCEPT OF ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENTS

Ecosystem management is a natural resource management technique that attempts to preserve the
long-term viability and persistence of an ecosystem's functions and services while also meeting
economical, political, and cultural demands (Szaro et al. 1998; Gary et al. 2013). The concept of
ecosystem management emerge as in 1990s as a result of an increasing understanding of
ecosystem complexity, as well as humans' reliance and influence on natural systems (Berkes et
al. 2000).

10.3.1 Principles of ecosystem management

The long-term sustainability of ecosystems' production of products and services, known as
"intergenerational sustainability" (Chapin et al. 2002), is a key premise of ecosystem
management. Understanding the function of humans as ecosystem components, as well as the
application of adaptive management, is crucial. Ecosystem management can be utilised in
intensively managed ecosystems as well as part of a plan for wilderness conservation.
The most important ecosystem management guiding ideas and common themes (Lackey 1998;
Edward 1994) are:

 Ecological limits: Ecological borders are clearly and formally defined, and management
is site-specific, which may necessitate collaboration across political and administrative
lines.
 Systems thinking: Rather than focusing on one level of biological hierarchy in an
ecosystem, management takes a comprehensive approach (e.g., only conserving a specific
species; only preserving ecosystem functioning).
 Ecological integrity: Management focuses on conserving natural disturbance regimes and
other critical processes that support resilience, as well as maintaining or restoring native
biological diversity.
 Monitoring: The effects of management approaches are tracked, allowing for evaluation
and, if necessary, modification of their outcomes.
 Data collecting: For effective management, extensive ecological research and data
collection are required (e.g., species diversity, habitat types, disturbance regimes, etc.).
 Interagency cooperation: As ecological boundaries often cross administrative
boundaries, management requires cooperation among a range of agencies and private
stakeholders.
 Organizational change: Successful management implementation necessitates changes in
land management agencies' organisation and operations.
 Adaptive management: Management is an iterative process in which methods are
constantly reevaluated in light of new scientific information.

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 Values: Humans have a critical role in directing management objectives, which represent
a stage in the formation of social values and priorities.
 Humans and nature: Humans and nature are inextricably intertwined, and ecological
processes shape and are shaped by humans and vice versa.

10.3.2 Ecosystem management approaches

There are a variety of ways for implementing the maintenance and restoration of natural and
human-modified ecosystems. Ecosystem management is preceded by command and control
management and traditional natural resource management. Different approaches and processes
involved in implementing ecosystem management include adaptive management, strategic
management, and landscape-level conservation. Some are discuss here:

 Command and control management: Command and control management is a linear

problem-solving strategy in which a perceived problem is managed by using controlling
devices such as laws, threats, contracts, and/or agreements to fix the problem (Holling et
al. 1996). This top-down strategy is employed in many fields and is best suited for
dealing with relatively straightforward, well-defined problems with a clear cause and
effect and broad societal agreement on policy and management targets (Knight et al.
1997).

 Natural resource management: The term "natural resource management" is often used
to refer to the management of a single resource for human use rather than the
management of an entire ecosystem. Natural resource management strives to meet
production is consumed for a resource without harming the ecosystem or risking the
resource's long-term viability. Because of its emphasis on natural resources,
socioeconomic variables have a considerable impact on this management strategy.
Natural resource managers first assess an ecosystem's overall condition, and if the
ecosystem's resources are healthy, they calculate the optimal level of resource extraction.
At different spatial and temporal scales, the status of each resource in an ecosystem can
change, as can ecological traits like watershed and soil health, as well as species diversity
and abundance.

 Adaptive management: It is based on the idea that anticipating future ecological

influences and disturbances is difficult and uncertain. As a result, an ecosystem should be
managed to retain the highest level of ecological integrity possible, and management
approaches should be adaptable to new information and experience. An adaptive
management strategy begins with the formation of hypotheses regarding an ecosystem's
functioning, followed by the use of management tools to test these hypotheses. The
applied methods are then assessed to see if ecosystem health has improved or deteriorated
and additional analysis allows for method modification until the ecosystem's needs are

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met. Adaptive management is thus an iterative process that promotes "informed trial-and-
error" (Pahl-Wostl, 2007).

 Strategic management: It advocates the formulation of goals that will sustain an

ecosystem while keeping socioeconomic and politically relevant policy factors in mind
when it comes to ecosystem management. This technique varies from other types of
ecosystem management in that it promotes stakeholder participation and relies on their
input to design the optimal ecosystem management strategy. Strategic management
stresses analysing and reviewing any repercussions of management intervention on an
ecosystem, as well as flexibility in altering management protocols in response to new
information, similar to other techniques of ecosystem management.

 Landscape-level conservation: Landscape-level (or landscape-scale) conservation is a

method that considers wildlife needs at a broader landscape scale when implementing
conservation initiatives (Donaldson et al. 2017). In human-dominated areas, balancing
the demands of wild flora and animals with the needs of humans can be difficult (Paul
and Dirk 2004). Globally, human-caused environmental degradation is becoming more of
an issue, which is why landscape-level approaches to ecosystem management are so
crucial. Traditional conservation strategies that focus on individual species may need to
be adjusted to include habitat preservation that takes into account both human and
ecological factors.

10.4 PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The root of sustainable development can be trace back to 1972 Stockholm Conference in Sweden
where economic growth or development was the first time linked to environment, emphasizing
the need for efforts at International level.

Development should be environmentally sound and sustainable. The need of social and
economic equity for achieving sustainable development was also emphasized at this conference.
Such a concept was followed up further that led to the creation of World Conservation Strategy
(1980) and finally to UNCED (Earth summit) in 1992 at Rio de Janerio, Brazil.

