Biomes are those regions of this planet where plants, animals,

insects and people live in a particular type of environment.

While the hot and humid biome, called the tropical rainforest
exists, in Brazil, the frosty biome, called the Arctic tundra,
exists in Alaska. The flora and fauna are adapted to that
particular temperature, and any small change in temperature
can lead to an increase or decrease of a certain species of
plant or animal. The climate and geography of a region
determine what kind of biome can exist there.

The plants and animals living in each biome are as different as

their climates. No organism in the biome lives alone. Each
organism, in one or other way, is dependent on other living or
non living things in its surroundings. The survival of biomes
and its organisms depends on ecological relationships
throughout the world. The exact number of biomes in this
world is still not known. Major biomes include Tundra,
Rainforests, Deserts, Tundra, Grasslands, Mountains and
Forests.

Major Biomes of the World

Coniferous Forest
The coniferous woodland biome is found in the south of the
Arctic tundra. It extends from Alaska, across North America, to
the Atlantic Ocean, and crosswise over Eurasia. The biggest
stretch of coniferous woods on the planet, in the Northern
Hemisphere, is known as the “Taiga(TY-guh) or boreal
forests.” These woodlands are comprised principally of cone-
bearing trees, for example, spruce, fir, and hemlock, which are
appropriate for the cool atmosphere.

The temperature in the coniferous biome goes below the

freezing point for most of the time, and the weather remains
cold with only snowfall. Due to such harsh conditions, not
many plant species exist there. Animals like ermine, the
moose, the red fox, the snowshoe rabbit thrive in this biome.
The cold weather makes it very difficult for plants and animals
to survive.

Deciduous Forest
This biome is in the Northern Hemisphere. Significant areas
of deciduous forest are found in eastern North America,
Europe, and East Asia. The word “Deciduous” means “out at a
certain season.” This is why Deciduous means a forest where
leaves fall out of the trees during winters. The characteristic
rotting of the fallen leaves enhances the dirt and helps to
support a variety of types of animal and plant life

In any case, the fruitful soil is likewise useful for individuals,

and in Europe, the greater part of the deciduous woods have
been cut down to make space for farms and homes. This is
the reason why most of the Deciduous forests have now
disappeared.

The trees in Deciduous forests lose their leaves during winter,

and the color of leaves changes during autumn. The most
common types of trees are known as ash, oak, lime, beech,
birch and northern arrowwood. As soil is fertile, some of the
great agricultural regions are found in this biome.
Desert
A desert is a zone where almost no life exists, primarily due to
an absence of water. Researchers gauge that around one-fifth
(20%) of the world’s surface is desert that receives little (less
than 50cm/yr) or almost no rainfall. Deserts can be found on
every continent, aside from Europe. There are two main types
of desert that you can find: hot and dry, and freezing and
cold. The absence of water and extraordinary heat or cold
makes this biome a poor choice for most life structures. A
large portion of the plants you’ll see in the desert are types of
cacti. The Great Basin, the Mojave, the Sonoran, and the
Chihuahuan are the four major deserts in North America.

Hot and dry desert don’t have many plants as the

temperature can reach up to 49 ° C. They have high
temperatures because of little vegetation cover, less cloud
cover, little rain, and high exposure to the sun. Most of these
types of deserts are found near the Tropic of Cancer or the
Tropic of Capricorn.

Cold deserts are found near the Arctic part of the world
where temperature can go till 26 ° C during summers. They
can have quite a bit of snow during winters and rain around
spring.

Grasslands
Grasslands are areas with hot, dry atmospheres that are ideal
for developing food. They are known all through the world by
distinctive names (prairies in the United States; vald in Africa,
etc.). This inland biome is made of tremendous regions of
green fields. It gets so little rain that not very many trees can
develop. The U.S. prairies are utilized to feed cows and to
raise grain crops.

There are 2 main types of grasslands: Tropical grasslands

called Savannas and Temperate Grasslands. Savannas cover
more than one-third area of Africa and large areas of
Australia, South America, and India. Savannas are found in hot
and warm climates. The soil in Savannas is thinly layered, does
not hold water and contains nutrients from dead plants.
Temperate grasslands can be found in South Africa,
Argentina, and some plains in Central North America.
Temperate in temperate grasslands varies from summer to
winter, with high temperatures in summer and freezing
temperatures in winter.

Mountains
Mountains exist on all the main continents of the earth. A
large portion of the world’s mountains lies in two very large
chains. The Circum-Pacific chain, regularly called the Ring of
Fire, runs from the west bank of the Americas through New
Zealand and Australia and up through the Philippines to
Japan. The other significant chain, called the Tethyan range,
extends from the Pyrenees to the Alps to the Himalayas until
finally ending in the area around Indonesia.

Mountains are normally found in gatherings called ranges or

chains, even though you can find ones that stand by
themselves in certain areas. A mountain biome is
exceptionally cool and breezy. The higher the mountain, the
colder and windier the biome is. There is additionally less
oxygen at high heights, which can make it difficult for some
people and creatures to reside there. Animals in this biome
like a mountain goat, yak, sheep, are excellent climbers and
can move freely on the rocky landscape.

See also  Temperate Grasslands Biome: Location, Climate, Temperature, Plants

and Animals

Rainforests
Tropical rainforests are found in Asia, Africa, South America,
Central America, and on a significant number of the Pacific
islands. They are frequently found along the equator. A large
portion of the world’s tropical rainforests is in the South
American nation Brazil. There are different sorts of rainforests
as far and wide as possible, as well. For instance, northern
Australia has a “dry rainforest” that encounters a dry season
every year, and the blustery Pacific Northwest in the United
States has a “mild rainforest” that is made up of evergreen
trees. Tropical rainforests get no less than 70 inches of rain
every year and have a greater number of types of plants and
creatures than any other biome.

Each of the three largest rainforests has different species of

plants and animals. Around 1/4th of the medicines come from
rainforests. Curare, which is used to relax muscles during
surgery, comes from a tropical vine. Quinine, which is used to
treat malaria, comes from the cinchona tree. Rainforests are
believed to have 1400 species of tropical plants that can cure
cancer.

