ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY — COMPONENTS, ECOSYSTEMS, POLLUTION AND CONSERVATION

PRERNA FOR IAS

         Mehnat Aapki, Guidance Humari

         Roz ki Prelims Practice — Experts ke Saath

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY — COMPONENTS, ECOSYSTEMS, POLLUTION AND CONSERVATION

1. Meaning of Environment

• The environment includes the totality of surrounding natural resources and conditions that influence living organisms.
• It contains biotic components such as plants, animals and microorganisms, and abiotic components such as air, water, soil, rocks, sunlight and temperature.
• NCERT explains that the environment is understood through the interaction between these biotic and abiotic components. (NCERT)

2. Major Components of Environment

• Biotic components include producers, consumers and decomposers.
• Abiotic components include physical and chemical factors such as sunlight, rainfall, temperature, minerals, soil and water.
• These components are interconnected and together determine the functioning and productivity of natural systems.
• Any significant disturbance in one component can influence several others.

3. Meaning of Ecology

• Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physical environment.
• It examines ecological organisation at levels such as organism, population, community, ecosystem and biosphere.
• Ecology helps explain species distribution, food relationships, nutrient cycles and adaptation to environmental conditions.
• NCERT treats organisms, populations, ecosystems and biodiversity as the core areas of ecology. (NCERT)

4. Ecosystem

• An ecosystem is a functional unit in which living organisms interact with one another and with non-living components.
• Examples include forests, grasslands, ponds, lakes, deserts, wetlands and marine ecosystems.
• Producers capture solar energy, consumers obtain energy through feeding, and decomposers recycle nutrients.
• Important ecosystem processes include productivity, decomposition, energy flow and nutrient cycling. (NCERT)

5. Functions of the Environment