In September 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nation adopted the 2030 Agenda for
sustainable development that included 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). Building on
the principle of “leaving no one behind”, the new agenda emphasizes a holistic approach to
achieving sustainable development for all. The 17 sustainable developments goals are:

 No poverty
 Zero hunger
 Good health and well being

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 Quality education
 Gender equality
 Clean water and sanitation
 Affordable and clean energy
 Decent work and economic growth
 Industrial, innovation and infrastructure
 Reduce inequality
 Sustainable cities and communities
 Responsible consumption and production
 Climate action
 Life below water
 Life and land
 Peace and justice strong institutions
 Partnership to achieve the goal

10.4.1 What is sustainable development?

It is the capacity of the earth's various system including human cultural systems and economics,
to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions. Sustainable development implies "a
charge in all aspects of life in a way that causes little damage to environment.” Sustainable
development follows "a form of growth and development in Society that meets the current
human needs preserving the natural resources for meeting the needs of future generation as
well”. As defined in the Brundtland Commission report (WCED, 1987), sustainable development
is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.

10.4.2 Principles of sustainable development

We can develop more sustainable economics and societies by following the four major ways that
nature has adapted and sustained itself for several billion years.

How can we live more sustainable? According to ecologist, we can find out how nature has
survived and adapted for several billion years and copy its strategy. Figure 10.1 summarized the
four major ways in which life on earth has survived and adapted for several billion of years.
Table 10.1 gives an expanded description of these principles i.e., how nature works and
summarize how we can live more sustainably by mimicking these fundamental but amazingly
simple lessons from nature in designing our societies, products and economics.

Biologists have used these lessons from their ecological study of nature to formulate four
guidelines for developing more sustainable societies.

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1. Our life, lifestyle and economies are totally dependent on the sun and the earth. We need
the earth but our earth needs not us. As a species we are very expandable.

2. Everything is connected to, and interdepended with everything else. The primary goal of
ecology is to discover what connections in nature are the strongest, most important and
most vulnerable for us and other species.

3. We can never do just one thing. Any human intrusion into nature has unexpected and
mostly unintended side effects. When we alter nature, we need to ask “Now what will
happen”.

4. We cannot indefinitely sustain a civilization that depletes and degrades the earth’s natural
capital but we can sustain one that lives off the biological income provided by the earth’s
natural capital.

Fig. 10.1: Four interconnected principles of sustainability derived from learning how nature sustains
itself (Source: Sharma 2011)

Increasingly, environmental scientists and ecologists are urging that we base our efforts to
prevent damage to the earth life support system on the precautionary principle: When evidence
indicates that an activity can seriously harm human health or the environment, we should take
precautionary measures to prevent or minimize such harm, even if some of the cause and effect
relationship have not been fully established scientifically. This principle is based on the
commonsense idea behind many adages such as “Better safe than sorry” “look before you leap”
“First, do no harm” and “slow down for speed bumps”.

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As an analogy, we know that eating too much of certain types of foods and not getting enough
exercise can greatly increase our chances of a heart attack, diabetes and other disorders. The
exact connections between these health problems, chemicals in various foods, exercise and
genetics are still under study and often debated. People with such conditions could use this
uncertainly and unpredictability as an excuse to continue overeating and not exercising. In
reality, the wise course is to eat better and exercise more to help and prevent potentially serious
health problems.

Table 10.1: Implications of the four principles of sustainability, derived from observing nature
for the long-term sustainability of human societies. These four operating principles of nature are
connected to one another. Failure of any single principle can lead to temporary or long term
unsustainability and disruption of ecosystems and human economies and societies.

SN. How nature works Lesson for us

1. Runs on renewable solar energy Rely mostly on renewable solar energy
Recycle nutrients and wastes. There is Prevent and reduce pollution and recycle
2.
little waste in nature and reuse resources
Uses biodiversity to maintain itself and Conserve biodiversity by protecting
3.
adapt to new environmental conditions. ecosystem
Controls a species population size and Reduce human births and wasteful resource
4. resource use by interactions with its use to prevent and depletion and
environment and other species degradation of resources.

Although we need to project possible unintended effects carefully, we can never predict all the
unintended effects of our actions and technologies. We must always be willing to take some
risks. Otherwise, we would stifle creativity and innovation and severely limit the development of
new technologies and products.

10.4.3 Human impacts on Natural resources: Causes of unsustainability

The chief cause of unsustainability is the exponential growth of human population and over
exploitation of natural resources. In developing countries, resource exploitation occurs chiefly to
meet the needs of ever increasing human population for food fuel fodder and shelter. The various
human activities (such as agriculture, deforestation, land clearing for urbanisation and
industrialisation, over fishing, over use of fresh waters etc.) targeted to meet such needs result
into environmental degradation and social disintegration.

To provide resources for growing numbers of people, we have modified, cultivated, built on, or
degraded a greatly increasing number and area of the earth’s natural systems. Excluding
Antarctica, our activities have, to some degree, directly affected about 83% of the earth’s land

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surface. Figure 10.2 compares some of the characteristics of nature and human dominated
ecosystem.

We have used technology to alter much of the rest of nature to meet our growing needs and
wants in the following eight major ways (Table 10.2).

1. We have reduced biodiversity by destroying fragmentation, degrading and simplifying

wildlife habitat. We have cleared forests, dug grasslands and fill the wet lands for our
own benefits. This into loss of overall biodiversity and the degradation of the earth’s
natural capital.

2. We have used, wasted or destroyed an increasing percentage of the earth’s net primary
productivity that supports all the consumers including humans. This is the main reason
we are crowding out or eliminating the habitats and food supplies of a growing number of
species.

3. We have unintentionally strengthened some populations of pet species and disease

causing bacteria. Indiscriminate use of pesticides and antibiotics has speeded up natural
selection among rapidly reproducing pest and bacterial populations leading to resistance
to these chemicals.

