1. ECOSYSTEM

In the above picture we can see living things and non living things, the living things are called as biotic component and nonliving things are called as abiotic components of an ecosystem they always interact with each other and balance the environment. In living things we have plants, Animals, Fungus, Bacteria, Protists.

QWHICH ARE THE TWO IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF ECOSYSTEM

Types of Ecosystem

There are two types of Ecosystem:

A) Natural ecosystem

B) Artificial Ecosystem

Forests, ponds, lakes are the best examples of Natural Ecosystems they are made by nature and Aquarium and Garden are man-made ecosystem as they are built by human beings.

Organism are classified or grouped as Producers, Consumers and Decomposer according how they get their food from their environment.

Q.WHICH ARE THE TWO TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM?

Now who are the producers?

Producers are those organisms who produce their food by their own with the help of photosynthesis, so only the green plants can do that and few bacteria come under this category.

Now let us understand who are the consumers?

Consumers are those organisms who take the food from the producers directly or they may depend on other consumers for their living. So consumers are grouped into Carnivorous, Herbivorous, Omnivores, Parasites and Decomposers.

Carnivorous animals depend on other animals for food, Herbivorous depend on only plants for their food, Omnivorous are also called as predators and prey, and they hunt for other animals for food and also can fall as prey for other animals. Parasites always depend on the host they get all their nutrient from the host. Decomposers are organism which decompose when other organism die they act on the organic material and decompose it. Best example is fungus and bacteria. Below diagram shows how the organism are dependent on each other.

Q.DEFINE HERBIVORE, CARNIVORE, OMNIVORE, PARASITE AND DECOMPOSERS?

Imagine the plants and trees are the produces, the deer feeds on the green plants, later the deer becomes prey to the tiger or the lion this is food chain explaining in simple words. There are certain levels these levels are called as tropic levels.

In the above diagram the Grass is called as the autotroph commonly called as producers, which are first level, they take the help of sun and prepare their own food this process is called as photosynthesis. The second level are all herbivores, then comes the small carnivores who eat other animals and last is the fourth tropic level which includes the largest carnivore who eat the small animals.

The above diagram is of the trophic levels gives us the clear understanding about the trophic levels. We all need energy to do work this is the common quote which we studied in the lower classes. So the fuel comes from? The answer is food, obviously food gives us energy to do work and also to survive, as we just saw in above diagram that there is flow of energy from producers to tertiary consumers, thus there is interaction in the environment. The sun here is the main source of energy which the plants convert it to chemical energy and then from them it is carried up to the decomposers.

Q WHAT ARE TROPHIC LEVELS?

FLOW OF ENENRGY IN THE ECOSYSTEM

The above diagrams clearly shows the food web which consist of many chain pattern.

In the above picture we see that the energy passes in one direction only, it does not revert or reverse. So it gradually progress to the next trophic level and do not come to the previous level. There is some loss of energy at each level.

Now we will learn what is biomagnifications?

We see nowadays that our crops are being treated with various pesticide and that pesticide enter through the soil to the plants and the if the cow or deer eats it then it passes through the second level from there if there are cow and meat consuming humans then these harmful pesticides get accumulated at the highest level here in the human beings. Some pesticides which do not wash from water or by other means easily get mixed up and reach different tropic level.

Q WHAT IS BIOMAGNIFICATION?

ACTIVITIES THAT IS DESTROYING OUR MOTHER EARTH

There are various things done by human being which directly and indirectly affecting our nature, Today man has become very selfish he is only thinking about his life and not about the nature, the Government also is not taking proper actions towards these activities in some states and areas. If all the citizen of India takes care of our Mother Earth then it will be the best better place to live with. If Nature is destroyed the even Human and animals will be destroyed as well, so in this chapter we will be focussing on two main environmental problems that is Ozone layer depletion Waste disposal

Q. Which are the two main environmental problems?

Now let us understand how ozone layer depletion can affect the environment.

HOW TO MANAGE THE GARBAGE THAT WE ARE PRODUCING DAY TO DAY