Revision Notes

Class - 12 Biology

Chapter 14 - Ecosystem

Ecosystem: The ecosystem is the functional unit of nature in which living

organisms interact with each other as well as their surrounding physical
environment.

Biosphere: The biosphere is a global ecosystem that includes all of the world's
local ecosystems.

Types of the ecosystem:

1. Aquatic ecosystem: Forest, grassland, desert, etc.

2. Terrestrial ecosystem: Pond, wetland, lake, estuary, river, etc.

These are the natural ecosystems.

An ecosystem can be artificial or man-made like the croplands, aquarium, etc.

14.1: Ecosystem- Structure and Function

Biotic Factors: This includes all the living organisms in an ecosystem.

Abiotic factors: This includes all the non-living factors in an ecosystem like
sunlight, humidity, wind, etc.

The characteristic physical structure of an ecosystem depends on the interaction

of biotic and abiotic factors.

Stratification: It is the vertical and also the horizontal distribution of different

varieties that occupy different levels. For example, trees occupy the top vertical

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strata or layers of a forest, shrubs are the second, and herbs and grasses occupy
the bottom layers.

For an ecosystem to function as a unit the following factors are important:

1. Productivity

2. Decomposition

3. Energy flow

4. Nutrient cycling

The function of an ecosystem is that the conversion of inorganic into organic

material by the subsequent steps:

● Use of the energy of the sun by the autotrophs.

● Consumption of the autotrophs by various heterotrophs.

● Decomposition and mineralization of all the dead organic interest release

the nutrients back to the soil for reuse by the autotrophs.

● These events are repeated again and again.

As we move along the trophic levels energy moves in a unidirectional manner.

Energy dissipates and is lost as heat to the environment. Example: Pond
ecosystem.

Abiotic factors:

Water with all dissolved inorganic and organic nutrients, soil rich in nutrients at
rock bottom of the pond, solar input, day-length, temperature, and other climatic
factors.

Biotic Factors:

Producers or autotrophs: Algae, phytoplankton, floating, submerged, and

marginal plants in the pond.

Consumers or heterotrophs: Zooplankton, free-living, and bottom-dwelling

forms.

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Decomposers: Fungi, bacteria, and flagellates are abundant in the bottom of the
pond.

14.2 Productivity:

A constant input of solar power is that the basic requirement for any ecosystem.

Primary Production: It is the amount of biomass produced per unit area in a

given time by plants during photosynthesis. It is expressed in terms of weight
(g-2) or energy (kcal m-2).

Productivity: It is the rate of biomass production. It is expressed as g-2

yr-1 or kcal m-2 yr-1.

Gross primary productivity (GPP): GPP of an ecosystem is the rate of

production of organic matter during photosynthesis.

Net primary productivity (NPP): Gross primary productivity minus

respiration losses (R), is the net primary productivity (NPP).

GPP – R = NPP

The available biomass for the consumption of heterotrophs or herbivores and

decomposers is the net primary productivity.

The rate of formation of new organic matter by consumers is termed secondary

productivity.

The primary productivity of an ecosystem depends on the plant species and

various environmental factors and therefore, varies from place to place.

For the whole biosphere, the annual net primary productivity is approximately
170 billion tons (dry weight) of organic matter. Despite occupying nearly 70 %
of the earth’s surface, the productivity of the oceans is only around 55

billion tons.

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14.3: Decomposition:

Decomposition: It is the process of break down complex organic matter into

simpler inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients by the
action of decomposers.

Detritus: Dead remains of plants and animals such as leaves, barks, flowers,
fecal matter of animals, etc. constitute detritus.

Detritivores: Organisms that feed on detritus are called detritivores.

Earthworms, fungi, etc. are examples of detritivores.

Steps in Decomposition:

1. Fragmentation: It is the breakdown of detritus into smaller particles by the

action of detritivores.

2. Leaching: It's the phenomenon by which water-soluble nutrients sink to the

soil horizon and precipitate as salts that aren't available.

3. Catabolism: It is the breakdown of detritus into simple inorganic nutrients by

the action of bacterial and fungal enzymes.

4. Humification: It is the formation and continuous deposition of a dark-

colored organic amorphous substance called humus. Humus is extremely
resistant to microbial action and decomposes at a very slow rate. Because it is
colloidal, it acts as a nutrient reservoir.

