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unit 1 and 2-1

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Tanjiro Yeager
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The Concept of Sustainable Development:

Definition and Defining Principles:

At first there was an establishment of


Bruntland commission in 1983, formerly known
as world commission on environment and
development (WCED). The mission of WCED is
to unite country to pursue Sustainable
development together. The Bruntland
commission officially dissolved in 1987 after
release of our common future, also known as
Brundtland report.

In 1987, in its report Our Common Future, the Bruntland Report


defined sustainable development as-
Development that meets the needs of the present
“

without compromising the ability of future


generations to meet their own needs”... it
“provides a framework for the integration of
environment policies and development strategies”.

The overall goal of sustainable development (SD) is the


long-term stability of the economy and environment;
this is only achievable through the integration and
acknowledgement of economic, environmental, and
social concerns throughout the decision making process.
These are called three pillars of sustainable development.

Social Sustainability:
 It includes human health, gender equality,
and development of people, fairly-
distributed quality of life, and education
across the Globe.
Economic Sustainability:
 Focuses on equal economic growth that
generates wealth for all, without harming the
environment.
 Investment and equal distribution of
economic resources.
 Eradicating poverty in all its forms and
dimensions.
Environmental Sustainability:
 Prevention of over utilization of natural
resource, good water quality, air quality,
and reduction of environmental stress,
such as GHGs emissions.
 Aspects such as environmental conservation,
investment in renewable energy, supporting
sustainable mobility, and innovation in
sustainable construction and architecture,
contribute to achieving environmental
sustainability on several fronts.
In practice, sustainable development requires the
integration of economic, environmental, and social
objectives across sectors, territories, and generations.
Therefore, sustainable development requires the
elimination of fragmentation; that is, environmental, social,
and economic concerns must be integrated throughout
decision making processes in order to move towards
development that is truly sustainable.

Causes of Unsustainability:
 Increasing human population
 Overutilization of resources
Global issues Related to Sustainable
Development:
Ecosystem
“A unit of interaction between the living and the non-
living components of the environment. It is a structural and
functional unit of ecology”. AG Tansley 1935.

Ecosystem is defined as “any given area terrestrial or


aquatic where interactions between biotic and abiotic
components lead to transfer of energy and nutrients from
one trophic level to another”.

Structure:
The structure of the ecosystem has two major
components
Abiotic

1. Organic component

2. Inorganic component

3. Climate

Biotic

1. Producers

2. Consumers
3. Decomposers

Functions: two most important functions


of ecosystem are-

Energy flow

Nutrient Cycles

Energy flow:
Energy moves life. The cycle of energy is based on the flow
of energy through different trophic levels in an ecosystem.
Our ecosystem is maintained by the cycling energy and
nutrients obtained from different external sources.

Reymond Lindeman gave ten percent of energy transfer


law or Lindeman’s trophic efficiency rule in food chains.
The 10 percent energy is transferred from one trophic level
to the next successive trophic level according to this rule.
During energy transfer and respiration, the majority of the
energy is lost. The maximum energy is in the first trophic
stage.
Food chain:
The process of eating and being eaten for transfer of energy
and nutrient from one trophic level to another is called as
food chain.

Grazing food chain: food chain starts with green plants is


called grazing food chain.
Detritus food chain is the type of food chain that starts with
dead organic materials. The dead organic substances are
decomposed by microorganisms. The organisms that feed on
dead organic matter or detritus are known as detritivores or
decomposers.
The interlinking of different food chain is known as food web.
In the healthier ecosystem the food web is more complex.
Succession:
Ecological Succession is the sequence of colonization of
species in an ecosystem from a barren or an unfertile region
of land.

Primary succession is the succession that starts in life less


areas such as the regions devoid of soil or the areas where
the soil is unable to sustain life.
Secondary succession occurs when the primary ecosystem
gets destroyed. For eg., a climax community gets
destroyed by fire. It gets recolonized after the destruction.
This is known as secondary ecological succession. Small
plants emerge first, followed by larger plants.
Ecosystem metabolism:
GPP (Gross primary production) = total carbon
fixation by plant

NPP (Net primary production) = GPP-RA

NEP (Net ecosystem production) = GPP- RE

RE= (RA+RH)
Ecological Pyramids:
1. Pyramid of Number: upright and
inverted

2. Pyramid of Biomass: upright and inverted


3. Pyramid of Energy: always upright
Forest ecosystem:
A forest is an ecosystem dominated by trees. According to the FAO (Food
and Agriculture Organisation), an area must cover at least half a hectare,
or about one and a quarter acres, to be considered a forest. The trees in
the area must also be able to grow to heights above 16 feet and have a
canopy that covers at least 10% of the sky.

