What is an Ecosystem?

“An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the

nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and
mineral soil), interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are
regarded as linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. As
ecosystems are defined by the network of interactions among organisms, and
between organisms and their environment, they can be of any size but usually
encompass specific, limited spaces”

An ecosystem, a term very often used in biology, is a community of plants and

animals interacting with each other in a given area, and also with their non-
living environments. The non-living environments include weather, earth, sun,
soil, climate and atmosphere. The ecosystem relates to the way that all these
different organisms live in close proximity to each other and how they interact
with each other. For instance, in an ecosystem where there are both rabbits and
foxes, these two creatures are in a relationship where the fox eats the rabbit in
order to survive. This relationship has a knock on effect with the other creatures
and plants that live in the same or similar areas which means ,the more rabbits
that foxes eat, the more the plants may start to thrive because there are fewer
rabbits to eat them.

Ecosystems can be huge, with many hundreds of different animals and plants all
living in a delicate balance, or they could be relatively small. In particularly
harsh places in the world, particularly the North and South Poles, the
ecosystems are relatively simple because there are only a few types of creatures
that can withstand the freezing temperatures and harsh living conditions. Some
creatures can be found in multiple different ecosystems all over the world in
different relationships with other or similar creatures. Ecosystems also consist
of creatures that mutually benefit from each other. For instance, a popular
example is that of the clown fish and the anemone – the clown fish cleans the
anemone and keeps it safe from parasites as the anemone stings bigger predators
that would otherwise eat clown fish.
 Components of an Ecosystem
An ecosystem has two basic components:

Biotic components are the living things that have a direct or indirect influence
on other organisms in an environment. For example plants, animals, and
microorganisms and their waste materials.

Abiotic components of an ecosystem include all chemical and physical elements

i.e. non-living components. Abiotic components can vary from region to region,
from one ecosystem to another. They mainly take up the role of life supporter.
They determine and restrict the population growth, number, and diversity of
biotic factors in an ecosystem. Hence they are called limiting factors.

A terrestrial ecosystem consists of abiotic factors like climate, type of soil or

rock, altitude, temperature, nutrients, and minerals, whereas abiotic components
in an aquatic ecosystem include dissolved gases, depth of water, salinity, pH of
water, light intensity etc
The significance of Biotic and Abiotic Components

Biotic components can be classified into three categories:

Producers: These include all the autotrophs. They use light energy and
synthesize food on their own, e.g. plants, green algae, etc.

Consumers: These include all the heterotrophs that directly or indirectly depend
on producers for their food. Consumers are further categorized as herbivores,
carnivores, omnivores and parasites.

Decomposers: These include saprophytes which act on dead matter and decay
them for their nutrition.

The relevance of biotic and abiotic components in an environment appears

when they start interacting with each other. For example, biotic elements like
plants provide food for other organisms. The soil is the abiotic element which
supports the growth of the plants by providing nutrients and other essential
elements. Biotic components depend on abiotic components for their survival
and help in the formation of abiotic factors like soil, nutrients, etc.
What is Flora and Fauna?

Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the
naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for
animal life is fauna. Flora, fauna and other forms of life such as fungi are
collectively referred to as biota. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred
to as flora, as in the terms gut flora or skin flora.

Flora and fauna are words originating from Latin. Flora in Latin means goddess
of the flower. Flora is also derived from the word floral, which means relating
to flowers. Therefore flora is a group of indigenous plants in an ecosystem of a
geographical region. The origin of the word fauna is a bit shrouded in mystery.
According to Roman mythology, Fauna refers to the goddess of fertility. Fauna
is sometimes referred to as Fauns, meaning forest spirits. By definition, fauna is
a group of indigenous animals of any geographical region.
LIST OF FLORA:
 NEEM
Scientific name: Azadirachta indica
Habitat: The neem tree is noted for its drought resistance. Normally it thrives
in areas with sub-arid to sub-humid conditions, with an annual rainfall of 400–
1,200 millimetres (16–47 in). It can grow in regions with an annual rainfall
below 400 mm, but in such cases it depends largely on ground water levels.
Neem can grow in many different types of soil, but it thrives best on well
drained deep and sandy soils.

Field Identifying features: It is a tall evergreen tree with the small bright
green leaves. It is up to 100 feet tall. It blossoms in spring with the small white
flowers. It has a straight trunk. Its bark is hard rough and scaly, fissured even
in small trees. The colour of the bark is brown greyish. The leaves are alternate
and consists of several leaflets with serrated edges. Its flowers are small and
white in colour. The fruit like edible fruit is oval, round and thin skinned.

