Module-1 Environment and Ecosystem

Key environmental problems, their basic

causes and sustainable solutions. IPAT
equation. Ecosystem, earth life support
system and ecosystem components; Food
chain, food web, Energy flow in ecosystem;
Ecological succession- stages involved,
Primary and secondary succession,
Hydrarch, mesarch, xerarch; Nutrient,
water, carbon, nitrogen, cycles; Effect of
human activities on these cycles.
Key Environmental Problems
 Causes of Environmental Problems

Rapid population growth

Use of unsustainable resources
Poverty
Not including the environmental costs of
economic goods and services in their
market prices
Trying to manage and simplify nature with
too little knowledge about how it works
Causes of Environmental Problems

4
Our major Environmental Problems????

Overpopulation
Water Shortages
Climate Changes
Biodiversity Loss
Poverty
Health Issues/Diseases
Malnutrition
My Clean India
Population growth is exponential
In olden days population
was stable

-No modern medical

treatments
-Droughts, diseases killed
people - epidemic
-birth mortality was high

In the recent centuries

-More modern medical

treatments
-Advancement in science and
technology
-more food production
-less birth mortality
 Consumes - Vast amount of
food, raw materials, water,
energy
Produces huge amount of
pollution and wastes
2016 7.4 billion people
2050 9.3 billion!!!!!!
Environmental Impact
Environmental Impact
 Goal of environmental science is to
learn about these complex interactions
Ecosystems

16
 Ecology

Ecology is the study of interactions among organisms or

group of organisms with their environment

The environment consists of both biotic components

(living organisms) and abiotic components (non-living
organisms)
 Ecosystem
The term ecosystem was first coined by A.G. Tansley
1935.
eco means environment and system implies a complex
of co-ordinated units.
An ecosystem is a community of different species
interacting with one another and with their non-living
environment exchanging energy and matter.
The Concept of the Ecosystem
 Structure of an Ecosystem
Ecosystem

Biotic Abiotic

Producers Consumers Decomposers Chemical

Physical
components components

1 2 3 4 Air, Water,
Soil, Sunlight
Producers photoautotroph etc Organic Inorganic
chemoautotroph substances substances

1.Herbivores primary consumers

2.Carnivores Secondary consumers
Proteins, Macro and
Tertiary consumers etc carbohydrates micro-nutrients
3.Omivores - Eating both plants and animals
4.Detritivores -feeding on dead organism
Link between Components of an Ecosystem
Ecosystem Characteristics
Ecosystem Characteristics

Structural features

Functional features
Biotic structure of ecosystem
Biotic structure of ecosystem
Biotic Structure
Producers Green plants which can
synthesize their food themselves (Plants)

Consumers All organisms which get their

organic food by feeding upon other
organisms (Rabbit, man)

Decomposer They derive their nutrition

by breaking down the complex organic
molecule to simpler organic compound
(earthworms, ants)
27
Producers
Consumers
Consumers
Herbivores Plant eaters, They feed directly on
producers known as primary consumers (e.g.
Rabbit, human)
Carnivores Meat eaters, They feed on other
consumers
If they feed on herbivores they are called
secondary consumers (Frog)
If they feed on other carnivores they known
as tertiary consumers (snake, big fish)
Omnivores They feed on both plants and animals.
(humans, rat)
Detritivores (Detritus Feeders) They feed on the
parts of dead organisms (ants, earthworm)
30
Decomposer
They derive their nutrition by breaking down the
complex organic molecules to simpler organic
compounds and finally into inorganic nutrients
(bacteria and fungi)

31
32
 Abiotic Structure
Physical factors:
The sunlight, average temp. annual
rainfall, wind, soil type, water availability
etc. are some of the important physical
features which have strong influence on
the ecosystem
Chemical factors:
Availability of major essential nutrients
like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous,
potassium, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur
largely influence the functioning of the
ecosystem
33
 Functions of an Ecosystem
In the ecosystem, biotic components and other materials like N, C,
H2O circulated within and outside of the system.
The energy is transferred from one trophic level to the other in the
form of a chain called as food chain.
Important source of energy is the Sun.
Climatic changes
The major functional attributes of an ecosystems are as follows
Food chain, Food webs and tropic structure
Energy flow
Cycling of nutrients (Biogeochemical cycles)
Primary and secondary production
Ecosystem development and regulation
Trophic Level
Each organism in an ecosystem is
assigned to a feeding level
trophic level

