SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE-IX

LECTURE-2
ECOLOGY

PRESENTED BY: Ar. AASHNA ARORA

UNIT I: SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES

Need for sustainable development: population growth, carbon emissions, global

warming, climate change

Ecological balance, ecological foot prints, Historical background, philosophical

basis, social implications

Manifestoes: Brundtland report, Agenda 21, Kyoto Protocol, IPCC, Forum for
Future, complex rating systems

Role of architects: sustainable site, energy (operational and embodied), materials,

water and wastes

Green, eco, ecological, sustainable, bio-climatic, cradle-to-cradle, biomimicry,

restorative, regenerative design

Systems Approach: definition of system, types, characteristics, components,

behavior, integrated design
 WHAT YOU WILL LEARN TODAY ?

Intent: To understand the importance ecology and nature cycles.

Brief Content: Abiotic and Biotic factors and their interaction with the environment,
Different levels and types of Ecology, History of Ecology as science, Ecosophy,
Ecological footprint, Importance of ecology, Adverse ecological effects on Ecosystems,
Communities, and Species, 3E’s (Ecology, Economy, Equity) of Sustainable
Development.
 WHAT IS ENVIRONMENT?
The term ‘environment’ etymologically means surroundings.

Organisms and their environments are dynamic and interdependent. Thus, the
environment includes everything (biotic as well as abiotic) that surrounds an
organism.
 WHAT IS ECOLOGY ?

The word ‘ecology’ was first used by German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1869. The
word is derived from the Greek words, oikos (meaning ‘house’ or ‘dwelling place’)
and logos (meaning the study of).

Haeckel defined ecology as ‘the study of the natural environment including the
relations of organisms to one another and to their surroundings’.
 WHAT ECOLOGY DESCRIBES ?

Relationships between living

organisms and their environments

The interaction of organisms with each other

Pattern and cause of the abundance and distribution

of organisms in nature.
 Any factor, abiotic or
biotic, that influences living
organisms is called
environmental factor (or
ecological factor or
Environmental
ecofactor). factors

Abiotic Biotic

Prey,
Ambient Amount of Soil in which Competitors,
pH of water Predators,
temperature Sunlight organism live
Parasites
 OBJECTIVES OF ECOLOGICAL STUDIES

• It is important for humanity to understand its environment because we have

the ability to modify the environment through the use of technology, and
through overexploitation of natural resources as a result of greed or sheer
pressure of numbers. Therefore, ecology is more than just the understanding
of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment; it also
has social, political, economic and technological dimensions.

• It also is a study of evolutionary development of organisms, the

biological productivity and energy flow in the natural system.
 LEVELS OF ECOLOGY

Level # 1. Individual:
An individual can be any living organism that has the
ability to function independently. It is a body made up
of organs, organelles and other parts that work together
to carry out various processes of life for e.g. a lion, an
elephant, a tiger, a wolf etc.

• It has a definite life span including definite series of stages

like birth, hatching, growth, maturity, senescence, aging
and death.
• Competition, mutualism and predation are various types
of interaction between organisms.
 LEVELS OF ECOLOGY

Ecological Level # 2. Population:

In ecology, a population is a group of individuals of the same
species, inhabiting the same area, and functioning as a unit of
biotic community.

• For example, all individuals of the common grass,

Cynodon, in a given area constitute its population.
Similarly, the individuals of elephants or tigers in an area
constitute their population.
• These interactions may be a predator and its prey, or a
parasite with its host.
• Competition, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, and
predation are various types of interactions.
 LEVELS OF ECOLOGY
Ecological Level # 3. Biological Community:
A biological community consists of all the populations of different
species that live in a given area, their interdependence and
interactions amongst population of different species in a habitat.
This is an assemblage of populations of plants, animals, bacteria and
fungi that live in an area and interact with each other.

