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IN 7th Standard Science Notes: An Eco System

An Eco System

 A community of living organisms with the physical environment of a definite geographical

region form an eco system. Eco-systems may be natural or artificial.
 Elephants live in forests. Forest is an ecosystem. Forests are the natural habitats of elephants.
People have been cutting down trees and reducing forest cover for cultivation and other
purposes.
 The elephants lose their habitations in the reduced forest area. So they are forced to come out of
their forest homes (ecosystems) and move in the areas where people live.

Natural Eco-systems.

 A pond, a grassland, a forest, a lake, a desert etc. are examples of natural eco-systems.

Artificial Eco-systems.

 An aquarium, a park, a paddy field, etc. are examples of artificial eco-systems.

Components of Eco-system

 An eco-system consists of two main components. They are biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living)
components.

Biotic Components

 Plants, Animals Biotic Components of the Eco System.

Biotic Components The living components are broadly classified into three categories.

1. Producers:

 They are green plants that prepare their own food by the process of photosynthesis.

2. Consumers:

 We know that animals eat plants and they in turn are eaten by other animals. Hence the food
produced by green plants is directly or indirectly consumed by all kind of animals, which are
called consumers. eg. Goat.

3. Decomposers:

 They are organisms which feed upon dead matter to get energy and give back the nutrients to
the soil. eg. bacteria and fungi.

Abiotic Components

 Siol, Air, Water, Sunlight are the Abiotic Components of the Eco System.

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 Abiotic Components These include the soil, water, air and climatic factors such as temperature,
sunlight, humidity etc.

Food Chain

 The sun is the ultimate source of energy to all living things. Green plants capture solar energy
and convert carbon-dioxide and water into food by photosynthesis.
 This food energy is transferred to the primary consumer when they eat plants.
 Then the primary consumer is eaten by the secondary consumer which in turn is eaten by a
tertiary consumer.
 So, in a given ecosystem, there is a process of organisms eating some others or being eaten by
some other organisms.
 The path of energy transfer from one organism to another in a single direction is called a food
chain.

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 In a food chain, each group of organisms occupies a particular position. The position of
organisms in a food chain is called trophic level.
 Plants are producers and form the first trophic level. The second trophic level comprises of plant
eaters the herbivores. Carnivores which eat the herbivores form the third trophic level.
 The fourth trophic levelis occupied by the large carnivores.
 If one link in a food chain is broken it would result in the extinction of a species.

Food Web

 In a given ecosystem, a single food chain may not exist separately. An animal can eat more than
one kind of food. For eg. an eagle can eat a rabbit, a mouse or a snake and a snake can feed on
a mouse or a frog. So, many food chains get interlinked. A network of interlinked food chains is
called a food web.

Flow of Energy

 The sun is the ultimate source of energy for all living things. At first, the solar energy flows from
the sun to the surface of the earth. Green plants trap the solar energy and convert it into chemical
energy (food).
 The amount of energy decreases from one trophic level to another. The flow of energy is always
in one direction only.

Biome

 An ecosystem may be small or big. When small ecosystems are put together, they form a vast
geographical area which supports a wide variety of flora and fauna. At the same time such a vast
area has a different type of climate. Such a vast geographical area is called biome.

The different Biomes

 We can view our earth as various biomes based on their climate and also the latitude and
longitude on which they are present. Based on the types of flora and fauna, the biomes are
classified into many types.

Types of Forests

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1) Tropical Rain Forest:

 They are found in South America, Africa and Indo Malaysia region near the equator. The
weather is warm (20oC-25oC). Rainfall is plentiful, 190 cm per year.
 In India, they are found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Western ghats, Assam and West
Bengal.

2) Savannah:

 They are found South Africa, Western Australia, North West India and Eastern Pakistan. They
love a dry weather alternating with wet weather.
 The rainfall is about 25cm per year. Frequent fires occur during the dry season. In India, grassy
plains are found in the Nilgiris, Khasi hills and Naga hills.

3) Deserts:

 They are found Africa, Arizona in America and Mexican desert in Mexico. The days are hot and
nights are cold. The annual rainfall is less than 25 cm. In India, it is found in Rajasthan (The Thar
Desert).

4) Temperate Grassland:

 It is found in North and South America and parts of Europe. The annual rainfall is 25cm to 100
cm. They have two very severe dry seasons. They have windy hot summers and cold winters. In
India, It is found in Uttar Pradesh.

5) Deciduous Forests:

 They are found in North America, Eastern Asia and Europe. They receive 75 to 100 cm of
rainfall. The climate is moderate with mild winters. In India, it is found in Punjab, Tamil Nadu,
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.

6) Taiga:

 It is found Canada, Europe and Russia. They are also called Boreal Forests. The climate is of a
short cool summer and a long winter with abundant snowfall. The annual rainfall is 20cm to 60
cm. Most of it is covered with snow and ice. It is found in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Kashmir
in India.

7) Tundra:

 It is found south of the ice covered poles in the Northern hemisphere. Though it receives 25 cm of
rainfall, it has permanently frozen soil.
 The climate is extremely cold and windy. The temperature is less than 10oC. In India, it is found
in the Himalayas.

Importance of Forests

1. Forests are the sources for the formation of rivers.

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2. They increase the rainfall.

3. They prevent soil erosion and floods.

4. They become habitats to animals.

5. They maintain the oxygen and carbon dioxide balance in nature. Forests are considered as
God’s first temples. They play an important role in our day-to-day life.

“Vanamahotsav” Festival

 Vanamahotsav is an annual Indian tree planting festival celebrated in the month of July. It is to
create an enthusiasm in the minds of people to conserve forests.

Different Flora and Fauna

 Biomes have a variety of plants and animals. The flora and fauna found in one biome is
completely different from that in the other biome due to the different climatic conditions.
 India is one of the 12 mega biodiversity centres in the world with immense flora and fauna.
 The kind of flora and fauna found in different biomes are given below:

Important Questions and Answers

1. Pick out the correct answer:

a) Forest is an area with high density of __________ (trees / grass)

 Answer: trees

b) _______ is an example of a natural ecosystem. (Paddy field / Desert)

 Answer: Paddy field

th
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c) The third trophic level in a food chain comprises of _________________ (herbivore /

carnivore)

 Answer: Carnivore)

d) A network of interlinked food chain is called a __________________(food web / food cycle)

 Answer: Food Web

e) The festival of “Vanamahotsav” is celebrated in the month of _________. (June / July)

 Answer: July

2. Rearrange the following words to form a food chain.

(a) snake, mouse, paddy, eagle, grasshopper.

_______> ___________> __________> ________> ___________

 Paddy, mouse, snake, eagle, grasshopper

(b) man, big fish, phytoplankton, small fish, insects.

----------> -----------------> -------------> -------------> ----------

 Answer: Phytoplankton, insects, small fish, big fish, man

Characteristic feature Types of Forest

a. Savannah: Frequent forest fire

b. Tundra: Windy weather

c. Taiga: Snow and ice

d. Desert: Hot days and cold nights

e. Grassland: Ice covered frozen soil

f. Rain forest: Plentiful rainfall

8 List of animals with the biome where they are found.

a) Cheetah - Savannah

b) Snake - Tropical Rain Forest

c) Camel - Desert

d) Antelope - Grassland

e) Black bear - Deciduous forest

f) Grey wolf - Taiga

g) Penguin - Tundra

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