4. We have eliminated some predicators. Some ranchers want to eradicate bison or prairie
dogs that compete with their sheep and cattle. They also wants to eliminate coyotes,
eagles and other predators that occasionally killed their cattle.

5. We have occasionally or deliberately introduced some alien species to a region. Most of

these species such as food crops and domestic livestock are beneficial to us but a few are
harmful to us and other species.

6. We have some renewable resources faster than they can be regenerated. Ranchers and
nomadic hunters sometimes allow livestock to overgraze grasslands until erosion
converts these communities to less productive semi-desert or desert. Farmers sometime
deplete soil of its nutrients by excessive crop growing. Some fish species are over
harvested. Illegal hunting and poaching endangers wildlife species with economically
valuable parts such as elephant tusks, rhinoceros horns, and tiger skin. In some areas,
fresh water is being pumped out of underground aquifers faster than it is being stock up.

7. Some human activities interfere with the normal nutrient elements cycling and energy
flow in ecosystems. Soil nutrients can erode from monoculture crop fields, tree fostering,
constructions and many other reasons. Our input of CO2 into carbon cycle have been
increasing sharply mostly from burning fossil fuels and from cleaning and resulted
burning forest and grassland. This and other inputs of greenhouse gases from human
activities can trigger global climate change by altering energy flow through the

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troposphere. The human input of nitrogen into the nitrogen exceeds the earth’s natural
input. We are also alerting energy flow through the biosphere by releasing chemicals into
the atmosphere that can increase the amount of harmful ultra violet energy reaching the
troposphere by reducing ozone levels in the troposphere.

8. While most natural ecosystems based on the sun energy, human based modified
ecosystems have become increasingly dependent on nonrenewable energy from fossil
fuels. Fossil fuel systems typically produce pollution, add the GHGs to the atmosphere
and wasted a great deal of energy. We are confronted by two major challenges:

(i). We need to balance between simplified, human altered communities and the more
complex natural communities on which we and other species depend.

(ii). We need to slow down the rates at which we are simplifying, homogenizing and
degrading nature for our purpose. Otherwise, what is at risk is not the resilient earth
but rather the quality of life for our own species and the existence of the other
species we drive to premature extinction. We cannot save the earth; it can get alone
very nicely without us, just as it has done for 3.7 billion years. However, by learning
how the earth works and by working with its natural process, we can sustain the
quality of life for the human species and avoid the projected premature extinction of
as many as half of the world’s species during this century as a result of the eight
factors just discussed above.

Table 10.2: Major ways humans have altered the rest of nature to meet our growing populations, needs
and wants

1. Reduction of biodiversity
2. Increasing use of the earth’s net primary productivity
3. Increasing genetic resistance of pest species and disease causing bacteria
4. Elimination of many natural predators
5. Deliberate or accidental introduction of potentially harmful species into communities
6. Using some renewable resources faster than they can be replenished
7. Interfering with the earth’s chemical cycling and energy flow processes
8. Relying mostly on pulling fossil fuels

10.4.4 International efforts on sustainable development

The various international programmes targeted for sustainable development are as follows:

World conservation strategy: The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF) developed a long rang plane of world conservation strategy for

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conserving the world’s biological resources. The plan was expanded and followed by “Caring for
the earth: A Strategy for sustainable living” which included a set of principles and strategies of
sustainable society based on practical integration of environmental, social and economic
concerns. Its primary goals were to maintain essential ecological processes and life support
systems, to preserve species and genetic diversity to ensure the use of the species and ecosystems
in a sustainable manner and to improve the quality of the human life.

Fig. 10.2: Some typical characteristics of natural and human-modified systems (Source: Sharma 2011)

World commission on environment and development: The concept of sustainability became

stronger during 1980s. The United Nations established a commission, the World Commission on
Environment and Development in 1983, frequently referred to as the Brundtland Commission,
after Gro Harlem Brundtland, the head of the commission and former prime insister of Norway.
It proposed a global agenda to address the World’s environmental problems and people’s
concerns, relating to living conditions, resources, populations pressure, international trades,
education and health.

The Brundtland commission Report, Our Common Future, defined sustainable development as
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainable development has three principal
dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Our economic front, the poverty should be
eradicated through the optimal efficient use of natural resources. The concept of needs refers in
particular to the essential needs of the world’s poor. The social aspect refers to a socially
sustainable system based on distributional equity, uplifting the welfare of people, improving
access to basic health and education service, gender equity, political accountability and

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participation. It also refers to the development of various cultures, diversity, pluralism and
effective grass roots participation in decision-making.

The environmental aspect is concerned with the conservation and enhancement of the physical
and biological resource base avoiding and depletion of non renewable resources. Environmental
sustainability has main focus on maintenance biological diversity, atmospheric stability and
ecosystem function and survives.

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)/ Earth summit

The issue of sustainable development has been dealt in a series of UN-based conferences. At the
United Nations Conference of Environment and Development held in Rio de Janerio 3-14 June,
1992 most of Heads of states and governments of various counties of the world signed the
Framework Convention on Climate Change and Conservation of Biological Diversity; endorsed
the Rio Declaration and the forest principles. The Summit adopted Rio Declaration and Agenda
21, for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century. It reflects a global consensus and
political commitment at the national and international level on environment and development
cooperation. The Rio concept of sustainable development includes:

 Equal consideration of environment, society and economy for all.

 Intergenerational solidarity-consideration of the needs of future generations.
 Intergenerational solidarity-consideration of the needs of poor.

