Energy and Environment

MODULE III

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOSYSTEMS

1. Environment

1.1 Definition
Environmental studies deals with every issue that affects an organism. It is essentially a
multidisciplinary approach that brings about an appreciation of our natural world and human
impacts on its integrity. It is an applied science as is seeks practical answers to making human
civilization sustainable on the earth’s finite re- sources.
Its components include biology, geology, chemistry, physics, engineering, sociology, health,
anthropology, economics, statistics, computers and philosophy.
1.2 Scope
Environment is not a single subject. It is an integration of several subjects that include both
Science and Social Studies. To understand all the different aspects of our environment we need
to understand biology, chemistry, physics, geography, resource management, economics and
population issues. Thus the scope of environmental studies is extremely wide and covers some
aspects of nearly every major discipline.
As we look around at the area in which we live, we see that our surroundings were originally a
natural landscape such as a forest, a river, a mountain, a desert, or a combination of these
elements. Most of us live in landscapes that have been heavily modified by human beings, in
villages, towns or cities. But even those of us who live in cities get our food supply from
surrounding villages and these in turn are dependent on natural landscapes such as forests,
grasslands, rivers, seashores, for resources such as water for agriculture, fuel wood, fodder, and
fish. Thus our daily lives are linked with our surroundings and inevitably affects them. We use
water to drink and for other day-to-day activities. We breathe air, we use resources from which
food is made and we depend on the community of living plants and animals which form a web
of life, of which we are also a part. Everything around us forms our environment and our lives
depend on keeping its vital systems as intact as possible.
Our dependence on nature is so great that we cannot continue to live without protecting the
earth’s environmental resources. Thus most traditions refer to our environment as ‘Mother

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Nature’ and most traditional societies have learned that respecting nature is vital for their
livelihoods.
Modern societies began to believe that easy answers to the question of producing more
resources could be provided by means of technological innovations. For example, though
growing more food by using fertilizers and pesticides, developing better strains of domestic
animals and crops, irrigating farmland through mega dams and developing industry, led to rapid
economic growth, the ill effects of this type of development, led to environmental degradation.
The industrial development and intensive agriculture that provides the goods for our
increasingly consumer oriented society uses up large amounts of natural resources such as
water, minerals, petroleum products, wood, etc. Non- renewable resources, such as minerals
and oil are those which will be exhausted in the future if we continue to extract these without a
thought for subsequent generations. Renewable resources, such as timber and water, are
those which can be used but can be regenerated by natural processes such as regrowth or
rainfall. But these too will be depleted if we continue to use them faster than nature can
replace them. For example, if the removal of timber and firewood from a forest is faster than
the regrowth and regeneration of trees, it can- not replenish the supply. And loss of forest
cover not only depletes the forest of its resources, such as timber and other non-wood
products, but affects our water resources because an intact natural forest acts like a sponge
which holds water and releases it slowly. Deforestation leads to floods in the monsoon and dry
rivers once the rains are over.

1.3 Importance
Environment is not a single subject. It is an integration of several subjects that include both
Science and Social Studies. To understand all the different aspects of our environment we need
to understand biology, chemistry, physics, geography, resource management, economics and
population issues. Thus the scope of environmental studies is extremely wide and covers some
aspects of nearly every major discipline.
We live in a world in which natural resources are limited. Water, air, soil, minerals, oil, the
products we get from forests, grasslands, oceans and from agriculture and livestock, are all a
part of our life support systems. Without them, life itself would be impossible. As we keep

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increasing in numbers and the quantity of resources each of us uses also increases, the earth’s
re- source base must inevitably shrink. The earth cannot be expected to sustain this expanding
level of utilization of resources. Added to this is misuse of resources. We waste or pollute large
amounts of nature’s clean water; we create more and more material like plastic that we discard
after a single use; and we waste colossal amounts of food, which is discarded as garbage.
Manufacturing processes create solid waste byproducts that are discarded, as well as chemicals
that flow out as liquid waste and pollute water, and gases that pollute the air. Increasing
amounts of waste cannot be managed by natural processes. These accumulate in our
environment, leading to a variety of diseases and other adverse environmental impacts now
seriously affecting all our lives. Air pollution leads to respiratory diseases, water pollution to
gastro-intestinal diseases, and many pollutants are known to cause cancer.