The amount of living matter

available at each trophic level at
a given time standing crop or
standing biomass

Flow of energy is mediated

through feeding relationships

The definite arrangement of

trophic level along with population
size trophic structure
 Trophic levels
Each organism in an ecosystem is assigned to a feeding level
tropic level

The amount of living matter at each trophic level at a given

time is known as standing crop or standing biomass

Flow of energy is mediated to feeding relationships

The producers and consumers are arranged in the ecosystem

in a definite manner and their interactions along with
population size are expressed together as trophic structure

39
 Food Chains
The transfer of food energy from the source in plants through series of organisms
that consume and are consumed is called the food chain.

Sun Light

Plants

Herbivores

Carnivores

40
 Types of Food Chains
Food chains are classified as Grazing and Detritus

Components of Grazing Food Chain:

Plants - 'base' of the food chain
Herbivores - feed on plants; many are adapted to live on a diet
high in cellulose
Carnivores - feed on herbivores, omnivores, & other carnivores
lst level carnivore - feeds on herbivores :
2nd level carnivore - feeds on 1st level carnivores and so on
Omnivores - feed on both plants and animals
Decomposers the 'final' consumer group :
use energy available in dead plants and animals
transform organic material into inorganic material
Grazing food chain

Eagle

Snake

Rabbit

Grass
44
Detritus food chain

Fish

Crab

Algae

Dead leaf
 Made up of detritivores that feed on dead organic matter and
on one another.
Leaf litter to algae to crabs to small carnivorous fish and so on
Comparison between the two types of food chains

Detritus Grazing
Starts with dead organic matter Starts with producers
detritivores derive energy from Derives energy from sun and
biomass ( do not start with producers
producers)
the organisms making it up are Organisms of all sizes are present
generally smaller (like algae,
insects, & centipedes) All organisms can be categorized
the functional roles of the into different trophic levels as
different organisms do not fall as producers, consumers and
neatly into categories like the decomposers.
grazing food chain's trophic
levels.
 Food web
The interlocking pattern of various food chains in an
ecosystem is known as food web

In a food web, many food chains are interconnected, where

different types of organisms are connected at different tropic
levels, so that there are a number of opportunities of eating and
being eaten at each tropic level.

Example: Insects, rats, deers, etc. may eat Grass; these may
be eaten by carnivores (Snake, tiger). Thus, there is an
interlocking of various food chains called food webs.
51
Food web of the harp seal

2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers

Advantages of Food web over food chain

In a food chain if one

species in the chain is
lost, all other species
dependent on that will
be lost
The species lower in
the series will increase
in number
But in food web even if
one species in the
chain is lost, the
animals above in the
chain survive because
of the other chains.
 Importance of food chains and food webs
They are responsible for the energy flow and nutrient flow in
the ecosystem

Help maintaining and regulating the population size of

different animals

help maintain the ecological balance

Eg: Deer controls the extent of growth of grass. Tigers
control the number of deer.
If deer are not present too much of grass grows and
nutrients from the soil are lost. Then no further grass
growth.
If no grass is present deer cannot survive. Tigers cannot
survive
If instead, No tiger is present the number of deer
increases and they ultimately eat all the grass and cannot
survive further after all the grass is lost.
 Energy flow in the Ecosystem
Energy is needed for every biological activity
Solar energy is transformed into chemical energy by a process of
photosynthesis. This energy is stored in plant tissue, and then
transformed in to mechanical and heat form during metabolic
activities
In the biological world, the energy flows from sun to plants and
then to all heterotrophic organisms like nitro-organisms, animals,
and man i.e. from producers to consumers. 1% of the total
sunlight falling on the green plants is utilized in photosynthesis
This is sufficient to maintain all life on this earth. There is no
100% flow of energy from producers to consumers. Some is always
lost to environment. Because of this, energy cannot be recycled in
an ecosystem it can only flow one way
57
Usable energy Decreases at each trophic
level Second law of thermodynamics