A Community in most instances is named after the dominant plant

species. E.g., grasses dominate a grassland community, though it may
contain herbs, shrubs, and trees along with associated animals of
different species.
 LEVELS OF ECOLOGY
Ecological Level # 4. Ecosystem:
• An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction
with the non-living 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.
• The term ecosystem was coined by Sir Arthur Tansley in 1935.
Ecosystems can be recognised as self-
regulating and self-sustaining units of
landscape, e.g., a pond or a forest.
An ecosystem has two basic
components:

(i) Abiotic (non-living), and

(ii) Biotic (living organisms).

Abiotic components comprise

inorganic materials, such as
carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, CO2,
water etc., while biotic
components include producers,
consumers and decomposers.
2. BIOTIC FACTORS
•The Major Biological Components of
Ecosystem : a. Producers (Autotrophs)(self-
feeders)
• Light energy is stored in the chemical
bonds of the molecules, which are used as
fuel and building material by the plant.

• Make their own food from compounds that

are obtained from their environment.

• Are the source of all food in an ecosystem.

• On land most producers are green plants.

• In freshwater and marine ecosystems, algae

and plants are the major producers near
shorelines.

• In open water, the dominant producers are

phytoplankton (most of them microscopic)
that float or drift in the water.
PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY

In ecology, productivity is the rate at which energy is added to the bodies of

organisms in the form of biomass. Biomass is simply the amount of matter that's
stored in the bodies of a group of organisms. There are two basic types of productivity:
gross and net.

ENERGY/BIOMASS
•Gross primary productivity, or GPP, is the rate at which solar energy is captured in
sugar molecules during photosynthesis (energy captured per unit area per unit
time).
•Producers such as plants use some of this energy for metabolism/cellular respiration
and some for growth (building tissues).

•Net primary productivity, or NPP, is gross primary productivity minus the rate
of energy loss to metabolism and maintenance.
•In other words, it's the rate at which energy is stored as biomass by plants or other
primary producers and made available to the consumers in the ecosystem.
TYPES OF CONSUMERS
Decomposer :
• Mostly certain types of bacteria and fungi are specialized consumers that recycle
organic matter in ecosystems.
• They do this by breaking down (biodegrading) dead organic material to get nutrients
and releasing the resulting simpler inorganic compounds into the soil and water, where
they can be taken up as nutrients by producers.
Natural Ecosystems : These operate under natural conditions without any major
interference by man.
i. Terrestrial Ecosystem : Forest, grassland, desert, etc. ii. Aquatic Ecosystem : a.
Fresh water : Letic (running water like spring, stream, or rivers) or Lentic (standing
water as lake, pond, pools, etc.) b. Marine water : Such as deep bodies as ocean or
shallow ones as Sea or an estuary.
Artificial (Man Engineered)
Ecosystems : These are
maintained artificially by man
where by addition of energy
and planned manipulation,
natural balance is disturbed
regularly
Ecological Level # 5. Landscape:
A landscape is a unit of land with a natural boundary
having a mosaic of patches, which generally represent
different ecosystems.
Ecological Level # 6. Biome:
• It is a grouping of terrestrial ecosystem on a given continent that is
similar in vegetation structure, physiognomy, environmental
features and characteristics of their animal communities.
• The climate (temperature and precipitation) determines the
boundaries of a biome and the abundance of plants and animals
found in each one of them.
• The aquatic systems are not called as biome; they are divided into
distinct life zones, with regions of relatively distinct plant and
animal life.
• The major difference between the various aquatic zones is due to
salinity, level of dissolved nutrients, water, temperature and depth
of sunlight penetration.
• e.g., forest biomes, grassland and savanna biomes, desert biome,
etc.
Level # 6. Biosphere:
• The term ‘Biosphere’ was given by geologist Edward
Suezz in 1875.
• Biosphere is a part of the earth where life can exist.
• It is a zone of life on earth where plants and animals,
including ourselves, develop kinship with one another
for life, food, water, shelter, mates etc.
• Biosphere is absent at extremes of the north and south poles.
• Occasionally spores of fungi and bacteria do occur at heights beyond 8000mts, but
they are not metabolically active.

Division of Biosphere:
• Biosphere is that part of the earth, water and atmosphere in which many smaller
ecosystems exist and operate.