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1.4 Need for Public Awareness

As the earth’s natural resources are dwindling and our environment is being increasingly
degraded by human activities, it is evident that something needs to be done. We often feel that
managing all this is something that the Government should do. But if we go on endangering our
environment, there is no way in which the Government can perform all these clean-up
functions. It is the prevention of environment degradation in which we must all take part that
must become a part of all our lives. Just as for any disease, prevention is better than cure. To
prevent ill-effects on our environment by our actions is economically more viable than cleaning
up the environment once it is damaged. Individually we can play a major role in environment
management. We can re- duce wasting natural resources and we can act as watchdogs that
inform the Government about sources that lead to pollution and degradation of our
environment.
This can only be made possible through mass public awareness. Mass media such as
newspapers, radio, television, strongly influence public opinion. However, someone has to
bring this about. If each of us feels strongly about the environment, the press and media will
add to our efforts. Politicians in a democracy always respond positively to a strong publicly
supported movement. Thus if you join an NGO that sup- ports conservation, politicians will
make green policies. We are living on spaceship earth with a limited supply of resources. Each
of us is responsible for spreading this message to as many people as possible.

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2. ECOSYSTEMS

2.1 Concept of an Ecosystem

An ‘Ecosystem’ is a region with a specific and recognizable landscape form such as forest,
grassland, desert, wetland or coastal area. The nature of the ecosystem is based on its geo-
graphical features such as hills, mountains, plains, rivers, lakes, coastal areas or islands. It is also
controlled by climatic conditions such as the amount of sunlight, the temperature and the
rainfall in the region. The geographical, climatic and soil characteristics form its non-living
(abiotic) component. These features create conditions that support a community of plants and
animals that evolution has produced to live in these specific conditions. The living part of the
ecosystem is referred to as its biotic component.

Ecosystems are divided into terrestrial or land- based ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems in
water. These form the two major habitat conditions for the Earth’s living organisms. All the
living organisms in an area live in com- munities of plants and animals. They interact with their
non-living environment and with each other at different points in time for a large number of
reasons. Life can exist only in a small pro- portion of the earth’s land, water and its atmosphere.
At a global level the thin skin of the earth on the land, the sea and the air, forms the bio-sphere.
There are several distinctive geographical regions in India- the Himalayas, the Gangetic Plains,
the Highlands of Central India, the Western and Eastern Ghats, the semi-arid desert in the
West, the Deccan Plateau, the Coastal Belts, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These
geographically distinctive areas have plants and animals that have been adapted to live in each
of these regions. At an even more local level, each area has several structurally and functionally
identifiable eco- systems such as different types of forests, grass- lands, river catchments,
mangrove swamps in deltas, seashores, islands, etc. to give only a few examples. Here too each
of these forms a habitat for specific plants and animals.
Definition: The living community of plants and animals in any area together with the non-living
components of the environment such as soil, air and water, constitute the ecosystem.
2.2 Structure and Functions of an Ecosystem
The non-living components of an ecosystem are the amount of water, the various inorganic
sub- stances and organic compounds, and climatic conditions such as rainfall and temperature,

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which depend on geographical conditions and location which is also related to the amount of
sunlight. The living organisms in an ecosystem are inseparable from their habitat.
The living component of plant life ranges from extremely small bacteria, which live in air, water
and soil, algae which live in fresh and salt water, to the terrestrial plants which range from
grasses and herbs that grow after the monsoon every year, to the giant long-lived trees of the
forest. The plants convert energy from sunlight into organic matter for their growth. They thus
function as producers in the ecosystem. The living component of the animal world ranges from
microscopic animals, to small insects and the larger animals such as fish, amphibian, reptiles,
birds and mammals. Man is just one of the 1.8 million species of plants and animals that inhabit
the earth.
2.3 Producers, Consumers and Decomposers
Plants are the ‘producers’ in the ecosystem as they manufacture their food by using energy
from the sun. In the forest these form communities of plant life. In the sea these include tiny
algal forms to large seaweed.
The herbivorous animals are primary consumers as they live on the producers. In a forest, these
are the insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The herbivorous animals include for
example hare, deer and elephants that live on plant life
At a higher tropic level, there are carnivorous animals, or secondary consumers, which live on
herbivorous animals. In our forests, the carnivorous animals are tigers, leopards, jackals, foxes
and small wild cats.
In the sea, carnivorous fish live on other fish and marine animals. Animals that live in the sea
range in size from microscopic forms to giant mammals such as the whale.
Decomposers or detrivores are a group of organisms consisting of small animals like worms,
insects, bacteria and fungi, which break down dead organic material into smaller particles and
finally into simpler substances that are used by plants as nutrition. Decomposition thus is a vital
function in nature, as without this, all the nutrients would be tied up in dead matter and no
new life could be produced.
2.4 Energy Flow in the Ecosystem
Every ecosystem has several interrelated mechanisms that affect human life. These are the