58
 The flow of energy follows the two
laws of thermodynamics
Ist law of thermodynamics: The law states that energy can neither be
created nor be destroyed but it can be transformed from one form to
another. Similarly, solar energy utilized by green plants (producers) in
photosynthesis converted into biochemical energy of plants and later
into that of consumers

IInd law of thermodynamics: The law states that energy

transformation involves degradation or dissipation of energy from a
concentrated to a dispersed form. We have seen dissipation of energy
occurs at every trophic level. There is loss of 90% energy, only 10% is
transferred from one trophic level to the other.
 1st Law: Energy is neither created or destroyed
Energy in ecosystem only flows in a single
direction
it is not created again, nor destroyed
2nd Law: When energy is converted to one form
to another, a part of it is dissipated
In ecosystem not all energy taken from sun is
converted to biomass and transferred
some of it is lost as heat at every stage
Flow of energy follows laws of thermodynamics

Energy neither be created nor be destroyed,

one form of energy is transformed in to another
form of energy
Flow of energy follows laws of thermodynamics

Energy dissipates as it is used or it get converted

from more concentrated to dispersed form
 Heat transfer

Hot Cold
container surroundings
Not possible

The second law also asserts that energy has a quality.

Preserving the quality of energy is a major concern of engineers.

In the above example, the energy stored in a hot container (higher

temperature) has higher quality (ability to work) in comparison with the
energy contained (at lower temperature) in the surroundings.

The second law is also used in determining the theoretical limits for the
performance of commonly used engineering systems, such as heat
engines and refrigerators etc
Biomagnification or Biological Magnification

Food chains show a unique property of biological magnification of

some chemicals

There are several pesticides, heavy metals and other chemicals which
are non-biodegradable in nature

Such chemicals are not decomposed by microorganisms and they keep

on passing from one trophic level to another

At each successive trophic level, they keep on increasing in

concentration

This phenomenon is known as biomagnification or biological

magnification
 Case Study

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
 Energy Flow Models

1. Universal Energy Flow Model

2. Single channel Energy flow model

3. Double channel or Y-Shaped energy flow model

Universal Energy Flow Model

70
Single channel Energy flow model

71
Double channel or Y-Shaped energy flow model

73
Ecosystem

Structural and Functional Characteristic

Terrestrial Ecosystem
Forest Ecosystem
Grassland Ecosystem
Desert Ecosystem

Aquatic Ecosystem
Pond Ecosystem
Lake Ecosystem
Stream Ecosystem
River Ecosystem
 Ecological Succession

From Pioneer to Climax Communities

Stages in Ecological Succession

 Ecological Succession
Ecological succession is the gradual process by which
ecosystems change and develop over time. Nothing
remains the same and habitats are constantly changing

The gradual and continuous replacement of plant and

animal species by other species until eventually the
community is replaced by another type of community

It occurs in stages, called Seral stages or Seres that can be

recognized by the collection of species that dominate at
that point in the succession
76
 Ecological Succession
Ecological successions starting on different types of areas
are named differently

Hydrarch or Hydrosere: Starting in watery area like

pond, Swamp, bog

Mesarch: Starting in an area of adequate moisture

Xerarch or xerosere: Starting in a dry area with little

moisture such as bare rock, sand and saline soil
 Ecological Succession

Begins when an area is made partially or completely devoid of

vegetation because of a disturbance.

Some common mechanisms of disturbance are fires, wind

storms, volcanic eruptions, logging, climate change, severe
flooding, disease, and pest infestation.

Stops when species composition no longer changes with time,

and this community is called the a climax community.
 Reasons for succession
Ecosystems responding/changing due to natural and human
disturbances.
In ecosystems community dynamics change as older
organisms die out and new ones move in.
 Types of succession
Primary succession vs.
Secondary succession:

Primary succession -
occurs on an area of
newly exposed rock or
sand or lava or any
area that has not been
occupied previously by
a living (biotic)
community.

