Unit -1

1.Description of concept of environment and ecology

2. Need for public awareness

3. Interaction among ecological factors which are related to

water, land, air, light and temperature

4.Factors Responsible for Change-Global Warming

Climate Change
Loss of Biodiversity
Deforestation
Desertification
 Environmental Study: A multidisciplinary Approach

1. Environmental studies deals with every issue that affects an

organism.

2. It is essentially a multidisciplinary approach where its components

include biology, geology, chemistry, physics, engineering, sociology,
health, anthropology, economics, statistics, computers and
philosophy.

3. It is an applied science as it seeks practical answers to making

human civilization sustainable on the earth’s finite resources.
Environmental Study: A multidisciplinary Approach
 ENVIRONMENT : DEFINITION AND CONTEXT
 An environment can be simply defined as a system that includes all
biotic and abiotic components that have an impact on human life.

 All flora and animals are considered biotic, or living, elements,

whereas water, sunlight, air, climate, etc. are considered abiotic.
Ecological Context:

 ‘Environment,’ in the most literal meaning, means surroundings, so

everything in a person’s immediate vicinity would be considered part
of that person’s environment.

 Individuals, things, elements, and systems rarely exist in isolation in

reality; instead, they interact with their surrounding entities to varied
degrees to form complex systems.
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT
Biological
 1. Atmosphere
Gaseous envelope surrounding a celestial body (earth)

• The atmosphere forms a protective shell over the earth.

• The atmosphere is not uniformly warmed by the sun. This leads to air flows
and variations in climate, temperature and rainfall in different parts of the
earth.

• It is a complex dynamic system. If its nature is disrupted it affects all

mankind. Most air pollutants have both global and regional effects. Living
creatures cannot survive without air even for a span of a few minutes. To
continue to support life, air must be kept clean.
 Major pollutants of air are created by industrial units that release various
gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and toxic fumes into the air.
Air is also polluted by burning fossil fuels. The build-up of carbon dioxide
which is known as ‘greenhouse effect’ in the atmosphere is leading to current
global warming.
Troposphere

 The troposphere begins at the Earth's surface, but the height of the
troposphere varies. It is (18-20 km) high at the equator and just under
four miles (6 km) high at the poles.

 As the density of the gases in this layer decrease with height, the air
becomes thinner. Therefore, the temperature in the troposphere also
decreases with height.

Stratosphere

 The stratosphere extends from (6-20 km) above the Earth's surface to
around (50 km). This layer holds 19 % of the atmosphere's gases but
very little water vapor.
 The increase in temperature with height means warmer air is located
above cooler air. This prevents convection as there is no upward
vertical movement of the gases.

Mesosphere

 This layer extends from around (50 km) above the Earth's surface to
(85 km).

 The gases in the mesosphere are now thick enough to slow down
meteors hurtling into the atmosphere, where they burn up, leaving
fiery trails in the night sky.
Thermosphere

 Between about (85 km) and (600 km) lies the thermosphere, known
as the upper atmosphere.

 As such, incoming high energy ultraviolet and x-ray radiation from

the sun begins to be absorbed by the molecules in this layer and
causes a large temperature increase.
Exosphere

 This is the outermost layer of the atmosphere. It extends from

about (600 km) to (10,000 km) above the earth.

 In this layer, atomospheric molecules escape into space & satellites

orbit earth.
 2) Hydrosphere

The hydrosphere covers three quarters of the earth’s surface.

The components are oceans, freshwater, surface water, groundwater, glacial

water and atmospheric water vapor.
• Clean water for drinking (a metabolic requirement for living processes).
• Water used in agriculture and industry.
• Water cycle
• Food resources from the sea, including fish, crustacea, sea weed, etc.
• Food from fresh water sources, including fish, crustacea and aquatic plants.
• Water flowing down from mountain ranges harnessed to generate electricity in
hydroelectric projects.
 A major part of the hydrosphere is the marine ecosystem in the ocean, while
only a small part occurs in fresh water.

 Fresh water in rivers, lakes and glaciers, is perpetually being renewed by a

process of evaporation and rainfall.

 Some of this fresh water lies in underground aquifers.

HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE/ WATER CYCLE
 3) Lithosphere

The lithosphere began as a hot ball of matter which formed the earth about 4.6
billion years ago. About 3.2 billion years ago, the earth cooled down
considerably and a very special event took place - life began on our planet.

• Soil, the basis for agriculture to provide us with food.

• Stone, sand and gravel, used for construction.
• Micronutrients in soil, essential for plant growth.
• Microscopic flora, small soil fauna and fungi in soil, important living
organisms of the lithosphere, which break down plant litter as well as animal
wastes to provide nutrients for plants.
 Of the 92 elements in the lithosphere only eight are common constituents
of crustal rocks. Of these constituents,
47% is oxygen,
28% is silicon,
8% is aluminium,
5% is iron,
4% constitute sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium.

 Rocks, when broken down, form soil on which man is dependent for his
agriculture. Their minerals are also the raw material used in various
industries
4) Biosphere
 Within it the air, water, rocks and soil and the living creatures, form
structural and functional ecological units, which together can be considered
as one giant global living system, that of our Earth itself.

 Within this framework, those characterised by broadly similar geography

and climate, as well as communities of plant and animal life can be divided
for convenience into different biogeographical realms.

 These occur on different continents. Within these, smaller biogeographical

units can be identified on the basis of structural differences and functional
aspects into distinctive recognizable ecosystems, which give a distinctive
character to a landscape or waterscape.
 Ecosphere- The regions of the Earth that are capable of supporting
life, together with the ecosystems they contain; the biosphere.

 Sociosphere (plural sociospheres) The totality of social interactions

(of a particular person)

 Cryosphere refers to Earth's ice in all its forms. The cryosphere

includes: Snow on the ground. Lake and river ice.
 Ecosystem
Essential Questions:
 Concept , Structure , function and components
 How do nutrients move in the ecosystem?
 How does energy move through the ecosystem?
 Ecosystem
The term Ecosystem was first
proposed by A.G. Tansley in 1935.

An ecosystem consists of the

biological community that occurs in
some locale, and the physical and
chemical factors that make up its non-
living environment.

Many examples of ecosystems - a

pond, a desert, a forest, an
estuary, an ocean.
Ecosystem
 All the organisms in a community plus abiotic factors
 ecosystems are transformers of energy
& processors of matter
 Ecosystems are self-sustaining
 what is needed?

 capture energy
 transfer energy
 cycle nutrients
 Ecosystem is the basic functional unit of Ecology.

Definition
A group of organisms interacting among themselves
and with environment is known as ecosystem. Thus an
ecosystem is a community of different species interacting
with one another and with their non living environment
exchanging energy and matter.

Example
Animals cannot synthesis their food directly but depend
on the plants either directly or indirectly.
 Ecosystem inputs

constant
energy flows
input
of
through
energy
nutrients cycle

Matter cannot
Don’t forget
bethe
created
laws of or
Physics!
destroyed

nutrients inputs
can only  energy
cycle
biosphere  nutrients
 Ecosystems with greater productivity have more sunlight, water and nutrients.
An ecosystem consists of two main components
Abiotic or Non-living components.
1. Inorganic substances
2. Organic compounds
3. Climatic factors
Biotic or Living components.
1. Autotrophs or Producers
2. Heterotrophs or Consumers
3. Decomposers or Saprotrophs
 Abiotic (non-living) components

 The non-living components (physical and chemical) of ecosystem

collectively form a community called abiotic components (or) abiotic
community.

 Ex: climatic factors, edaphic (soil) factors, geographical factors, energy,

nutrients and toxic substances

1.Physical components: Include the energy, climate, nutrients and living

space that the biological community needs.
 2.Chemical Components: They are the sources of essential
nutrients.

• Organic substances : Protein, lipids, carbohydrates, etc.,

• Inorganic substances: All micro (Al, Co, Zu, Cu) and macro
elements (C,H, O, P, N, P, K) and few other elements.
 Biotic Community

•Producers /autotrophs/ primary producers are the plants in the

ecosystem, which can generate their own energy requirement through
photosynthesis, in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll.

•Consumers /Heterotrophs/ Phagotrophs include Macro Consumers -

herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. The herbivores are the living
organisms that feed on plants. Carnivores eat other living organisms.
Omnivores are animals that can eat both plant and animal tissue.

