This document defines key terms related to ecosystems, including habitat, population, community, and ecosystem. It then describes the components and interactions within forest ecosystems, including: - Plants are primary producers through photosynthesis - Herbivores are primary consumers that eat plants - Carnivores are secondary consumers that eat herbivores - Tertiary consumers eat other carnivores - Decomposers like fungi and bacteria break down dead materials and return nutrients to the soil.

1. Ecosystems
JEGATHEESWARI KARTHIK

2. Important Definitions
• Habitat - the place where an organism lives
• Population - all the members of a single species that live in a habitat
• Community - all the populations of different organisms that live
together in a habitat
• Ecosystem - a community and the habitat in which it lives

3. Ecosystems
• An ecosystem is a self contained area composed of all the different
organisms living in it, interacting with each other as well as interacting
with physical conditions(sunlight, air ,water, soil) prevailing in the
area.
• Ecosystem is derived from the greek word ‘oikos’ meaning ‘house’.
• The interaction mentioned earlier is mainly for food.

6. Forest Ecosystem

7. Relationship among the components of the ecosystem
• Plants are the food producers. E.g: trees, shrubs, bushes, grass.
• They can produce their own food by the process called photosynthesis.
• They are called as autotrophs.
• ‘Auto’ means ’self’ and ‘troph’ means ‘food’.

8. Relationship among the components of the ecosystem
Animals depend on plants for food and are called consumers.
• The consumers are divided into different types:
1. Primary consumers
2. Secondary consumers and
3. Tertiary consumers.

9. Primary Consumers
• They are plant eating animals called herbivores.
• They eat the plants directly or eat their fruits, flowers ,etc. or even suck
the plant juices.
• They are direct plant eaters. E.g: deer, rabbits, pigeons, grasshopper,
butterfly, etc.

10. Secondary Consumers
• They eat primary consumers.
• They are called carnivores.
• E.g: lion, tiger, wolf, lizard, birds of prey, etc.

11. Tertiary Consumers
• They eat the secondary consumers.
• E.g: snake, etc.

12. Food chain and Trophic levels
• A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which
nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.
• A trophic level is the group of organisms within an ecosystem which
occupy the same level in a food chain.

13. Scavengers
• All the Trophic level animals die due to one or the other reason.
• If it lies for longer time, it will spoil the ecosystem.
• It will be eaten by putrefying flesh eaters.
• They are called Scavengers.
• And the dead material is further broken down by Fungi and Bacteria
• Dead materials are broken down by these decomposers.
• It helps to return the nutrients back to the soil.
• It further helps the plants to grow.

14. Components of Eco-system
• Two categories of components
1. BIOTIC Component
• They are the living components
• Plants , Animals and Micro-organisms
2. ABIOTIC Component
• Non- Living Components
• Sunlight, Air, Water , Warmth

15. BIOTIC Component
• Consists of sequence of Trophic levels
• Trophic level 1 - Producers
• Trees, Bushes and Grasses
• Starting point of the nourishment chain for all life in an ecosystem.
• They produce by the process called Photosynthesis ( Self-food
Producers)
• Autotrophs

16. BIOTIC Component
• Trophic level 2 - Consumers (Plant-Eating Animals) Herbivores
• They directly eat the plants or their parts
• Fruits , Seeds, Flowers
• Suck the plant sap from their leaves or stems
• They are the first direct plant eaters.

17. BIOTIC Component
• Trophic level 3 - secondary Consumers (flesh -Eating Animals)
carnivores
• They capture their prey and eat
• Tigers. Wolves , snakes , lizards, certain BIRDS

18. BIOTIC Component
• Trophic level 4 - Tertiary Consumers (second rank flesh -Eating
Animals) carnivores
• Third rank of consumers

19. Another category of organisms
• They feed on the dead material of the organisms occupying the above
four trophic levels.
• They are divided into three types.
• 1. Scavengers
• 2. Detrivores
• 3. Decomposers

20. Scavengers
• Feed on dead animal and plant material
• Vultures, kites, crows, some insects.

21. Detrivores
• Detrivores and decomposers consume the remains left by the
scavengers.
• Earthworms, Millipeds, Slugs feed on Detritus or decomposing plant
and animal parts as well as faeces.

