B.Tech.

I (CSE) Semester – II
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
(EG110)

Kashyap A Patel, PhD (IIT Delhi)

Assistant Professor
Structural Engineering Division
Department of Civil Engineering
S. V. National Institute of Technology (SV-NIT), Surat
Mo. No. 9718993561; Email: [email protected]
Module 1:

INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Definition and scope of ecology and environmental science. Basic

principles of ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Overview of
environmental challenges facing the world today.
 Introduction
(David Orr,1991)- If today is the
typical day on planet earth
We may lose 40
We will lose 116 We will lose 72
to 100 species,
square miles of square miles of
this is we are
rainforest or land to
talking about a
about an acre a encroaching
typical day on
second deserts
planet
 Introduction
And tonight, the earth will be little hotter
Global warming
We still have lot of carbon being added to the atmosphere

Waters more acidic

putting more and more
carbon dioxide,
nitrous oxide,
sulphur oxides into the
atmosphere,
this comes back as rain and the
water is becoming more and more
acidic.

As engineers we need to
know how the planet earth
NOAA Climate.gov works and we need to
understand ecology.
Introduction
 Ecology
Definition:
• it is defined as the scientific study of the processes influencing the
distribution and abundance of organisms, the interactions among
organisms and the interactions between organisms and the
transformation and flux of energy and matter - Ernst Haeckel (1866)

• It emphasizes both living and non-living components of the natural world.

•it is called the study of distribution of organisms- Andrewartha and Birch (1954)

•so which reinforces the focus on organism as the core of ecology.

Evelyn Hutchinson defined ecology as the science of the universe.

 Ecology
ecology is a study of the processes,
it could be chemical process, it could be physical process,

Interaction among organisms

Distribution and
abundance of organisms Interaction between the
organisms

Transform and flux of

energy and matter
 Ecosystem
Boundary of ecosystem:
• Ecosystem is a region in which the organisms and the physical environment
form an interacting unit. Within an ecosystem there is a complex network of
interrelationships.
• E.g tree, pond --- simple ecosystems. Forest ecosystem
Ecosystem
 Ecosystem

Lithosphere
Hydrosphere
Ecosystem
Levels of ecosystem
•Individual

•Population

• species

•community

•ecosystem

nptel.ac.in/courses/
Levels of ecosystem

nptel.ac.in/courses/
 Ecosystem

• A complex ecosystem
• For example,
– Weather affects plants,
– Plants use minerals in the soil and are food for animals,
– Animals spread plant seeds
– Plants secure the soil, and
– Plants evaporate water, which affects weather
 Case Study
Inter-relations in Ecosystem- Case study
Keoladeo was declared a national park
In 1982, Keoladeo was declared a
national park and was designated as a
World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1985.

Water buffalo, certain aquatic plants,

and the Siberian crane coexisted in a
three-way relationship.

Local villagers were prohibited from using

the land to graze their cattle and water
buffalo

Cranes to dig up rhizomes and tubers of

the aquatic plants for food.

the weeds grew to their full height and in

solid masses that created a physical barrier
for crane
Enger and Smith, 2010
 How ecology is studied?
• Organism Level:
– Individual of a particular species
– Population of a species

• Habitat based studies:

– Terrestrial (forest, desert, grassland etc)
– Aquatic (marine, estuarine, freshwater)
System Concept in ECology
nptel.ac.in/courses/
 Ecosystem services
• Ecosystem services
– Supporting life
• Produce natural capital (fuel, fibre and O2, air, water,
food- sustain life)
– Regulation of climate
• Primitive time-starting of evolution – reductive
• Oxidation and reduction
• Plants- releasing O2 and taking CO2
• Temperature maintenance – Current average temp if
increased - 20 C– result in catastrophic effects
 Ecosystem services
 Biochemical cycles- CO2, H20,
Nitrogen, Phosphorus,
sulphur cycle etc. – reaction
between living organisms
and surrounding

 Water filtration-
Self purification
capacity

 Soil formation- microbes –

decaying, health
living soil mass mass
with nutrients that
can provide

 Erosion control

 Flood protection
 Ecosystem services
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

• 2001-2005 by UN

• More than 1500 scientists – How to put the ecosystem

services into economics !
 Ecosystem function
• Ecosystem services are output of its function

nptel.ac.in/courses/
 Biodiversity
Each human being is very different from all
others. This genetic variability is essential for
a healthy breeding population of a species.

The number of species of plants and animals

that are present in a region constitutes its
species diversity.