Arctic Tundra
The Arctic tundra is a frosty, unlivable, treeless territory of
low, swampy fields in the far north around the Arctic Ocean. It
includes the northern terrains of Europe, Asia, and North
America, and also the greater part of Greenland. An alternate
sort of tundra is the elevated tundra, which is a biome that
exists at the highest points of high mountains. This is the
world’s coldest biome. Since the sun does not actually rise in
these biomes for almost half of the year, it is not bizarre for
the temperature to be below -20 degrees (Fahrenheit) in
winter.

The ground of the Arctic tundra has forever solidified subsoil,

called permafrost, which makes it hard for trees to develop.
Many fossils have been found in the permafrost that is
located in these biomes.

The tundra has winter and summer as the main seasons.

Springs are short and fall between summer and winter. It is
one of the coldest and driest biomes. The soil is known as
permafrost, the permanent frozen layer of earth. The tundra
biome has animals like mountain goats, marmots, beetles and
butterflies.

Chapparal Biome
This biome is also known as the Mediterranean scrub forest.
Communities are dominated by shrubs and are known as
chaparral. It experiences hot, dry summers; cool, moist
winters; thin, nutrient-poor soils; periodic fires. This is marked
by limited winter rain followed by drought the other times of
the year. The temperature is moderate under the influence of
cool, moist air of the oceans. The biome extends along the
Mediterranean.

See also  Food Chain and Food Web: Differences and Importance

This covers the Pacific coast of North America, Chile, South

Africa and South Australia. This biome has broad-leaved
evergreen vegetation. The vegetation is generally made up of
fire-resistant resinous plants and drought-adapted animals.
Bush fires are very common in this biome. The growth of
dense, low plants that contain flammable oils makes fires a
constant threat.

Freshwater Biome
Water is a major natural resource that is the basis of life. It
supports life, and countless species live in it for all or part of
their lives. Freshwater biomes supply us with our drinking
water and water for crop irrigation. This water biome is
named for the low concentration of salt found in the water.
Because salt is important for the body to function properly,
the plants and animals here have many adaptations that help
them save salt. This includes most ponds, streams, lakes, and
rivers.

Freshwater biomes have suffered mainly from pollution.

Runoff containing fertilizer and other wastes and industrial
dumpings enter into rivers, ponds, and lakes and tend to
promote abnormally rapid algae growth. When these algae
die, dead organic matter accumulates in the water. This
makes the water unusable, and it kills many of the organisms
living in the habitat.

Marine Biome
This water biome is the largest biome in the world, as it
includes the five major oceans that cover 70% of the Earth.
Marine water has high levels of salt, so animals and plants
living here have adaptations that help them get rid of salt or
take on water.

The world’s oceans affect the global climate highly, as forests

do. Water has a high capacity for absorbing heat, and
because the Earth is mostly covered with water, it keeps the
temperature of the atmosphere fairly constant and able to
support life. In addition to this climate-buffering capacity, the
oceans contain several billion photosynthetic planktons,
which account for most of the photosynthesis occurring on
Earth. Without these, there might not be enough oxygen to
support such a large world population and complex animal
life.

Overfishing and pollution have threatened oceans to face

ecological disaster. Industrial pollutants that are dumped
upstream of estuaries have rendered many marine habitats
unsuitable for life.

We need to gain knowledge for a better understanding of

how to preserve the Earth’s natural biomes. By educating
people about the consequences of our actions, the adverse
effects in biome may be reduced. The areas that have been
destroyed the most will never regain their original forms, but
conservation will help to keep them from getting worse.
There need to be stricter regulations to prevent further
destruction of the biomes.

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Important Diagrams

1. Biology
2. Biology Article
3. Ecosystem
Ecosystem
Ecosystem Definition
“An ecosystem is defined as a community of lifeforms in concurrence with
non-living components, interacting with each other.”
 

Table of Contents

 What is an Ecosystem?
 Structure of the Ecosystem

 Biotic Components
 Abiotic Components
 Types of Ecosystem
 Terrestrial
 Aquatic 
 Functions
 Important Ecological Concepts

What is an Ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a structural and functional unit of ecology where the living organisms interact
with each other and the surrounding environment. In other words, an ecosystem is a chain of
interactions between organisms and their environment. The term “Ecosystem” was first coined
by A.G.Tansley, an English botanist, in 1935.

Read on to explore the structure, components, types and functions of the ecosystem in the notes
provided below.

Structure of the Ecosystem

The structure of an ecosystem is characterised by the organisation of both biotic and abiotic
components. This includes the distribution of energy in our environment. It also includes the
climatic conditions prevailing in that particular environment. 

The structure of an ecosystem can be split into two main components, namely: 

 Biotic Components
 Abiotic Components
The biotic and abiotic components are interrelated in an ecosystem. It is an open system where
the energy and components can flow throughout the boundaries.
Biotic Components
Biotic components refer to all living components in an ecosystem.  Based on nutrition, biotic
components can be categorised into autotrophs, heterotrophs and saprotrophs (or
decomposers).

 Producers include all autotrophs such as plants. They are called autotrophs as they can
produce food through the process of photosynthesis. Consequently, all other organisms
higher up on the food chain rely on producers for food.
 Consumers or heterotrophs are organisms that depend on other organisms for food.
Consumers are further classified into primary consumers, secondary consumers and
tertiary consumers.

 Primary consumers are always herbivores as they rely on producers for food.

 Secondary consumers depend on primary consumers for energy. They can either
be carnivores or omnivores.
 Tertiary consumers are organisms that depend on secondary consumers for
food.  Tertiary consumers can also be carnivores or omnivores.

 Quaternary consumers  are present in some food chains. These organisms prey
on tertiary consumers for energy. Furthermore, they are usually at the top of a
food chain as they have no natural predators.
 Decomposers include saprophytes such as fungi and bacteria. They directly thrive on the
dead and decaying organic matter.  Decomposers are essential for the ecosystem as
they help in recycling nutrients to be reused by plants.

Abiotic Components
Abiotic components are the non-living component of an ecosystem.  It includes air, water, soil,
minerals, sunlight, temperature, nutrients, wind, altitude, turbidity, etc. 
Functions of Ecosystem
The functions of the ecosystem are as follows:

1.
0. It regulates the essential ecological processes, supports life systems and renders
stability.
1. It is also responsible for the cycling of nutrients between biotic and abiotic
components.
2. It maintains a balance among the various trophic levels in the ecosystem.
3. It cycles the minerals through the biosphere.
4. The abiotic components help in the synthesis of organic components that involve
the exchange of energy.

