The Ecosystem

Ecosystem is an area of nature comprising of both the biotic and abiotic organisms living
together in harmony and exchanging energy and matter. The ecosystem depends on two basic
processes. These are energy flow and material cycling. The flow of energy in the ecosystem
leads to a clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity and material cycles (i.e. the exchange
of materials between the biotic and abiotic components).

Ecology and Ecosystems

The term ecology, meaning ‘home’, refers to the study of the interrelationships between
organisms and their habitats. An organism’s home or habitat lies in the biosphere – i.e. the
surface zone of the earth and its adjacent atmosphere in which all organic life; plants, animals
and man exist.
The hierarchical structure of an ecological unit (see table below) shows that the concept of
environment is basic to the four ecological units. The environment is a collective term to include
all the conditions in which an organism lives. It can be divided into:
a. the physical, non-living or abiotic environment, which includes temperature, water, light,
humidity, wind, carbondiozide, oxygen, pH, rocks and nutrients in the soil; and
b. the living or biotic environment, which comprises all organisms; plants, animals, humans,
bacteria and fungi.

The Components of Ecosystem

The two basic components of the ecosystem are the biotic and the abiotic parts. The three major
groups of living forms that constitute the biotic part are the producers, consumers and
decomposers

The Components of an Ecosystem

Organic /Abiotic Part Physical /Abiotic Part

1. Producers 1. Climatic Factors
1.1 Green plants 1.1 Light
1.2 Photosynthetic bacteria 1.2 Temperature
1.3 Chemosynthetic bacteria 1.3 Precipitation
1.4 Atmosphere and wind
2. Consumers 2. Edaphic Factors: Soils
2.1 Herbivores : Animal that eat plants 2.1 Nutrient content
2.2 Carnivores: Animal that eat animal e.g lion 2.2 Acidity
2.3 Omnivores: 2.3 Moisture content
2.4 Detritivores
3. Decomposers 3. Topographic factors
3.1 Bacteria 3.1 Aspect
3.2 Fungi 3.2 Angle of slope
3.3 Altitude

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Consumers essentially convert ingested food into new protoplasm. The ultimate source of the
food energy obtained and used by consumers is the organic matter produced autotrophs in any
ecosystems.
The decomposers are micro-organisms, notably the so- called bacteria and fungi of decay that
break down the complex organic molecules of the litter, wastes and remains of both producers
and consumers. Decompose lead to the release of simple inorganic substances that can be reused
by green plants. Decomposers are as essential a part of the ecosystem as producers and
consumers; in their absence, the basic elements of life would become locked in the complex
molecules of the wastes thereby rendering them unavailable to the producers in the ecosystem. A
condition of equilibrium of ecosystems with their immediate surrounding is referred to as
HOMOSTASIS

The major effects of climatic factors on the biotic community of the ecosystems
The major climatic factors that have significant influence on the biotic community of the
ecosystems are:
(i) Light
(ii) (ii) Temperature
(iii) (iii) Water availability and
(iv) (iv) Wind
Light and temperature are influenced by the duration and intensity of solar radiation. The three
major aspect of light that influence the biotic community in the ecosystem are:
(i) Light intensity or energy content
(ii) Quality or wavelength composition and
(iii) Duration of light or day- length otherwise referred to as photoperiod

The role of temperature in an ecosystem

Temperature as an environmental factors acts directly and indirectly on the biotic community.
Temperature directly affects the functioning of organisms by controlling their body chemistry. It
also acts indirectly by influencing the status of other environmental factors such as evaporation
which largely determines water availability in terrestrial habitats. Most living organisms function
within a temperature range of between 0 and 500C.

The role of water in an ecosystem

Water constitutes the bulk of the living tissues of plants and animals. Most physiological and
biochemical processes occur in an aqueous matrix. The term aqueous environmental matrix
encompasses precipitation, surface water, groundwater, drinking water, wastewater, leachates,
sediment pore water, and soil solutions. A solid environmental matrix means soils, sedimentary
matter, and waste materials that are not of industrial origin but not minerals and ores.
Furthermore water is the medium of life in aquatic ecosystem. In terrestrial ecosystem its
distribution, scarcity or abundance is largely responsible for then dramatic difference in
vegetation. It of should be noted that differences in precipitation and solar radiation accounts for
the variations in supply which basically determine the functioning of terrestrial ecosystem.

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The role wind
The atmosphere in motion is the wind. Strong winds may directly induce physical damage on
plants structure or cause malformation in terrestrial communities. Wind action may accelerate
the process of transpiration by removing water vapour from the ambient air of the vegetation,
allowing further evaporation loss of water from leaf surfaces through the stomatal apertures.

The role of edaphic (i.e. soil) factors

The edaphic factor habours biotic communities which include bacteria, fungi and other
organisms that fix atmospheric nitrogen decompose organic matter and incorporate it with
minerals matter. In terrestrial habitat, the soil serves as the medium of plant growth and provides
anchorage for roots, water supply, essential inorganic nutrients, and aeration for the respiration
of roots and decomposer organisms.

The role of topography or surface relief in an ecosystem

Topography or surface relief tends to modify the climatic factors in the environment and this can
lead to a change in vegetation types. The aspects or slope orientation of a particular habitat
determines the amount of solar radiation received at the surface. Slopes directly facing the sun
are warmer and more productive than those under shade conditions. This explains the contrast
between the vegetation along the slopes of a contrasting aspect.

