EARTH AND ECOSYSTEMS

BASIC COMPONENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

o VARIOUS SPHERES OF EARTH
o INTERNAL STRUCTURES OF THE EARTH

ECOSYSTEM
o STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ECOSYSYTEM
o ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
o THREATS TO MAJOR ECOSYSTEM

1.0

DEFINE ENVIRONMENT

Environment is defined as the surroundings in which an organization

operates including air, water, land and natural resources, flora, fauna,

humans and their inter relations ISO Definition.

Environment is the sum total of all living and non-living factors that
compose the surroundings of man.
Environment can be defined as the natural surroundings of that
organism which directly or indirectly influences the growth and

development of the organism.

CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENT
Atmosphere
Physical Environment

Hydrosphere
Lithosphere

Flaura

ENVIRONMENT

Biological Environment
Fauna
Microbial

Society
Cultural Environment

Economy
Politics

COMPONENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Air, water and land are the components of environment, the British and
American scientists put in two different manners.
Components of Environment as per British literature
Here the components are classified in terms of biotic and abiotic based upon
life. It is from this component system that the study of structure of ecosystem
was evolved.

Components of Environment as per American literature

As per American literature, the components of environment are listed as
1. Hydrosphere(Water)

2. Atmosphere(Air)
3. Lithosphere(Land)
4. Biosphere(Flora/Fauna/Microbes)

1.1

VARIOUS SPHERES OF EARTH

Everything in Earth's system can be placed into one of four major subsystems:

land, water, living things, or air. These four subsystems are called "spheres."
Specifically, they are the "lithosphere" (land), "hydrosphere" (water),
"biosphere" (living things), and "atmosphere" (air). Each of these four spheres
can be further divided into sub-spheres.
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BIOSPHERE
Biosphere is the total sum of all ecosystems, or the zone of life on earth , in a
closed and self regulating system.
Biosphere may be treated as the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere
which influences and supports the entire biotic and abiotic life systems.it is a

bed of resources, activity, utilization and replenishment.

Plants animals and microbes utilize the nutrients consisting of C,N,S,P and
other compounds which are again re-circulated due to biological and chemical
reactions like carbon cycles, nitrogen cycles etc. in the nature.

HYDROSPHERE
The hydrosphere contains all the solid, liquid, and gaseous water of the planet.
It ranges from 10 to 20 kilometers in thickness. The hydrosphere extends from
Earth's surface downward several kilometers into the lithosphere and upward
about 12 kilometers into the atmosphere.

This includes the oceans, rivers, lakes, estuaries, glaciers, fresh water biomes

and even the moisture in the air. 97% of the earth's water is in the oceans. The
remaining 3% is fresh water; of the fresh water is solid and exists in ice
sheets . Water bodies control the climate of a place.
WATER CYCLE

Hydrosphere
water

in physical geography describes the combined mass of

found on, under, and over the surface of a planet. this continuous

movement

of

water

in

various

stages

is

called

as

water

cycle.
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LOTIC SYSTEM

LENTIC SYSTEM

Aquatic life depends on:

Depth of water and intensity of light
penetration

Dissolved oxygen and mineral salts

Temperature and solubility
Inorganic and organic chemicals
LENTIC SYSTEM

Bottom deposits and water movement.

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ATMOSPHERE
Dense and humid layers of atmosphere near the surface of
the earth have high temperatures due to the radiations from
the sun. The air of our planet is 79% nitrogen and just under

21% oxygen; the small amount remaining is composed of

carbon dioxide and other gasses.
TROPOSPHERE
Its is a space up to 20km from the surface of the earth. The
temperature of the troposphere decreases with height.
The upper boundary of this layer is called the tropopause.
The troposphere has a great deal of vertical mixing of its

constituent gases, as a result of solar heat, Air movement,

cloud formation, dust, and water vapour. As the Sun heats
the Earth's surface, the air masses near the surface become
warmer, rise, and release heat.

STRATOSPHERE

it lies between about 10 km and 50 km at moderate latitudes, but it starts at about

8 km at the poles. This layer is dynamically stable, with no regular mixing of air and
associated turbulence.
The upper layers of the stratosphere are heated by the presence of an ozone
layer that absorbs ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sunradiation that would
otherwise be harmful to living organisms on Earth.
Air movement is due to the following factors:

Movement of earth around the sun

Unequal temperatures in different parts of the earths surface
Differences in rate of heating and cooling of water and land surfaces
Local meteorological conditions
Global air circulation or heat transport, land and sea breezes, mountain and valley
breezes are examples of air movements in large and small scales.
Weather, climate, rainfall etc influences the characteristics of life on earth.
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LITHOSPHERE
The lithosphere is the solid, rocky crust covering entire planet. This crust is
inorganic and is composed of minerals. It covers the entire surface of the
earth.
Lithosphere consists of:
Metallic and non metallic minerals
Physio- chemical factors
Biotic and abiotic elements

Different landforms
Major biomes
Water and temperature on the earth controls the following:
Climate
Soil characteristics
Nature and abundance of plant life
Aquatic life

Human activities

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Lithosphere Is basically the crust and the upper mantle or the asthenosphere.

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1.2

INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH

The interior structure of the Earth, similar to the outer, is layered. These layers

can be defined by either their chemical or their rheological properties.

The core which is approximately 7000 kilometers in diameter (3500
kilometers in radius) and is located at the Earth's center.
The mantle surrounds the core and has a thickness of 2900 kilometers.
The crust floats on top of the mantle. It is composed of basalt rich oceanic
crust and granitic rich continental crust.
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Composition of the crust

Types of crust
Oceanic crust
Continental crust
Relation of crust with the mantle
Isostacy
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