So the functional units of an ecosystem or functional components that work together in an

ecosystem are:

 Productivity – It refers to the rate of biomass production.

 Energy flow – It is the sequential process through which energy flows from one trophic
level to another. The energy captured from the sun flows from producers to consumers
and then to decomposers and finally back to the environment.
 Decomposition – It is the process of breakdown of dead organic material. The top-soil is
the major site for decomposition.
 Nutrient cycling – In an ecosystem nutrients are consumed and recycled back in various
forms for the utilisation by various organisms.

Types of Ecosystem
An ecosystem can be as small as an oasis in a desert, or as big as an ocean, spanning
thousands of miles. There are two types of ecosystem:

 Terrestrial Ecosystem
 Aquatic Ecosystem

Terrestrial Ecosystem
Terrestrial ecosystems are exclusively land-based ecosystems. There are different types of
terrestrial ecosystems distributed around various geological zones. They are as follows:

1. Forest Ecosystem
2. Grassland Ecosystem
3. Tundra Ecosystem
4. Desert Ecosystem

Forest Ecosystem
A forest ecosystem consists of several plants, particularly trees, animals and microorganisms
that live in coordination with the abiotic factors of the environment. Forests help in maintaining
the temperature of the earth and are the major carbon sink.
Grassland Ecosystem
In a grassland ecosystem, the vegetation is dominated by grasses and herbs. Temperate
grasslands and tropical or savanna grasslands are examples of grassland ecosystems.

Tundra Ecosystem
Tundra ecosystems are devoid of trees and are found in cold climates or where rainfall is scarce.
These are covered with snow for most of the year. Tundra type of ecosystem is found in the
Arctic or mountain tops.

Desert Ecosystem
Deserts are found throughout the world. These are regions with little rainfall and scarce
vegetation. The days are hot, and the nights are cold.

Aquatic Ecosystem
Aquatic ecosystems are ecosystems present in a body of water. These can be further divided
into two types, namely:

1. Freshwater Ecosystem
2. Marine Ecosystem

Freshwater Ecosystem
The freshwater ecosystem is an aquatic ecosystem that includes lakes, ponds, rivers, streams
and wetlands. These have no salt content in contrast with the marine ecosystem.

Marine Ecosystem
The marine ecosystem includes seas and oceans. These have a more substantial salt content
and greater biodiversity in comparison to the freshwater ecosystem.

Important Ecological Concepts

1. Food Chain
The sun is the ultimate source of energy on earth. It provides the energy required for all plant life.
The plants utilise this energy for the process of photosynthesis, which is used to synthesise their
food.

During this biological process, light energy is converted into chemical energy and is passed on
through successive trophic levels. The flow of energy from a producer, to a consumer and
eventually, to an apex predator or a detritivore is called the food chain.

Dead and decaying matter, along with organic debris, is broken down into its constituents by
scavengers. The reducers then absorb these constituents. After gaining the energy, the reducers
liberate molecules to the environment, which can be utilised again by the producers.
2. Ecological Pyramids
An ecological pyramid is the graphical representation of the number, energy, and biomass of the
successive trophic levels of an ecosystem. Charles Elton was the first ecologist to describe the
ecological pyramid and its principals in 1927.

The biomass, number, and energy of organisms ranging from the producer level to the consumer
level are represented in the form of a pyramid; hence, it is known as the ecological pyramid.

The base of the ecological pyramid comprises the producers, followed by primary and secondary
consumers. The tertiary consumers hold the apex. In some food chains, the quaternary
consumers are at the very apex of the food chain.

The producers generally outnumber the primary consumers and similarly, the primary consumers
outnumber the secondary consumers. And lastly, apex predators also follow the same trend as
the other consumers; wherein, their numbers are considerably lower than the secondary
consumers.

For example, Grasshoppers feed on crops such as cotton and wheat, which are plentiful. These
grasshoppers are then preyed upon by common mouse, which are comparatively less in number.
The mice are preyed upon by snakes such as cobras. Snakes are ultimately preyed on by apex
predators such as the brown snake eagle.

In essence:
 Grasshopper →Mouse→  Cobra → Brown Snake Eagle

3. Food Web
Food web is a network of interconnected food chains. It comprises all the food chains within a
single ecosystem. It helps in understanding that plants lay the foundation of all the food chains.
In a marine environment, phytoplankton forms the primary producer.

What is Habitat?
A habitat is an ecological zone where a plant or animal lives. It may be an island, a tree, or
perhaps under a rock. The habitat is a natural environment where an animal utilizes the
resources to find food to eat, shelter from heat and cold, and protection from predators and
mates.
1. Habitats might change over time either due to important environmental changes like
volcanoes, and tornadoes or due to changes in climate over a lengthy period.
2. Other changes might be because of human activities such as deforestation, urbanization,
and pollution.
3. The availability of food and water greatly influences the habitat or place chosen by
animals to live.
4. Like many organisms, plants also require expansion in diameter and height. Thus a
massive planet with a thick trunk and great height might not grow or thrive in areas such
as a park or a yard.

What is Niche?
Niche is the effective role and position of a species in its environment that describes how
the species responds to the location of resources and competitors or predators.
1. A niche may also involve what that individual eats, how it interacts with other living
things, and also how it connects with the non-living factors.
2. Niche consumes the flow of energy from one species to another, and thus it is very
important to accept how a species eats or interacts with other organisms in an ecosystem to
maintain ecological balance.
3. Without ecological niches, there would be less biological variety, and the ecosystem
would not be in balance.
4. For example, a population in an environment make use of the resources and breeds to
produce more animals or organisms, which then escalate the resources for the predators.
5. The full span of biotic and abiotic factors utilized by species for duration form the
fundamental niche, and the element that limits the population, like competition and
predators, are called limiting factors

What are the 4 Types of Niches?