22. Decomposers
• Obtain nutrition by absorbing nutrients that result from breaking
down on the dead organic matter.
• Bacteria, fungi and protists

23. ABIOTIC Component
Sunlight
For the production of food by photosynthesis
Air
1. Provide oxygen
2. Serve as a medium of flight for birds
3. Serve as a agency for the dispersal of seed

24. ABIOTIC Component
Water
Received as rainfall
Absorbed as soil water by plants
Consumed by animals
Temperature
Hot, mild or cold conditions of a region influences the body functions of
plant and animals.

25. ABIOTIC Component
Soil
Plants grow in the soil.
Water and minerals needed by plants is present in soil.
Contain microorganisms
Provides a dwelling place for burrowing animals
Earthworms swallow mud containing dead organic matter
Even ponds, rivers and lakes have soil at their bottom

26. Food chain and food web
• Food chain is the linear sequence of organisms in which each organism
eats the lower member and is itself eaten by the next higher member.

27. Food web
• Food web is a network of interconnecting food chains in a natural
community of different organisms.
• An organism can sometimes eat multiple types of prey or be eaten
by multiple predators, including ones at different trophic levels.
• To represent these relationships more accurately, we can use a food
web, a graph that shows all the trophic—eating-related—interactions
between various species in an ecosystem.
• It has advantage over food chain.

29. Advantages of food web

30. Food Pyramids

34. Interdependence between organisms
• Three types of relationships
1. Symbiosis
2. Parasitism
3. Predation

35. Symbiosis
• In this type of relationship both are getting benefitted.
• Plants and animals
• Animals and Birds
• Lichens

36. Symbiosis
• Lichens - A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or
cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a
mutualistic relationship

37. Parasitism
• In this interaction,
• one partner(The parasite) receives advantage
• Other (The host) is at loss.
• Malarial parasite

38. Parasitism

39. Parasitic relationship in plants

40. Predation

41. Flora and Fauna
• Flora means the plants naturally occurring in a particular area
• Fauna means the animals naturally living in that area.
• Flora and Fauna of forests are not same throughout the world.
• Differs in cold and moderately warm region
• There are different kinds of forests of India each with its characteristic
life forms.

42. Different kinds of forests of India
1. Tropical rain forests
2. Temperate deciduous forests
3. Coniferous forests
4. Gir forests
5. Jim Corbett National park
6. Jaladpara sanctuary

43. Different kinds of forests of India
• Tropical rain forests
• Western coast of India and North East Himalayas
• Flora – Evergreen trees, Bamboo, ferns, shrubs
• Fauna – Jungle cats, Leopards, monkeys, flying squirrel,snakes,
centipedes, millipedes, many insects, snails, etc

44. Different kinds of forests of India
• Temperate deciduous forests
• Found on the eastern coast of India
• Flora – Teak, Sandalwood, sal
• Fauna – Moths, Beetles, deer, wolves, foxes
• Coniferous forests
• Found in Himalayas at an altitude above 1700 to 3000 metres
• Flora – fir and Pine Trees
• Fauna – very few animals
• Sqruirrel, deer, Goat, wolves, some birds like Robin sparrow

45. Different kinds of forests of India
• Gir Forest: It is situated in Gujarat.
• Flora: Large shady trees(peepal, acacia, neem), wild bushes and
grasses.
• Fauna: Bears, dog, cat, rats, rabbits, crows, kites, vultures, lion.
• Jim Corbett National park.
• It is situated in Uttarkhand.
• Flora: pine trees, shrubs and grasses.
• Fauna: various kinds of animals especially the tiger.

46. • Jaladpara Sanctuary:
• It is situated in West Bengal.
• Flora: Banyan trees.
• Fauna: different animals and birds especially rhinoceros.

47. Risk To Ecosystem
• Causes:
1. Increased industrialisation
2. Increased scientific approach to our life.
• Effects:
1. Climate change
2. Vector-borne diseases
3. Decay in wildlife and its resources
4. Food and water shortage

48. Restoration and conservation of ecosystem
• Restoration:
1. Establishing the balance between organisms and environment
2. Preserving the decaying charm of our ecosystem
• Conservation:
1. Planting more trees
2. Not polluting the environment