CHAPTER 15

Our Environment
 Effect of adding waste to the environment
• Human activities produce a lot of waste materials which are thrown away into the environment.
• These wastes cause pollution of air, water and soil.

• The waste materials produced are of two main types.

• i) Biodegradable wastes :- are wastes which are decomposed into harmless substances by
microorganisms.
• Eg :- vegetables, fruits, pulses, cereals, cotton, jute, wool, wood, leather, paper, animal dung,
animal bones etc.

• ii) Non biodegradable wastes :- are wastes which are not decomposed by microorganisms.
• Eg :- polythene bags, plastics, synthetic fibres, glass, metals, synthetic rubber, insecticides,
pesticides etc.
Ecosystem and its components
a) Ecosystem :- An ecosystem consists of all the living organisms in an area along with the non living
components and their interaction.

Types of ecosystems.
• i) Natural ecosystems :- forests, deserts, grass lands, mountains, ponds, lakes, rivers, oceans etc.
• ii) Artificial ecosystems :- like gardens, parks, crop fields, aquarium, zoo etc.

b) Components of an ecosystem :-

i) Biotic components :- are the living components like plants, animals and microorganisms. They
consist of producers, consumers and decomposers.

Producers :- are green plants which produce food by photosynthesis.

Consumers :- are herbivores which get their food directly from plants, carnivores which get their food
indirectly from plants and omnivores which get their food directly or indirectly from plants.

Decomposers :- are microorganisms which decompose dead plants and animals. They decompose
complex organic substances into simple inorganic substances in the soil which are again used by plants.

ii) Abiotic components :- are the non living components like air, water, soil, minerals, sunlight ,
temperature, wind etc.
Food chain
A food chain is the flow of food energy from one organism to the next and to the next and
so on. They usually start with a producer (plants) and end with a carnivore. In a food chain
an organism gets food from one group of organisms.
eaten by eaten by
Eg:- Grass Deer Lion
(producer) (primary consumer) (secondary consumer)

eaten by eaten by eaten by

Grass Insects Frog Snake
(producer) (primary consumer) (secondary consumer) (tertiary consumer)

eaten by eaten by eaten by eaten by

Grass Moth Frog Snake Hawk
(producer) (primary consumer) (secondary consumer) (tertiary consumer) (quaternary consumer)
Food web
Food web is a group of several interconnected food chains.
In a food web an organism gets food from more than one group of organisms.
Trophic levels
• Each step in a food chain where transfer of food energy takes place is called trophic
level.
• The first trophic level consists of producers.
• The second trophic level consists of primary consumers.
• The third trophic level consists of secondary consumers.
• The fourth trophic level consists of tertiary consumers.
• Since the transfer of food energy decreases at every trophic level, the number of
trophic levels are limited and do not exceed four or five.
 Energy flow in trophic levels
• Green plants (producers) absorb about 1% of solar energy falling on the leaves and
stores it as food energy during photosynthesis.
• During the transfer of food energy from one trophic level to the next, 90% of the energy
is lost to the environment and only 10% is transferred to the next trophic level.
• So there is a decrease in the amount of food energy transferred at every trophic level by
10%. This is known as the 10% law.
Biological magnification (Bio magnification)
Harmful chemicals like insecticides and pesticides which are used to protect crops from insects and
pests are absorbed by plants and enter the food chain. Since these chemicals are non biodegradable,
they get accumulated at every trophic level and their concentration increases. Since human beings
occupy the highest trophic level, the concentration of these harmful chemicals is maximum in our
bodies.
The increase in concentration of harmful chemicals in the bodies of organisms at higher trophic levels is
called biological magnification.
Human activities affect the environment
a) Depletion of ozone layer in the atmosphere
• Ozone molecule contains three oxygen atoms (O3).

• At higher levels in the atmosphere the UV radiation splits some oxygen molecules (O2)
into free oxygen atoms which combines with oxygen molecules (O2) to form ozone.

• It is highly poisonous.
UV radiation

O2 O + O
O2 + O O3

• The ozone layer present in the higher layer of the atmosphere protects the earth from
the harmful UV radiation from the sun. UV radiation causes skin cancer in humans.

• The ozone layer is being damaged by the use of chemicals like chloro fluoro carbons
(CFCs) used in refrigerators and fire extinguishers. So the use of CFCs is now being
reduced to protect the ozone layer [Montreal protocol].

• In 1987, UNEP regulated CFC production

b) Managing the garbage we produce :-

• The household waste is called garbage.

• Some of the garbage is biodegradable and some are non biodegradable.
Garbage causes pollution of air, water and soil. So it should be disposed
properly.
• Some of the methods of garbage disposal are :-
• i) Land fills
• ii) Recycling
• iii) Production of biogas and manure
• iv) Preparation of compost
• v) Incineration
• vi) Sewage treatment
 Land fills Recycling

Production of biogas and manure Preparation of compost

Incinerator
Sewage treatment