1. Habitat/Spatial Niche: It illustrates the microhabitat occupied by various species in a
general habitat.
2. Trophic Niche: It is accountable for the useful role of a specific species and how the
species’ position is in comparison to others.
3. Multidimensional Niche: It benefits understanding the position of a particular species in
the tip and rise of the environment.
4. Fundamental Niche and Realized Niche: Hutchinson recognized two types of niches;
fundamental niche and realized niche. The fundamental niche of a species is the
hypervolume that a population can fill in the absence of competitors. So each species has a
fundamental niche within a community.  However, because of competition, due to similar
essentials along the niche dimension, the competitor niches will be overlying one another.
As a result of these biotic constraints, only a part of the niche is realized by the species.
These smaller hyper volumes occupied by a species are termed the realized niche.
Introduction
India has completed fifty years of its independence full of covetable
success scored through
unflagging commitments and relentless efforts of the people and the
government in social, economic,
scientific and technological areas. A nation which failed to
manufacture even a needle in 1947 is
furiously engaged in churning out space-crafts and rockets and exploiting
nuclear devices for peaceful
purpose. During the past five decades India’s achievement in science
and technology seem to be
very impressive which would reveal expertise built up in space
research, nuclear engineering,
production of steel, fertilizer, petroleum, chemical, machine tools,
construction of big dams etc.
Miraculous achievement has been made in the agricultural production
through Green Revolution
during last three decades, which converted India of the fifties, as an
importer of food grain to that of
an exporter. The technological advancement in agriculture is brought
about through the increased
production of new high yielding varieties of crops by means of the
application of chemical fertilizers
377
and pesticides. Bringing more land under food crops for the ever
increasing population has no
doubt saved mankind from hunger and pestilance. On the other hand
various developmental activities
such as construction of huge dams, establishment of power plants and
industrial units have changed
the man-nature relationship. They have changed not only the
economic and socio-cultural life of the
people but also their values, systems, ideas, beliefs and indeed their
entire life style. Destruction of
more forests for extension of land for agricultural purpose, for making
buildings, roads and other
constructions has led to the extinction of a number of plant and
animal species and is also responsible
of ecological imbalance. Apart from these, the indiscriminate
disturbance of the forest ecosystem
leads to the disturbance in corresponding recycling system. The
storm of modernisation and
industrialization has not only uprooted man but in fact has destroyed
his habitat and environment.
The increase in the discharge of toxic gases from the industrial units
and carbon dioxide liberated
from animals and human beings and from burning of fossil fuels is as
sharp as decrease in release of
oxygen by the trees and plants as a result of which the biospeheric
equilibrium maintained since
time immemorial has been affected.
Today, the environmental pollution is a growing threat to our country and
has become a common
phenomenon being observed both in towns and villages all over India.
The heavy rush of population
from villages to urban areas has resulted in over-crowding of cities.
Rapid industrialization and
urbanization have led to an increase in pollution particularly in
metropolitan cities. About 72 per
cent of the air pollution is due to vehicular emissions which is
responsible for 12 times high risk for
respiratory problems. In Delhi about 12 per cent of the school
children are suffering from asthma.
More than 2000 crore litres of sewage water and about 5000 metric
tonnes of garbage are produced
per day in the urban areas which are polluting the surface and
groundwater resources. Ganga, the
most sacred river and a symbol of India’s age old culture and
civilization, has become the most
polluted cultural river in the world. Industrial effluents containing
various pollutants (particularly
toxic metals and pesticidal residues) are drained to nearby lands and
decrease the soil fertility (Singh,
1989). Plant bodies steadily accumulate these toxic substances in
different parts (Ray, 1990) and thus
affect human health. The metropolitan cities of India are considered
as noisiest in the world due to
lack of proper sound control system in our manufacturing plant and
automobiles and also due to
blasting of high sounding horns. Our industrialisation, mechanisation
and vehicles have raised the
level of noise in metro cities. According to a survey conducted by All
India Institute of Medical
Sciences, New Delhi, the average noise level in India’s metropolitan
cities is more than the prescribed
international limit. Noise level above 100 decibel will be unbearable
and injurious to various organs
of man such as brain, heart and eardrum. The terrific sonic booms of
super sonic jet planes not only
rattle window glasses and fencing walls but also affect heart beating,
hearing organs, liver functioning,
brain, eye etc.
Population Growth and Pollution
The pressure of population on the environment has become more
acute during past few decades.
About 34 million people in 1947, the time of independence have
swelled up to 86 million in 1991 and
is likely to cross 100 million mark by the turn of this century and
more than 200 crore by 2035 (Patel,
1994). An unbelievable bitter truth is that Indian population explosion
adds an Australia to the
country every year. Concentration of people in the urban areas which are
already polluted is becoming
heavier. The hard pressed economic necessities have overlooked
environmental aspect altogether.
In our metropolitan cities where there is heavy concentration of
people, the water resource is deeply
polluted because of lavatory refuse, waste-bin refuse and washing
soap refuse. Inspite of all out
efforts to curb it, the increase continues nearly unabated because of
socio-religious factors.
Some Important Environmental Problems in India and Their
Remedies
Dimensions of Environmental Threats378
Rapid increase in population and mismanagement have caused a
severe decline in our natural
resources between 1947 to 1997. The availability of fresh water has
declined by two thirds. Soil
degradation has increased to almost 800 lakh hectare spelling doom
for agricultural productivity.
The livestock grazing in the forests has increased 3-times the
desirable level and the cultivated land
per capita has become half as a result of population explosion. Over
exploitation of groundwater is
an acute problem in the agriculturally important districts. Class I and
Class II cities of India are
generating enormous amount of sewage wastewater per day, but treat
only a tenth. The total sewage
generation from urban centres has grown 6-times in the last 50 years.
The water requirement of
major water-consuming industries has increased 40-times, but they
are not treating the huge
wastewater generation from their own. Production of municipal solid
waste has grown 7-times
while their collection, transport and disposal oftenly remain
unscientific and hazardous. Indoor and
outdoor air pollution have caused about 2.5 million pre-mature deaths