There is a large variety of different

ecosystems on earth, which have their own
complement of distinctive interlinked species
based on the differences in the habitat.
 LIVING PLANET
INDEX

Living planet report, 2020

Grut et al., 2002
Grut et al., 2002
 Ecosystem Functions
(Costanza et al., 1997, De Groot, 1992, De Groot et al., 2000.
 Ecosystem Functions
(Costanza et al., 1997, De Groot, 1992, De Groot et al., 2000.
 Ecosystem Functions
(Costanza et al., 1997, De Groot, 1992, De Groot et al., 2000.
 Ecosystem Functions
(Costanza et al., 1997, De Groot, 1992, De Groot et al., 2000.
 Ecosystem Functions
(Costanza et al., 1997, De Groot, 1992, De Groot et al., 2000.
Case study- China- Forest Ecosystem
 Case study- China- Forest Ecosystem

Xingshan County is
situated in the west part
of Hubei Province, China
and covers about 2316
km2.

The area of forestland

reaches 107 000 ha,

accounting for 50.64% of

the total land area of the
county.
Case study- China- Forest Ecosystem
 Forest Ecosystem

• High rainfall

•Large number of organism and

flora

• Highly diverse population

• Stability of ecosystem is very

sensitive
Forest Ecosystem –
Based on leaf
characteristics

Coniferous Broad leaved

Based on tree
species

Xerophytic Mangroves
Evergreen Deciduous (Thorn trees)
Types of forests
• Tropical rainforests (No dry season)
• Tropical deciduous forests (Average Rainfall)
• Tropical scrub forests (Hottest season)
• Temperate rainforests (Broadleaf with heavy
rainfall)
• Temperate deciduous forest
• Evergreen coniferous forest (Woody plants
with normal temperature)

38
Components of forest ecosystem-

• Abiotic Components – Soil, Temp, Climate etc.,

• Biotic Components – Producers, Consumers-
Primary, Secondary, Tertiary
• Decomposers – Micro-organism , Fungi etc.,

39
Source - ISRO Dr. Smaranika Panda, DoCE, SV NIT
 Dense Forest with a
canopy density more than
70%,

Moderately Dense
Forest with a canopy
density between 40-70%

Open Forest with a

canopy density between
10- 40%.

The tree cover is

assessed following a
methodology involving
remote sensing based
stratification

Source: INDIA STATE OF FOREST

REPORT 2019,

Forest Survey of India Ministry of

Environment, Forest & Climate
Change
Dr. Smaranika Panda, DoCE, SV NIT
 Service of forest ecosystem
• Watershed Protection
• Atmospheric regulation
• Soil Erosion Control
• Wind Erosion Control
Krieger, D.J., 2001. Economic value of forest ecosystem services: a review.
 Grassland Ecosystem
• Marginal rainfall
• Vegetation is dominated by grasses
• Unimproved wild-plant communities
• Densely populated
Types of Grassland Ecosystem

Joseph, B., 2006

 Features of grassland ecosystem
• Temperature
• Precipitation
• Humidity
• Topography
• Unadaptive plants and animals
Grass land ecosystem-Services

Dr. Smaranika Panda, DoCE, SV NIT

Zhao et al., 2020
 Desert Ecosystem
• High temperature, intense sunlight and low water

• Flora and fauna are very poorly developed and scarce

• Organisms are xeric adaptive

• Scarcely populated
 Desert Ecosystem
• These ecosystem occurs in regions where
evaporation exceeds precipitation
• Rainfall is less than 25 cm per year
• They have species of various diversity
and consist of drought resistant plants
 Types of desert

• Sand desert
• Stony desert
• Rock desert
• Plateau desert
• Mountain desert
• Cold desert
Sand desert
Rock desert
Stony desert
Plateau desert
Mountain desert
Cold desert
 Desert Ecosystem
• Deserts are of 3 types:
1) Tropical Deserts (Driest and Hottest) like
Sahara Desert
2) Temperate Deserts (Day as summer and night
as winters) like Mojave Desert
3) Cold Deserts (Cool winters and warm
summers) like Gobi Desert
 Features of desert ecosystem
• Rainfall
• Temperature
• Soil
• light
• Plants and animals are adapted to live in
extremities
 Services of desert ecosystem
• Solar energy resource
• Mineral resource
 Aquatic Ecosystem
• Low temperature and sunlight
• Soil and vegetation is submerged
• Flora and fauna had adapted
• Densely populated.
 Types of Aquatic ecosystem
• Ocean
• Lotic: Free flowing like rivers
• Lentic: Still like pond, lakes
• Wetland
 Lake Ecosystem
• Lakes have been found to exhibit distinct
zones of biological activities, largely
determined by availability of light and oxygen
• The most important biological zones are:
1) Euphotic Zone
2) Littoral Zone
3) Benthic Zone
 Zones in Lake Ecosystem
1) Euphotic Zone: Upper layer of water through
which sunlight can penetrate. All plant
growth occurs in this zone.
2) Littoral Zone: The shallow water near the
shores in which rooted plants exist
3) Benthic Zone: Bottom sediments in a lake
comprise this zone. Dead organisms are
decomposed in this zone.
Lake Ecosystem
 Features of aquatic ecosystem
• Light and temperature
• Current
• Chemistry
• Competitive organism