Secondary succession -
takes place where a
community has been
removed, e.g., in a
plowed field or a clear-
cut forest
Secondary succession
 Types of succession
Primary Secondary
Growth occurs on newly Growth occurring after a
exposed surfaces where no
soil exists disturbance changes a
community without
Ex. Surfaces of volcanic
eruptions removing the soil
 Primary Succession
For example, new land created by a volcanic
eruption is colonized by various living organisms
 Secondary Succession
Disturbances responsible can include cleared and plowed
land, burned woodlands
Stages or Steps in Ecological Succession
 Process of Succession
Nudation : It is the development of a bare area without any
life form.
Invasion: It is the successful establishment of one or more
species on a bare area through dispersal or migration
Competition and coactions : As the number of individuals
grows there is competition, both inter-specific and intra-specific
for space, water and nutrition.
Reaction : The living organism grow use water and nutrients
from the substratum and modify the environment in such a way
that it become unsuitable for the existing species and favor
some new species and leads to several Seral communities.
Stabilization: The succession ultimately in a more or less
stable community called climax which is in equilibrium with the
environment 88
 Stages in ecological succession
1. Nudation:
Development of
bare area
caused by
land slides
volcanic
eruptions,
forest fires etc
 Stages in ecological succession
2. Invasion:
Involves Establishment of one or two species
on bare area.
These first species arrived are called
Pioneer species
They do not require soil
. Ex: Lichens (are composite organisms
consisting of a symbiotic association of a
fungus) (the mycobiont)
 Stages in ecological succession

Soil starts to form as

lichens and the forces of
weather and erosion help
break down rocks into
smaller pieces

When lichens die, they add

humus

This helps in growing small

plants
 Stages in ecological succession
As the plants die they add more humus to soil
Now bigger plants and trees can grow.
 Stages in ecological succession

3. Competition and coaction:

As the number of individual species grow,

there is competition for space, water,
nutrients etc.

They influence each other, called coaction

 Stages in ecological succession
4. Reaction:
When vegetation grows, living organisms move in and influence
the environment. Some species sustain, some are lost in the
process
 Stages in ecological succession
5. Stabilization

It need not be a forest

It can be Grasslands with grass and shrubs
Dates, Cacti etc. in deserts
 Stages in ecological succession
5. Stabilization
One or more communities will finally succeed in stabilizing.
This community is called climax community.
 Hydrosere

Phytoplankton

100
 Xerosere

Crustose and foliose lichen

Weathering Disintegrating the rock

Gradual building up of humus, organic matter and soil

Mosses community

Climax - Forest 101

Ecological succession is slow
 How do Ecosystems work?
Ecosystem - structures and functions
Living and non-living interactions
Energy flow
Nutrients
Chemical Cycles
water, carbon, nitrogen

Major Problems:
Human effects on cycles
 Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's
ecosystems.
It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be
contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to regenerate.
It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area
necessary to supply the resources for human population- consuming,
and to assimilate associated waste.
 Natural capital
Natural capital is the land, air, water, living organisms and all formations
of the Earth's biosphere that provide us with ecosystem goods and
services imperative for survival and well-being.
Furthermore, it is the basis for all human economic activity.
Natural Capital can be defined as the world's stocks of natural assets
which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things.
It is from this Natural Capital that humans derive a wide range of services,
often called ecosystem services, which make human life possible.
What happens to the matter in an
ecosystem?

108
 What is support system
The four major components of the earths life-
support system are

the atmosphere (air), (O2 and CO2)

the hydrosphere (water) Hydrological cycle

the geosphere (rock, soil, sediment)

the biosphere (living things)

The atmosphere is a thin spherical envelope of gases surrounding
the earths surface.
Its inner layer, the troposphere, extends only about 17 kilometers (11
miles) above sea level at the tropics.
It contains air that we breathe, consisting mostly of nitrogen (78% of
the total volume) and oxygen (21%).
Almost all of the earths weather occurs within this layer.