since Independence.
Denudation of Forests
In spite of the target of having 100 million hectare of forest area i.e.
33 per cent of the total
geographical area of the country as specified by the Forest Policy
Resolutions, 1952, our forests
continue to shrink which results in yet another problem of the short
supply of fuel wood and fodder
in rural India. The requirement of fuel wood, according to the report
of National Commission on
Agriculture, is about 22 millions cubic meters at turn of 2000 A.D.,
while the expected output of fuel
wood would be one third of the requirement. During the last four
decades of freedom the greatest
denudation of forests has been experienced. As the human and cattle
population grew, forest areas
have been cleared for agricultural and other household purposes.
Again, railways, roadways etc.,
have expanded their network. Dams, projects, bridges and several
other institutions have been
constructed thereby decreasing the forest areas. At the rate of
deforestation of 2.5 hectare of forest
per minute, India will become a Sahara desert within 50-100 years.
Land Degradation
Uncontrolled deforestation, intensive irrigation and mining activities
are the major cause of
land degradation. Deforestation on a massive scale has resulted in an
unmanageable fast flow of
water from upstream areas. The eroded soil has led to siltation of
rivers which naturally have over-
flown their banks with roaring speed. It has been estimated that about
23 billion tonnes of soil are
lost every year. The Thar desert is expanding at the rate of one km per
year. Drought-prone areas
have been ever expanding, as a result, some of the districts in U.P.
like Tehri and Uttarkashi, Bankura
in West Bengal and large areas of Rajasthan fell to acute scarcity of
water. Lakes, rivers and streams
are drying day by day. The water area of Chilka (Orissa) has been
reduced from 1165 sq km to 900 sq
km. Loktak lake, the largest freshwater inland lake, has been reduced
from 495 sq km to 390 sq km
in ten years causing a serious ecological problem in Kashmir valley.
The defective drainage system
and encroachment on Dal Lake and the closure of the Nallah are
hindering the flood channel linking
the Dal with the Jhelum. Soil erosion is a natural process and is as old
as the earth. But today it has
increased to the point where it far exceeds the natural formation of new
soil. In the face of continuously
expanding the demand for agricultural products and increase in
pressure on land, soil erosion is
accelerating. Indeed the agricultural land is losing its productive top
soil 20 to 40 times faster than
soil naturally can reform in thousands of years.
Green House Effect
The green house effect is one of the most hotly debated environmental
issues of the current
world. With the increase in green house gases (carbon-
dioxide, water vapour, Methane,
379
chlorofluorocarbons etc.) in the atmosphere, the average temperature
of earth has been rising slowly
but steadily. The adverse physiological effect of double atmospheric
CO on climate have been
2
described by Sellers et al. (1996). If the present trend is allowed to
continue as usual, the global
temperature in 2050 may rise as high as 3.5 degree celsius above the
pre-industrial level which is
well above the ceiling of tolerability (Kelley, 1990) and snow covered
mountains melt into water
thereby rising the sea level by several kilometers. Rapid climatic
change in tropical Atlantic region
also occurred during last deglaciation (Overpeck et al., 1996).
Recently, a bio-molecular model for
environmental adaptations in animals have been proposed in order to cope
up with the rapid climatic
change in environment (Tripathi, 1997). Deforestation indirectly
increases the amount of carbon-
dioxide thereby increasing the atmospheric temperature. India is the
world’s six biggest producer of
CO . The average climate of the Indian plain would become hotter
2
and drier which would affect the
agricultural yield due to increased weed infestations and insect attack
(Das, 1991). Industrial and
vehicular emissions have contributed their own share of harmful
effects to the environment.
Acidification is a common problem in the industrialised countries. In
India, vehicles contribute
more than 30 per cent of the photochemical smog in the atmosphere.
The major cities of the country
have an average of more than 15,00,000 vehicles each. More than 2.5
million different types of vehicles
are running in our capital Delhi. The use of chlorofluorocarbon
in refrigeration units and
organochlorine pesticides in agriculture are causing severe damages to
the environment. These
chemicals liberate chlorine which enters into stratosphere region of
the atmosphere and diminishes
the volume of ozone allowing more ultraviolet rays of the sun to
penetrate into the atmosphere
which is very harmful to the human health. The total emission and
pollution of sulphur dioxide in
India is estimated to be more than 4 million tonnes because of
tremendous increase of vehicles of all
kinds. As a result, some of the oldest and rarest architectural, cultural
and historical monuments
and structures have been affected, corroded and mutilated. On 11th
Dec., 1997, the delegates from
159 nations attending the “World Climatic Conference” in Kyoto
(Japan) reached on an agreement
that the industrialized nations (38 developed countries) will reduce
their average annual emission
of six greenhouse gases by 5.2 per cent from 1990 levels between the
year 2008 and 2012. However,
India didn’t give any binding commitment in the conference to reduce
the emission of greenhouse
gases due to its poor economy and a high population pressure.
Hazards of Chemical Abuse
Pesticides are the most important factor in improving agricultural
production particularly in
developing countries to sustain the greater supply of food, necessary to
feed their growing population.
Amount of hazardous chemicals used in India is very high. The
average per hectare pesticide
consumption has increased remarkably during the last three decades
(Gupta, 1988). Less than 0.1
per cent pesticides reach the target pest and remainder negatively
affect humans, livestock and
natural biota. This tendency to look at only higher production neglecting
the hazardous consequences
of ecological disturbance has led to severe environmental
degradation arising from their use.
Indiscriminate and heavy use of pesticides has contaminated the food
grains, dairy products, fruits,
vegetables, fodders, horticulture land, drinking water and the
living environment as a whole
(Mehrotra, 1983). Aquatic living species die as the pesticides washed
down from the fields to rivers,
tanks and other water reservoirs. Cosmetic pesticides are sprayed
indiscriminately on fruits and
vegetables in major cities of India to improve the look e.g., methyl
parathion on cauliflower gives an
extra white look, lady fingers dipped in copper sulphate to look
greener. Majority of synthetic
pesticides are not easily degradable and tend to enter food chains.
They spread their toxic effect
through ecological cycling and biological magnification and cause
serious health problems in human
Some Important Environmental Problems in India and Their
Remedies
Dimensions of Environmental Threats380
and animal subjects. Organochlorine and
organophosphorous compounds are presently
predominating in use. The former is stable under various
environmental conditions. Chrolorinated
pesticides are the most prevalent toxicants in the Indian environment.
