Man and his Environment

 An ecosystem is a community of living
organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in
conjunction with the nonliving
components of their environment (things like
air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a
system.

 Major classes of relatively contained
ecosystems are called Biomes.
There are 3 Major classes of ecosystems
 Freshwater Ecosystems
 Terrestrial Ecosystems
 Ocean Ecosystems

 Relatively small in area ~ 1.8% of earth's
surface
 Support many species of life including fish,
amphibians, insects and plants.
 Base of food-web is found in freshwater
Plankton (small microscopic organisms)

Rivers and Streams
• Changes greatly from headwater to
mouth
• Headwaters
– Shallow, cool, swiftly flowing, high
oxygenated
• Mouth
– Not as cool, slower flowing, less oxygen
in water
Lakes and Ponds
• Body of freshwater that does not flow
Three zones
• Littoral Zone - shallow water area
along the shore
• Limnetic Zone - open water beyond the
littoral zone
• Profundal Zone - beneath the limnetic
zone of deep lakes
 Experience thermal stratification
(depending on depth)
Thermal Stratification
 • Temperature changes sharply with
depth
 • Thermocline
 – Temperature transition between
warmer surface water and colder
water at depth
 – Only present in warm months
Marshes and Swamps
 • Lands that shallow, fresh water
covers for at least part of the year
 – Characteristic soil- water logged and
anaerobic for periods of time
Estuaries
 • Where freshwater and saltwater mix
 • Highly variable environment
 – Temperature, salinity, depth of light
penetration

 Many & diverse types of ecosystems. There
are seven major types.
 Location usually dependent on the latitude
of the area, and amount of precipitation

Tropical Rain Forest
 Precipitation - 250cm/year
 Little temp.
variation/abundant moisture
 Contains more species than
other biomes.
Savannas
 Precipitation 90-150cm/year
 Open, widely spaced trees,
seasonal rainfall
 Parts of Africa, South America
& Australia

Deserts
 Precipitation
20cm/year
 Dry, sparce
vegetation; scattered
grasses
 Parts of
Africa, Asia, Australia,
North America

Deciduous forests
 75-250cm/year
 Warm summers, cool
winters
 Europe; NE United
States;Eastern Canada
Temperate Grasslands
 Precipitation: 10-
60cm/year
 Rich soil; tall dense
grasses
 Central North America;
Central Asia

Coniferous forest:
 20-60cm/year
 Short growing season, cold
winters.
 Northern Asia;Northern
North America
Tundra
 25cm/year
 Open; wind swept; dry;
ground always frozen
 Far northern Asia;
Northern North America

 Very large amount of Earth is covered by ocean
(~75%)
 40% of all photosynthesis occurs in oceans.
3 types of oceanic ecosystems
 Shallow ocean waters
 Deep ocean water
 Deep ocean surface.




Forest Ecosystem
 These ecosystems have large no. of herbs, trees,
climbers, and wide variety of animals and birds.
Forest ecosystem is divided into following types:
1. Northern coniferous forest
2. Tropical rain forest
3. Tropical seasonal forest
4. Tropical deciduous forest
5. Temperate rain forest
6. Temperate deciduous forest
7. The different components of a forest
ecosystem follows are:

Abiotic Components
 The abiotic components in
the forest ecosystem would
include the basic
elements, minerals, water,
CO,, soil and other
compounds found in the
environment. These are the
inorganic as well as organic
substances present in the
soil and atmosphere.
 We also find the dead
debris the litter
accumulation chiefly in
temperate climate. The
light conditions are
different due to complex
stratification in the plant
communities.

 transfer of food
energy from one
organism to
another with its
sequence of eating
and being eaten

Biotic Components
 The living organisms present
in the food chain occur in the
following order:
Trophic level
I. Producers
 The producers, in the forest
include the green plants and
trees which are autotrophs
capable of synthesizing
complex organic food
materials using the carbon of
carbon dioxide taken from
the atmosphere in the
presence of sunlight.
II. Consumers are as follows:
(a) Primary consumers: The
consumers in the forest
include the herbivorous
animals like
ungulates, rodents, deers, bis
ons etc. which feed upon the
green grasses, plants and
leaves of trees.
(b) Secondary consumers:
These are carnivores like
snake, birds, and lizards, fox
etc. feeding on the
herbivores.
(c) Tertiary consumers: These
are the top carnivores like
lion, tiger etc. that eat
carnivores of secondary
consumers' level.

III. Decomposers
 In course of time the
autotrophs and
heterotrophs die in the
forest. The complex
compounds of the dead
protoplasm are
eventually decomposed
by decomposers which
are mainly bacteria and
fungi.
 Thus the complex
substances are
converted into simple
substances, which are
subsequently utilized by
the producers for
synthesizing complex
organic food materials.

 an interrelated
number of food
chains
Example:
In one food chain, man
can be the primary consumer
while in another food chain,
he can be the secondary or
tertiary consumer.

 Carbon is fixed in organic matter in the
bodies of plants and animals
 During respiration, carbon in the form of
carbon dioxide (CO2) is released by the
plants and animals into the atmosphere.
 In an aquatic environment, carbon dioxide is
released into the water.
 Plants utilize CO2 for food production
 Upon the death of plants and animals, their
bodies are acted upon by the decomposers,
thus releasing carbon again.

 Some carbon stays in the soil or in the
bottom of the bodies of water , which act as
the reservoir for carbon.
 These organic sediments in the oceans and
the soil later form into coal and oil which are
mined and utilized as industrial fuel.
 This process again ensures the return of
carbon into the atmosphere.