The Rio summit follows up

The Rio summit was follow by the several other conferences with a focus on sustainable
development; The South Asia cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP), September 1992,
Colombo; The SAARC summit, Dec 1992, Dhaka; The Global Conference on Sustainable
Development of small Island Developing state, Barbados, 1994; the International Conference on
population and Development Cario, 1994; the World Summit on Social Development on
Women, Beijing, 1995; and the secound UN Conference on Human Settlements, Habitat II,
Istanbul, 1996. All these conferences and many other events have raised considerable awareness
and contributed to the concept of sustainable Development.

Commission on sustainable Development

The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created in December
1992 to ensure effective follow up of UNCED; to oversee the implementation of the earth
summit agreements on sustainable development at local, national and international levels. The
CSD is functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), with 53
members. A five years review of Earth Summit progress took place in 1997 by the United
nations General Assembly meeting in special session, followed in 2002 by a ten year review by

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the world summit on sustainable development. Unfortunately the commission become a stagnant
body and failed to unite North and South.

World Summit on sustainable development

The United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) was held in
Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August to 4 September 2002. The WSSD urged in its plan of
implementation that “States should take immediate steps to make progress in the formulation and
elaboration of national strategies for sustainable development and begin their implementation by
2005.

Sustainable development in India: Perspective and Strategies

As indicated earlier environmental sustainability has been an integral part of the Indian culture.
The need for conservation and sustainable use of natural resources has been expressed in Indian
scriptures more than thousand years ago and also reflect in our constitutional, legislative and
policy framework along with international commitments.

India also focused on increasing air and water pollution, degradation of land and forest and loss
of biodiversity. The various measures initiated for environment protection by India including the
following major points:

1. Stockholm declaration by former Indian prime minister. The only visiting head of state
participating in UN conference on Human Environment in Swefen in 1972, fully
supporting the idea of the conference.

2. Making sustainability as an intrinsic component of every planning process. The Ninth

five year plan (1997-2002) recognized a close relationship between environment, health
and development and suggested initiatives for enduring environmental sustainability.
Principles of sustainable development were also followed in successive Tenth-five year
plan also (2002-2007).It included:

 Reduction of poverty
 School education for all children.
 Reduction in gender gap
 Control of human population growth
 Increase rate of literacy
 Reduction in mortality rate of infants
 Increase in forest cover
 Drinking water access to village
 Cleaning of major polluted rivers

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3. Setting of department of Environment in 1980 that was upgraded to a full fledged

Ministry.

4. Environment protection act in 1986.

5. The National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement and Development in 1992.
6. A signatory to convention on Biological diversity (CBD).
7. Biological Diversity Act 2002 with National biological Diversity Authority for
conservation of biodiversity sustainable use of its components and equitable share of its
benefits.
8. Acceded to Montreal Protocol and setting up ozone cell in MoEF.
9. Ratification of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

10.5 LIMITATIONS
There are several challenges to sustainable development. These are as follows:

1. Technology, science, and research constraints: Not all promising technologies take
sustainability into account or no technology is completely sustainable. These are ways to
make our life easier and reduce some negative impacts (e.g., carbon emission or energy
use) but the end result is that the more progress we make, the more energy we need to
maintain it.

2. Economic growth: The capitalistic rights of comprehensive economies in the developing

as well as developed countries impose a number of economic restrictions to anticipate the
sustainable solutions. A sustainable solution that does not result in economic growth and
financial benefits will most likely not be implemented or implemented.
3. Public policies: The sustainability based on how much public policies are willing to
support social, economic and environment. It is merely potential when there is an
equivalent input. Unless there is more constancy on all these aspects, we are unable to
confer sufficient interest to the burning issues of world protection.
4. Social awareness: The vast majority of the population, especially in poor countries, is
unaware of the importance of supporting social-sustainability solutions, which is a well-
made and commonly known point. Because most of them are trying to meet their own
needs, they are willing to give up on broad aspirations or don't have time to consider the
bigger picture. Consequently, raising social consciousness in such a way that the general
public understands the daily consequences of environmental degradation is the way to go.
It is a well made and widely known point that the general public, especially in developing
countries, is not aware of the importance of supporting social-sustainability solutions. This is
because most of them are struggling to make ends meet in their lives and they are willing to
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sacrifice any big goal or they do not have the luxury of looking at the big picture. So, social
awareness is the way to go here in a way to make the public understand the daily disadvantages
of eco-degradation. The above said factors lead to global problems of: economic disparity and
social injustice, air and water pollution, global warming & climate change, loss of biodiversity
and ozone depletion. Many of the above said effects are long term and irreversible with
consequence for future generation.

10.6 ECOLOGICAL URBANIZATION

Urbanization is a process that transforms undeveloped territory into towns and cities, and it's
been declared as "one of the most environmentally devastating types of global change."
However, metropolitan regions constitute the world's fastest increasing environmental sector.
Towns and cities are spreading as human populations grow, while wilderness and even farmlands
are dwindling.

Every aspect of a natural ecosystem is affected by urbanisation. As structures displace plants,

land cover, drainage, and nutrient cycles are all fundamentally affected and even characteristics
like temperature can be altered. Many species natural habitats are being destroyed, degraded, or
fragmented. The remnant vegetation is frequently fragmented, disjointed, and lacks the mature
complexity of a long-established natural region, all of which impair diversity and wildlife
resiliency.

Unfortunately, the locations where people build communities are also rich in wildlife- we, like
other animals, are looking for good environmental resources. Running water, good soils, livable
climates, proximity to coasts, and transportation routes are all things we look for. These ideal
conditions are frequently also the most biologically diverse. Our most damaging kind of change
is disproportionately harming some of our most ecologically valuable lands.

