Amity Institute of Environmental Sciences

UG-EVS

ECOSYSTEM
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing the module the student will be able to:

Understand the various types of environments and ecosystems

Describe differing types of ecosystems and their characteristics
Describe the two interacting components of the ecosystem in which
organisms interact. (biotic and abiotic).
Explain the hierarchy formed by ecological systems and the function of
ecosystems
Explain the interdisciplinary nature of ecosystems and the various
ecosystem services.
Explain and understand the concept of ecological succession
CONTENT
• Concept of an ecosystem.
• Structure and function of an ecosystem.
• Producers, consumers and decomposers.
• Energy flow in the ecosystem.
• Ecological succession.
• Food chains, food webs and ecological pyramids.
Introduction, types, characteristic features, structure and function
of the following ecosystem :
(a) Forest ecosystem
(b) Grassland ecosystem
(c) Desert ecosystem
(d) Aquatic ecosystem (ponds, streams, lakes, rivers, oceans,
estuaries).
Ecosystem
The ecosystem is the structural and functional unit of
ecology where the living organisms interact with each
other and the surrounding environment. In other
words, an ecosystem is a chain of interaction between
organisms and their environment. The term
“Ecosystem” was first coined by A. G. Tansely, an
English botanist, in the year 1953.
 Kinds of Ecosystems

Natural Ecosystems Man-made Ecosystems

Terrestrial Ecosystems Aquatic Ecosystems

Fresh water Ecosystems Marine Ecosystems

Lentic Ecosystems Lotic Ecosystems

(Static water) (Running
Components of an Ecosystem
Ecosystem have majorly two components- Structural and functional
components.
Structural component is categorized into Biotic & Abiotic factors.
The biotic and abiotic components are interrelated in an
ecosystem. It is an open system where the energy and
components can flow throughout the boundaries.
Living (Biotic) Components:
 Producers include all autotrophs such as plants. They are called autotrophs as
they can produce food through the process of photosynthesis. Consequently,
all other organisms higher up on the food chain rely on producers for food.

 Consumers or heterotrophs are organisms that depend on other organisms

for food. Consumers are further classified into primary consumers,
secondary consumers and tertiary consumers.
Primary consumers are always herbivores that they rely on producers for food.
Secondary consumers depend on primary consumers for energy. They can
either be a carnivore or an omnivore.
Tertiary consumers are organisms that depend on secondary consumers
for food.  Tertiary consumers can also be an omnivore.

 Decomposers: include saprophytes such as fungi and bacteria. They directly

thrive on the dead and decaying organic matter.  Decomposers are
essential for the ecosystem as they help in recycling nutrients to be
reused by plants.
Non-living (Abiotic) Components: Abiotic
components are the non-living component of
an ecosystem.  It includes air, water, soil,
minerals, sunlight, temperature, nutrients,
wind, altitude, turbidity etc. 
Functional Components of Ecosystem

 Food chain and food web and Ecological

pyramids
 Energy flow
 Productivity
 Cycling of nutrients
Food chain and Food web
The transfer of food energy from the source (plants) through
a series of organisms by repeated eating and being eaten up is
referred to as food chain.
The food chain is of two types:
Grazing Food chain: A common food chain &
Detritus food chain: chain derived by the organic wastes and dead
matter from grazing food chains. It starts with dead organic waste
Food web:
Interlinking of
food chains are
known as food
web.
 Biomagnification

“Result of the process of bioaccumulation and bio- transfer

by which tissue concentrations of chemicals in organisms at
one trophic level exceed tissue concentrations in organisms
at the next lower trophic level in a food chain.”
OR

Biomagnification refers to the accumulation of toxins

through the trophic levels of a food chain. It results in an
increased concentration of the toxin in the higher
organisms of the food chain.
 Energy Flow in Ecosystems

First Law of Thermodynamics: energy can neither be created nor

destroyed but only is transformed from one form to another.

Second Law of Thermodynamics: the second law of

thermodynamics states that no energy transformations are 100%
efficient.

10 Percent Rule of Energy

As a rule of thumb, 90 percent of the energy involved is degraded
at each trophic transfer and only 10 percent of the energy is
conserved in the organism's tissue.
Energy flow in ecosystem and 10% Rule
 Ecological Pyramid

The graphical representations of different trophic levels in an

ecosystem where producers occupy the base and the top
consumer occupy the apex of the pyramid, is known as ecological
pyramid .

