Ecologyandenvironment

BARC0903Ecologyandenvironmentcredit1
Introduction Meaningandscopeofecology;evolutionofecology;man,environmentandecosystem;componentsof natureandbasisconceptsandprocessesofecology;flowofmaterialwaterenergy,invasion,succession, predation,regulatoryforces,adaptation,trophiclevels,foodchain,foodweb,ecologicalpyramids; Environmentalzones. EcosystemanditsRelevancetoEnvironment Resourcesandhumansettlementsimpactofadvancedagriculturalmethods,urbanizationand industrializationonnature;urbanecosystemapproachevolutionandsignificance;soil,water,land, vegetationandsolar,biomas,wind,hydroenergyresources;settlementplanningandenergyconservation; developmentandmanagement QuantitativeEcology Introductiontoquantitativeecology,identificationofecologicalparametersforplanningatdifferent levels;siteplanning,settlementplanningandregionalplanning;dataneedsandformatfordatacollection; typesofanalysisrequiredtoevolveecologicalparameters.Planningforenvironmentallysensitiveareas. EnvironmentalImpactStudies EIA meaning,significanceandframework;Methodologies checklist,matrices,networkandsocialcost benefitanalysis;sourcesandacquisitionofenvironmentalinformation;Environmentallanduse classification;Environmentimpactstudiesofdevelopmentprojects. EnvironmentalPolicies Globalandnationalpoliciesonenvironment;Fiveyearplansinrelationtoenvironmentalaspects;Legal measureforprotectionofenvironment;EnvironmentalawarenessandeducationinIndia;Agencies involvedinenvironmentprotection;Publicparticipation;Roleofplannersinshapingthefuture environment

Sem July Dec2011

Sem Jan June2011

Others

Exerciseplan
Others Sem July Dec2011 Sem Jan June2011

Exercise1:Visittoanecologicallysensitivearea,mappingofecological parametersandunderstandingofvariousconceptsofecologywiththem. Eg derivationoffoodwebs,energypyramidsinthegivensite. Exercise2:Exerciseonecologicalplanningprocessforparticulararea. Exercise3:Casestudyofabioremediationtechnique. Exercise4:Tounderstandworkdonebyvariousagenciesinvolvedin environmentprotectionPETA,WWF,CSE,BNHS

Ecosystems:BasicConcepts

Whatismeantbyanecosystem Thebioticandabioticcommunity Foodchains,trophiclevels,ecologicalpyramid Waterandcarboncycles Benefitsfromecosystemservices

Somedefinitions
Ecosystem:Definedareainwhichacommunitylives withinteractionstakingplaceamongtheorganisms betweenthecommunityanditsnonlivingphysical environment.

Anecosystemisformedbythe interactionsbetweenalllivingandnon livingthings Howdolivingandnonlivingthings interactinanenvironment?

Whatisanecosystem?
System =regularlyinteractingand interdependentcomponents formingaunifiedwhole Ecosystem =anecologicalsystem; =acommunityanditsphysical environmenttreatedtogetherasa functionalsystem

EcosystemServices
Thehumaneconomydependsupontheservicesperformed forfreebyecosystems. Theecosystemservicessuppliedannuallyareworthmany trillionsofdollars. Economicdevelopmentthatdestroyshabitatsandimpairs servicescancreatecoststohumanityoverthelongtermthat maygreatlyexceedtheshorttermeconomicbenefitsofthe development. Thesecostsaregenerallyhiddenfromtraditionaleconomic accounting,butarenonethelessrealandareusuallyborneby societyatlarge.
http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/pdf/issue2.pdf

Ecosystems: FundamentalCharacteristics
Structure:
Living(biotic) Nonliving(abiotic)

Process:
Energyflow Cyclingofmatter(chemicals)

Change:
Dynamic(notstatic) Succession,etc.

Abioticcomponents:
ABIOTICcomponents: Arenonlivingphysicalandchemicalfactorsinthe environmentwhichaffecttheecosystems. Eg radiation,temperature,water,pressuresometimes evensoundwaves. Solarenergy providespracticallyalltheenergyfor ecosystems. Inorganicsubstances,e.g.,sulfur,boron,tendtocycle throughecosystems. Organiccompounds,suchasproteins,carbohydrates, lipids,andothercomplexmolecules,formalink betweenbioticandabioticcomponentsofthesystem.

BIOTICcomponents
Bioticisalivingcomponentofacommuntiy. Thebioticcomponentsofanecosystemcanbe classifiedaccordingtotheirmodeofenergy acquisition. Inthistypeofclassification,thereare: AutotrophsandHeterotrophs Organismsthatproducetheirownfoodfroman energysource,suchasthesun,andinorganic compounds. Organismsthatconsumeotherorganismsasafood source.