•Micro consumers/Decomposers/Saprotrophs/ Osmotrophs are the fungi

and bacteria, which are the saprophytes. They feed on the decaying
organic matter and convert this matter into nitrogen and carbon di oxide.
The saprophytes play a vital role in recycling the nitrients so that the
producers i.e. plants can use them once again.
 Ecology

 Ecology is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of life

along with the interactions between different organisms and their
natural environment.

 The name Ecology has been derived from the Greek word oikos, which
refers to the house or the environment.
 Level of Organization
Organism
It is the lowest level of organization, which includes both unicellular
and multicellular organisms.
Population
A population is a group of individuals of a single species living together within a
particular geographic area.

Community
It refers to the several populations that interact and inhabit a common
environment and are interdependent.
 CASE STUDY

A BUILD-UP OF DDT CONCENTRATION :

A striking case of biomagnification of DDT (a broad range insecticide) was observed

when some birds like Osprey were found to suffer a sharp decline in their
population. The young ones of these birds were found to hatch out in premature
condition leading to their death. This was later found to be due to bio-magnification
of DDT through the food chain. DDT sprayed for pest control was in very low
concentration, but its concentration increased along the food chain through
phytoplanktons to zooplanktons and then to fish which was eaten by the birds. The
concentration of DDT was magnified several thousand times in the birds which
caused thinning of shells in the birds’eggs, causing death of the young ones. It
becomes very clear from the above instance that the animals occupying the higher
trophic levels are at a greater risk of biomagnification of toxic chemicals. Human
beings consuming milk, eggs and meat are at a higher trophic level. So, we have to
stop indiscriminate use of pesticides and heavy metals if we wish to save ourselves
from their biologically magnified toxic levels.
The balance between the living beings and also with the non-
living environment is called the Ecological Balance or simply
a Balance in Nature. Unfortunately, however human activities
have upset the ecological balance in nature, so it is more
essential that balance in nature should be established soon
because it is essential for our own existence.
 Interaction among ecological factors as related to
water, land, air ,light and temperature

Abiotic factors such as light, temperature, wind, water, air, and soil play an
important role in sustaining living organisms in an ecosystem.

Light
 Sun is the ultimate source of energy for living beings present in the biosphere.

 The electromagnetic radiations from the sun supply energy and warm up the earth.

 The radiation coming from sun provides a favorable global temperature for the survival
of living beings.

 Light plays an important role in essential processes such as photosynthesis in plants. It

is a process by which plants convert the light energy from sun into usable chemical
energy..
 Variations in availability of light affect the distribution of biotic communities to
a greater extent

TEMPERATURE

 Temperature is another important abiotic factor crucial for existence of living

organisms.

 It regulates various essential activities such as growth and reproduction.

 Temperature shows variation from region to region depending upon the

topography, latitude and longitude.

 Temperature varies according to geography of the region. Temperature

gradients depend upon the presence of barriers such as mountain ranges and
ocean currents.
 SOIL

 Soil forms the outer layer of the earth’s crust.

 The word soil is derived from the word ‘solum’ meaning earthy material that
supports plant growth.

 Soil acts as a substrate that provides mechanical support to plants and as a

reservoir of water and nutrients for plants.

 It is composed of inorganic and organic materials.

 Inorganic components include mineral elements derived from parent rock

material. Organic matter comprises of organic wastes, dead remains of plants,
animals and their decomposition products.

 Large number of algae and microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi
form an important component of soil.
 WATER

States of Water in the Environment Water occurs in three phases- solid, liquid, gas.

Refer Hydrosphere

AIR

Refer Atmosphere
 NEED FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS

Quality and integrity of environment can be preserved by public awareness. Dwindling

environment is the biggest threat to the existence of human beings. Loss of valuable natural
resources and pollution lead to harmful effects as well as abiotic stress on flora and fauna.
Public awareness is one of the basic principles in environment management. It involves:

1.Developing sensitivity and awareness towards environmental issues.

2.Inculcating and imbibing the stringent need for conservation of natural resources and
surrounding environment.

3.Encouraging active participation of the people in environmental protection and development.

4.Developing expertise for the active identification, finding remedy to environmental

problems.

5.Assessment of socio-economic, ecological and aesthetic aspects and impacts of various