They are used to illustrate the feeding relationships between

organisms.

Types of Ecological Pyramids

 Pyramid of number

 Pyramid of biomass

 Pyramid of energy
 ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS

 Food chains and food webs do not give any

information about the numbers of organisms
involved.

 This information can be shown through

ecological pyramids.
 Pyramid of Number
Pyramid of number is used to show the number of individuals in
each trophic level. It is upright in case of grassland and pond
ecosystems.
 Pyramid of Biomass

Pyramid of biomass records the total dry organic matter of organisms at

each trophic level in a given area of an ecosystem.

The pyramid of biomass is used to show the total biomass

of individuals at each trophic level.

It is better than the pyramid of number for showing the

relationships between organisms.
 Pyramid of energy

 Pyramid of energy is used to show the amount of energy

transferred between trophic levels. It provides the best
representation of the overall nature of an ecosystem.

 The pyramid of energy flow is always upright because there

is always loss of energy while moving from lower trophic
level to higher trophic level.

 The energy reaching the next trophic level is always less

compared to that in the previous trophic level.
 Energy Pyramid

is
 Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is the gradual process by which ecosystems

change and develop over time. It is therefore a series of
predictable temporary communities or stages leading up to a
climax community. Each stage/temporary community is called a
successional stage. Each step prepares the land for the next
successional stage. All habitats are in the state of constant
ecological succession.

Environment is always kept on changing over a period of time due

to…

variations in climatic and physiographic factors, and

activities of the species of the communities themselves.

different
Ecological Succession is an orderly sequence
 Types of ecological succession

Primary Succession Secondary Succession

Primary succession is the process by which an area first

changes from bare rock into a functioning ecosystem.

Secondary succession is the process by which an already

existing plant community is replaced by another plant
community.
 Primary Succession
 The development of an
ecosystem in an area that has
never had a community living
within it occurs by a process
called PRIMARY SUCCESSION. It
is consist pioneer,
intermediate(sere) and climax
stage.

 An example of an area in which

a community has never lived
before, would be a new lava or
rock from a volcano that makes
a new island.
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Primary succession is the process by which an area first
changes from bare rock into a functioning ecosystem.
 Secondary Succession
 SECONDARY SUCCESSION begins in habitats where
communities were entirely or partially destroyed by some kind
of damaging event.

 When an existing community has been cleared by a

disturbance such as a fire, tornado, etc...and the soil remains
intact, the area begins to return to its natural community.
Because these habitats previously supported life, secondary
succession, unlike primary succession, begins on substrates
that already bear soil. In addition, the soil contains a native
seed bank.

 Since the soil is already in place, secondary succession can take

place five to ten times faster than primary succession.
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Secondary succession is the process by which an ecosystem
that has been destroyed gradually returns to its
previous state.
The Circle of Life in Secondary Succession

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 The Climax Community

 A climax community is a mature, stable community that is

the final stage of ecological succession. In an ecosystem
with a climax community, the conditions continue to be
suitable for all the members of the community.

 Any particular region has its own set of climax species,

which are the plants that are best adapted for the area
and will persist after succession has finished, until
another disturbance clears the area.

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These are Climax Communities

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Process / Stages of Ecological Succession

Nudation- Succession begins with the development of a bare site,

called Nudation (disturbance).

Invasion
•Migration- It refers to arrival of propagates (seeds), dispersion.
•Ecesis- It involves establishment and initial growth of vegetation.
•Aggregation- It involves increase in number of species.
Competition- As vegetation became well established, grew, and
spread, various species began to compete for space, light and
nutrients. This phase is called competition.
Stabilization- Reaction phase leads to development of a climax
community.
Types of Seres Explanation

Hydrosere Succession in aquatic habitat.

Xerosere Succession in dry habitat.

Lithosere Succession on a bare rock surface.

Psammosere Succession initiating on sandy areas.

Halosere Succession starting in saline soil or

water.

Senile Succession of microorganism on dead

matter.

Eosere Development of vegetation in an era.