Three main subdivisions of the biosphere are:

I. Lithosphere (8 km above the surface of the earth)
II. Hydrosphere (life is also found in deep ocean trenches)
III. Atmosphere (gaseous envelope of the earth, extending up to a height of 22.5 km
approximately above the earth surface)
• This discrete unit has living and non-living components, which are interdependent
and interrelated in terms of their structure, components and functioning.

The area of contact and interaction between these three components is important for life, as it is
here that the entire life is confined and the basic processes of life, like photosynthesis and
respiration occur.
Image credit: modified from The scope of
ecology: Figure 1 by OpenStax College,
Biology, CC BY 3.0
 PYRAMID OF ENERGY

• A pyramid of energy represents how

much energy, initially from the sun, is
retained or stored in the form of new
biomass at each trophic level in an
ecosystem.

• Typically, about 10% of the energy is

transferred from one trophic level to the
next, thus preventing a large number of
trophic levels.

• Energy pyramids are necessarily

upright in healthy ecosystems, that is,
there must always be more energy
available at a given level of the
pyramid to support the energy and
biomass requirement of the next trophic
level.
 PYRAMID OF BIOMASS

• A pyramid of biomass shows the total biomass of the organisms involved at each
trophic level of an ecosystem.
• These pyramids are not necessarily upright.
• There can be lower amounts of biomass at the bottom of the pyramid if the rate of
primary production per unit biomass is high.
 TYPES OF ECOLOGY
Classification of Ecology • Based on study area :

1. Autecology : It deals with the study of an individual species of organisms and it’s
population. The ecologists study the behavior and adaptations of particular species to
the environmental condition at every stage of that individual’s life cycle. It is also
called the Species ecology.

2. Synecology : It deals with the study of communities, their composition, their

behavior and relation with the environment. It is also called as Ecology of
communities. It is further divided into 3 types : 1) Population Ecology 2) Community
Ecology 3) Ecosystem Ecology
2. Based on Environment or habitat

1) Aquatic ecology : The study of interaction of organisms in the water

• Marine water ecology i) Ocean ii) Deep Sea iii) Estuary

• Freshwater Ecology i) Letic (Running water) a) River b) Stream c) Spring ii) Lentic
(Standing Water) a) Pond b) Lake

2) Terrestrial Ecology : The study of interaction of organisms on land :

Grassland Ecology b. Forest Ecology c. Desert Ecology

Based on Advancement in the field of ecology a. Productive ecology b. Population

ecology c. Community ecology d. Ecosystem ecology e. Microbial ecology f. Radiation
ecology g. Pollution ecology h. Space ecology
 NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL BALANCE

• Sustainable Development

• Species in an ecosystem each have a role in keeping the ecosystem running smoothly.
For Eg. Predators keep the population of mice under control, worms decompose leaf
litter etc.

Co-existence of species with each The requirements of present generation in terms of

other and with environment. economic growth and community development are met
without compromising on environmental protection.
 PROCESS OF ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

• Invasion- Successful establishment of species in bare area.

• Competition- It occurs when there is inadequate availability of space, food, light,

water etc.

• Reaction- It is the change brought about the colonizers in the habitat. Due to reaction
of colonizers, existing community gets replaced by other community.

• Stabilization- A stage when final community becomes stabilized for a longer period.
• Primary succession begins in barren areas, such as on bare rock exposed by a retreating
glacier.
• The first inhabitants are lichens or plants—those that can survive in such an environment.
• Over hundreds of years these “pioneer species” convert the rock into soil that can support
simple plants such as grasses.
• These grasses further modify the soil, which is then colonized by other types of plants.
• Each successive stage modifies the habitat by altering the amount of shade and the composition
of the soil.
• The final stage of succession is a climax community, which is a very stable stage that can
endure for hundreds of years.
• Secondary succession follows a major disturbance, such as a fire or a flood.
• The stages of secondary succession are similar to those of primary succession; however,
primary succession always begins on a barren surface, whereas secondary succession begins
in environments that already possess soil.
• In addition, through a process called old-field succession, farmland that has been abandoned
may undergo secondary succession.
 HISTORY OF ECOLOGY
PRE 18th CENTURY
4th Century B.C.E: Ecological thought is said to derive its roots at this time. Aristotle and
Theophrastus were considered as the one of the first ecologists who had the interest of
studying plants and animals.

