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Ecosystem

Ecosystem

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on May 09, 2022 05:10 PM IST

What is Ecosystem?

An ecosystem is a basic unit of activity in which living things interact (living and nonliving), both of which are necessary for the preservation of life on our planet which includes plants, bacteria, animals and all other living things which are included in soil, land, air, water, dust, and other parts of nature.

If we try to study ecology in detail, then the basic unit that starts is Ecosystem. Ecosystem research is about how living things coexist and how energy flows through the ecosystem of ecosystems. It also learns how a living thing lives in a harmful or beneficial relationship in order to survive in a sustainable way.

It is evident from nature that the Ecosystem can be large or even small. It usually depends on the number of the given abiotic components found in the environment. The ecosystem north or south of the logs is devoid of plants and animals compared to the tropical climate of the forest due to the extreme weather conditions the animals face. Only ecosystems will be able to build the Ecosystem. Overall, it is understood that different ecosystems can form a biosphere.

Types of Ecosystem

In ecology, an ecosystem is divided into different types based on region or on the basis of nature such as land or water. It can also be compiled based on the amount of energy used by Ecosystem.

The categories in the basic ecosystem are:

→Terrestrial Ecosystem

→Aquatic Ecosystem

All other species will fall into any of these natural systems and therefore can be divided into different species.

Terrestrial Ecosystem

These natural systems can only be found in the world. Different species of the earth will have different natural conditions based on climate, temperature, species of living things, energy flow,food chain and other factors.

Ecosystems have a relatively smaller percentage of water than the aquatic Ecosystem, and there is also a better availability of sunlight as a major source of energy. The types of ecosystems on earth are:

1.Forest Ecosystem: These ecosystems are dense for biodiversity. It has the highest number of living things per square mile. It is important to preserve this ecological system as many rare earth species are found here. Most of the world's oxygen is found in forests.

2.Desert Ecosystem: Deserts are described as living organisms that receive less than 25cm of rain in extreme weather. Even at high temperatures, there are organisms that can withstand high temperatures and plants that need very little water to survive.

3.Mountain Ecosystem: Mountains are subtropical regions with scattered vegetation. It also has a very bad climate, and the animals of these regions have a hard fur on their skin to withstand the cold weather.

4.Grassland Ecosystem: mainly consists of shrubs, herbs, and a few dense forests such as forests. These basically include grazing animals, insects, herbivores. Temperatures are not too high for these ecosystems. There are two main types: savannas and plains. Savannas are tropical grasslands. It will dry out at certain times of the year with many predators and pastures. The plains are cool grass, with no big trees and no trees.

Aquatic Ecosystem

The aquatic ecosystem is largely made up of animals and aquatic life, such as lakes, oceans and seas. Aquatic animals, fish, and sea creatures all fall under this biological system. As water is plentiful, living things survive using oxygen dissolved in water. This ecosystem is much larger than the earth's ecosystem as it covers most of the earth. The two types of aquatic ecosystem are:

1.Marine Ecosystem: It covers all oceans and seas and makes up about 71% of the world. About 97% of the world's water falls under this category. Sharks, whales, dolphins, seals, walruses, and many others fall under this system of things.

2.FreshWater Ecosystem: Combines all rivers, lakes, lakes, and freshwater sources. This accounts for 0.8% of the world's water and 0.009% of the world's total water supply. There are three types of this ecosystem lotic system in which water flows faster, e.g., rivers. A lentic system where water stays stagnant, e.g., ponds and ponds. Wetlands where the soil remains full most of the time.

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Components of Ecosystem

The ecosystem has two related components mentioned below:

→Abiotic components

→Biotic components

Abiotic Components

This basically involves inorganic minerals, calcium, phosphorus and iron. It includes soil, water, soil and sunlight. It is also divided into climatic and edaphic elements including rain, light, temperature and humidity, soil, pH, minerals, and climate.

Biotic Component

The biotic component contains all living things present in an ecosystem.

It is usually classified as...

i. autotrophic organisms: that produce their own food

i. heterotrophic organisms: that depend on other organisms for food.

This category is based on the nutritional requirements of the body.

1.Producers: These are organisms in the ecosystem that produce food as well as energy with the help of oxygen,sunlight and all other abiotic elements. The main producers of the ecosystem are plants.

2.Consumers: These are organisms that take their nutrients from food produced by producers.

3.Primary Consumers: These insects are directly related to producers. They are herbivores like deer, rabbit, cow, buffalo, giraffes.

4.Secondary Consumers: These insects feed the main consumers as their food. These are carnivores and carnivores such as crows, dogs, cats, snakes.

5.Tertiary Consumers: These creatures consume second-hand buyers. These are carnivores only when they only eat meat usually by eating deer. Eg, lion, leopard, cheetah

6.Quaternary Consumers: These insects feed on high-quality consumers with their food. Eg; An eagle, which eats a snake that eats a frog that eats a fly.

Decomposers

These organisms break down dead matter and get their nutrients back, and then the decomposition returns to the soil, which will then be used by producers to produce more food.

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Ecosystem functions

The primary function of any ecosystem is the exchange of energy from one kind of life to another, which keeps running in a circle and preserves the entire life of the planet. Without a highly balanced biological system, there would be no life on earth at all.

Important Concepts of Ecosystems

Ecosystem research involves understanding the flow of energy in the Ecosystem, the different relationships between two living organisms, the pursuit of commensalism, parasitism, mutualism, predation, and the various symbiotic relationships present in the ecosystem. Biogeochemical cycles and liming factor complexes, the emergence of ecosystems, and human science in the ecosystem are various important environmental concepts that come under ecological research.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is an ecosystem?

An ecosystem is a community of living things in harmony with the inanimate parts of their environment, interacting as a system.