PRODUCTIVITY
There are two types of productivity: Primary and
Secondary productivity.
 Cycling of nutrients
 Water, carbon, nitrogen, and
phosphorus all take paths from
the nonliving environment to living
organisms, such as trees, and then back
to the nonliving environment. These
paths form cycles, known as
biogeochemical cycles. In these cycles, a
pathway is formed when a substance
enters living organisms, stays for a long
time, then returns to the nonliving
environment. Such substances are
referred to as cycling within an
ecosystem between an organism that
lives in the ecosystem and
a nonliving reservoir. 
CARBON CYCLE
WATER CYCLE
KEY POINTS & IMPORTANT DEFINITION
Ecosystem: Interaction of abiotic and biotic factor in the nature.

Abiotic: Physical, or nonliving, factors that shape an ecosystem. Examples include

rocks, climate, pressure, soils, precipitation, sunlight, winds and humidity. These
abiotic have a direct influence on living things.

Biotic: Living factors such as plants, animals, fungi, protist and bacteria are all
biotic or living factors. Biotic factors depend on abiotic factors to survive. The kind of
biotic factors (living organisms) in a given area is often as a result of abiotic
conditions of that area.

Food chain & Food Web:  The process of eating and being eaten in the nature.
The complex feeding network occurring within and between food chains in an
ecosystem, whereby members of one food chain may belong to one or more other
food chains.

Energy flow: The cycle of energy is based on the flow of energy through different
trophic levels in an ecosystem.

Bio-geochemical cycle: Cycling of substances is a pathway by which a chemical

substance moves through biotic (biosphere) and abiotic (lithosphere, atmosphere,
and hydrosphere) compartments of Earth.
Ecological pyramids: Graphical representation of a food chain and usually of three
types, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramid of energy.

Ecological succession: It is the process of change in the species structure of

an ecological community over time. It is a phenomenon or process by which
an ecological community undergoes more or less orderly and predictable changes
following a disturbance or the initial colonization of a new habitat.

Productivity: It refers to the rate of generation of biomass in an ecosystem. It is

usually expressed in units of mass per unit surface (or volume) per unit time, for
instance grams per square metre per day (g m−2 d−1). The mass unit may relate to
dry matter or to the mass of carbon generated.

Bio-magnification: also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, is

any concentration of a toxin, such as pesticides, in the tissues of tolerant organisms
at successively higher levels in a food chain.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Question 1
Which one of the following is not a functional unit of an ecosystem?
A Productivity, B Stratification, C Energy flow, D Decomposition
Question 2
The upright pyramid of number is absent in
A Lake, B Grassland, C Pond, D Forest
Question 3
Which one of the following is not a gaseous biogeochemical cycle in
ecosystem?
A Nitrogen cycle, B Carbon cycle, C Sulphur cycle, D Phosphorus cycle
Question 4
Identify the possible link "A" in the following food chain: Plant → insect
→ frog → "A" → Eagle
A Cobra, B Parrot, C Rabbit, D Wolf
Question 5
In an aquatic ecosystem, the trophic level equivalent to cows in
grasslands is
A-Nekton, B-Zooplankton, C-Phytoplankton, D-Benthos
Question 6
The final stable community in ecological succession is
A-Climax, B-Sere, C-Pioneers, D-Carnivores,
Question 7
An ecosystem which can be easily damaged but can recover after
some time if damaging effect stops will be having
A-High stability and high resilience, B-Low stability and low resilience,
C-High stability and low resilience, D-Low stability and high resilience
Question 8
Trophic levels in ecosystem is formed by :
A-only herbivores, B-only plants, C-only bacteria, D-Organisms linked
in food chain
Question 9
A renewable exhaustible natural resource is
A-Petroleum, B-Coal, C-Forest, D-Minerals
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
What is ecosystem? Give its components.
Give physiognomic characteristics.
Write note on ecological succession.
Write note food chain, food web and trophic
levels.
Write note on ecological pyramids.
Describe nitrogen cycle.
Describe hydrological cycle.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
What are abiotic and biotic factors?
What are consumers?
What primary consumers? Give their examples.
What are Tertiary Consumers or top consumers?
What are artificial ecosystems?
Differentiate between gross and net primary
productivity.
What is food chain? Give example.
What is biomagnification?
RECOMMENDED STUDY MATERIAL
• Textbook of Environmental Studies for Undergraduate
Courses by Erach Bharucha
• Perspective of Environmental studies by Kaushik and
kaushik
• Environmental Studies 1st Edition 2011 by D L Manjunath
• Text Book of Environmental Studies D. K. Asthana
• Environmental Studies: From Crisis to Cure  by R.
Rajagopalan 
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