ARCADIAN- HARMONY
IMPERIAL- EMPIRE

During the 18th Century

• The first school of thought is the “Arcadian Ecology” which advocates for “simple,
humble life for man” and a harmonious relationship with man and nature.

• On the other hand, the second school of thought, known as the “Imperial Ecology”
believe in the establishment of man’s dominance over nature through the exercise of
reason and by hard work.
Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek first developed concept of food chains.
Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linne) pioneered the field of taxonomy, the
science of naming and classifying organisms. Supporter of Imperial
ecology.

CAR- HUMANS- IMPERIAL

CAR-TAXI (TAXONOMY)

Humboldt- Hum- Father

of ecology- Found no.of
species

During the 19th Century

Countries such as Great Britain, Portugal, and Spain have set several expeditions
to discover new natural resources and to make records about them.

Alexander von Humboldt reported an impressive number of species,

particularly plants, for which he sought to explain their geographic
distribution with respect to geological data. Alexander von Humboldt was
considered as the father of ecology by many scholars.
Alfred Russel Wallace, contemporary and colleague of Darwin, was first to propose a
"geography" of animal species. Described the interacting organisms living together in
a habitat known as biocenose.

Wallace- Wallet-
interaction-living
together

1859: In this year, Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution and
adaptation. According to this theory, organisms change over time because
of their inherited traits and characters. Such evolutionary changes are what
then allow them to adapt better to their environment. These changes also
ensure survival by increasing the likelihood of producing more offspring.

Herbert Spencer- Survival of the fittest

THE MALTHUSIAN THEORY explains the relationship between the growth in food
supply and in population.

It states that population increases faster than food supply and if unchecked leads to
vice or misery. The Malthusian doctrine is stated as follows:

(1) There is a natural instinct to produce offsprings in human beings to increase at a fast
rate. As a result, population increases in geometrical progression and if unchecked
doubles itself every 25 years. Thus starting from 1, population in successive periods
of 25 years will be 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256 (after 200 years).

(2) On the other hand, the food supply increases in a slow arithmetical progression due
to the operation of the law of diminishing returns based on the supposition that the supply
of land is constant. Thus the food supply in successive similar periods will be 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (after 200 years).
The food supply in arithmetical progression is measured on the horizontal axis and
the population in geometrical progression on the vertical axis.
The curve M is the Malthusian population curve which shows the relation between
population growth and increase in food supply. It rises upward swiftly.
WHY WAS THE MALTHUSIAN THEORY CRITICIZED ?
1869: Ernst Haeckel coined the term “ecology”. Since then, ecology became the
study of the relationships of organisms with their environment.

1875: Eduard Seuss first defined the term biosphere (from Greek bios = life, sphaira,
sphere) as the system composed of living organisms and their environment.

1879: Not long after, symbiosis or the living together in more or less intimate
association or close union of two dissimilar organisms, was first described.

Seus Biosphere
“HE went to SBI and UNION bank”
Haeckel Ecology UNION (Symbiosis)
1895: Eugen Warming introduced the discipline of biogeography. Biogeography, as its name
suggests, is the study of the geographic distribution of living things. Under this discipline, abiotic
factors like wind, fire, temperature, etc. are being studied. Through adaptation, to explain why a
species occurred under a certain set of environmental conditions.

“Your mom gives you WARNING if you won’t eat,

You won’t be able to ADAPT to new changes”
 20th Century up to the present

• 1920: The study of human ecology emerged. The goal of this discipline was to
increase the role of ecological science in the management of cities and residential
places.

