Our environment

Revision notes
An ecosystem is a community of biotic and abiotic substances
living and interacting with one another.
Types:
1. Natural Ecosystem
 Ecosystems that develop in nature without human
intervention are called Natural Ecosystems.
 E. Desert, Forest, Grassland.
2. Artificial Ecosystem
 Ecosystems that have been created and maintained by
human beings are called Artificial Ecosystems.
 E. Garden, Farm, Aquarium.

Biotic organisms are classified as:

1. Producers: Organisms that prepare their own food and
provide it to other biotic components of the ecosystem.
2. Consumers: Organisms that feed on other organisms for
obtaining food.
3. Decomposers: Saprophytes with an ecological role.

Abiotic factors:
1) Climatic factors: Light, temperature, humidity and rainfall
2) Edaphic factors: Soil conditions
3) Topographic factors: Valleys, Mountains, Grasslands
Food Chain: A linear sequence of organisms where nutrients
and energy are transferred from one organism to another.
Trophic levels: The various steps in a food chain at which the
transfer of food takes place are called trophic levels.
 First Trophic Level – Producers
 Second Trophic Level – Herbivores
 Third Trophic Level – Carnivores
 Fourth Trophic Level – Secondary Carnivores
Grass – Deer – Fox – Lion
Phytoplankton – small fish – large fish – Shark
Food Web: A network of various food chains connected at
various trophic levels.
Importance: Prevents starvation; Checks Overpopulation;
Stability to ecosystems
Food Chain Food Web

Linear sequence of organisms Network of many food chains

4-5 organisms Many organisms

Only one lower trophic level ; Members of higher trophic

No options level can feed on alternative
lower trophic levels.

Disturbance difficult to Disturbance can be overcome

overcome after sometime

Energy flow and Matter Circulation

Energy Flow Matter Circulation

Unidirectional Bidirectional between biotic

and abiotic components

Loss of energy at various No loss of matter

levels.

Ten Percent Law

During transfer of energy from one trophic level to another,
only 10% is stored at the higher trophic level, while 90% is lost
as heat in digestion, respiration and other processes.
1000J of Solar energy
10J available to plants
1 J available to herbivores
0.1 J available to carnivores

Biomagnification
The process by which harmful toxic substances enter a food
chain and get concentrated at each trophic level of a food chain
is called Biomagnification.
Pesticides of farmers: Concentration at various levels
Water (0.002 ppm) --- Plankton (0.05 ppm) --- Fish (2.4 ppm)

How do our activities affect the environment?

Pollution, Deforestation, Soil erosion,
OZONE LAYER DEPLETION
Ozone is a triatomic molecule made of three atoms of nitrogen.
Ozone layer is present in the stratosphere. It protects the earth
from the harmful UV rays of sun.
O3 converts UV radiations into O2.
Causes of ozone depletion:
 CFCs
 Global warming
 Burning of fossil fuels
 Greenhouse gases
Effects of ozone depletion:
 Skin cancer
 Immune system disorders
 Embryonic death in pregnants
 Global warming
Efforts to prevent Ozone depletion:
❖ Montreal Protocol of 1987, many industrialized countries
signed an agreement to limit the use of CFCs.
❖ In 1989, Many nations pledged in the Helsinki Declaration
to phase out CFCs and halons by 2000.
Waste Management

Biodegradable Wastes Non-Biodegradable Wastes

Can be degraded by microbes Can’t be degraded by microbes

Don’t accumulate in nature Accumulate in nature
No Biomagnification Biomagnification

Livestock wastes, Sewage Plastic, Glass