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water cycle, the carbon cycle, the oxygen cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the energy cycle. While
every ecosystem is controlled by these cycles, in each ecosystem its abiotic and biotic features
are distinct from each other
2.4.1 The Water Cycle
When it rains, the water runs along the ground and flows into rivers or falls directly into the
sea. A part of the rainwater that falls on land percolates into the ground. This is stored
underground throughout the rest of the year. Water is drawn up from the ground by plants
along with the nutrients from the soil. The water is transpired from the leaves as water vapour
and returned to the atmosphere. As it is lighter than air, water vapour rises and forms clouds.
Winds blow the clouds for long distances and when the clouds rise higher, the vapour
condenses and changes into droplets, which fall on the land as rain.

The Water Cycle

2.4.2 The Carbon cycle

The carbon, which occurs in organic compounds, is included in both the abiotic and biotic parts
of the ecosystem. Carbon is a building block of both plant and animal tissues. In the
atmosphere, carbon occurs as carbon dioxide (CO). In the presence of sun- light, plants take up
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through their leaves. The plants combine carbon dioxide
with water, which is absorbed by their roots from the soil. In the presence of sun- light they are

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able to form carbohydrates that contain car- bon. This process is known as photosynthesis.
Plants use this complex mechanism for their growth and development. In this process, plants
release oxygen into the atmosphere on which animals depend for their respiration. Plants
therefore help in regulating and monitoring the percent- age of Oxygen and Carbon dioxide in
the earth’s atmosphere.

2.4.3 The Oxygen Cycle

Oxygen is taken up by plants and animals from the air during respiration. The plants return
oxygen to the atmosphere during photosynthesis. This links the Oxygen Cycle to the Carbon
Cycle. Deforestation is likely to gradually reduce the oxygen levels in our atmosphere. Thus
plant life plays an important role in our lives which we frequently do not appreciate. This is an
important reason to participate in afforestation programs.

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2.4.4 The Nitrogen Cycle

Carnivorous animals feed on herbivorous animals that live on plants. When animals defecate,
this waste material is broken down by worms and insects mostly beetles and ants. These small
‘soil animals’ break the waste material into smaller bits on which microscopic bacteria and fungi
can act. This material is thus broken down further into nutrients that plants can absorb and use
for their growth. Thus nutrients are recycled back from animals to plants. Similarly the bodies of
dead animals are also broken down into nutrients that are used by the plants for their growth.
Thus the nitrogen cycle on which life is dependent is completed.

Nitrogen fixing bacteria and fungi in soil gives this important element to plants, which absorb it
as nitrates. The nitrates are a part of the plant’s metabolism, which help in forming new plant
proteins. This is used by animals that feed on the plants. The nitro- gen is then transferred to
carnivorous animals when they feed on the herbivores.

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2.4.5 The Energy Cycle

The energy cycle is based on the flow of energy through the ecosystem. Energy from sunlight is
converted by plants themselves into growing new plant material which includes leaves, flowers,
fruit, branches, trunks and roots of plants.
Since plants can grow by converting the sun’s energy directly into their tissues, they are known
as producers in the ecosystem. The plants are used by herbivorous animals as food, which gives
them energy. A large part of this energy is used up for day to day functions of these animals
such as breathing, digesting food, supporting growth of tissues, maintaining blood flow and
body temperature. Energy is also used for activities such as looking for food, finding shelter,
breeding and bringing up young ones. The carnivores in turn depend on herbivorous animals on
which they feed. Thus the different plant and animal species are linked to one another through
food chains. Each food chain has three or four links. However as each plant or animal can be
linked to several other plants or animals through many different linkages, these inter-linked

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chains can be depicted as a complex food web. This is thus called the ‘web of life’ that shows
that there are thousands of interrelationships in nature.