5. Mineralisation: It is the process by which some microorganisms further

break down humus to form simple inorganic nutrients.

● Humification and mineralization occur in the soil.

● All steps of decomposition occur simultaneously on detritus.

● Decomposition is largely an oxygen-requiring process.

● On both the chemical composition of detritus and climatic factors the rate
of decomposition is depending. When detritus is rich in lignin and chitin,
the pace of decomposition is slower, and when detritus is rich in nitrogen

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 and water-soluble compounds like sugars, the rate of decomposition is
faster.

● The most important climatic factors that plays important role in

decomposition are temperature and soil moisture. They affect the
activities of soil microbes.

● Decomposition is favored in warm and moist environments.

● Decomposition is inhibited by low temperature and anaerobiosis. This

results in a build-up of organic materials.

14.4: Energy Flow:

● The Sun is the ultimate source of energy for all ecosystems on earth
(except for the deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystem).

● Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR): The solar radiation that

can be utilized by plants for photosynthesis. Of all incident solar radiation,
only 50 % is PAR. The plants can capture only 2  10 % of the PAR and
it is this energy that sustains all life on earth.

● There is a unidirectional flow of energy that is the energy from the sun
flows to the producers and then the consumers. Therefore, all organisms
are directly or indirectly dependent on the sun.

● All ecosystems follow the First and the Second Law of thermodynamics.

● First Law of Thermodynamics: The First Law of Thermodynamics

explains that energy can be converted from one form to another in the
presence of heat, work, and internal energy, but it can neither be created
nor destroyed, under any circumstances.

● The unidirectional flow of energy shows the First Law of

Thermodynamics as energy from the sun is converted into chemical
energy by the producers which are then utilized by the consumers.
At any level energy can neither be created nor be destroyed.

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 ● Second Law of Thermodynamics: The Second Law of Thermodynamics
states that the state of entropy of the entire universe, as an isolated system,
will always increase over time. The changes in the entropy in the universe
can never be negative, this is explained by the second law.

● To counteract the universal tendency toward increasing disorderliness

ecosystems need a constant supply of energy to synthesize the molecules
they require.

● Energy flow in the ecosystem occurs in the form of the food chain.

● Food chain: A food chain is an arrangement of species in an ecological

community based on the order of predation, in which each organism feeds
on the organisms below it.

● Producers: All the green plants in the ecosystem utilize solar energy for
photosynthesis. They are always autotrophic.

● Consumers: All heterotrophs, whether directly or indirectly reliant on

plants for nourishment, are referred to as consumers. Depending on their
position in the food chain the organisms can be divided into primary,
secondary, tertiary, or quaternary levels.

● Primary Consumers/herbivores: The organisms that are directly

dependent on the producers. In the above food chain, the grasshopper is
the primary consumer.

● Secondary Consumers/Primary carnivores: The organisms that are

dependent on the primary consumers. The frog in the above example is a
secondary consumer.

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 ● Tertiary consumers/Secondary carnivores: The organisms that are
dependent on the secondary consumers.

● Quaternary Consumers/Tertiary carnivore: The organisms that are

dependent on the tertiary consumers. They usually holds the top position
that is the carnivore in a food chain.

● A food chain cannot have more than a quaternary consumer because there
would not be enough energy left for next level organism.

● The detritus food chain’s (DFC) starting point is dead organic matter. It
is consists of decomposers mainly fungi and bacteria which are
heterotrophs too. They break down dead organic matter or detritus to meet
their energy and nutrient requirements. These are also called saprotrophs
in which sapro means to decompose. They secrete digestive enzymes
outside their body to break down dead and waste organic materials into
simple, inorganic materials. These simpler substances are subsequently
absorbed by them.

● In an aquatic ecosystem, the major conduit for energy flow is the Grazing
Food Chain (GFC). In a terrestrial ecosystem, a much larger fraction of
energy flows through the detritus food chain in comparison with the GFC.

● Detritus food chain can be connected with the grazing food chain because
some of the organisms of DFC are prey to the GFC animals. Also in a
natural ecosystem, some animals that exist are omnivores such as
cockroaches, crows, etc.

● Food Web: A system of food chains in which the interlocking and

interdependency are found.

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 ➢ Trophic Level: The specific place in the food chain occupied by an
organism based on the source of their nutrition or food is called the trophic
level.