 About 78 % of the atmosphere is made up of
nitrogen gas.
 In gaseous form, nitrogen is useless to most
organisms.
 Bacteria are very useful in the fixation of
nitrogen.
 Nitrogen- fixing bacteria – convert or fix
nitrogen in the atmosphere to nitrates

 Nitrate bacteria which are found in the
soil can also convert ammonia released
by decaying bodies into nitrite which, in
turn, is acted upon by nitrate bacteria
and converted into nitrates.
 As nitrates, nitrogen can be utilized for
the synthesis of proteins.
 When plants are eaten by animals, these
plant proteins are converted into animal
proteins.
 Lightning also aids in the fixation of
nitrogen in the atmosphere.
 The amount of nitrates available to plants
is determined by bacteria in the soil and
in the water.

 Phosphorus – major constituent of
ATP, DNA, RNA, cell
membrane, shells, bones, and teeth of
organisms
 Sources of phosphorus in the atmosphere –
phosphate rocks, guano (waste deposits of
bats), and fossil bone deposits
 Rain dissolves phosphate out of these
reservoir releasing the element in the soil.
 Plants absorb the phosphorus and use it in
the synthesis of cell parts.

 Animals get phosphorus from the plants and
use it in the synthesis of cell parts.
 Animals get phosphorus from the plants and
use it in the formation of their bones and
teeth.
 Upon decomposition of the plants and
animals, phosphorus is returned to the soil.
 Excretion of their wastes also ensures the
return of the element to its reservoir.
 Major geologic upheavals like volcanic
eruptions and earthquakes bring back to use
the phosphorus that had settled as sediments
in the seas.

is a kind of
relationship wherein
one organism is feed
on the other
organism. The
organism that is
being feed is called
as the parasite. The
organism in which
the parasite is feed
is called as the
host.

is a kind
of relationship
wherein both the
organisms benefit
from each other.

is
the relationship
wherein one
organism benefits
but the other will
not, or it is not
affected at all.

is a
relationship in
which one
organism is hunted
by the other
organism for food.
The organism that
is being hunt is
called as the prey
while the organism
that hunts the
prey is called as
the predator.

is
another kind of
relationship
between organisms
in the
environment. It
does happen when
there are more
than one organism
that needs the
same resources

 is a significant and lasting change in the
statistical distribution of weather patterns
over periods ranging from decades to millions
of years.

 Terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity: With a
warming of 3°C, relative to 1990 levels, it is
likely that global terrestrial vegetation would
become a net source of carbon.
 Marine ecosystems and biodiversity: concluded
that a warming of 2°C above 1990 levels would
result in mass mortality of coral reefs globally.
 Freshwater ecosystems: Above about a 4°C
increase in global mean temperature by 2100
(relative to 1990-2000), concluded, with high
confidence, that many freshwater species would
become extinct.
Source: (Schneider et al., 2007:792).

 The introduction of contaminants into the
natural environment that cause adverse
change.
 Pollutants – components of pollution, can be
either foreign substances/ energies or
naturally occurring contaminants

– the
release of chemicals and
particulates into the
atmosphere
Common gaseous
pollutants:
Carbon monoxide, sulfur
monoxide,
chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) and nitrogen
oxides produced by
industry and motor
vehicles

–
includes light
trespass, over-
illumination and
astronomical
interference

– the
criminal throwing
of inappropriate
man- made
objects, not
removed onto
public and private
properties

–
which
encompasses
roadway
noise, aircraft
noise, as well as
high- intensity
sonar

–
occurs when
chemicals are
released by spill or
underground leakage.
Soil contaminants:
hydrocarbons, heavy
metals, pesticides
and chlorinated
hydrocarbons

–
nuclear power
generation and
nuclear weapons
reasearch

–
temperature
change in natural
bodies of water
bodies caused by
human influence,
such as use of
water as coolant in
a power plant

–
discharge of
wastewater from
commercial and
industrial waste
(intentionally or
through spills) into
surface waters;
discharge of
untreated domestic
sewage

 Adverse air quality can kill
many organisms including
humans.
 Water pollution causes
approximately 14, 000
deaths per day, mostly
due to contamination of
drinking water.
 Oil spills can cause skin
irritations and rashes.
 Carbon dioxide emissions
cause ocean acidification
 The emission of
greenhouse gases leads to
global warming which
affects ecosystems in
many ways.
 Soil can become infertile
and unsuitable for plants.
 Sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides can cause
acid rain.

0
Wind power Hydropower Solar power

building materials paper products
fuel

Limiting your use of paper products
envelopes paper plates cups sheets of paper

RECYCLING
recycling buying recycled
products items

– the most
important part
of the soil
Planting Trees
- Reduce erosion
- Trees provide
barrier to the windHow we are going to
preserve topsoil?

– rich
sources of raw
materials for
building and for
manufacturing
goods
 There should be an adequate
control of logging.
 Select the correct tree size to
cut.
 The slash and burn system
should be stopped.
 Areas where trees have been
cut should be replanted
promptly.
How can we
preserve our forest?

: Destruction of natural
habitat.
 Use of land for farming or
housing
 Destroyed by pollution of the
environment by:
forest fires flood
(deforestation)
 Solar
 Wind
 Wave
 Tidal
 Thermal

 Plant More Trees  Walk More, Drive
Less

 Maintain your
vehicles in good
condition
 Change the way
you drive

 Use CFC – free
products
 Save Energy

 Save Water  Recycle and reuse

Man and his Environment

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Man and his Environment

More from Levin Jasper Agustin

Recently uploaded

Man and his Environment