10.6.1 Causes of urbanization

Urbanization occurs either organically or planned as a result of individual, collective and state
action. Living in a city can be culturally and economically advantageous since it can provide
more options for accessibility to the labour market, better education, housing, and safety
conditions, as well as lower commute and transit time and costs. Density, proximity, diversity,
and marketplace competition are all factors that contribute to a healthy urban environment.
However, there are also negative social consequences associated with urban living, such as
alienation, stress, higher living costs, and mass marginalisation. The major reasons for the
growing rate of urbanisation are:

 Economic opportunities: Cities are centralised in monetary terms, commodities, luxury,

and possibilities. Many people from the countryside travel to the city to seek their fortune
and enhance their social standing. In metropolitan locations, businesses that offer jobs

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and trade wealth are increasingly concentrated. Overseas currency enters a country
through ports or banking institutions, which are usually located in cities, whether the
source is trade or tourist.
 Quality of life: This is extremely subjective and may well exceed that of the city.
Farming has always been vulnerable to unpredictably changing environmental
circumstances, and survival can be difficult in times of drought, flood, or plague. Elderly
individuals may be forced to relocate to cities with medical professionals capable of
meeting their medical demands. A variety of high-quality educational possibilities, as
well as the potential to join, create, and seek out social communities, are all factors in
urban migration. Cities provide a wider range of services, including specialised services
that are not available in rural locations.
 Gender equality: Urbanization also creates opportunities for women that are not
available in rural areas. This creates a gender-related conversion where women are
engaged in paid employment and have access to education. However, women are
sometimes still at a disadvantage due to their unequal position in the labour market, their
inability to secure assets independently from male relatives and exposure to violence
(UNFPA. 2012).

10.6.2 Impacts of urbanization

The increasing population density and needs of urban areas exacerbate poor air and water
quality, insufficient water supply, waste disposal issues, and high energy use. The following are
the three major effects of urbanisation:

(A) Economic effects

As cities develop, effects can include a dramatic increase and change in costs, often pricing the
local working class out of the market, including such functionaries as employees of the local
municipalities.
Suburbanization tendencies in developing countries are also being fueled by urban challenges
and infrastructural advances, even while the trend for core cities in these countries is continuing
to become denser. Although urbanisation is frequently considered as a negative trend, yet there
are benefits in terms of reduced commuting and transit costs as well as improved job, education,
housing, and transportation prospects. (Nowak 1997)
In many developing countries where economies are growing, the growth is often erratic and
based on a small number of industries. In order for young people in these nations to access
possibilities in these industries, constraints such as a lack of access to financial services and
business consulting services, trouble obtaining loans to start a firm, and a lack of entrepreneurial
skills exist.

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(B) Environmental effects

Urbanization has the following impacts on environment:
a. Habitat fragmentation: Urbanization can have a huge consequence on diversity by
causing a division of habitats and thereby alienation of species, a process known
as habitat fragmentation. Depending on the various factors, such as level of urbanization,
both increases and decreases in "species richness" can be seen (McKinney 2008). This
means that while urbanisation may be harmful to some species, it can also aid in the
growth of others. Habitat fragmentation can help to filter species that have a limited
ability to disperse.
b. Urban heat island: The existence of urban heat islands has become a growing concern
over the years. An urban heat island is formed when industrial and urban areas produce
and retain heat. Much of the solar energy that reaches rural areas is consumed by
evaporation of water from vegetation and soil (Padalia et al. 2018; 2021 Bargali et al.
2019). In cities, where there are less vegetation and exposed soil, most of the sun's energy
is instead absorbed by buildings and asphalt; leading to higher surface temperatures.

c. Food waste: Food waste refers to the discarding of food items that are no longer usable
owing to unused items, expiration, or spoiling. Increased food waste can cause
environmental issues such as increased methane gas generation and disease vector
recruitment (Adhikari et al. 2006). Landfills are the third greatest source of methane
emissions (EPA, OA, US (2015)), raising concerns about its influence on the ozone layer
and human health. Increased fermentation is caused by the accumulation of food waste,
which raises the risk of rodent and bug migration. An increase in disease vector
movement increases the risk of disease spreading to humans (Venkateswaran 1994).

d. Water quality: Another effect of huge urbanization of populations on the environment is

the incidence of eutrophication of water bodies. Eutrophication is a process that results in
hypoxic water and algal blooms, which can be harmful to aquatic life existence. Harmful
algal blooms, which create harmful toxins, grow in eutrophic, nitrogen- and phosphorus-
rich environment. They dominate surface water in these optimum conditions, making it
difficult for other species to absorb sunlight and nutrition.

Acid rain is also a typical occurrence in heavily populated areas around the world.
Chemicals are washed directly into rivers, streams, and seas, causing water quality to
deteriorate and marine habitats to be harmed.

The oceans are one of the major CO2 sinks on the planet. This has been beneficial to the
environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but it has also contributed to the
perpetuation of acidification. pH changes prevent the synthesis of calcium carbonate,
which is necessary for many marine species to maintain their shells or skeletons. This is

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notably true for many mollusk and coral species. Nevertheless, some organisms have
been capable of adapting to a more acidic environment and survive (Feely 2010).

