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Ecosystem

Ecosystem. By Fr. Fredrick Rodrigues. Meaning. An ecosystem is a natural system consisting of all plants, animals and microorganisms, which function with all the physical factors of the environment.

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Ecosystem

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  1. Ecosystem By Fr. Fredrick Rodrigues

  2. Meaning • An ecosystem is a natural system consisting of all plants, animals and microorganisms, which function with all the physical factors of the environment.

  3. The term ecosystem was coined in 1930 by Roy Clapham, to denote the physical and biological components of an environment considered in relation to each other as a unit. British ecologist Arthur Tansley later refined the term, describing it as the interactive system established between all the living and non-living factors of the environment.

  4. Kinds of Ecosystem • There are basically two types of ecosystems; Terrestrial and Aquatic. • Terrestrial ecosystems • Terrestrial ecosystems are found everywhere apart from water bodies. They are broadly classified into:

  5. The Forest Ecosystem These are the ecosystems where abundance of flora (plants) is seen and they have a large number of organisms living in relatively small areas. Therefore, the density of life in forest ecosystems is very high. Any small change in the ecosystem can affect the whole balance and collapse the ecosystem. You can see wonderful diversity in the fauna of these ecosystems too. They are again divided into few types.

  6. Tropical evergreen forest: Tropical forests which receive an average rainfall of 80 to 400 inches in a year. These forests are marked by dense vegetation comprising of tall trees with different levels. Each level gives shelter to different kinds of animals. • Tropical deciduous forest: Dense bushes and shrubs rule here along with broad levels of trees. This type of forests is found in many parts of the world and large variety of flora and fauna are found here.

  7. Temperate evergreen forest: These have very few number of trees but ferns and mosses make up for them. Trees have spiked leaves to minimize transpiration. • Temperate deciduous forest: This forest is found in the moist temperate regions with sufficient rainfall. Winters and summers are well defined and with trees shedding their leaves during winter

  8. Taiga: Situated just south of the arctic regions, Taiga is distinguished by evergreen conifers. While the temperature is subzero for almost six months, the rest of the year it is buzzing with insects and migratory birds.

  9. The Desert Ecosystem • Desert ecosystems are found in regions receiving an annual rainfall of less than 25cm. They occupy around 17 percent of all land on the planet. Due to very high temperature, intense sunlight and low water availability, flora and fauna are very poorly developed and scarce. Vegetation is mainly bushes, shrubs, few grasses and rarely trees. Leaves and stems of these plants are modified to conserve water. The best known desert plants are the succulents like spiny leaved cacti. Animal life includes insects, reptiles, birds, camels all of whom are adapted to the xeric (desert) conditions.

  10. The Grassland Ecosystem Grasslands are found in both temperate and tropical regions of the world but the ecosystems are slightly varying. This area mainly comprises of grasses with very little amount of shrubs and trees. Many grazing animals, herbivores and insectivores are found in grasslands

  11. Two main types of grasslands ecosystems are: • 1. Savanna:  These tropical grasslands are seasonally dry with few individual trees. They support large number of grazers and predators like giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, kangaroos, snakes, worms etc • 2. Prairies: This is temperate grassland. It is completely devoid of trees and large shrubs. Prairies can be categorized as tall grass, mixed grass and short grass prairie.

  12. Aquatic EcosystemsAn aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem located in a body of water. It comprises aquatic fauna, flora and the properties of water too. • There are two types of aquatic ecosystems, Marine and freshwater.

  13. The Marine Ecosystem Marine ecosystems are the largest ecosystems with coverage of nearly 71% of the Earth's surface and containing 97% of the planet's water. The water in Marine ecosystems has salts and minerals dissolved in them in high amounts. Different divisions of marine ecosystems are: • Oceanic • Profundal: Bottom or deep water. • Estuaries • Salt marshes • Coral reefs

  14. The Freshwater Ecosystem • In contrast to the Marine ecosystem, freshwater ecosystems only cover 0.8% of the Earth's surface and contain 0.009% of its total water. There are three basic types of freshwater ecosystems: • Lentic: Still or slow-moving water like pools, ponds, and lakes. • Lotic: Fast-moving water like streams and rivers. • Wetlands: Places where the soil is saturated or inundated for at least some time.  • These ecosystems are home to amphibians, reptiles and almost 41% of world’s fish species

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