● First trophic level: Producers occupy the first trophic level.

● Second trophic level: The primary consumers

● Third trophic level: The secondary consumers

● Fourth trophic level: The tertiary consumers

● Fifth trophic level: The quaternary consumers

● A food chain can have a maximum of five trophic levels as beyond that
the amount of energy is insufficient to sustain another consumer.

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 ● At successive trophic levels, the amount of energy gets decreases.

● When an organism dies it is converted into detritus which serves as a

source of energy for the decomposers.

● Standing crop: At a particular given time the total mass at a trophic level
is standing crop. It is measured as the mass of living organisms (biomass)
or the number in a unit area.

● Biomass can also be expressed as fresh or dry weight. However, the use
of the dry weight is more accurate.

● 10 percent Law: This law states that only 10 % of the energy of a trophic
level is transferred to the next level.

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 ●

14.5: Ecological Pyramids:

● An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation of the relationship

between different organisms in an ecosystem.

● Each bar of the pyramid represents a specific trophic level along with their
order. The order depends on who is been eaten by whom.

● This represents the flow of energy.

● The base of each pyramid is the representation of the producers or the first
trophic level whereas the apex is the representation of the tertiary or top-
level consumers.

● The three commonly studied ecological pyramids are:

(a) Pyramid of number

(b) Pyramid of biomass

(c) Pyramid of energy

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 ● All species at that trophic level should be included in any estimations of
energy content, biomass, or population. At any trophic level, it is
impossible to generalise based on merely a few individuals.

● An organism can be a part of more than one food chain and therefore
belong to different trophic levels.

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 ● The pyramids of biomass, energy, and number are upright in most
ecosystems. That is, the producers are more in number than the
herbivores, the herbivores are more than the carnivores, etc.

● Pyramids of number and biomass can be inverted in some cases but the
pyramid of energy is always upright. This is due to the fact that when
energy goes from one level to another, some of it is lost as heat.

● Only food chains, not food webs, can be accommodated in ecological

pyramids. They are also incapable of depicting saprotrophs.

14.6: Ecological Succession:

● Ecological succession is the process of change in the structure of species

that belongs to an ecological community over time. After a mass
extinction, the time scale can be decades or even millions of years. This
change occurs orderly and sequential, parallel with the changes in the
physical environment.

● Pioneer Species: The species that invade a bare area are called pioneer
species.

● Pioneer Community: The community that is capable to invade a bare

area is known as the pioneer community.

● Climax community: A community that is almost near to equilibrium with

the environment is called the climax community.

● Sere: A sequence of ecological communities arising in an area from the

initial pioneer community to the final climax community

● Primary succession: Primary succession is a type of biological and

ecological succession of plant life. It occurs in an environment in which a
new substrate is deposited. This new substrate is not having any kind of
vegetation and other organisms. It also usually lacks soil and organic
matter. It occurs in places such as land after a lava flow or area left from
the retreated glacier.

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 ● Secondary succession: Secondary succession is a type of biological and
ecological succession of plant life which takes place in a habitat that has
been previously populated but has since been disturbed or damaged. For
instance, regions where existing vegetation has been removed (due to tree-
felling in a woodland or destructive events such as fires).

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14.6.1: Succession of plants:

Hydrarch: A succession that begins in a water body or aquatic environment is

called Hydrosere or Hydrarch Succession.

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Xerarch: Xerosere is a succession of plants that are limited in the availability
of water availability. It includes the different stages in xerarch succession.
Xerosere originates in extremely dry situations such as sand deserts, dunes, salt
deserts, rock deserts, etc.

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In secondary succession, the invasion of species depends on the availability of
water, conditions of the soil, and the environment. It also depends on whether
any seeds or other propagules are present. Because soil is already existent, the
pace of succession is substantially faster, and the climax community is reached
much sooner.

Succession always proceeds towards the mesic community.

14.7: Nutrient Cycling:

The movement of nutrients through the various components that belongs to an

ecosystem is called nutrient cycling. It is also called biogeochemical cycles (bio:
living organism, geo: rocks, air, and water).

Types of nutrient cycles:

(a) Gaseous, and

(b) sedimentary.