Atmospheric gases
Protective blanket of gases (ozone), surrounding the earth.
Sustains (support) life on the earth.
Protect from high energy cosmic rays. Transmits only low
energy, UV, visible and IR radiations.
Hydrosphere: Presence of water (ocean, lake &
polar icecaps)
97.5% of earths water - from ocean
1.97% from polar icecaps and glaciers- moving large ice
0.53% fresh surface water - river, lake, ground water etc)

Lithosphere: solid earth crust

Earth's lithosphere includes the crust and the uppermost
mantle, which constitute the hard and rigid outer layer of
the Earth.
Source of minerals
Atmosphere Multi layers
The biosphere consists of the parts of the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, and geosphere where life is found. If the earth were
an apple, the biosphere would be no thicker than the apples skin.

The geosphere consists of the earths intensely hot core, a

thick mantle composed mostly of rock, and a thin outer crust.
Most of the geosphere is located in the earths interior.

Its upper portion contains non-renewable fossil fuels and minerals

that we use, as well as renewable soil chemicals (nutrients) that
organisms need in order to live, grow, and reproduce.

One important goal of environmental science is to understand the

interactions that occur within this thin layer of air, water, soil, and
organisms.
 Three Factors Sustain the Earths Life
Life on the earth depends on three interconnected factors
1. The one-way flow of high-quality energy from the sun, through living things in
their feeding interactions, into the environment as low-quality energy (mostly
heat dispersed into air or water at a low temperature), and eventually back into
space as heat. No round trips are allowed because high-quality energy cannot
be recycled.
2. The cycling of nutrients (the atoms, ions, and molecules needed for survival by
living organisms) through parts of the biosphere. Because the earth is closed
to significant inputs of matter from space, its essentially fixed supply of
nutrients must be continually recycled to support life . Nutrient cycles in
ecosystems and in the biosphere are round trips, which can take from seconds
to centuries to complete. The law of conservation of Matter governs this
nutrient cycling process.
3. Gravity, which allows the planet to hold onto its atmosphere and helps to
enable the movement and cycling of chemicals through air, water, soil and
organisms
 Nutrient cycle
What is Nutrient and Nutrient cycle?
A substance that provides nourishment essential for the
maintenance of life and for growth.

What is the effect of human activity on nutrient cycle?

 Main nutrient geochemical cycle
reservoirs in the
environment

fraction of herbivores,
nutrient primary carnivores,
available to producers parasites
ecosystem

detritivores,
decomposers

Fig. 47-14, p.852

 Types of Essential Nutrients

Nine essential nutrients, called macronutrients,

are needed in very large amounts

Eight other essential nutrients, called

micronutrients, are needed only in small
amounts.
 Essential Nutrients to Most Plants
Macronutrient % Dry Component/Function
Weight
Carbon (C ) 45.0 Organic compounds
Oxygen (O) 45.0 Organic compounds
Hydrogen (H) 6.0 Organic compounds
Nitrogen (N) 1.0-4.0 Amino acids; nucleic acids, chlorophyll
Potassium (K) 1.0 Amino acids; regulates stomata
opening/closing
Calcium (Ca) 0.5 Enzyme cofactor; influences cell
permeability
Phosphorus (P) 0.2 ATP; proteins; nucleic acids;
phosphoplipids
Magnesium (Mg) 0.2 Chlorophyll; enzyme activator
Sulfur (S) 0.1 CoA; amino acids
 Essential Nutrients to Most Plants

Micronutrient Component/Function
Iron (Fe) Cytochromes; chlorophyll synthesis
Chlorine (Cl) Osmosis; water-splitting in photosynthesis
Copper (Cu) Plastocyanin; enzyme activator
Manganese (Mn) Enzyme activator; component of chlorophyll
Zinc (Zn) Enzyme activator
Molybdenum (Mo) Nitrogen fixation
Boron (B) Cofactor in chlorophyll synthesis
Nickel (Ni) Cofactor for enzyme functioning in nitrogen
metabolism
Basics of nutrient cycling
 Local and global cycling
Local vs. global feedbacks in nutrient dynamics
(recycling vs. one-way)
one-way: energy, water
partly recycled: carbon, nitrogen
mostly recycled: phosphorus
Humans have long affected local landscapes, but
only recently affected global biogeochemical cycles
Anthropogenic perturbations of nutrient cycling
 Dynamics of recycled nutrients

organisms

uptake

death
available
(mineralized)

decomposition/
mineralization
unavailable
(organic)

