ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

At the end of this module, the students should be able to:

1. study the environment in its ecological context

2. describe an ecosystem in terms of its structure and function

3. explain the principles and concepts of ecology and their role in the sustainable development of
ecosystems.

Appreciation of the importance of the environment necessitates an understanding of the

"Ecology" is derived from the Greek words "oikos" meaning household, and "logos" meaning "the study
of". Thus, ecology is the study of the relationships of organisms and environment. Ecology is the study of
the household, then in its most encompassing sense- including the plants, animals, microbes and people
that live together as interdependent beings on earth.

An understanding and appreciation of the concepts of environment, ecology and ecosystems are
important in natural resource management and the attainment of sustainable development.

3.2.1 The Ecosystem Concept

The idea of ecosystem is the most fundamental concept in the field of ecology. The ecosystem is
the basic functional in ecology, and includes organisms, populations and communities, each influencing
the properties of the others. It is a "complex web linking animals, plants, air, water and every other life
forms in the biosphere". These elements interrelate with each other in a cyclic life-sustaining way
through the regular provision of energy by the sun. They are arranged altogether in a "steady state" of
dynamic balance. Thus, altering one part will affect all other parts. Odum (1971) defined an ecosystem
as any unit that includes all organisms in a guven area interacting with the physical environment so that
a flow of energy leads to a clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity and material cycles within
the system.

An ecosystem is the combination of a community and the chemical and physical factors making
up the non living environment. It is a dynamic ntwork of biological, chemical and physical interactions
that sustain a community and allow it to respond to changes environmental conditions. The usage of the
term ecology is valid provided it refers to any area which satisfies all the basic structures and functions
characteristic to the above definition. The ecosystem connotes obligatory relationships ,
interdependence and causal relationships between and among the different habitats and niches of
organisms. For example, the island of Samar may be referred to as an ecosystem in itself because it
harbors organisms interacting within its tropical environment. Such interaction of organisms has a
distinct tropical trophic structure, biotic diversity and material cycles which may be distinguishable from
other islands, more so from those in the temperate countries. Inside Samar are tropical rainforest,
savannas, grasslands, streams, ponds, lakes, mangroves and the like. By their own right, these too are
ecosystems. We may also refer the whole Philippines as an ecosystem.

Table 1. The Realm of Ecology

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Entity Components

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Ecosystem . The community of organisms and populations interacting with one another and with the
chemical and physical factors making up their environment.

Community. Populations of different plants and animals living and interacting in an area at a
particular time.

Population. Group of organisms of the same species living within a particular area.

Species. A group of organisms that look-alike and are capable of producing offspring.

Organism. Any form of life including all plants and animals.

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Source: Buchwolz, R. 1993. Principles of Environmental Management, Prentice-Hall (UK) Limited, London.

Ecology, then, is the study of relationships between organisms and with their environment.
Each organism and population has a habitat: a place where organisms live. Within its defined habitat, it
fulfills obligatory role or niche contributory to the total ecosystem function. When several populations of
different species live together and interact with one another in a particular place, make up what is called
biotic community, e.g. all plants, animals and microorganisms found in a ecosystem.

The biosphere is the only ecosystem which has a definite material boundary, that is, it does not
significantly exchange materials with an external environment. Consider a particular natural ecosystem,
say a pond or forest. It consists of a physical environment- in the case of the pond, water and bottom
mud and the drainage system; in the case of the forest, the atmosphere and the climate, the soil and
hydrological influences. The environment is inhabited by different types of plants and animals, each of
which in turn modifies the climate, the hydrological and the nutritional aspects of the environment.
Each group of species is made up of individuals, collectively a population, that are held together by some
form of social or biological interaction. Populations and individuals within populations do not exist alone
but form some kind of an association, not haphazard but orderly and well-organized, utilizing and
transferring energy and materials. This interacting plants, animals and environment up the ecosystem.
 The earth has several major parts that play a role in sustaining life. You are part of what
ecologist call the biosphere- organisms found near the earth's surface in parts of the atmosphere (air),
hydrosphere (water), and lithosphere (land). This collection of organisms interacting with one another
and their non living environment (energy and chemicals) throughout the world is also called the
ecosphere. The goal of ecology is to learn how the ecosphere works.