Trophic level: the position an organism occupies in a food chain. All the organisms that are the same number of food-chain steps from the primary source of energy

Modified from: General Ecology, by David T. Krome

TrophicLevels
Atrophiclevelisthepositionoccupiedbyanorganismina foodchain. Trophiclevelscanbeanalyzedonanenergypyramid. Producers arefoundatthebaseofthepyramidand compromisethefirsttrophiclevel. Primaryconsumers makeupthesecondtrophiclevel. Secondaryconsumersmakeupthethirdtrophiclevel. Finallytertiaryconsumers makeupthetoptrophiclevel.

TrophicLevelsFoundonanEnergy Pyramid
Thegreatestamountofenergyisfoundatthebaseofthe pyramid. Theleastamountofenergyisfoundattopofthepyramid.

Source:corpuschristiisd.org/user_files/91702/Ecosystem.ppt

TrophicStructureReminder
Eltonianpyramids Numberofindividualsperspecies Isthispyramidstable?

Biomass
Energyissometimesconsideredintermsofbiomass, themassofalltheorganismsandorganicmaterialin anarea. Thereismore biomass atthetrophiclevelof producers andfeweratthetrophicleveloftertiary consumers.(TherearemoreplantsonEarththan thereareanimals.) Bio=lifeMass=weight Bio+Mass=Weightoflivingthingswithinan ecosystem.

TrophicStructureReminder
Express trophic structure as energy transfer Energy pyramids can never be inverted Is there room for anyone else at the top of this food chain?

FoodChains
Theproducers,consumers,anddecomposers ofeachecosystemmakeupafoodchain. Therearemanyfoodchainsinanecosystem. Foodchainsshowwhereenergyistransferred andnotwhoeatswho.

ExampleofaFoodChain

FoodWebs
Allthefoodchainsinanareamakeupthefoodweb ofthearea.

Foodwebofahotspring

2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers

Fig6.5Foodweboftheharpseal.

2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers

Ecology is The study of the distribution and abundance of organisms, AND the flows of energy and materials between abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems.

Urban Ecology
Aninterdisciplinarystudyoftheurban ecosystem

Origin of Cities
Through most of history, the human population has lived a rural lifestyle. Settled communities of people became possible with the advent of agriculture (10,000 to 4,000 BC).

City Memphis, Egypt Akkad, Babylonia (Iraq) Lagash, Babylonia (Iraq) Ur, Babylonia (Iraq) Thebes, Egypt Babylon, Babylonia (Iraq) Avaris, Egypt Memphis, Egypt Thebes, Egypt

Year Became #1 3100 BCE 2240 2075 2030 1980 1770 1670 1557 1400

Population Information Well over 30,000

65,000

Nineveh, Assyria (Iraq) 668 Babylon, Babylonia 612 (Iraq)

First above 200,000

Understanding how urban ecosystems function is integral to mitigating their negative effects on ecosystem services, assessing their impact on neighboring environments, and considering them in decision-making dialogue. Engaging urban dwellers is critical; their activities directly impact the way urban ecosystems function and they have a vested interest in maintaining the environmental integrity of the area they live in.

Institute for Ecosystem Studies http://www.ecostudies.org/IES_urban_ecology.html

What is Urbanization?
Often related to industrialization Up until very recently -- about 200 years ago -- the proportion of the worlds urban population was limited to about 5%

Speed of Urbanization
In 18003% By 190014 % In 1950 30% In 2000 47 % (about 2.8 billion)

Human Numbers Through Time

Ten Largest Cities of 1900 Name

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 London, United Kingdom New York, United States Paris, France Berlin, Germany Chicago, United States Vienna, Austria Tokyo, Japan St. Petersburg, Russia Manchester, United Kingdom Philadelphia, United States

Population 6,480,000 4,242,000 3,330,000 2,707,000 1,717,000 1,698,000 1,497,000 1,439,000 1,435,000 1,418,000

http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201f.htm

Ten Largest Cities of 2004 Name

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Shanghai, China Mumbai (Bombay), India Buenos Aires, Argentina Moscow, Russia Karachi, Pakistan Delhi, India Manila, Phillipines So Paolo, Brazil Seoul, South Korea Istanbul, Turkey

Population 13,278,500 12,622,500 11,928,400 11,273,400 10,889,100 10,400,900 10,330,100 10,260,100 10,165,400 9,631,700

Source: Stefan Helders, World Gazetteer, 2004. Reprinted with permission. Web: www.world-gazetteer.com .

Global Urbanization Trends (contd)

Size of Urban Population in the World

(Source: United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects, The 1999 Revision)

Global Urbanization Trends (contd)

Comparison of Urban Population in Developed Countries and Developing Countries

(Source: United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects, The 1999 Revision)

ImpactsofUrbanization
Byconcentratinghumansandtheresourcesthey consume,metropolitanareasalter soildrainage, waterflow,and lightavailability. Furthermoretheyconcentrate: waste energydemand

Consequences of Urbanization: Food Import Trends in Puerto Rico