2.5 Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is a process through which ecosystems tend to change over a period of
time. Succession can be related to seasonal environ- mental changes, which create changes in
the community of plants and animals living in the ecosystem. Other successional events may
take much longer periods of time extending to several decades. If a forest is cleared, it is
initially colonized by a certain group of species of plants and animals, which gradually change
through an orderly process of community development. One can predict that an opened up
area will gradually be converted into grassland, a shrub land and finally a woodland and a forest
if permitted to do so without human interference. There is a tendency for succession to
produce a more or less stable state at the end of the successional stages. Developmental stages
in the ecosystem thus consist of a pioneer stage, a series of changes known as serel stages, and
finally a climax stage.
2.6 The food chains

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The most obvious aspect of nature is that energy must pass from one living organism to an-
other. When herbivorous animals feed on plants, energy is transferred from plants to animals.
In an ecosystem, some of the animals feed on other living organisms, while some feed on dead
organic matter. The latter form the ‘detritus’ food chain. At each linkage in the chain, a major
part of the energy from the food is lost for daily activities. Each chain usually has only four to
five such links. However a single species may be linked to a large number of species.

2.7 The food webs

In an ecosystem there are a very large number of interlinked chains. This forms a food web. If
the linkages in the chains that make up the web of life are disrupted due to human activities
that lead to the loss or extinction of species, the web breaks down
2.8 The ecological pyramids
In an ecosystem, green plants – the producers, utilize energy directly from sunlight and convert
it into matter. A large number of these organ- isms form the most basic, or first ‘trophic level’ of
the food pyramid. The herbivorous animals that eat plants are at the second trophic level and
are called primary consumers. The predators that feed on them form the third trophic level and

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are known as secondary consumers. Only a few animals form the third trophic level consisting
of carnivores at the apex of the food pyramid. This is how energy is used by living creatures and
flows through the ecosystem from its base to the apex. Much of the energy is used up in
activities of each living organism
3.0 Forest Ecosystem

The non-living or abiotic aspects of the forest: The type of forest depends upon the abiotic
conditions at the site. Forests on mountains and hills differ from those along river valleys.
Vegetation is specific to the amount of rainfall and the local temperature which varies
according to latitude and altitude. Forests also vary in their plant com- munities in response to
the type of soil.

The living or the biotic aspects of the forest: The plants and animals form communities that are
specific to each forest type. For instance coniferous trees occur in the Himalayas. Mangrove
trees occur in river deltas. Thorn trees grow in arid areas. The snow leopard lives in the
Himalayas while the leopard and tiger live in the forests of the rest of India. Wild sheep and
goats live high up in the Himalayas. Many of the birds of the Himalayan forests are different
from the rest of India. Evergreen forests of the Western Ghats and North East India are most
rich in plant and animal species.

The biotic component includes both the large (macrophytes) and the microscopic plants and
animals.

Plants include the trees, shrubs, climbers, grasses, and herbs in the forest. These include
species that flower (angiosperms), and non-flowering species (gymnosperms) such as ferns,
bryophytes, fungi and algae.

The animals include species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects and other in-
vertebrates and a variety of microscopic animals.

3.1 Forest types in India:

The forest type depends upon the abiotic factors such as climate and soil characteristics of a
region. Forests in India can be broadly divided into Coniferous forests and Broadleaved forests.

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a). Coniferous forests grow in the Himalayan mountain region, where the temperatures are
low. These forests have tall stately trees with needle- like leaves and downward sloping
branches so that the snow can slip off the branches. They have cones instead of seeds and are
called gymnosperms.

b). Broadleaved forests have several types, such as evergreen forests, deciduous forests, thorn
forests, and mangrove forests. Broadleaved forests have large leaves of various shapes.