(C) Health and social effects

Improvements in public cleanliness, sanitation, and access to health care are connected with
urbanisation, as are changes in occupational, nutritional, and activity patterns. It can have a
mixed influence on health patterns, reducing certain issues while exacerbating others (Eckert and
Kohler 2014).

a. Nutrition: The creation of food deserts is one such result. Food deserts in developed
countries often correspond to areas with a high-density of fast food chains and
convenience stores that offer little to no fresh food. Obesity, diabetes, and other chronic
diseases are linked to a lack of availability to healthful foods and high fat, sugar, and salt
intake. Overall, BMI and cholesterol levels rise dramatically in tandem with national
wealth and urbanisation.

b. Respiratory diseases: In addition, urbanisation has been linked to an increased incidence

of asthma. Globally, as populations shift from rural to urban society, the number of
individuals affected by asthma rises. This research suggests that urbanisation may have a
negative impact on population health, especially in terms of asthma vulnerability (Ponte
et al. 2018). According to researchers, this disparity in hazard ratios is attributable to
higher levels of air pollution and exposure to environmental allergens found in
metropolitan regions, which cause asthma in the children and elderly (Lin et al. 2017).
c. Mental health: Increased stress is a typical form of individual psychological stress that
occurs as a result of urbanisation and is thought to be caused by perceived uncertainty.
Changes in social organisation are assumed to lead to decreased social support, greater
aggression, and congestion as a result of urbanisation.These elements have been
hypothesized to play a role in increasing stress. It is important to remember that
urbanization and population density do not in themselves cause mental health issues.
Mental health issues are exacerbated by the interaction of urbanization with physical and
social risk factors.
d. Crime: The high crime rate in urbanised areas is caused by a number of factors,
including per capita income, income disparity, and overall population size. There's also a
link between unemployment, police spending, and crime, though it's not as strong. The
existence of crime has the potential to generate additional crime. Because most crime
occurs in city centres, the farther you are from the city's centre, the less likely you are to
be a victim of crime (Bruinsma 2007).
In urbanised areas, migration is also a factor that might increase crime. People from one
region are displaced and compelled to relocate to a city. They've been thrust into a new

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environment, complete with new social conventions and ideals. This can result in a loss
of social cohesion as well as an increase in crime (Malik 2016).

10.6.3 Solutions to urbanization problems

1. Creating sustainable and environmentally friendly cities: Governments should adopt

certain laws that supply environmentally sound cities and smart growth approaches.
Governments also must support and encourage investments in green infrastructure,
sustainable industries, recycling and environmental campaigns, pollution management,
renewable energy, green public transportation, and water recycling and reclamation, as
well as an economy based on sustainable environments.
2. Access to key services: Urban stakeholders must guarantee that all residents in urban
areas have appropriate access to essential social services such as education, health,
sanitation, and clean water, as well as technology, energy, and food. They should aim to
create and implement job possibilities and wealth-generating activities so that people may
make a living and pay for the upkeep of the services.
3. Job creation: In order to mitigate the negative effects of rapid urbanisation while also
maintaining natural ecosystems, private investments in natural resource utilisation and
job creation should be promoted. More jobs for urban people can be created through
tourism promotion and sustainable natural resource use. Foreign and private investment
in environmentally friendly development projects that create jobs may also be eligible for
subsidies and grants.
4. Population control: Key stakeholders in urban areas must offer counseling and
campaigns for efficient medical facilities and family planning to facilitate to lessen the
uncontrolled rates of population. Medical health clinics oriented towards family planning
options should be made accessible throughout the urban region with the aim of
controlling diseases and population growth.

10.7 SUMMARY
Sustainable living is a way of life which aims to limit an individual's or society generally
consumption of natural and personal resources on the planet. Its supporters strive to live in a way
that is consistent with sustainability, natural balance, and respect for the natural ecology of the
Earth.

The concept of ecosystem management emerge as in 1990s as a result of an increasing

understanding of ecosystem complexity, as well as human’s reliance and influence on natural
systems. Ecosystem management is preceded by command and control management and
traditional natural resource management. Different approaches and processes involved in

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implementing ecosystem management include adaptive management, strategic management, and

landscape-level conservation. Biologists have study of nature to formulate four guidelines for
developing more sustainable societies, i.e., (i). Our life, lifestyle and economies are totally
dependent on the sun and the earth (ii). Everything is connected to, and interdepended with
everything else. (iii). We can never do just one thing. (iv). We cannot indefinitely sustain a
civilization that depletes and degrades the earth’s natural capital but we can sustain one that lives
off the biological income provided by the earth’s natural capital.
The chief cause of unsustainability is the exponential growth of human population and over
exploitation of natural resources. To cope up with the harms many International, National and
local initiatives have been taken or taking by the governments and local authorities to maintain
the ecological balance and sustainability. The International Union for Conservation of Nature
and Natural Resources (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) developed a long rang plane of world conservation strategy
for conserving the world’s biological resources. World commission on environment and
development, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)/ Earth
summit, The Rio summit, Commission on sustainable Development, World Summit on
sustainable development etc are some International efforts.

India, as indicated earlier environmental sustainability has been an integral part of the Indian
culture, also focused on increasing air and water pollution, degradation of land and forest and
loss of biodiversity. The Ninth five year plan (1997-2002) recognized a close relationship
between environment, health and environmental sustainability, setting of department of
Environment in 1980 that was upgraded to a full fledged Ministry, Environment protection act in
1986, The National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement and Development in 1992,
signatory to convention on Biological diversity (CBD), Biological Diversity Act 2002 with
National biological Diversity Authority for conservation of biodiversity sustainable use of its
components and equitable share of its benefits, acceded to Montreal Protocol and setting up
ozone cell in MoEF, ratification of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) are some initiatives taken by the Indian Government from time to time.

Urbanization is a process that transforms undeveloped territory into towns and cities, and it's
been declared as "one of the most environmentally devastating types of global change. There are
several causes of the rapid urbanization in the present era. Economic opportunities, quality of life
and gender equality are the major motivations among them.
The increasing population density and needs of metropolitan regions have a negative impact on
ecological, mental and social health of the society. The impacts of modernization of rural areas
into urban areas include poor air and water quality, insufficient water supply, waste disposal
issues, high energy use, habitat fragmentation, heat island, more frequent acid rain, low
nutritional value of food, many respiratory and heart diseases, mental illness, and pressure.