Living systems and energy exchange in an ecosystem

Living systems in an ecosystem are organized in terms of
(i) Species
(ii) Populations
(iii) Biological community

A specie is defined as all organisms that are genetically similar enough to breed and produce live
and fertile offspring in nature.
A population consists of all members of a species that lives in the same area at the same time.
A biological community consists of all the population living and interacting in an area. A
biological community together with its physical environment that is, water, mineral resources, air
and sunlight makes up and ecological system or ecosystem.

Energy flow and exchange in an ecosystem

The sun is the primary source of energy for all living organisms on earth. The sun provides heat
energy which cannot be captured by plants or animals but warms up the plant and animal
communities and their nonliving surrounding. The sun is also source of light energy which can
be captured by green plants and transformed into chemical energy through photosynthesis.

Food Chains and Energy Flows

The food chain can be defined as the chain of organisms consuming other organisms and being
consumed by other organisms. It is essentially a linear sequence of organisms representing the
nutritional levels of various species through which energy and materials move within an
ecosystem. A simple example of a food chain can be obtained from a grassland ecosystem in
which the grasses synthesize the food using energy from the sun and nutrients from the soil. The

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animals (herbivorous) consume grass. The grazing herbivorous animals become food for the
carnivores and upon their death the latter may become food for other carnivores or decomposers.
In such a situation the food synthesized by the plants is passed onto the herbivorous animals,
from them to the carnivorous animals and from them to the decomposers. The transfer of food or
biomass implies the transfer of energy in the ecosystem.
The process of eating and being eaten, as described above, is called a food chain and each link to
the food chain is called a trophic level. Such simple food chains have a limited number of trophic
levels. In most cases, however, the food chains are very complex and a number of them may be
interconnected. Such food chains with a number of inter-linkages are generally called food webs.

Bio-geo-chemical cycle
The circulation of nutrients in a cyclic manner through the ecosystem is known as biogeo-
chemical cycle. This is very necessary for sustained production of organic matter in an
ecosystem. The various elements required for production of the nutrients or the chemical
elements are classified as macronutrients and the micronutrients.
Macronutrients include elements like oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon. They constitute the
bulk of the biomass in a given ecosystem. The micronutrients are sulphur, phosphorus,
potassium, sodium etc but they are needed in very small amounts.

SOILS FORMATION
The soil is one of the major components of the ecosystem. The soil is a natural body derived
from rocks and organic maters by physical chemical and biological processes. Physical and
chemical processes are climatic and hydrological. The results of the rock disintegration process
depend on the local atmospheric condition. The loose materials may be transported by such
agents of erosion as wind, water and ice and deposited elsewhere on the surface of the earth.
The deposited materials vary in depth and interval contents.

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Few comparisons between sandy and clayed soils are as below

Sandy Soils Clayey Soil

1. Light Heavy
2. Relatively large particles Relatively small particles
3. Relative large air spaces Relatively small air spaces.
4. Low capillarity High capillarity
5. Rapid drainage i.e water not held by Very low drainage, water is held by
attraction to rock particles, attraction to rock particles and so they are
wet soils
6. Mineral salts are quickly leached away Mineral salts are attracted by clay to
by rain particles and are so retained
7. low water retentively High water retentively
8. Activities of microorganisms such as earth Microorganisms are active except where soil is
warms are low water logged.
9. very loose consistency and is easily Particles are held tougher by surface tension of
revolved by wind water surrounding them --- tend to cake when dry
and it hinders root penetration
10.Low specific heat-- it shows extreme Has high specific heat ie. They show more
fluctuation in temperature constant temperature, though wet clays are rather
cold.

Soil and subsoil

The 20 or 25 cm depth of surface soil is of extreme importance to the farmer. This is because
humus which is rich in organic matter concentrated here. Humus is concentrated between 30-
25cm below. When plants and animals and they decompose, and humus is formed. 3 types of
humus are formed depending on temperature and water supply.
i. Peat- forms when temperature is low and the soil is poorly drained.
That is under poor soil drainage and low temperature, organic materials on the surface do not
decompose completely they are deposited on the soil surface as a layer of decayed but not
decomposed organic materials.
ii. Mor-humus: - Formed under a better condition of soil and water supply. Thus decomposition
is partly done but not thoroughly mixed with mineral matters of the soil.
iii. Mull-Humus: Form when there is adequate water supply and high temperature. In this case
there is thorough decomposition and mixing with mineral matters of the soil. Mull humus is most
beneficial to plants.

Soils and subsoil: - It is important to distinguish between soils and sub soils. Such a
distinction is of value to agriculture. Below the soil comes the subsoil. However there is no sharp
demarcation between soil and sub soil. But there are certain criteria used to distinguish between
the two.
The main difference between the soil and the sub soil is in the quantities of humus. The surface
soil is comparatively rich is humus and as such is deeper in colour than the subsoil. Another
difference is in the texture of the material in the soil and subsoil. In areas with heavy rainfall, the

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surface soil is usually made up of coarser particles than the subsoil. This is because the finer
particles have been washed deeper into the soil. This happens to soils that are frequently
cultivated. Thus subsoil will normally have finer particles than the soil surface.
Under moderate rainfall, the surface soil is usually richer in plant nutrients than the subsoil, with
the exception of potash.
For the above reason, care should be taken not to bring the subsoil into the surface by extra deep
ridging or plugging.

Properties of the soil

i. Soil has layers or profiles, it has colour, structure, texture, drainage organic matter and
chemistry.
Layers of the soil is as shown below