i) Evergreen forests grow in the high rain- fall areas of the Western Ghats, North Eastern India
and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These forests grow in areas where the monsoon lasts for
several months. Some even get two monsoons, such as in Southern In- dia. Evergreen plants
shed a few of their leaves throughout the year. The forest is rich in orchids and ferns. The barks
of the trees are covered in moss. The forest abounds in animal life and is most rich in insect life.
ii). Deciduous forests are found in regions with a moderate amount of seasonal rainfall that
lasts for only a few months. Most of the forests in which Teak trees grow are of this type. The
deciduous trees shed their leaves during the winter and hot summer months. In March or April
they regain their fresh leaves just before the monsoon, when they grow vigorously in response
to the rains. Thus there are periods of leaf fall and canopy regrowth. The forest frequently has
thick undergrowth as light can penetrate easily onto the forest floor.
iii). Thorn forests are found in the semi- arid regions of India. The trees, which are sparsely
distributed, are surrounded by open grassy areas. Thorny plants are called xerophytic species
and are able to conserve water. Some of these trees have small leaves, while other species
have thick, waxy leaves to reduce water losses during transpiration. Thorn forest trees have
long or fibrous roots to reach water at great depths. Many of these plants have thorns, which
reduce water loss and protect them from herbivores.
iv). Mangrove forests grow along the coast especially in the river deltas. These plants are able
to grow in a mix of saline and fresh water. They grow luxuriantly in muddy areas covered with
silt that the rivers have brought down. The mangrove trees have breathing roots that emerge
from the mud banks.
3.2 Direct uses of forest products
• Fruits– mango, jamun, awla, Roots – Dioscoria

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• Medicine – Gloriosa, Foxglove

• Fuelwood – many species of trees and shrubs Small timber for building huts and houses
Wood for farm implements
• Bamboo and cane for baskets
• Grass for grazing and stall feeding livestock
3.3 Indirect uses of forest products

• Building material for construction and furniture for the urban sector
• Medicinal products collected and processed into drugs
• Gums and resins processed into a variety of products
• Raw material for industrial products and chemicals
• Paper from bamboo and softwoods
3.4 Threats to the forest ecosystem

Developmental activities such as rapid population growth together with, urbanization,

industrialization and the increasing use of consumer goods, leads to over utilization of forest
produce. Forests are shrinking as our need for agricultural land increases. It is estimated that
India’s forest cover has decreased from about 33% to 11% in the last century. The increasing
use of wood for timber, wood pulp for paper and the extensive use of fuelwood results in
continual forest loss. Forests are also lost by mining and building dams. As the forest re- sources
are exploited beyond what they can pro- duce the forest canopy is opened up, the eco- system
is degraded, and its wildlife is seriously threatened. As the forest is fragmented into small
patches its wild plant and animal species become extinct. These can never be brought back.
Extinction is forever.
3.5 What if the forests disappear?
When forests are cut down tribal people who depend directly on them for food and fuelwood
and other products find it very difficult to survive. Agricultural people do not get enough
fuelwood, small timber, etc. for making houses and farm implements. Urban people who de-
pend on food from agricultural areas, which in turn depend on neighbouring forest ecosystems
have to pay a higher price for food as human population grows.

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Insects that live and breed in the forest such as bees, butterflies and moths decrease in
abundance once forests are degraded. As their numbers decrease they are unable to effectively
pollinate agricultural crops and fruit trees. This leads to a decrease in agricultural yields.
Wild animals lose their habitat. This leads to extinction of our precious species. Residual forests
must be protected from being destroyed any further if all the diverse species of plants and
animals are to be kept for future generations.
The rain that falls on deforested land flows directly into nearby rivers. Thus water is not
retained under the ground. People thus do not get a sufficient quantity of water throughout the
year. The exposed soil is rapidly washed away during the rains once the protective forest cover
is removed. Thus agriculture is seriously affected in such areas. In deforested areas, the water
in streams is brown in colour as soil is washed away while water in forested streams is crystal
clear.
4.0 Grassland ecosystems
A wide range of landscapes in which the vegetation is mainly formed by grasses and small
annual plants are adapted to India’s various climatic conditions. These form a variety of grass-
land ecosystems with their specific plants and animals.
Grasslands cover areas where rainfall is usually low and/or the soil depth and quality is poor.
The low rainfall prevents the growth of a large number of trees and shrubs, but is sufficient to
support the growth of grass cover during the monsoon. Many of the grasses and other small
herbs become dry and the part above the ground dies during the summer months. In the next
monsoon the grass cover grows back from the root stock and the seeds of the previous year.
This change gives grasslands a highly seasonal appearance with periods of increased growth
followed by a dormant phase.