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To overcome the problems of urbanization and meet the demand of the daily requirements local
or national governments must have implemented or adopted certain laws that support the
environment healthy. Creating sustainable and environmentally friendly cities, access to key
services for rural citizens, creating new job opportunity in undeveloped regions, and population
control measurements can be the best approach to overcome the problems of urbanization.

10.8 GLOSSARY
Acid rain: rain or other forms of precipitation that is unusually acidic.
Adaptation: a characteristic of an organism that has been favoured by natural selection.
Afforestation: planting new forests on lands that have not been recently forested.
Algal bloom: the rapid and excessive growth of algae; generally caused by high nutrient levels
combined with other favourable conditions. Blooms can deoxygenate the water leading to the
loss of wildlife.
Biodiversity: the variety of life in all its forms, levels and combinations; includes ecosystem
diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity.
Carbon dioxide: a gas with the chemical formula CO2; the most abundant greenhouse gas
emitted from fossil fuels.
Carbon pool: a storage reservoir of carbon.
Carbon sink: any carbon storage system that causes a net removal of greenhouse gases from the
atmosphere.
Climate: the general variations of weather in a region over long periods of time; the "average
weather" cf. weather.
Consumer: organism, human being, or industry that maintains itself by transforming a high-
quality energy source into a lower one cf. Producer, primary production.
Energy management: A program of well-planned actions aimed at reducing energy use,
recurrent energy costs, and detrimental greenhouse gas emissions.
Family planning: the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other
techniques to implement such plans.
Fertility rate: number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years cf. birth rate,
mortality rate.
Food desert: are places that are not served by grocery stores, often because they are lower class
areas, and therefore not profitable. The residents often don’t have access to transport. They are
ideal settings for urban farms.
Forest – land with a canopy cover greater than 30%.
Urbanization: increase in the proportion of a population living in urban areas
Cities: otherwise referred to as densely populated areas.
Rural areas: otherwise referred to as thinly populated areas
Environment: The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or
operates

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Renewable energy: Energy that is collected from renewable resources, tex wind, wave and solar
energy
Solar energy: Energy harvested from the sun, can be solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal
energy, solar architecture, molten salt power plants and artificial photosynthesis
Sustainable resources: Renewable resources which can be used again and again

10.9 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

10.9.1 Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where was the sustainable development explained for first time
(a) World Development Report (b) Brundtland Commission Report
(c) First Earth Summit Report (d) Human Development report
2. Which of the following is not a sustainable development goal target to be achieved by 2030
(a) Gender equality (b) Zero hunger
(c) Good health and wellbeing (d) Space research
3. In “agenda 21” of Rio summit is related to:
(a) Sustainable development (b) Polluter-pays principle
(c) Environmental education (d) Preservation of ozone layer
4. Which household waste has an excellent recycling potential?
(a) Vegetable scraps (b) Metal
(c) Plastic (d) Rubber
5. Which of the following is not a part of sustainable development goal target to be achieved by
2030.
(a) Providing free primary and secoundry schooling for all
(b) Universal access to a quality education
(c) Equal access to affordable vocational training
(d) Free higher education to all
6. Which of the following do not form part of a strategy of sustainable development?
(a) Relying more on organic farming
(b) Reducing the use of personal vehicles and promoting public transport
(c) Safeguarding the habitats of indigenous communities, flora and fauna
(d) Not compromising on the needs of the present generation with respect to future
generations
7. Which of the following are to be managed for sustainable development?
(a) Industries (b) Forests
(c) Crops (d) Resources
8. One of the conventional sources of energy is
(a) Wind energy (b) Tidal energy
(c) Hydroelectric energy (d) None of the above

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9. At the Central Government level, which agency was assigned the role of overseeing the
implementation of sustainable development goals in India?
(a) The Energy Resource Institute (TERI)
(b) NITI aayog
(c) Center for Environment And Sustainable Development India (CESDI)
(d) The comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
10. How many sustainable development are there in the UN Agenda 2030?
(a) 14 (b) 15
(c) 16 (d) 17

10.9.2 True and False

1. Urbanization is the result of migration of population from village to cities.
2. General assembly of UN adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development that includes
15 sustainable goals.
3. Metal and rubber are harder to recycle and recycling plastic is even more difficult and not
economical.
4. Population density is also a major cause of unsustainability.
5. Urbanization is a process that transforms undeveloped territory into towns and cities

10.9.3 Fill in the Blanks

1. Sustainable development was developed for the first time in the Brundtland Commission
Report in ________
2. The first earth summit took place in ________ in June 1992.
3. The Montreal Protocol was singed in ________.
4. _________ and _________ are the major cause of urbanization.
5. ____________ can help to filter species that have a limited ability to disperse.

Answer key

10.9.1: 1.(b); 2.(d); 3.(a); 4.(a); 5.(d); 6.(d); 7.(d); 8.(d); 9.(b); 10.(d)
10.9.2: 1.True; 2. False; 3. True; 4. True; 5. True
10.9.3: 1.1987; 2. Rio de Janeiro; 3. 1987; 4. Economic opportunities, Quality of life; 5. Habitat
fragmentation

10.10 REFERENCES
 Adhikari BK, Barrington S; Martinez J (2006) Predicted growth of world urban food
waste and methane production". Waste Management & Research, 24 (5):421-433.
 Ascher W (2001) Coping with complexity and Organizational Interests in Natural
Resource Management. Ecosystems, 4 (8): 742–757.

