ecosystems
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the non-living components of their environment, interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.
terrestrial ecosystems
Natural terrestrial ecosystems exist in various types of forests, grasslands, semi-arid areas, deserts, and coasts; in intensively used areas, cultivated land and pastoral areas have gradually changed over the past few thousand years; recently, they have developed or rapidly develop into an intensively irrigated agricultural ecosystem in the city and industrial centre. Although this has led to an increase in food production and to provide raw materials for the consumer goods we use, the excessive and improper use of land and natural ecosystems has led to serious degradation of our environment
Types:
- Forest Ecosystems
- Grassland Ecosystems
- Desert Ecosystems
1.forest ecosystems
Forests consist of a plant community that is structurally predominantly determined by trees, shrubs, vines, and soil cover. Natural vegetation looks very different from a group of planted trees in neat rows. Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries: The Landscapes That Make up different types of forest look very different. Its distinctive appearance is a fascinating aspect of nature. Each type of forest forms a habitat for a certain community of animals that are adapted to live in it.
2.Grassland Ecosystems
Grassland includes areas where rainfall is generally low and/or where soil depth and quality are poor. Low rainfall prevents large numbers of trees and shrubs from growing but is enough to support grass cover growth during monsoons. Small grasses dry up and the above-ground part dies during the summer months. After the monsoons, the grass cover grows back from the roots and seeds of the previous year. This change gives the grasslands a very seasonal look with periods of increased growth followed by a period of rest.
Temperate grassland & savanna grasslands are some examples of the grassland ecosystem.
3.Desert Ecosystems
Desert and semi-arid areas are highly specialized and sensitive ecosystems that can easily be destroyed by human activities. Species in these arid areas can only live in this special habitat.
Deserts and semi-arid areas can be found in the West Indies and on the Deccan Plateau. The climate in these expanses is extremely dry. There are also cold deserts like in Ladakh, which can be found in the high plateaus of the Himalayas and Gobi Desert. The most typical desert landscape in Rajasthan is in the Thar Desert, which has sand. There are also areas covered with sparse grasses and some shrubs that grow when it rains. In most areas of the Thar, rainfall is sporadic. An area can only rain once every few years. It is made up of some thorny bushes and trees like Kher and Babul.
aquatic ecosystems
In aquatic ecosystems, plants and animals live in water. These species are adapted to live in different types of aquatic habitats. The biotic peculiarities are the physical aspects such as the quality of the water, which includes clarity, salinity, oxygen content, and flow rate. Aquatic ecosystems can be classified as standing ecosystems or flowing water ecosystems. The mud gravel or rocks that make up the bed of the aquatic ecosystem change their properties and affect the composition of plant and animal species. Aquatic ecosystems are divided into freshwater, brackish, and marine ecosystems based on the salinity level.
Types:
1.freshwater ecosystems
Freshwater ecosystems with running water are streams and rivers. Ponds, basins, and lakes are ecosystems in which no water flows.
Wetlands are special ecosystems in which the water level fluctuates greatly in the different seasons. They have shallow bodies of water with aquatic vegetation that make an ideal habitat for fish, crustaceans, and water birds.
2.marine ecosystems
Marine ecosystems are highly saline, while brackish areas have less saline water than river deltas.
Coral reefs are very species-rich and only occur in a few shallow tropical seas like in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Gulf of Kutch.
Brackish water ecosystems in river deltas are covered by mangrove forests and are among the most productive ecosystems in the world Biomass production. The largest mangroves are found in the Sunderbans in the Ganges Delta.
uses:
- Water is essential for agriculture.
- Fishermen use aquatic ecosystems to make a
- People catch fish and crabs. They also collect edible plants. This is used locally as food or for sale in the market. –source of long term Income for fisherman.
- Marshes and wetlands are of great economic importance for people who live on their fish, crustacea, reeds, grasses, and other products, etc.
conservation
Aquatic ecosystems, especially wetlands, need to be protected by incorporating them into protected areas or national parks, just as we protect natural forests. These protected areas in aquatic ecosystems protect a wide variety of life forms as well as rare fish that are highly threatened today, such as the Mahseer. National parks are of the largest Importance as it is one of the most threatened of our ecosystems. Since the proportion of land area naturally covered by wetlands is very small compared to forests or grasslands, wetland ecosystems are severely threatened.