Source: Joseph B , 2006

 Services of Aquatic Ecosystem
• Recycles nutrients
• Purify water
• Responsible for proper rainfall
• Attenuate floods
• Recharge ground water
Chains Energy Flow in Ecosystem
Food web of a hot spring

Souce: Google Images

Food web of the harp seal.

Souce: Google Images 70

 Trophic Levels

Dr. Smaranika Panda, DoCE, SV NIT

Source: NPTEL SWAYAM
nptel.ac.in/courses/
 Ecological Pyramids
• Graphic representation of trophic structure
and function of ecosystem, starting with
producers at the base and successive trophic
levels at the apex is known as ecological
pyramid
• They are of 3 types:
1) Pyramids of numbers
2) Pyramids of Biomass
3) Pyramids of Energy
 Pyramids of Numbers
• It represents the number of individual
organisms at each trophic level of a food chain
per unit area at any time
• Generally represented by number per sq.m
• It can be upright or inverted depending upon
type of ecosystem and food chain
Pyramid of numbers-
Trophic Structure Reminder
• Eltonian pyramids- Developed by Charles Elton
• Number of individuals per species
• Does not consider individual sizes or biomass.
• Need not be always upright
Pyramids of Numbers
Pyramids of Numbers
Pyramids of Numbers
 Drawbacks
• The pyramid does not take into account size of
individual organism i.e all organisms are
considered equal in size
• Number of individuals in a trophic level
depends upon the availability of biomass
• For example, a tree supports several insects
but several trees will support a single elephant
or herbivore
 Pyramid of Biomass
• It is based upon the total biomass at each
trophic level in the food chain
• It can also be inverted or upright
• It is represented by grams/ sq.m i.e dry matter
available
Pyramid of Biomass
 Drawbacks
• Each trophic level indicates standing crops which
is different in different seasons for example, a
deciduous tree has more biomass in spring but
less in winter

• Life span of individuals is not taken into

consideration i.e. less lifetime organism may have
higher biomass

• Biomass differs in its energy content in different

organisms
 Pyramids of Energy
• In this type of pyramid, the amount of energy
present in each trophic level is represented
• It is presented by kcal/sq.m/year
• Such type of pyramid gives the best
representation and is always upright
• There is always a sharp decline in energy level
at each trophic levels
Pyramids of Energy
Pyramids of Energy
 Advantages
1) Always upright
2) Based on productivity
3) Gives the idea of actual amount of energy
received at each trophic level
• Such type of pyramid gives by far the best
overall picture of functional aspects of
ecosystem
EnergyTrophic
Pyramid Structure Reminder
• The greatest amount of energy is found at the base
of the pyramid.
• The least amount of energy is found at top of the
pyramid.
• Energy pyramids can never be inverted.

86
 Energy and material flow in the
ecosystem
• Pyramid of number--- Mostly Upright

• Pyramid of biomass-

Source: NPTEL SWAYAM

Respiration &
other activities

Source:
NPTEL/SWAYAMCOURSE/
 Ecological efficiency
• Direct energy harvesting- solar energy harvesting
agent- plants which are producing it.

• energy is flowing through the ecosystems in food

chains, and webs.

• as energy flows through ecosystems in food

chains, and webs, the amount of chemical energy
available to organisms at each succeeding tropic
level decreases.
 Ecological efficiency
• Efficiency with which the energy is flowing at
each tropic level.

• So, how does energy and material flow

through these ecosystems is an important
thing.

• Ecological efficiency can be defined in various

way--- such as NPP
 Ecological productivity
• Ecological productivity refers to the primary fixation of solar energy
by plants and subsequent usage of the energy by herbivores then
by carnivores and so on which creates a complex food web

• Gross primary production is the first stage which is like taking

energy from sun

• Plants convert that energy into useful glucose or matter and that
glucose is transferred from the plants. Plants used the energy for
respiration etc.