3.2.2 Ecosystem Structure

All ecosystems are composed of the abiotic and biotic components. The abiotic components or
"structure" are generally referred to as the life support system that enables the living components to
grow, develop and reproduce in the eternal cycle of life. The operational interactions and
interrelationships of the living and the non- living parts of the ecosystem are referred to as the
ecosystem "function".

2.2.1 The Abiotic Component

The non-living, or abiotic, components of an ecosystem include various physical and chemical
factors such as:

 inorganic substances (involved in materials cycles like nitrogen, carbon, water, etc.)
 organic compounds (like carbohydrates, protein, humic substances, lipids, etc.)
 climate regime (like rainfall, temperature, wind and other physical factors)
 latitude (distance from the equator)
 altitude (distance above sea level)
 nature of soil (for terrestrial ecosystem)
 fire (for terrestrial ecosystem)
 amount of suspended solid materials (for aquatic ecosystems)

Major chemical chemical factors affecting ecosystems are:

 level of water and air in soil

3.2.2 The Biotic Component

The major types of organisms that make up the living, or biotic, components of ecosystems are
usually classified as producers, consumers and decomposers. This classification is based on organisms
general nutritional habits.

Producers
 Producers, sometimes called autotrophs (meaning self-feeders), are organisms that can
manufacture the organic compounds they use as sources of energy and nutrients. Most producers are
green plants that make the organic nutrients through photosynthesis. This complicated process begins
when sunlight is absorbed by pigments such as chlorophyll, which gives plants their green color. Plants
use this energy to combine carbon dioxide (which they get from atmosphere or from water) with water
(which they get from the soil or aquatic surroundings) in a series of chemical reactions to make
carbohydrates-sugars (such as glucose), starches and cellulose. Oxygen gad is given of as a byproduct of
photosynthesis. This complex series of chemical reactions involved in photosynthesis can be
summarized as follows:
Light energy
Carbon Dioxide + Water --------------------------------> Glucose + Oxygen
Enzymes

In essence this complex process converts radiant energy from the sun into chemical energy
stored in the chemical bonds that hold the atoms of glucose and other carbohydrates together. This
stored chemical energy produced by photosynthesis is the direct and indirect source of food for most
organisms. Most of the oxygen in the atmosphere is also a product of photosynthesis. An estimated 59%
of the eath's photosynthesis takes place on land and the remaining 41% in the oceans and other aquatic
ecosystems.

Consumers

Organisms that get the nutrients and energy they require by feeding either directly or indirectly
on producers are called consumers, or heterotrophs (meaning others-feeder). Some consumers feed on
living plants or animals, and other feed on small fragments of dead plant and animal matter, called
detritus.

Depending on their food sources, consumers that feed on living organisms fall into three major
classes:

 Herbivores (plant eaters)- primary consumers, which feed directly and only on all part of living
plants.
 Carnivores (flesh-eaters) secondary consumers, which feed only plant-eating animals
(herbivores).
 Omnivores- tertiary or higher-level consumers, which feed on plants, herbivores and carnivores.

Consumer organisms that feed on detritus, or dead organic plant and animal matter, are known
as detritivores: detritus feeders and decomposers.

Detritus feeders ingest fragments of dead organisms and their cast-off parts and organic wastes,
e.g., crabs, earthworms and clams. Decomposers digest dead tissue or wastes and absorb their soluble
nutrients. They consist of two classes of organisms: microscopic, single-celled bacteria and fungi.
Bacteria and fungi decomposers in turn are an important source of food for organisms such as worms
and insects living in the soil and water. Fungus are the foremost decomposers in wood, while bacteria
do dwell in places or substrates where oxygen may be limiting, such as in dead animal matter and in
aquatic benthos. Many of the decomposition byproducts are not absorbed as food by decomposers.
There are organic materials which are recycled back to producers. Other decomposition byproducts are
organic compounds which are resistant to further decomposition such as humus.

Module 3.2.1 and 3.2.2 Learning Activity

1. Compare and Contrast the terms Environment and Ecosystem.

2. Discuss the interdependence of the living and nonliving components of an ecosystem.

Prepared by:

Reymart M. Bontia
Subject Lecturer