Chapter- 13 Class- 12/ Biology

ECOSYSTEM
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Ecosystem: An ecosystem can be defined as a functional unit of nature, where living organisms interact among
themselves and also with the surrounding environment.

ECOSYSTEM- Structure and Function:

1. Structural components: It can be further divided into two major components.
i). Abiotic components: Includes physical and
chemical factors like light, temperature, water,
oxygen, carbon dioxide, minerals, etc,.
ii). Biotic components: Includes various types of
living organisms.

2. Functional components: It includes the following

major aspects- (a). Productivity (b). Decomposition
(c). Energy flow (d). Nutrient cycling.

Pond as an example of an ecosystem:

Abiotic components- includes water with dissolved inorganic and organic substances, rich soil deposits at the bottom.
Biotic components- It includes
(i). Autotrophs: includes phytoplankton's like algae, the
floating, submerged and marginal plants found at the
edges.
(ii). Consumers: includes zooplanktons, the free swimming and bottom dwelling forms.
(iii). Decomposers: Includes Fungi, bacteria and flagellates.
- This system performs all the functions of any ecosystem and of the biosphere as a whole, i.e., conversion of inorganic
into organic material with the help of the radiant energy of the sun by the autotrophs, consumption of the autotrophs by
heterotrophs, decomposition and mineralization of the dead matter to release them back for reuse by the autotrophs.

Functional component of an ecosystem:

It consists of the following components:
I. PRODUCTIVITY:
- Primary production: is defined as the amount of biomass or organic matter produced per unit area over a time
period by plants during photosynthesis. It is expressed in terms of weight (gm -2) or energy (Kcal m-2).
- Productivity: The rate of biomass production is called productivity. It is expressed in terms of gm -2 yr-1 or (kcalm-2)
yr-1.
- Productivity can be divided into-
a). Gross primary productivity (GPT): is the rate of production of organic matter during photosynthesis.
b). Net primary productivity (NNP): Gross primary productivity minus respiration losses(R) is the NPP.
GPP – R = NPP
- Net primary productivity is the available biomass for the consumption to heterotrophs.
Secondary productivity: is defined as the rate of formation of new organic matter by consumers.
Primary productivity depends on-
i. Plant species inhabiting a particular area.
ii. Variety of environmental factors.
iii. Availability of nutrients.
 iv. Photosynthetic capacity of plants.
- Annual net primary productivity of the whole biosphere is 170 billion Tons (dry weight).
- Productivity of ocean is 55 billion Tons even though it occupies 70% of the earth’s surface.

II. DECOMPOSITION:
- The process of breakdown of complex organic matter into inorganic substances like carbon dioxide, water and
nutrients by decomposers is called decomposition.
- Detritus: Dead plants remains such as leaves, barks, flowers and dead remains of animals, including fecal matters
constitute detritus, which is the raw material for decomposition.
Steps in the process off decomposition:
1. Fragmentation: Breakdown of detritus into smaller particles by detritivores (Eg: earthworm) is called fragmentation.
2. Leaching: Water soluble inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon and get precipitated as unavailable salts.
3. Catabolism: Bacterial and fungal enzymes degrade detritus into simpler inorganic substances. This process is called
catabolism.
4. Humification: It is a process of accumulation of dark coloured amorphous substance called humus that is highly
resistant to microbial action and undergoes decomposition at an extremely slow rate. Being colloid in nature it serves
as a reservoir of nutrients.

III. ENERGY FLOW:

- Energy flow in an ecosystem is the process of energy transfer through various trophic levels.
- Sun is the primary source of energy for all ecosystems on earth except for deep sea hydro- thermal ecosystem.
- Of the incoming solar energy, about 30% get reflected back into the space and 20% get absorbed by the
atmosphere. Only about 50% is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), i.e., available for photosynthesis.
- Plants capture only 2-10 percent of the PAR and this small amount of energy sustains the entire living world.
- The flow of energy in an ecosystem is unidirectional.
- Energy flow in an ecosystem follows second law of thermodynamic (i.e., States when energy is transferred from
one form to another, some energy is always loss as heat).
Basing on the process by how organisms obtained their food in an ecosystem, organisms can be categorized as-
1. Producers (Autotrophs): It includes the green plants in the ecosystem. Herbaceous and woody plants are the major
producers in a terrestrial ecosystem. Planktons, algae and higher plants are the producers in aquatic ecosystem.
2. Consumers (Heterotrophs): It includes all animals that depend on plants directly or indirectly for their food needs.
i). Primary consumers (Herbivores): Includes animals which feed on plants. Eg: Rabbit, Deer, etc.
ii). Secondary consumers (Primary carnivores): includes animals that feed on grass eating animals. Eg: Fox, Wild Cat,
etc.
iii). Tertiary consumers (Secondary carnivores): Includes an animal that feeds on secondary consumers. Eg: Snake
eating Frog.
iv). Quaternary consumers (Top carnivores): Includes an animal which feeds on tertiary consumers. They are not
eaten by other animals. Eg: Lion, Tiger, etc.
v). Omnivores: Animals that eat both plants and animals. Eg: Cockroaches, Crow, Human, etc.
3. Decomposers: Includes organisms that feed on dead plants and animals. Eg: Fungi and some Bacteria.
TYPES OF FOOD CHAIN:
a). Grazing food chain (GFC): It is a simple food chain that extends from producers to herbivores to carnivores.
Grass → Goat → Man
( Producer) (Primary consumer) (Secondary consumer)
b). Detritus food chain (DFC): It begins with dead organic matters. It is made up of decomposers (Heterotrophic fungi
and bacteria). They are also known as saprophytes.
They secrete digestive enzymes that breakdown dead and waste material into simple inorganic material, which are
subsequently absorbed by them.
- In aquatic ecosystem, GFC is the major conduit for energy flow. As against this, in a terrestrial ecosystem a much
larger fraction of energy flow through the DFC.
Food web: Interconnected food chain is called food web.
Trophic level: Based on the sources of food, organism occupy specific place in the food chain and is known as their
trophic level.
- Amount of energy decreases at successive trophic level.
 Standing crops: Amount of mass of living material at a particular time is called as the standing crop.
- The standing crop is measured as the mass of living organisms (biomass) or number in a unit area.
- The biomass of a species is expressed in terms of fresh or dry weight.
- Measurement in terms of dry weight is more accurate.
- The number of trophic level in the grazing food chain is restricted as the transfer of energy follows 10 percent law-
only 10 % of energy is transferred to each trophic level from the lower trophic level.

ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS:
An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation of various ecological parameters like number of individuals present
at various levels of a food chain. In a pyramid producer occupy the base, top carnivores at the top and intermediate
level in between.
- There are three types of ecological pyramids namely- (a). Pyramid of number (b). Pyramid of biomass & (c). Pyramid
of energy.
a). Pyramid of number: It is the numerical relationship between different tropic level of a food chain at a particular
time.
b). Pyramid of biomass: It gives the total biomass or standing crop of organisms at each level at a particular time.

c). Pyramid of energy: It represents the amouny of calories transferred from one trophic to next trophic level.

- A given species may occupy more than one tropic level in the same ecosystem at the same time. For example, a
sparrow is a primary consumer when it eats fruits but a secondary consumer when it eats insects.
- Pyramid of energy is always upright, can never be inverted because when energy flows from a particular tropic level
to the next tropic level, some energy is always lost as heat at each level.
- But pyramid of number and pyramid of biomass can be inverted in certain ecosystem. Eg: Pyramid of energy in
inverted in tree dominated ecosystem and pyramid of biomass is inverted in sea, pond or ocean ecosystem.