• NPP= GPP- loss due to respiration

• Net primary production that is what is the plant mass that we see
growing on earth
 Ecological productivity
• Herbivores eat the plants, so that is the next level of energy flow.

• Exploitation efficiency: efficiently a herbivore is exploiting the available food

sources that is present there.

• Primary consumer--- Ingest the food and some amount will be defecated and lost
from the system and remaining things will be assimilated part of which will be
used for their growth. So, this energy is considered as the gross secondary
production here.

• Assimilation at this stage is the energy remaining as after defecation

• Energy being used for respiration and other activities and remaining amount that
is the net secondary production, so basically net secondary productivity

• Ecological efficiencies defined as the sum of this or the processes that goes on
from gross primary production till assimilation of the nutrients in a herbivore.
Source:
NPTEL/SWAYAMCOURSE/
Ecological efficiency of Plants

Source:
NPTEL/SWAYAMCOURSE/
 Ecological efficiency of Plants
Light & dark bottle method:
• In this method, a sample of water is placed into two bottles
• One bottle is stored in the dark and the other in a lighted area.
• Only respiration can occur in the bottle stored in the dark.
• The decrease in dissolved oxygen (DO) in the dark bottle over time
is a measure of the rate of respiration.
• Both photosynthesis and respiration can occur in the bottle exposed
to light
• Difference between the amount of oxygen produced through
photosynthesis and that consumed through aerobic respiration is
the net productivity.
• The difference in dissolved oxygen over time between the bottles
stored in the light and in the dark is a measure of the total amount
of oxygen produced by photosynthesis. The total amount of oxygen
produced is called the gross productivity.
Transfer of matter in ecosystem
 Bio-geochemical Cycles
• The cyclic exchange of nutrient materials
between living organisms and their non-living
environment is called as bio-geochemical
cycles
• This cycle includes
1) Hydrological or Water cycle
2) Gaseous cycle
3) Sedimentary cycle
Nitrogen Cycle and Human Impact
 Nitrogen Cycle and Human Impact
• Red arrows indicate in the previous fig are the pathways
which are affected by human activities.

• Blue boxes- Nitrogen processes, eg: lightening, volcanic

eruption, bacteria

• Yellow boxes- Reservoir or storage of N2

• E.g: nitrogen oxides which are from burning fuel and using
inorganic fertilizers are released into the atmosphere, and
that affects again the other natural flow of nitrogen into
the environment.
 Nitrogen Cycle
• Nitrification: Nitrifying
bacteria oxidizes
ammonia to nitrite and
then to nitrate
• Denitrification: Under
anaerobic conditions,
denitrifying bacteria
converts nitrate to
nitrogen gas
Phosphorous Cycle and Human Impact
Sulphur cycle and Human Impacts
 Carbon Cycle
• Carbon in the form of carbon-dioxide is taken up
by green plants as raw material for
photosynthesis
• The organic matter synthesized are passed from
producers to consumers
• During respiration, plants and animals release
carbon back to the surrounding as carbon-dioxide
• The dead bodies of plants and animals as well as
the body waste which accumulates carbon
compounds are decomposed by micro-organisms
and releases carbon-dioxide
Carbon Cycle
Human Impact on Environment

Source: The Hindu

Human Impact on Environment

Source: the Hindu

Human Impact on Environment

Source: The Hindu

Human Impact on Environment

Source: The Hindu

Dr. Smaranika Panda, DoCE, SV NIT
 Carbon foot print
• A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused
directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product.

• Emissions resulting from every stage of a product or service’s lifetime

(material production, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life).

• Throughout a product’s lifetime, or lifecycle, different GHGs may be

emitted, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide
(N2O), Chloroflouro Carbon etc

• greater or lesser ability to trap heat in the atmosphere. These differences

are accounted for by the global warming potential (GWP) of each gas,
resulting in a carbon footprint in units of mass of carbon dioxide
equivalents (CO2e)

• A typical U.S. household has a carbon footprint of 48 metric tons CO2e/yr.

Heller, M.C., et al. (2018). Greenhouse gas emissions
and energy use associated with production of
individual self-selected US diets. Environmental
Research Letters, 13(4), 044004
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2021)
Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks
1990 - 2019
U.S. EPA (2020) 2020 Common
Reporting Format (CRF) Table.
 Carbon and Ecological Footprint Calculators

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

www.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/

• The Nature Conservancy:

www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/

• Global Footprint Network:

https://www.footprintcalculator.org/