The environmental half life of
such chemicals reported to be ten years or more (Brooks, 1976). Use
of these pesticides has either
been banned or discouraged in developed countries as they create
several environmental and health
hazards. Liver and kidney damages are observed in long exposure to
organochlorine pesticides
whereas organophosphorous toxicity results decline of memory (Korsak
& Sato, 1977), loss of appetite,
tremors and psychic disorders and paralysis in exceptional cases.
They may even result in mutation
of genes and these changes become prominent only after a few
generations. In the most natural
situation, the plants, animals and micro-organisms of the soil are
absolutely essential for its fertility.
The soil contains micro-organisms that are responsible for the
conversion of nitrogen, phosphorous
and sulphur to the forms available for plants. Recognizing the fact
that most of the complex physical
and chemical processes responsible for soil fertility are dependent on
soil microorganisms, the
environmental biologists are opposed to the continuing treatment of
soil with heavy doses of deadly
and persistent toxicants. Sometimes our agricultural products are
rejected in international market
due to high pesticidal content. Import of banned and carcinogenic
pesticides and toxic wastes
including lead, zinc and aluminium ash, plastic scrap and slag, at the
rate of more than 60,000
metric tonnes per year still continues from developed countries at a
cheaper rate. Under this alarming
situation, Hon’ble Supreme Court of India have issued some
directives on the import of hazardous
wastes and to restrict the use of pesticides in Indian environment.
Remedial Measures
Environmental protection vis-a-vis development is a great challenge
we face today. Conditions
like population growth, poverty, unemployment and under
development supplemented by the
negative effects of badly planned development over the last five
decades have landed us today in a
vicious circle. Implication of some regulatory measures may
control vehicular and industrial
emissions. It should be checked strictly whether factories and
industrial units did not violate the
standards set by various relevant acts and laws. There is also a need to
introduce eco-friendly refineries
and eco-friendly thermal power plants to reduce pollution in the
localities.
In addition to a direct control of the population growth, there is a need
to provide health care,
improve female literacy, sex education, job opportunities for woman
and above all to motivate priest
and religious preachers to induce people to take up family planning.
Involvement of voluntary
organization in social education and effective communication for
promoting contraceptive methods
may also be effective in this mission.
Some important protective measures should be taken up for the
conservation of forests and
wildlife in India. Forest areas may be maintained for certain
objectives like, protection of mountain
slopes and catchment areas, protection against wind blown sand and
erosion and ravine formation,
protection for pastures, roadside avenue, aesthetic value and
recreation. In order to conserve wildlife,
programmes like creation of more national parks, sanctauries
and reserved areas should be
encouraged. Better forest protection and management can improve
agriculture, flood control,
irrigation and power and prevent silting of lakes and reservoirs.
To meet the food demand for growing population, rise is agricultural
production is of utmost
importance and hence pesticides are indispensable. The use of
pesticides should be managed in
such away that it will not pose any threat to the environment and
human life. The problem of
hazardous consequences of the use of chemical pesticides for
controlling pest and diseases can be
381
solved effectively by developing and practising plant based pesticides.
A large number of different
plant species contain natural insecticidal material. Some of these have
been used by man as insecticide
since very early times. There are around 600 plant species from all
over the world which have been
found to exhibit biocidal activity and some of the plant products have
been recommended for the
control of pest and diseases of various agricultural, horticultural, fruit
and other economical crops.
The easy availability, biodegradability, non-toxicity to living beings,
eco-friendliness and broad
spectrum activity of plant based pesticides provide an eco-friendly
approach for effective pest control.
Botanical pesticides have the potential to replace chemical pesticides
and are good hope for healthier
environment in future. Biological control is a fundamental ecological
process, although the use of
biological regulators in the control of plant pathogens is still poorly
understood and deserve a
thorough evaluation before it is optimised in agricultural practices.
All the same, biological agents
can offer non-polluting solutions to recalcitrant problems in
agriculture, when poorly utilized (Ford,
1992). Organic waste management for manure production and
establishment of biogas units to
generate energy will be very promising in reducing environmental
pollution. The discharge of
pesticide waste residues and other toxicants, which contribute to
environmental pollution subsequent
to their water run-offs from crops, can be degraded by genetically
engineered microorganisms.
Popularizing the vermiculture technology for managing organic waste
resources will be very effective
in creating a sustainable environment in India (Tripathi et al., 1995).
The main hurdle confronting the environmental protection in India
today is that there is a lack
of scientific knowledge and desire to act in this direction. The
NCERT has prepared and developed
syllabi, textbooks and other necessary materials in conformity with
the new education policy to
emphasize the environmental considerations. UGC has initiated
research projects to further promote
environment education in universities. Forestry as a subject has been
taught for the past few years in
eight agricultural universities. On the initiative of Ministry of
Environment and Forest topics like
pollution control, soil degradation, wildlife management,
meteorology, jhoom cultivation have been
introduced in formal education.
A great national effort has been directed towards environmental
awareness through the
enactment of various Acts viz., National Forest Policy, 1952; National
Committee on Environmental
Planning and Coordination, 1972; Water Pollution Control Act, 1974;
Wildlife Protection Act, 1974;
Forest Conservation Act, 1980; Prevention and Control of Air
Pollution Act, 1981; Environmental
Protection Act, 1986 etc. Unfortunately due to lack of proper
implementation of all these policies as
well as strict enforcement of acts, the degradation of forest and
environment continues unchecked.
For the survival of rapidly growing population we have to ensure
conservation of resources on
scientific lines to provide food, clothing and shelter for our millions. We
have to plan our development
efforts in such away that a harmonious balance is maintained between
man and his environment.
Any process of planning should be based on the principle of
Development without Destruction.
Social workers and environmentalists should create public opinion
and mobilise corrective and
preventive action against this threat. The society and all concerned
need to be convinced of the
importance of the environment and we have to realize the fact that the
way how to live today will
influence tomorrow