Total Forest and Tree Cover rises to 24.56% of


the total geographical area of India.
Forests cover of world about 30 percent of the earth’s surface.

India has a diverse range of forests: from the rainforest of Kerala in


the south to the alpine pastures of Ladakh in the north, from the
deserts of Rajasthan in the west to the evergreen forests in the north-
east. Climate, soil type, topography, and elevation are the main
factors that determine the type of forest. Forests are classified
according to their nature and composition, the type of climate in
which they thrive, and their relationship with the surrounding
environment.

Types of Forests
There are broadly three major types of forests – tropical,
temperate, and boreal forests. They are classified according to
latitude. Also, these major types are divided farther into more
specific categories.

Forest types in India:


Forest types in India are classified by Champion and Seth into
sixteen types.
Common types of forest in India:

1 Tropical evergreen forest:

Rainfall> 200 cm, annual rainfall

Found in Western Ghats, North East India and Andaman and Nicobar
Island.

Evergreen, tree up to 60 ft. high

e.g. Ebony, Mahogony, Rosewood, Rubber, Cinchona etc.


2 Tropical deciduous forests:

Rainfall – 70-200 cm

M.P., Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, U.P., Bengal, Chhattisgarh

Trees shed their leaves once a year


e.g. teak, shall, bamboo, sandalwood, shisham etc.
3 Thorn forest or scrub:

Rainfall<70 cm

Found in Arid and semi-arid region. Found in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and


Delhi.

Trees: acacia, babul, cactus etc.


4 Montane forests:

Rainfall- average 200 cm

In Himalayan region- Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and


J&K

It is divided into three categories, according to elevation:

1000-2000 m- Oak, chestnut, hemlock, birch, cinnamon

1500-3000 m- coniferous forest (needle like leaves and have cone


instead of seeds).

Pine, silver fir, spruce, deodar, and rhododendron

3500 m- Alpine forest, just below snow line

The vegetation consists mainly of the black juniper, the drooping


juniper; honeysuckle and willow are the common trees.
5 Mangrove forest:
Mangrove Forests grow along the coast, especially in the river
deltas. These plants are able to grow in a mix of saline and freshwater. They
grow luxuriantly in muddy areas covered with silt that the rivers have brought
down. The mangrove trees have breathing roots that emerge from the mud
banks.
Fig. Arctic tundra

Fig. Alpine tundra


Fig. Lichen

Fig. Cotton grass


Fig. Reindeer

Fig. Lemmings
Desert:
Pond ecosystem:
Lake Ecosystem:
Stratification of lake: on the basis of
temperature

Organism in lake:
1. Plankton: phytoplankton like algae and
zooplankton like rotifers
2. Nektons: swim against water current. E.g. fish
3. Neustons
4. Benthos
5. Periphytons
Types of lake:
1. Oligotrophic lake: low nutrient
concentration
2. Eutrophic lake: high nutrient
concentration
3. Dystrophic lake: high humic acid
content

Coral reef:
Coral reefs are found in clean, clear and
warm water. It cannot tolerate
temperature below 180C.
Wetland:
Ecosystem Services:
Bio-geochemical cycle:

What role do bacteria play in the nitrogen cycle?


Nitrogen fixation – Performed by two different groups of bacteria –
a) symbiotic nitrogen fixers like Rhizobium, which keep a close association with
the host leguminous plant, and
b) free-living, non-symbiotic bacteria like Azotobacter.

Both these group of bacteria use specific enzymes to complete the biological
nitrogen fixation process by the following reaction –

N2 + 8 H+ + 8 e− → 2 NH3 + H2

Nitrification – Performed by nitrifying bacteria in two steps –

i) Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria such as Nitrosomonas species perform oxidation


of ammonia to nitrite by the following reaction –

2NH4+ + 3O2 + 8 e− → 2 NO2– + 4H2 + 2H2O

ii) Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria such as Nitrobacter species perform oxidation of

– –
nitrite (NO2 ) to nitrate (NO3 ) by the following
reaction –

2 NO2– + O2 → 2 NO3–
Why is the nitrogen cycle important in nature?
 Allowing plants and animals to use nitrogen by converting atmospheric nitrogen to
a more chemically available form such as ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3–),
or organic nitrogen
 Enriching the soil through the formation of Nitrates and nitrites which are essential
for the cultivation
 Helping in the synthesis of some biomolecules such as amino acids, nucleic acids,
and chlorophyll, the building blocks of life
 Decomposing dead plant and animal matter by decomposers which cleans up the
environment
How do humans impact the nitrogen cycle?

Human activities release excess nitrogen into the environment, eventually


disturbing the balance of nitrogen in its different reservoirs in two possible ways:

 Burning of Fossil Fuels


 Use of Nitrogen-Containing Fertilizers

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