 Environment is everything around us.

It is not
static and is continuously changing. The
increase in the population, technological,
industrial revolution, advancement in
technology, etc. have overstretched the limits
of the environment and resulted in its
degradation. However, whatever we give to
nature, comes back to us. The result of the
assaults that we have made on the
environment is taking its toll on our health
both directly as well as indirectly.
 Environment literary means the surroundings
or conditions where an organism exists and
develops his or her characteristics. The
various conditions could range from the
physical environment to the natural, social
and behavioural environment. The
environment is not the same everywhere. It
varies from place to place and time to time.
Environment can be divided into two parts:
 Physical Environment (Abiotic)
 Biological Environment (Biotic)
 Terrestrial Ecosystem: These are the
land ecosystems such as forests,
grasslands, deserts, etc.

 Aquatic Ecosystems: These are the

water ecosystems. Examples are
ponds, lakes, . rivers, oceans, etc.
 All ecosystems consist of biotic and abiotic
components. The biotic are the living organisms
such as microbes, plants, animals, etc. while the
abiotic are the non-living or physical
components such as water, air, soil, and
temperature. The biotic component is dependent
on the abiotic and also influences it.

 In each ecosystem there are producers (i.e. those

who make their own food, these normally
includes plants) and consumers (who cannot
synthesize their own food. Consumers can be
herbivorous (plant eaters), carnivorous (flesh
consuming), scavengers (feed on dead animals
and plants) and decomposers (feed on dead and,
decomposed organic-matter and break it down
to further simpler substances).