Importance in ecosystem: The planting of Neem trees helps reduce green

house gases through photosynthesis absorbing large quantities of CO2 and
producing oxygen. Besides neem has remarkable ability to withstand air and
water pollution, as well as heat. Neem also restores and maintains soil fertility.

 MANGO
Scientific name: Mangifera Indica
Habitat: Mango trees grow best in lowland tropical forests but can grow in
altitudes up to 1200 meters. The Mangifera indica tree also thrives where a
rainy season and a dry season are clearly present.
Field Identifying features: A mango tree is an evergreen tree and can
reach a height of 20m when conditions are favourable. They have erect stem,
tough leaves and flowers are small, yellowish or reddish and attract insects.
Importance in Ecosystem: It provides us with the king of fruits i.e Mango
and like all trees purify the air by releasing oxygen.
 BANYAN TREE
Scientific name: Ficus Benghalensis
Habitat: It prefers areas of high humidity and moist soils.
Field Identifying features: Banyan trees are characterized by aerial prop
roots that mature into thick, woody trunks, which can become
indistinguishable from the primary trunk with age. Young leaves have an
attractive reddish tinge.
Importance in Ecosystem: As it grows over many years and has a wide
spread it is home to many birds and creatures. It has various medicinal
values as well.

 KRISHNACHURA
Scientific name: Delonix Regia
Habitat: The royal Poinciana requires a tropical or near-tropical climate,
but can tolerate drought and salty conditions. It prefers an open, free-
draining sandy or loamy soil enriched with organic matter.
Field Identifying features: It is noted for its fern-like leaves and
flamboyant display of flowers
Importance in Ecosystem: The tree is mainly grown for its shade and
ornamental value.

 BURFLOWER TREE(KODOM)
Scientific name: Neolamarckia Cadamba
Habitat: It is the tree of rainy season thus requires tropical temperature and
moist soil .
Field Identifying characters: A fully mature kadam tree can reach up to
45 m (148 ft) in height. It is a large tree with a broad crown and straight
cylindrical bole. It is quick growing, with broad spreading branches and
grows rapidly in the first 6–8 years. Kadam flowers are sweetly fragrant, red
to orange in colour, occurring in dense, globular heads.
Importance in Ecosystem: It is an ornamental tree and also has some
medicinal values.
 APARAJITA
Scientific name: Clitoria ternatea
Habitat: This plant is native to tropical equatorial Asia, including locations
such as Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, but has
also been introduced to Africa, Australia and America.
Field Identifying Characters: It is a perennial herbaceous plant, with
elliptic, obtuse leaves. It grows as a vine or creeper, doing well in moist,
neutral soil. The most striking feature about this plant is the color of its
flowers, a vivid deep blue; solitary, with light yellow markings
Importance in Ecosystem: Its roots form a symbiotic association with soil
bacteria known as rhizobia, which transform atmospheric N2 into a plant-
usable form (a process called nitrogen fixing), therefore, this plant is also
used to improve soil quality through the decomposition of nitrogen rich plant
material.

 KOROBI
Scientific name: Nerium Oleander
Habitat: It is found in tropical and sub-tropical areas.
Field Identifying Characters: Beautiful blossoms, of fragrant pink
flowers in bunches, at the tip of branchlets rendering an eye-catching sight
that is 'Oleander'.
Importance in Ecosystem: It is an ornamental tree and is popular for its
hue and fragrance.

 BOUGAINVILLEA
Scientific name: Bougainvillea glabra
Habitat: They are evergreen where rainfall occurs all year, or deciduous if
there is a dry season.
Field Identifying Characters: Bougainvillea is sometimes referred to as
"paper flower" because the bracts are thin and papery. The fruit is a narrow
five-lobed.
Importance in Ecosystem: Bougainvillea are popular ornamental plants in
most areas with warm climates.
 SACRED TREE(PALASH)
Scientific name: Butea Monosperma
Habitat: It is a deciduous tree and found mainly in sub-tropical areas.
Field Identifying Characters: It is a medium-sized tree which is 15m tall.
Flowers are vibrant orange in colour . The fruit pod is long.
Importance to Ecosystem: It is mainly ornamental tree which has
beautiful flowers. It is also used for resins and medicines.

 CARAMBOLA(KAMRANGA)
Scientific Name: Averrhoa Carambola
Habitat: Averrhoa carambola, is a tropical, evergreen, small tree or shrub
native to Southeast Asia and Indian Subcontinent .
Field Identifying Characters: It reaches up to 5-12 m tall when fully
matured. Its flowers are red-purple in color, small, and bell shaped.
Im