Microorganisms are present everywhere. As per the National Research Council, without
microbes, all higher plants and animals including humans would die, so is the significance of
microbes in our lives. Microbes play a major role in maintaining a balance in the ecosystem. They
keep us healthy, provides new sources of drugs, aids in food digestion, increases the fertility of
the soil, help clear up dangerous chemicals and protects crops.

Some microbes are harmful and cause diseases in plants, animals, and humans. But out of
millions of types of microbes, only a small fraction of it makes up for disease-causing microbes.
The other vast majority that inhabits in every environment does not cause much of a threat to
human life but instead, are beneficial. Many microbes defend us by fighting against pathogens.
Most of the cells in our body are microbes, which aid in carrying out digestion and provide
sources of new drugs. As per research, human evolution has inseparably been linked with
microbial activity around us. Microbes begin to live in the human body since our birth.

These early colonizers aided our immune system to educate it about the differentiation of the
good and bad microbes. One of the most commonly found bacteria on human skin is the
Staphylococcus aureus, which causes infections when it enters the body through minor cuts or
wounds. Many other bacteria living in the intestine can help maintain the health of the gut and
are called the gut bacteria. Most of the food we consume would be indigestible without the gut
bacteria. The Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron is an opportunistic pathogen found in the human
body that processes complex sugars. Microbes also help in processing dairy products such as
yoghurt, bread, cheese etc.

Thousands of drugs that are available today are derived from chemicals primarily found in
microbes. These naturally produced chemicals by microbes can be used by scientists to
synthesize new medicines. Metagenomics, an emerging field of science, allows scientists to
study about an entire section of microbes and their functions without separately culturing
individual species, enabling access to more microbes. Apart from plants, half of the
photosynthesis in the environment is carried out by photosynthetic microbes which make the air
breathable and hence foster a livable climate by causing an increase in the amount of oxygen
and reducing the carbon dioxide levels. Thus relieving some of the greenhouse gases which
induce global warming.

Some microbes(Rhizobium) help fix nitrogen from the atmosphere which promotes the plant
growth. Special adaptations in some microbes help them degrade, rendering harmless chemicals
which can be used to clean up oil spills, gasoline leaks, nuclear wastes, sewage and other kinds
of pollution. While microbes are extremely beneficial, it does not take away from the fact that a
few microbes are harmful and cause deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis,
Pneumonia etc. For more information on microbes and related topics, please register at BYJU’S.

Related Reading:

“Slums are called armpits of the country”.Slums are the locations in the cities which are
home to thousands of daily wage laborers,construction workers,migrant workers and to
the people belong to marginal part of the society.

Slums pose a great problems to the urban regions

1)Slum areas are prone to floods in rainy season and can become source to
communicable diseases.

2)Slums are hub to criminals,rowdy sheeters .They pose problems to the security and
create law and order problem.

3)Due to lack of good schools and necessary infrastructure for education .Education
standards for the children in slum is low.There is increase in tendency that these people
become victims to illegal activities like terrorism,mafia.

4)The condition of the slums in the country also leads to decrease in human
development index of the country.

5)Due to unregulated development of living conditions it is difficult to regulate the slum

areas.

6)Lack of transportation and power facilities alienating them from urban population..
7)Overpopulation,malnutrition,open defecation are prevalent

Due to lack of good economic resources so they are unable to posses good working
conditions.The untidiness,uncleanness in this areas is due to negligence on part of
government and greed of middlemen who ate away the funds allocated by government
in improving the slums.

Slums play important role in economy of any city.Construction workers,sanitation

cleaners,watchmans,house keepers are important stakeholders in development of urban
economy.It is impossible to expect beautiful city eliminating the slum dwellers from the
city.Slum dwellers are integral part of urban population.There is a greater responsibility
on government,NGOs,activists to improve the conditions in the slum.They need pucca
houses with good sanitation,power,better schools,better road and medical
facilities.Government policies should reach poor with out involvement of middle men.

An ecological crisis occurs when the environment of a species or a

Population changes in a way that destabilizes its continued survival. There
are Many possible causes of such crises. It may be that the environment
quality degrades compared to the, species’ needs, after a change of abiotic
ecological factor (for example, an increase of temperature, less significant
rainfalls). It may be that the environment becomes unfavorable for the
survival of a species (or a population) due to an increase pressure of
predation (for example over fishing). Lastly, it maybe that the situation
becomes unfavorable to the quality of life of the species (or the population)
due to raise in the number of individuals (overpopulation).

What is Spaceship Earth?

Here are some of my favorite definitions and descriptions of the

Spaceship Earth concept:

 “Spaceship Earth or Spacecraft Earth is a world

view encouraging everyone on Earth to act as a
 harmonious crew working toward the greater good.” —
Wikipedia¹
 “More and more environmentalists and scientists talk
about the planet as a complex system, one that human
beings must aggressively monitor, manage and
sometimes reengineer. Kind of like a spaceship.” — The
Washington Post²
 “A growing number of thinkers believe the Overview
Effect heralds nothing less than the next ‘giant leap’ of
human evolution. As breathtaking space-down views of
our world seep into our cultural consciousness, people
are waking up to the ‘Spaceship Earth’ analogy that casts
our planet as a natural vessel with limited resources that
must be steered responsibly by its crew.” — Vice
Motherboard³

The history of the Spaceship Earth concept dates back to at

least 1879. Henry George, George Orwell, Adlai Stevenson,
and Barbara Ward all played a role in developing the concept over
the next century. But if you search the concept today, you’ll see that
the popularization really came from Buckminster Fuller.

Environmental challenges in Europe and in

the rest of the world are intertwined
There is a two-way relationship between Europe and the rest of the world.
Europe is contributing to environmental pressures and accelerating feedbacks in
other parts of the world through its dependence on fossil fuels, mining products
and other imports. Conversely, in a highly interdependent world, changes in
other parts of the world are increasingly felt closer to home, both directly
through the impacts of global environmental changes, or indirectly through
intensified socio-economic pressures ( 1 ) ( 2 ).

Climate change is an obvious example. Most of the growth in global greenhouse

gas emissions is projected to occur outside Europe, as a result of increasing
wealth in populous emerging economies. In spite of successful efforts to reduce
emissions and a decreasing share in the global total, European societies
continue to be major emitters of greenhouse gases (Chapter2).

Many of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change are outside
the European continent, others are our direct neighbours( 3 ). Often these
countries are highly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as farming and
fishing. Their adaptive capacity varies, but is often rather low, in particular due to
persistent poverty( 4 )( 5 ). The links between climate change, poverty and
political and security risks and their relevance for Europe have been extensively
analysed( 6 )( 7 )( 8 ).