Fast cycling can be good for organisms (lots of available nutrient),

but can also lead to long-term nutrient losses
Nutrient cycle within and among ecosystems
Elements and compounds that make up nutrients move continually
through air, water, soil, rock and living organisms within ecosystems in
cycles called biogeochemical cycles or (literally, life-earth-chemical
cycles), or nutrient cycles

These cycles are driven directly by, sun, gravity, water, carbon, nitrogen,
sulphur cycles.
Nutrients move through biogeochemical cycles and tends to
accumulate in one portion of the cycle and remain for a different
periods of time .
These temporary storage sites such as atmospheres, ocean or
underground deposits - Reservoirs

124
 Fundamentals of Biogeochemical Cycles

All matter cycles...it is neither created nor

destroyed...

As the Earth is essentially a closed system with

respect to matter, we can say that all matter on
Earth cycles .

Biogeochemical cycles: the movement (or cycling)

of matter through a system
 Nutrient Cycles in Forests
Inputs outputs = storage
Nutrients accumulate in the leaves and
wood over time
 The Hydrological cycle

water goes through biological systems on essentially a one-way trip

cycle is fairly quick (except for aquifers, deep ocean circulation)
salt water = 97.5%

freshwater = 2.5%

oceans ice caps ground- lakes, atmosphere

and water rivers, 0.001%
glaciers 0.5% and soil
1.97% 0.03%
 Water cycle or Hydrological
cycle
The water cycle also known as the hydrological cycle
Water is an amazing and unique substance that is necessary for
life on the earth.
It describes the continuous movement of water on above and
below the surface of the Earth
Water we use keeps on cycling endlessly through the
environment is called hydrocycle or hydrological cycle
Water can change states among liquid, vapor and ice at various
places in the water cycle.
Water dissolves many nutrient compounds, it is a major medium
for transporting nutrients within and between ecosystems
Water cycle
 Water Cycle
1. Fixed supply of water on our planet.
2. The hydrologic cycle (water cycle) collects, purifies, and
distributes the supply of water.
3. Water cycle is powered by sun and involves three major
processes evaporation, precipitation and transpiration.
4. Incoming solar energy - causes evaporation of water from the
oceans, lakes, rivers, and soil Surface Water
5. Over land, about 90% of the water that reaches the
atmosphere evaporates from the surfaces of plants, through a
process called transpiration, and from the soil.
6. Evaporation changes liquid water into water vapor in the
atmosphere, and gravity draws the water back to the earths
surface as precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, and dew).
7. The hydrologic cycle can be viewed as a cycle of natural
renewal of water quality.
132
 Condensation Condensation

Precipitation
Precipitation
Transpiration
Evaporation

Seepage Surface Run-off

Ground Water
Main Processes of the Hydrologic Cycle
1. Evaporation conversion of water into water vapor
2. Transpiration evaporation from leaves of water extracted
from soil by roots
3. Condensation conversion of water vapor into droplets of
liquid water
4. Precipitation rain, sleet, hail, and snow
5. Infiltration movement of water into soil
6. Percolation downward flow of water through soil and
permeable rock formations to groundwater storage areas
called aquifers
7. Runoff downslope surface movement back to the sea to
resume cycle
8. Sublimation- a change directly from the solid to the
gaseous state without becoming liquid
 The Water Cycle
Condensation

Evaporation
Precipitation

Transpiration
Runoff

Groundwater
Human Uses

Human Waste
 Human Impact on Water cycle
- How are we threatening it?
Effect of human on hydrological cycle:
Withdraw large quantities of freshwater from streams, lakes, and
aquifers sometimes at rates faster than nature can replace it. The rate
of consumption is greater than rate of recharge

Clear vegetation from land for agriculture, mining, road building,

pavement and other activities, and cover much of the land with
buildings, concrete, and asphalt. This increases runoff, reduces
infiltration that would normally recharge groundwater supplies,
accelerates topsoil erosion, and increases the risk of flooding.