A variety of grasses, herbs, and several species of insects, birds and mammals have evolved so
that they are adapted to these wide-open grass covered areas. These animals are able to live in
conditions where food is plentiful after the rains, so that they can store this as fat that they use
during the dry period when there is very little to eat

4.1 Grassland Types in India

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4.1.1 The Himalayan pasture belt extends upto the snowline. The grasslands at a lower level
form patches along with coniferous or broadleaved forests. Himalayan wildlife requires both
the forest and the grassland ecosystem as important parts of their habitat. The animals migrate
up into the high altitude grasslands in summer and move down into the forest in winter when
the snow covers the grassland.
4.1.2 The Terai consists of patches of tall grasslands interspersed with a Sal forest ecosystem.
The patches of tall elephant grass, which grows to a height of about five meters, are located in
the low-lying waterlogged areas. The Sal forest patches cover the elevated regions and the
Himalayan foothills. The Terai also includes marshes in low-lying depressions. This ecosystem
extends as a belt south of the Himalayan foothills.
4.1.3 The Semi-arid plains of Western India, Central India and the Deccan are covered by grass-
land tracts with patches of thorn forest. Several mammals such as the wolf, the blackbuck, the
chinkara, and birds such as the bustards and floricans are adapted to these arid conditions

4.1.4 The Shola grasslands consist of patches on hill slopes along with the Shola forests on the
Western Ghats, Nilgiri and Annamalai ranges. This forms a patchwork of grassland on the slopes
and forest habitats along the streams and low lying areas.

4.2 How are grasslands used?

Grasslands are the grazing areas of many rural communities. Farmers who keep cattle or goats,
as well as shepherds who keep sheep, are highly dependent on grasslands. Domestic animals
are grazed in the ‘common’ land of the village. Fodder is collected and stored to feed cattle
when there is no grass left for them to graze in sum- mer. Grass is also used to thatch houses
and farm sheds. The thorny bushes and branches of the few trees that are seen in grasslands
are used as a major source of fuelwood.
4.3 What are the threats to grassland ecosystems?
1). A major threat to natural grasslands is the conversion of grasslands into irrigated farmlands.
In the Deccan, grasslands have been altered to irrigated farms and are now mainly used to grow
sugarcane. After continuous irrigation such land becomes saline and useless in a few years

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2). Recently many of these residual grassland tracts have been converted into industrial areas
by increasing the number of domestic animals reduces the ‘naturalness’ of the grassland
ecosystem leading to its degradation
3). Changing the grasslands to other forms of landuse such as agriculture, tree plantations and
industrialization forms a serious threat to this highly productive ecosystem
4). When animals overgraze the area, the grasses are converted into flat stubs with very little
green matter. Degraded grass- lands have fewer grass species as the nutritious species are
entirely used up by the large num- ber of domestic animals. They are thus unable to
regenerate.
5.0 Desert ecosystem
Desert and semi-arid lands are highly specialized and sensitive ecosystems that are easily
destroyed by human activities. The species of these dry areas can live only in this specialised
habitat.
Deserts and semi-arid areas are located in Western India and the Deccan Plateau. The climate
in these vast tracts is extremely dry. There are also cold deserts such as in Ladakh, which are
located in the high plateaus of the Himalayas. The most typical desert landscape that is seen in
Rajasthan is in the Thar Desert. This has sand dunes. There are also areas covered with sparse
grasses and a few shrubs, which grow if it rains. In most areas of the Thar the rainfall is scanty
and sporadic. In an area it may rain only once every few years. In the adjoining semi arid tract
the vegetation consists of a few shrubs and thorny trees such as kher and babul. Desert and
semi-arid regions have a number of highly specialized insects and reptiles. The rare animals
include the Indian wolf, desert cat, desert fox and birds such as the Great Indian Bustard and
the Florican. Some of the commoner birds include partridges, quails and sand grouse.
Areas that have a little moisture, such as along the watercourses, have been used for growing
crops such as jowar, and bajra. The natural grasses and local varieties of crops have adapted to
growing at very low moisture levels. These can be used for genetic engineering and developing
arid land crops for the future.
Conversion of these lands through extensive irrigation systems has changed several of the
natural characteristics of this region. The canal water evaporates rap- idly bringing the salts to