Biodiversity has continued to decline globally despite a few encouraging

achievements and increased policy action ( 9 ) ( 10 ). The global rate of species
extinction is escalating and is now estimated to be up to 1000 times the natural
rate ( 11 ). Evidence is growing that critical ecosystem services are under great
pressure globally( 12 ). According to one estimate, approximately one quarter of
the potential net primary production has been converted by humans, either
through direct cropping (53%), land-use-induced productivity changes (40%) or
human-induced fires (7%) ( A ) ( 13 ). While such figures should be treated with
caution, they do give an indication of the substantial impact of humans on
natur al ecosystems.

Loss of biodiversity in other regions of the world affects European interests in

several ways. It is the world’s poor that bear the brunt of biodiversity loss, as
they are usually most directly reliant on functioning ecosystem services ( 14 ).
Increases in poverty and inequality are likely to further fuel conflict and
instability in regions that are already characterised by often fragile governance
structures. Moreover, reduced genetic variety in crops and cultivars implies
future losses of economic and social benefits for Europe in such critical areas as
food production and modern healthcare ( 15 ).

Global extraction of natural resources from ecosystems and mines grew more or
less steadily over the past 25 years, from 40 billion tonnes in 1980 to 58 billion
tonnes in 2005. Resource extraction is unevenly distributed across the world,
with Asia accounting for the largest share in 2005 (48% of total tonnage,
compared with Europe’s 13%). Over this period, a relative decoupling of global
resource extraction and economic growth took place: resource extraction
increased by roughly 50% and world economic output (GDP) by about 110%
( 16 ).

Nonetheless, resource use and extraction is still increasing in absolute terms,

outweighing gains in resource efficiency. Such a composite indicator does not,
however, reveal information on specific resource developments. Global food,
energy and water systems appear to be more vulnerable and fragile than
thought a few years ago, the factors responsible being increased demand,
decreased supply, and supply instabilities. Over-exploitation, degradation and
loss of soils are relevant concerns in this regard ( 17 ) ( 18 ) ( 19 ). With global
competition and increased geographic and corporate concentration of supplies
for some resources, Europe faces increasing supply risks ( 20 ).

Map 7.1 Global human appropriation of net primary production

Note: This map shows human-appropriated net primary production (HANPP) as a percentage of
potential net primary production (NPP) ( A ).

Source: Haberl et al. ( g ).

Figure 7.1 Global extraction of natural resources from ecosystems and

mines, 1980 to 2005/2007

Source: SERI Global Material Flow Database, 2010 edition ( h ) ( i ).

In spite of general progress in the area of environment and health in Europe, the
global human toll of environmental health impacts remains deeply worrying.
Unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, urban outdoor air
pollution, indoor smoke from solid fuels and lead exposure and global climate
change account for nearly a tenth of deaths and disease burden globally, and
around one quarter of deaths and disease burden in children under 5 years of
age ( 21 ). It is again poor populations in low latitudes that are affected most
heavily.

Table 7.1 Death and DALYs (disability-adjusted life years) ( B ) attributable
to five environmental risks, by region, 2004

Risk World Low and middle income H

Percentage of deaths

Indoor smoke from solid fuels 3.3 3.9 0

Unsafe water, sanitation, hygiene 3.2 3.8 0

Urban outdoor air pollution 2.0 1.9 2

Global climate change 0.2 0.3 0

Lead exposure 0.2 0.3 0

All five risks 8.7 9.6 2

Percentage of DALYs

Indoor smoke from solid fuels 2.7 2.9 0

Unsafe water, sanitation, hygiene 4.2 4.6 0

Urban outdoor air pollution 0.6 0.6 0

Global climate change 0.4 0.4 0

Lead exposure 0.6 0.6 0

All five risks 8.0 8.6 1

Source: World Health Organization ( j ).

Many low- and middle-income countries now face a growing burden from new
risks to health, while still fighting an unfinished battle with the traditional risks to
health. The World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that between 2006 and
2015, deaths from non-communicable diseases could increase worldwide by
17%. The greatest increase is projected for the African region (24%) followed by
the eastern Mediterranean region (23%) ( 22 ). Europe is likely to be faced with
the increased problem of emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases that are
critically influenced by changes in temperature or precipitation, habitat loss and
ecological destruction ( 23 ) ( 24 ). In an increasingly urbanised world, which is
tightly linked by long-distance transport, the incidence and distribution of
infectious diseases affecting humans is likely to increase ( 25 ).

Box 7.1 Global sea-level rise and ocean acidification

During the 20th century, global sea level rose by an average of

1.7 mm/year. This was due to an increase in the volume of ocean water as a consequence of temperature
rise, although inflow of water from melting glaciers and ice sheets is playing an increasing role. In the past
15 years, sea-level rise has been accelerating and averaged about 3.1 mm/year, based on data from
satellites and tide gauges, with a significantly increasing contribution from the ice sheets of Greenland and
Antarctica. Sea level is projected to rise considerably during this century and beyond.

In 2007, the IPCC presented a projected rise of 0.18 to 0.59 m above the 1990 level by the end of the
century ( a ). However, since 2007, reports comparing the IPCC projections with observations show that sea
level is currently increasing at an even greater rate than indicated by these projections ( b ) ( c ). Recent
estimates suggest, in case of unabated greenhouse gas emissions, a projected global average sea-level rise
of about 1.0 m or possibly (although unlikely) even up to 2.0 m, by 2100( d ).

Ocean acidification is a direct consequence of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. The oceans have already
taken up around a third of the CO2 produced by humankind since the industrial revolution. While this has
limited the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere somewhat, it has come at the price of a significant change to
ocean chemistry. Evidence indicates that ocean acidification is likely to become a serious threat to many
organisms and will have implications for food webs and ecosystems, for example, tropical coral reefs.

It is expected that, at atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations above 450 ppm, large areas of the polar
oceans will probably become corrosive to shells of key marine calcifiers, an effect that will be strongest in
the Arctic. Already, loss of shell weight in planktonic Antarctic calcifiers has been observed. The rate of
change in ocean chemistry is high, and faster than previous ocean acidification-driven extinctions in the
Earth’s history ( e )( f ).