Destruction of water sponges: Increase flooding when we drain and

fill wetlands for farming and urban development. Left undisturbed,
wetlands provide the natural service of flood control.
 Throughout the hydrologic cycle, many natural processes
purify water. Evaporation and subsequent precipitation act as
a natural distillation process that removes impurities
dissolved in water. Water flowing above ground through
streams and lakes and below ground in aquifers is naturally
filtered and partially purified by chemical and biological
processes mostly by the actions of bacteriaas long as these
natural processes are not overloaded. Thus, the hydrologic
cycle can be viewed as a cycle of natural renewal of water
quality.
 The Carbon Cycle

Carbon Forms: CO2, CO, CH4, H2CO3, organic matter, CaCO3

 The Carbon Cycle
Pollution
Photosynthesis

Gas Exchange
Carbon Fixation
Gas Exchange

Burning Fossil Fuels

Animal Waste
Decomposition

Fossilization
 CO2 in Atmosphere
Burning of
Fossil Fuels
Cellular Respiration
Photosynthesis

Coal and Petroleum Decomposition of

dead organisms
 Heat
Primary Productivity Energy

Solar Energy Chemical

Energy (ATP)
CO2

Photosynthesis Respiration
GPP

C6H12O6
O2

Available to Consumers
NPP

Biomass
 Carbon Cycle

Atmospheric / Aquatic
CO2

Photosynthesis Respiration
Combustion of
wood / fossil fuels
Food Web

Weathering Sedimentation

Limestone Rocks
Volcanic
Action
 Carbon cycle

Carbon is the basic building block of the carbohydrates, fats,

proteins, DNA, and other organic compounds necessary for life. It
circulates through the biosphere, the atmosphere, and parts of
the hydrosphere, in the carbon cycle.

The carbon cycle is based on carbon dioxide (CO2) gas which is a

key component of the atmospheres thermostat.

Removal of to much CO2 from the atmosphere will cool it, and if it
generates too much CO2, the atmosphere will get warmer. Thus,
even slight changes in this cycle caused by natural or human
factors can affect climate and ultimately help to determine the
types of life in various places.
 Terrestrial producers remove CO2 from the atmosphere
and aquatic producers remove it from the water. These
producers then use photosynthesis to convert CO2 into
complex carbohydrates such as glucose (C6H12O6).

The cells in oxygen-consuming producers, consumers

and decomposers then carry out aerobic respiration.
This process breaks down glucose and complex organic
compounds and converts the carbon back to CO2 in the
atmosphere or water for reuse by producers. This
linkage between photosynthesis in producers and
aerobic respiration in producers, consumers, and
decomposers circulates carbon in the biosphere.
 Some carbon atoms take a long time to recycle.
Decomposers release the carbon stored in the bodies of
dead organisms on land back into the air as CO2.

In water, decomposers release carbon that can be

stored as insoluble carbonates in bottom sediment.

We are altering the carbon cycle mostly by adding large

amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when we
burn carbon containing fossil fuels and clear carb on-
absorbing vegetation from forests (especially tropical
forests) faster than it can grow back
Marine sediments are the earths largest store of carbon - buried
deposits of dead plant matter and bacteria are compressed
between layers of sediment, where high pressure and heat
convert them to carbon-containing fossil fuels such as coal, oil,
and natural gas not released to the atmosphere as CO2 for
recycling until these fuels are extracted and burned, or until
long-term geological processes expose these deposits to air.
 Effect of human on carbon cycle
In only a few hundred years, we have extracted and burned
huge quantities of fossil fuels that took millions of years to
form.
Thus, on a human time scale, fossil fuels are non-renewable
resources.
Burning fossil fuels and wood releases more CO2 than
natural processes
Deforestation reduces the amount of vegetation to remove
CO2 - Put more CO2 in the atmosphere
Increased concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and other
gases are very likely to warm the atmosphere by enhancing
the planets natural greenhouse effect, and thus to change
the earths climate Global Warming

149
 Forms of Nitrogen

Urea CO(NH2)2
Ammonia NH3 (gaseous)
Ammonium ion NH4+
Nitrate NO3-
Nitrite NO2-
Atmospheric Dinitrogen N2
Organic N
Cyanobacteria (or Nitrogen Cycle
Rhizobium
blue-green algae)
N2