Standing state: The total amount of various nutrients like nitrogen, carbon,
phosphorus, calcium, etc., present in the soil at any given time, is referred to as
the standing state. It differs in different kinds of ecosystems and also on the basis
of season.

The atmosphere serves as a reservoir for gaseous nutrient cycles (carbon and
nitrogen).

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The reservoir for the sedimentary nutrient cycle (sulfur, phosphorus, etc.) exists
in the earth’s crust.

The rate of release of nutrients into the atmosphere is regulated by environmental

factors.

The reservoir functions to meet with the deficit occurring due to an imbalance
between influx and efflux.

14.7.1: Ecosystem – Carbon Cycle:

Carbon is contained by most of the chemicals that make up living tissue. When
the organisms die the carbon contained by them is recycled to be used by future
generations. The movement of carbon through the various components of the
ecosystem is called the carbon cycle.

1. As a result of respiration and combustion, carbon is released into the

environment as CO2.

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2. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by producers during the process of photosynthesis
to produce carbohydrates.

3. Animals feed on the producers. The food chain causes carbon to move along
various trophic levels. During breathing, the majority of the carbon eaten is
exhaled as CO2. The animals and plants eventually die.

4. Decomposers eat the dead organisms and break them down. This causes the
carbon in their bodies to be returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. In
some extraordinary conditions, decomposition is blocked. The plant and animal
material may then be turned into fossil fuel for use in the future for combustion.
5. Marine animals may convert some of the carbon in their diet to calcium
carbonate which is then used to make the shells for their bodies. Over time these
shells of dead organisms get collected on the seabed and form or converted into
limestone. Due to various activities and movements of the earth, this limestone
may eventually become exposed to the air where it is subjected to weathering.
This results in the back release of carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is also released through volcanic action.

6. Human activities have significantly influenced the carbon cycle. Rapid

deforestation and massive burning of fossil fuels have increased the rate of
release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

14.7.2: Phosphorus Cycle:

The phosphorus cycle is the process by which phosphorus moves through the
different layers of the atmosphere that is the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and
biosphere.

Steps in Phosphorus Cycle:

1. Weathering

2. Fertilizer

3. Excretion and Decomposition

4. Dissolved Phosphates

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5. Geologic Uplift

1. Weathering: Weathering of uplifted rocks adds phosphates to the land.

Eventually, some phosphates reach the ocean again.

2. Fertilizers: Phosphate fertilizers from fields might run off straight into the
streams. These may later become part of a soil pool or can be absorbed by the
plants.

3. Excretion and decomposition: Animal excretion (on land or in the ocean)

and animal and plant decomposition both produce phosphates on land and in
water.

4. Dissolved phosphates: Dissolved phosphates plays important role in forming

ocean sediments by precipitation. The process of conversion of these sediments
into phosphate rocks is a very slow and gradual process.

5. Geological uplift: Geologic forces can lift up the phosphate rocks very slowly
from the ocean floor or the rocks thick with phosphate in them to form the huge
mountains.

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Difference between the carbon cycle and Phosphorus Cycle

Carbon Cycle Phosphorus Cycle

1. Its major component is 1. Its major component is non-

gaseous. gaseous.

2. There is a respiratory release 2. There is no respiratory release of

of carbon as carbon dioxide. phosphorus anymore.

3. Its cycling pool is present in 3. Its cycling pool is the

the hydrosphere and lithosphere.
atmosphere.

4. The atmospheric input of 4. It is negligible.

carbon through rainfall is
measurable.

14.8: Ecosystem Services:

The results or outcome of ecosystem processes is called ecosystem services.

➢ Services of healthy forest ecosystems:

● Purification of air and water

● Mitigation of droughts and floods

● Cycling of nutrients

● Generation of fertile soils

● Providing habitats to wildlife

● Maintenance of biodiversity

● Pollination of crops

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 ● To provide storage site for carbon

● Providing aesthetic, cultural, and spiritual values.

➢ The average price tag of these ecosystem services is estimated to be the

US 33 trillion annually. This is near twice the value of the global gross
national product GNP (the US 18 trillion).

➢ The calculation, out of the total cost of various ecosystem services:

● Soil formation accounts for about 50 % of the ecosystem services.

● Recreation for about 10 % of these services.

● Nutrient cycling about 10 % of them.

● The cost of climate regulation and habitat for wildlife is approximately

6 % each.

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