Types of Environment

Lecture 6
1. Geographic Environment

2. Man-made Environment
Geographical Environment

 This can be called ‘natural environment’ for it consists of things that are
provided by nature, this can also be called ‘physical environment’ for it
includes the physical conditions of life. The geographic or physical conditions
exist independently of man’s existence. Man has limited and sometimes no
control over them.
 This environment includes; the surface of the earth, natural re­sources, land
and water, mountains and plains, fertile lands and deserts, oceans, storms
and cy­clones, weather and climatic factors, seasons, etc. It also includes
biological conditions such as plants, animals with all their complexities.
Man Made Environment

In order to control the conditions of his life man has created a new environment
which can be called ‘man-made environment’ and some have called it ‘social-
cultural environment’. It can be sub­divided into two types:
(a) outer environment, and
(b) inner environment.
(a) The Outer Environment

 Man, through the introduction of science and technology has tried to modify
the conditions of physical environment. It can be understood as ‘outer
environment’. We, what we are today, are because of the modifications of
physical environment introduced by man’s technology.
 It includes our houses and cities, our means of transport and communication,
our comforts and conveniences. It also includes the vast, systems of industry
and machinery created by man. It covers, in brief, the whole apparatus of our
civilisation. Some anthropologists have called this part of socio-cultural
environment, ‘material culture’.
(b) The Inner Environment

 The inner environment is the society itself. It is the social envi­ronment and
endures only so long as the society endures. It consists of the organisations
and regula­tions, the traditions and institutions. It includes the folkways and
mores and customs which every human group provides for man.
 This environment is also known as ‘social heritage’. The social heritage is the
necessary condition for human social life to arise and to continue. It has a
profound influence on man’s life.
Ecology And Ecosystems
Lecture 3
Biodiversity

 Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is the diversity of the earth’s species,

the genes they contain, the ecosystems in which they live, and the ecosystem
processes of energy flow and nutrient cycling that sustain all life
Functional Diversity
 The biological and chemical processes such as energy flow and matter
recycling needed for the survival of species, communities, and
ecosystems.
Ecological Diversity
 The variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems found in an area or on the
earth.
Genetic Diversity
 The variety of genetic material within a species or a population
Species Diversity
 The number and abundance of species present in different communities
Food Chain

 A sequence of organisms, each of which serves as a source of food for the

next, is called a food chain.
 It determines how chemical energy and nutrients move from one organism to
another and return their nutrients to the soil fortrophic levels in an ecosystem
along the same pathways, primarily through photosynthesis, feeding, and
decomposition, reuse by producers through the
Different Types Of Ecosystems

There are essentially and mainly two kinds of ecosystems

 Aquatic
 Terrestrial
Terrestrial ecosystems

Terrestrial ecosystems can be found anywhere apart from heavily saturated

places. They are broadly classed into:
 Forest Ecosystems
 Grassland Ecosystems
 Desert Ecosystems
 The Mountain Ecosystem
 Tundra Ecosystems
The Forest Ecosystems

They are the ecosystems in which an abundance of flora, or plants, is seen so

they have a big number of organisms which live in relatively small space.
Therefore, in forest ecosystems the density of living organisms is quite high. A
small change in this ecosystem could affect the whole balance, effectively
bringing down the whole ecosystem. You could see a fantastic diversity in the
fauna of the ecosystems, too. They are further divided into:
 Tropical evergreen forest: These are tropical forests that receive a mean
rainfall of 80 for every 400 inches annually. The forests are characterized
by dense vegetation which comprises tall trees at different heights. Each
level is shelter to different types of animals.
 Tropical deciduous forest: There, shrubs and dense bushes rule along with a
broad selection of trees. The type of forest is found in quite a few parts of
the world while a large variety of fauna and flora are found there.
 Temperate evergreen forest: Those have quite a few number of trees as
mosses and ferns make up for them. Trees have developed spiked leaves in
order to minimize transpiration.
 Temperate deciduous forest: The forest is located in the moist temperate
places that have sufficient rainfall. Summers and winters are clearly defined
and the trees shed the leaves during the winter months.
 Taiga: Situated just before the arctic regions, the taiga is defined by
evergreen conifers. As the temperature is below zero for almost half a year,
the remainder of the months, it buzzes with migratory birds and insects.
The Desert Ecosystem

Desert ecosystems are located in regions that receive an annual rainfall less than
25. They occupy about 17 percent of all the land on our planet. Due to the
extremely high temperature, low water availability and intense sunlight, fauna
and flora are scarce and poorly developed. The vegetation is mainly shrubs,
bushes, few grasses and rare trees. The stems and leaves of the plants are
modified in order to conserve water as much as possible. The best known desert
ones are the succulents such as the spiny leaved cacti. The animal organisms
include insects, birds, camels, reptiles all of which are adapted to the desert
(xeric) conditions. 
The Grassland Ecosystem

Grasslands are located in both the tropical and temperate regions of the world
though the ecosystems vary slightly. The area mainly comprises grasses with a
little number of trees and shrubs. The main vegetation includes grasses, plants
and legumes. A lot of grazing animals, insectivores and herbivores inhabit the
grasslands. The two main kinds of grasslands ecosystems are:
 Savanna: The tropical grasslands are dry seasonally and have few individual
trees. They support a large number of predators and grazers.
 Prairies: It is temperate grassland, completely empty of large shrubs and
trees. Prairies could be categorized as mixed grass, tall grass and short grass
prairies. 
The Mountain Ecosystem

Mountain land provides a scattered and diverse array of habitats where a large
number of animals and plants can be found. At the higher altitudes, the harsh
environmental conditions normally prevail, and only the treeless alpine
vegetation can survive. The animals that live there have thick fur coats for
prevention from cold and hibernation in the winter months. Lower slopes are
commonly covered with coniferous forests.
Tundra ecosystem

 The tundra biome is the coldest of all biomes. It is also quite big. The tundra
covers about one fifth of the land on earth. The word tundra comes from a
Finnish word that means treeless plain, which is a good description of the
biome. Tundra biome is located in the artic circle, which is a circle that
surrounds the north pole, but this is not the only place we can find freezing
cold temperatures and a few animals. In Antarctica, and other cold
environments, there are areas that can be described as part of a tundra
biome as well.
Aquatic Ecosystems

The aquatic ecosystem is the ecosystem found in a body of water. It encompasses

aquatic flora, fauna and water properties, as well. There are two main types of
aquatic ecosystem - Marine and Freshwater.
The Marine Ecosystem
Marine ecosystems are the biggest ecosystems, which
cover around 71% of Earth's surface and contain 97% of out
planet's water. Water in Marine ecosystems features in
high amounts minerals and salts dissolved in them. The
different divisions of the marine ecosystem are:
Oceanic: A relatively shallow part of oceans which lies on
the continental shelf. 
Profundal: deep or Bottom water. 
Inter-tidal: The place between low and high tides. 
Coral reefs 
Salt marshes 
Hydrothermal vents where chemosynthetic bacteria
make up the food base. 
The Freshwater Ecosystem

Contrary to the Marine ecosystems, the freshwater ecosystem covers only 0.8% of
Earth's surface and contains 0.009% of the total water. Three basic kinds of
freshwater ecosystems exist:

 Lentic: Slow-moving or till water like pools, lakes or ponds.

 Lotic: Fast-moving water such as streams and rivers.

 Wetlands: Places in which the soil is inundated or saturated for some lenghty
period of time.