2. What are the different types of ecosystems?

Different types of ecosystem include:

  • Earth ecosystem
  • The forest ecosystem
  • Grassland ecosystem
  • Desert ecosystem
  • Tundra ecosystem
  • A clean water ecosystem
  • The marine ecosystem
3. What are the functional components of the ecosystem?

The four main components of the ecosystem are:


(i) Production


(ii) Decay


(iii) Power flow


(iv) Nutritious cycling

4. What is the structure of an ecosystem?

The structure of an ecosystem encompasses living organisms and the physical features of nature, including the number and distribution of nutrients in a particular area. It also provides information about the local climate.

5. What is the largest ecosystem in the world?

The world's largest ecosystem is a water ecosystem. It includes clean water and a marine environment. Make up 70% of the earth's surface.

Articles

Questions related to

Question : Comprehension:
Wildlife and nature have largely been associated with humans for numerous emotional and social reasons. A simple stroll around the park amidst some birds provides a fresh breath of life and charges our batteries. Apart from a bird feeder in the backyard, we can also take up other active pastimes, such as hiking, hunting, canoeing, or wildlife photography, to relieve our parched nerves. Since prehistoric times, animals have been highly useful to us in providing food, clothing, and a source of income.
Studies indicate that woodpeckers are capable of destroying 90% of codling moth larvae residing under the bark of trees. This shows the significance of wildlife and wildlife habitat for preserving genetic diversity. Hence, places, where agriculture, forests, and fisheries depend on crops or stocks, can ensure that such living resources are enough to withstand the ever-increasing list of threats. Further, in medicine, the development of new drugs and treatments is largely dependent on wildlife and wildlife habitat. Interestingly, most pharmaceutical products are a result of discovering or developing wildlife species, not discoveries made through traditional chemistry principles. Today, most medicinal remedies contain at least one ingredient derived from a wild plant or animal.
Biodiversity is the variety of living beings within an ecosystem or on our planet. It is a measurement of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity also plays a part in the function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical areas are rich in species, whereas polar areas support lesser species. The conservation of biodiversity is inevitable for the survival of humans. Based on the passage above, choose the correct option for the following questions:

Question:
Wildlife has helped humans in all aspects except?

Option 1: Clothing

Option 2: Development of new medicines

Option 3: Education

Option 4: Providing food

Correct Answer: Education


Solution : The third option is correct.

The passage explicitly discusses how wildlife has aided humans in providing clothing, developing new medicines, and supplying food. However, it doesn't provide information about a direct contribution to formal education. The emphasis is more on the tangible benefits in terms of clothing, medicine, and food than on educational aspects.

Correct Answer: damaged


Solution : The first option is correct.

Explanation: In this context, the word that best fits the grammatical structure and conveys the negative impact of industrial pollution on the ecosystem is damaged. The sentence describes the harmful effects of industrial pollution on rivers like the Ganga and the Yamuna, indicating a negative outcome. Damaged appropriately captures the idea of harm or destruction caused by pollution.

Question : Comprehension:

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

Wetlands are amongst the most productive ecosystems on the Earth and provide many important services to human society. They exhibit enormous diversity according to their genesis, geographical location, water regime and chemistry, dominant species, and soil and sediment characteristics. Globally, the area extent of wetland ecosystems ranges from 917 million hectares (m ha) to more than 1275 m ha. One of the first widely used wetland classification systems, devised by Cowardin et al., 1979, categorised wetlands into marine (coastal wetlands), estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps), lacustrine (lakes), riverine (along rivers and streams), and palustrine ( marshes, swamps and bogs) based on their hydrological, ecological and geological characteristics.The 

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was an international treaty signed in 1971. Overall, 1052 sites in Europe; 289 sites in Asia; 359 sites in Africa; 175 sites in South America; 211 sites in North America; and 79 sites in the Oceania region have been identified as Ramsar sites or wetlands of International importance. As per the Ramsar Convention definition most of the natural water bodies (such as rivers, lakes, coastal lagoons, mangroves, peat land, coral reefs) and man-made wetlands (such as ponds, farm ponds, irrigated fields, sacred groves, salt pans, reservoirs, gravel pits, sewage farms and canals) in India constitute the wetland ecosystem distributed in different geographical regions ranging from Himalayas to Deccan plateau. As of February 2022, India has 49 Ramsar sites covering an area of 10,93,636 hectares, the highest in South Asia. As per the estimates, India has about 757.06 thousand wetlands with a total wetland area of 15.3 m ha, accounting for nearly 4.7% of the total geographical area of the country. Out of this, areas under inland wetlands account for 69%, coastal wetlands 27%, and other wetlands (smaller than 2.25 ha) 4%. Gujarat has the highest proportion (17.5%) and Mizoram has the lowest proportion (0.66%) of the area under wetlands. Among Union Territories, Lakshadweep has the highest proportion (around 96%) and Chandigarh has the lowest proportion (3%) of the geographical area under wetlands.

Question:

Under which category of wetlands, are delta and mangrove swamps included?

Option 1: marine

Option 2: estuarine

Option 3: lacustrine

Option 4: palustrine

Correct Answer: estuarine


Solution : The correct choice is the second option.

Explanation: Delta and mangrove swamps are included in the estuarine category of wetlands. The passage mentions that one of the wetland classification systems categorises wetlands into marine, estuarine, lacustrine, riverine, and palustrine based on their hydrological, ecological, and geological characteristics. Estuarine wetlands include deltas, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps.

Therefore, the correct answer is estuarine.

Correct Answer: March 2019


Solution : The correct answer is March 2019

In March 2019, the nation of India unveiled its first in-house transport payment ecosystem built on National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) standards. Its foundation is the One Nation, One Card concept. In March 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced it in Ahmedabad.

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