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the surface. The region becomes highly unproductive as it becomes saline. Pulling excessive
groundwater from tube wells lowers the water table creating an even drier environment. Thus
human activities destroy the naturalness of this unique ecosystem. The special species that
evolved here over millions of years may soon become extinct.
6.0 Aquatic ecosystems
In aquatic ecosystems, plants and animals live in water. These species are adapted to live in
different types of aquatic habitats. The special abiotic features are its physical aspects such as
the quality of the water, which includes its clarity, salinity, oxygen content and rate of flow.
Aquatic ecosystems may be classified as being stagnant ecosystems, or running water eco-
systems. The mud gravel or rocks that form the bed of the aquatic ecosystem alter its
characteristics and influence its plant and animal species composition. The aquatic ecosystems
are classified into freshwater, brackish and marine ecosystems, which are based on the salinity
levels.
The fresh water ecosystems that have running water are streams and rivers. Ponds, tanks and
lakes are ecosystems where water does not flow. Wetlands are special ecosystems in which the
water level fluctuates dramatically in different seasons. They have expanses of shallow water
with aquatic vegetation, which forms an ideal habitat for fish, crustacea and water birds.
Marine ecosystems are highly saline, while brackish areas have less saline water such as in river
deltas. Coral reefs are very rich in species and are found in only a few shallow tropical seas. The
richest coral reefs in India are around the Andaman and Nicobar islands and in the gulf of Kutch
Brackish water ecosystems in river deltas are covered by mangrove forests and are among the
world’s most productive ecosystems in terms of biomass production. The largest mangrove
swamps are in the Sunderbans in the delta of the Ganges
6.1 The Pond ecosystem
The pond is the simplest aquatic ecosystem to observe. There are differences in a pond that is
temporary and has water only in the monsoon, and a larger tank or lake that is an aquatic
ecosystem throughout the year. Most ponds become dry after the rains are over and are
covered by terrestrial plants for the rest of the year.

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When a pond begins to fill during the rains, its life forms such as the algae and microscopic
animals, aquatic insects, snails, and worms come out of the floor of the pond where they have
remained dormant in the dry phase. Gradually more complex animals such as crabs frogs and
fish return to the pond. The vegetation in the water consists of floating weeds and rooted
vegetation on the periphery which grows on the muddy floor under water and emerges out of
the surface of the water
6.2 Lake Ecosystem
A lake ecosystem functions like a giant permanent pond. A large amount of its plant material is
the algae, which derives energy from the sun. This is transferred to the microscopic animals,
which feed on the algae. There are fish that are herbivorous and are dependent on algae and
aquatic weeds. The small animals such as snails are used as food by small carnivorous fish,
which in turn are eaten by larger carnivorous fish. Some specialised fish, such as catfish, feed on
the detritus on the muddy bed of the lake.
Energy cycles through the lake ecosystem from the sunlight that penetrates the water surface
to the plants. From plants energy is transferred to herbivorous animals and carnivores. Animals
excrete waste products, which settle on the bottom of the lake. This is broken down by small
animals that live in the mud in the floor of the lake. This acts as the nutrient material that is
used by aquatic plants for their growth. During this process plants use Carbon from CO for their
growth and in the process release Oxygen. This Oxygen is then used by aquatic animals, which
filter water through their respiratory system
6.3 Stream and River ecosystems
Streams and rivers are flowing water ecosystems in which all the living forms are specially
adapted to different rates of flow. Some plants and animals such as snails and other burrowing
animals can withstand the rapid flow of the hill streams. Other species of plants and animals
such as water beetles and skaters can live only in slower moving water. Some species of fish,
such as Mahseer, go upstream from rivers to hill streams for breeding. They need crystal clear
water to be able to breed. They lay eggs only in clear water so that their young can grow
successfully.

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As deforestation occurs in the hills the water in the streams that once flowed throughout the
year become seasonal. This leads to flash floods in the rains and a shortage of water once the
streams dry up after the monsoon
6.4 Marine ecosystems
The Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal constitute the marine ecosystems
around peninsular India. In the coastal area the sea is shallow while further away, it is deep.
Both these are different ecosystems. The producers in this ecosystem vary from microscopic
algae to large seaweeds. There are millions of zoop- lankton and a large variety of invertebrates
on which live fish, turtles and marine mammals.
The marine ecosystem is used by coastal fisher folk for fishing which forms their livelihood. In
the past, fishing was done at a sustainable level. The marine ecosystem continued to maintain
its abundant supply of fish over many generations. Now with intensive fishing by using giant
nets and mechanised boats, fish catch in the Indian Ocean has dropped significantly.
6.5 Seashore ecosystems
Various shore birds feed on their prey by probing into the sand or mud on the sea shore.
Beaches can be sandy, rocky, shell covered or muddy. On each of these different types, there
are several specific species which have evolved to occupy a separate niche. There are different
crustacea such as crabs that make holes in the sand.

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