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 Bargali SS, Padalia K, Bargali K (2019). Effects of tree fostering on soil health and
microbial biomass under different land use systems in Central Himalaya. Land
Degradation & Development. doi:10.1002/ldr.3394
 Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C (2000) Rediscovery of Traditional Ecological Knowledge
as Adaptive Management. Ecological Applications. 10 (5): 1251–1262.
 Bruinsma GJ (2007) Urbanization and urban crime: Dutch geographical and
environmental research. Crime and Justice, 35(1): 453-502.
 Chapin FS, Matson PA, Mooney HA (2002). Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem
Ecology. New York, Springer. pp. 362-365.
 Donaldson L, Robert JW, Maclean IMD (2017) Old concepts, new challenges: adapting
landscape-scale conservation to the twenty-first century. Biodiversity and Conservation,
26 (3): 527–552.
 Eckert S, Kohler S (2014). Urbanization and health in developing countries: a systematic
review. World Health & Population. 15 (1): 7–20.
 Edward GR (1994) What Is Ecosystem Management? Conservation Biology. 8 (1):27-
38.
 EPA,OA, US (2015). Overview of Greenhouse Gases | US EPA. US EPA. Retrieved 16
October 2018.
 Feely RA, Alin SR, Newton JS, Christopher L., Warner M, Devol AK, Christopher MC
(2010). "The combined effects of ocean acidification, mixing, and respiration on pH and
carbonate saturation in an urbanized estuary". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf
Science. 88 (4): 442–449.
 Gary M, Larry N, Richard K, Dennis S, eds. (2013). Ecosystem Management: Adaptive,
Community-Based Conservation. Island Press. ISBN 978-1-55963-824-1.
 Holling CS, Meffe GK (1996) Command and control and the pathology of natural
resource management. Conservation Biology. 10 (2): 328–37. doi:10.1046/j.1523-
1739.1996.10020328.x
 https://alfainfraprop.com/blog/are-there-any-limits-to-sustainability-and-sustainable-
development/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization#Causes
 https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-urbanization.php
 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/urban-threats?loggedin=true
 https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2018/urbanization-ecology-two-sides-coin/12136
 Knight RL, Meffe GK (1997) Ecosystem Management: Agency Liberation from
Command and Control. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 25 (3): 676-678.
 Lackey RT (1998) Seven pillars of ecosystem management". Landscape and Urban
Planning. 40 (1-3): 21–30. doi:10.1016/S0169-2046(97)00095-9
 Lin S, Lin H; Chiang B (2017) Association of croup with asthma in children. Medicine,
96 (35): e7667.
 Malik AA (2016) Urbanization and Crime: A Relational Analysis. Journal of Human and
Social Sciences, 21, 68-69.
 McKinney M L (2008) Effects of urbanization on species richness: A review of plants
and animals. Urban Ecosystems, 11(2): 161-176.
 Nowak J (1997) Neighborhood Initiative and the Regional Economy. Economic
Development Quarterly, 11:3-10.

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 Opdam PO, Dirk W (2004). Climate change meets habitat fragmentation: linking
landscape and biogeographical scale levels in research and conservation. Biological
Conservation. 117 (3): 285-297
 Padalia K, Bargali SS, Bargali K and Khulbe K (2018) Microbial biomass carbon and
nitrogen in relation to cropping systems in Central Himalaya, India. Current Science 115
(9): 1741-1750.
 Padalia K, Bargali SS, Bargali K, Manral V (2021) Soil microbial biomass phosphorus
under different land use systems of Central Himalaya. Tropical Ecology,
10.1007/s42965-021-00184-z
 Pahl-Wostl (2007) Transitions towards adaptive management of water facing climate and
global change. Water Resource Management, 21: 49-62.
 Ponte EV; Cruz AA, Athanazio R, Regina C; Frederico L.A, Mauricio LB, Rafael S
(2018). Urbanization is associated with increased asthma morbidity and mortality in
Brazil. The Clinical Respiratory Journal, 12 (2): 410-417
 Sharma PD (2011) Ecology and Environment. Rastogi publications, Meerut
 Szaro R, Sexton WT, Malone CR (1998) The emergence of ecosystem management as a
tool for meeting people's needs and sustaining ecosystems. Landscape and Urban
Planning. 40 (1-3): 1–7. doi:10.1016/s0169-
 UNFPA (2012) Urbanization, gender and urban poverty: Paid work and unpaid care work
in the city"
 Venkateswaran S (1994) Managing Waste: Ecological, Economic and Social
Dimensions. Economic and Political Weekly, 29 (45/46): 2907–2911.

10.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

 Chapin FS, Matson PA, Mooney HA (2002). Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem

Ecology. New York, Springer. pp. 362-365.
 Gary M, Larry N, Richard K, Dennis S, eds. (2013). Ecosystem Management: Adaptive,
Community-Based Conservation. Island Press. ISBN 978-1-55963-824-1.
 Sharma PD (2011) Ecology and Environment. Rastogi publications, Meerut
 Szaro R, Sexton WT, Malone CR (1998) The emergence of ecosystem management as a
tool for meeting people's needs and sustaining ecosystems. Landscape and Urban
Planning. 40 (1-3): 1–7. doi:10.1016/s0169-
 Venkateswaran S (1994) Managing Waste: Ecological, Economic and Social
Dimensions. Economic and Political Weekly, 29 (45/46): 2907–2911.

10.12 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

10.12.1 Short Answer Type Questions

1. What do you understand by sustainable development?

2. Discuss the principle of ecosystem management in brief.

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3. What are the principles of sustainable development?

4. Highlight the major cause of ecosystem unsustainablity.
5. Describe the impacts of urbanization on human health.

10.12.2 Long Answer Type Questions

1. What do you understand by ecological urbanization? What are the major causes of it and
also discuss the impacts of urbanization in detail.
2. What is sustainable development? Discuss its causes and limitations in detail.
3. Discuss the International and National initiatives of sustainable development in detail.
4. Write a detailed note on ecosystem management?

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