1926: Vladimir I. Vernadsky in his book entitled The Biosphere, redefined biosphere
as the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships,
including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, geosphere,
hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

1935: Arthur Tansley coined the term ecosystem as the biological community of
interacting organisms and their physical environment. Because of this, ecology
became the science of ecosystems.

1950: The harmful effects of pollution to ecosystems became known to people.

1970: James Lovelock introduced the term Gaia, or the idea that the whole
earth is one living entity and will ensure its own survival even if humans destroy
themselves.
 ECOSOPHY
• A philosophical approach to the environment which emphasizes the importance of
action and individual beliefs.
• Ecosophy originated with the
• Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess. defined it as a discipline, like philosophy itself,
which is based on analytical thinking, reasoned argument, and carefully
examined assumptions.
• Guides our conduct toward the environment.
• He defined ecosophy as a set of beliefs about nature and other people which varies
from one individual to another.
 ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
• Humans needs consume resources and produce waste. Nature needs the capacity to
fulfill these demands.
• Ecological footprint measures the human demand on nature.
• Every person, household, city, business, country has an impact on nature.
• Everyone of us has ecological footprint.
• 1.5 years is required by our planet to regenerate what we use in an year.
 ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
• On the demand side, the Ecological Footprint measures an individual or a
population’s demand for plant-based food and fiber products, livestock and fish
products, timber and other forest products, space for urban infrastructure, and forest
to absorb its carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.

Footprint= Number of people consuming(N) x Average amount of goods and services an

average person consumes(A) xResource intensity of these goods and services (R)
• On the supply side, a city, state or nation’s biocapacity represents the ecological assets
(including cropland, grazing land, forest land, fishing grounds, and built-up land).
These areas, especially if left unharvested, can also absorb much of the waste we
generate, especially our carbon emissions.
 ECOLOGICAL DEFICIT AND RESERVE
• If a population’s Ecological Footprint exceeds the region’s biocapacity, that region
runs an ecological deficit. Its demand for the goods and services that its land and
seas can provide—fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, wood, cotton for clothing, and
carbon dioxide absorption—exceeds what the region’s ecosystems can renew.

• A region in ecological deficit meets demand by importing, liquidating its own

ecological assets (such as overfishing), and/or emitting carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. If a region’s biocapacity exceeds its Ecological Footprint, it has an
ecological reserve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_aguo7V0Q4
Global Ecological Footprint and biocapacity 1961–2010.
What is Earth Overshoot Day?
When the entire planet is running an ecological deficit, we call it “overshoot.” At the
global level, ecological deficit and overshoot are the same, since there is no net import of
resources to the planet.
Overshoot occurs when:
HUMANITY’S ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT > EARTH’S BIOCAPACITY

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources
and services (Ecological Footprint) in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in
that year (biocapacity).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkWfCE4Qvt8
 IMPORTANCE OF ECOLOGY

The following reasons explain the importance of ecology:

Conservation of Environment
• Ecology helps us to understand how our actions affect the environment.
• It shows the individuals the extent of damage we cause to the environment.
• Lack of understanding of ecology has led to the degradation of land and the
environment. It has also led to the extinction and endangerment of certain species. For
eg., dinosaurs, white shark, mammoths, etc. Thus the study of the environment and
organisms helps us to protect them from any damage and danger.

Resource Allocation
• With the knowledge of ecology, we are able to know which resources are necessary
for the survival of different organisms.
• Lack of ecological knowledge has led to scarcity and deprivation of these
resources, leading to competition.
Energy Conservation
• All organisms require energy for their growth and development.
• Lack of ecological understanding leads to the over-exploitation of energy resources
such as light, nutrition, and radiation, leading to its depletion.
• Proper knowledge of ecological requirements prevents the unnecessary wastage of
energy resources, thereby, conserving energy for future purposes.

Eco-Friendliness
Ecology encourages harmonious living within the species and the adoption of a lifestyle
that protects the ecology of life.
 ASSIGNMENT-2

1.What do you understand by ecological footprint? How can we change our modern
lifestyle to reduce footprint on earth.

2.Explain the term ecological balance in context of our historical background.