NONSYMBIOTIC
N2 FIXATION SYMBIOTIC DENITRIFICATION
N2 FIXATION

DECOMPOSITION PLANT UPTAKE NO3-

NITRIFICATION

AMMONIFICATION ASSIMILATORY or
Organic N NH4+
DISSIMILATORY
IMMOBILIZATION NO3- REDUCTION
 Nitrogen Gas in Atmosphere

Denitrification

Nitrates
(NO3-)
Nitrogen Fixation
Decomposers return
ammonia to soil

Nitrites
(NO2-)
 Nitrogen cycle
The major reservoir for nitrogen is atmosphere (78%)

Nitrogen is a crucial component of proteins, many vitamins,

and nucleic acids such as DNA.

N2 cannot be absorbed and used directly as a nutrient by

multicellular plants or animals.

Two natural processes convert or fix N2 into compounds that

can be used as nutrients by plants and animals. One is
electrical discharges, or lightning, taking place in the
atmosphere. The other takes place in aquatic systems, soil,
and the roots of some plants, where specialized bacteria
called nitrogen-fixing bacteria, complete this conversion as
part of the nitrogen cycle.
 The nitrogen cycle consists of several major steps. In nitrogen
fixation, specialized bacteria in soil and bluegreen algae in
aquatic environments combine gaseous N2 with hydrogen to
make ammonia(NH3). The bacteria use some of the ammonia
they produce as a nutrient and excrete the rest to the soil or
water.
Some of the ammonia is converted to ammonium ions NH4+
that can be used as a nutrient by plants.
In this process, specialized soil bacteria convert most of the
NH3 and NH4+ in soil to nitrate ions, which are easily taken up
by the roots of plants.
The plants then use these forms of nitrogen to produce
various amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids and vitamins.
 Ecosystem Nitrogen Cycle
Gaseous N2

Nitrogen Fixation
Ammonification
Ammonia: NH3, NH4+

1. Nitrification
Nitrogenous
Food Web
Nitrite: NO2- Waste

2. Nitrification

Nitrate: NO3-
Denitrification

Loss by
Leaching
 Nitrogen Cycling Processes
Nitrogen Fixation bacteria convert nitrogen gas (N2) to
ammonia (NH3).
Decomposition dead nitrogen fixers release N-containing
compounds.
Ammonification bacteria and fungi decompose dead plants and
animals and release excess NH3 and ammonium ions (NH4+).
Nitrification type of chemosynthesis where NH3 or NH4+ is
converted to nitrite (NO 2-); other bacteria convert NO2- to nitrate
(NO3-).
Denitrification bacteria convert NO2- and NO3- to N2.
The plants then use these forms of nitrogen to produce various
amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, and vitamins.
Animals that eat plants eventually consume these nitrogen-
containing compounds, as do detritus feeders, and decomposers.
Nitrogen Fixation
The nodules on the roots
of this bean plant contain
bacteria called Rhizobium
that help convert nitrogen
in the soil to a form the
plant can utilize.
 Effect of human on nitrogen cycle
We intervene in the nitrogen cycle in several ways:

According to the Ecosystem Assessment, since 1950, human activities

have more than doubled the annual release of nitrogen from the land
into the rest of the environment.

Most of this is from the greatly increased use of inorganic fertilizer to

grow crops, and the amount released is projected to double again by
2050.

This excessive input of nitrogen into the air and water contributes to
pollution and other problems disturbing the ecosystems

Nitrogen overload is a serious and growing local, regional, and global

environmental problem that has attracted little attention.
 Emit nitric oxide (NO) when burning fuels; leads to acid rain
Emit heat-trapping nitrous oxide (N2O) into the atmosphere
Remove nitrogen from the earths crust for fertilizers, harvesting
nitrogen-rich biomass, and increase leaching through irrigation
Remove nitrogen from topsoil when burning grasslands and
clearing forests; also emits nitrous oxides
Add excess through runoff and sewage promotes overgrowth of
algae, which dies, breaks down, and decomposition by bacteria
depletes the water of oxygen; disrupts aquatic systems; reduces
aquatic biodiversity
Add excess nitrogen to atmosphere; allowing weedy plants to
outcompete other plants, reducing biodiversity