Our environment

Group members:Hafsa Abdul Gafoor

Shaiza SafiyaSwathy SukuWafa AshiqueHalima Afreen

Elize Sara Abraham

ENVIRONMENT

Environment means the surroundings. Land, water, air, plants, animals, solid wastes and other things that are surrounding us constitute our environment. Man and environment are closely intertwined with each other, to maintain a balance or equilibrium in nature.

EFFECT OF ADDING WASTE TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Human activities produce a lot of waste materials which are thrown away into the environment. These wastes cause pollution of air, water and soil.

The waste materials produced are of two main types. They are biodegradable wastes and non biodegradable wastes.

i) Biodegradable wastes :- are wastes which are : decomposed into harmless substances by

microorganisms. Eg :- vegetables, fruits, pulses, cereals,

cotton, jute, wool, wood, leather, paper, animal dung, animal bones etc.

ii) Non biodegradable wastes :- are wastes which are not decomposed by microorganisms. Eg :- polythene bags, plastics,

synthetic fibres, glass, metals, synthetic rubber, insecticides, pesticides etc.

ECOSYSTEM An ecosystem consists of all the living

organisms in an area along with the non living components and their interaction. There are different types of ecosystem. There are different types:

1. Natural ecosystems :- like forests, deserts, grass lands, mountains, ponds, lakes, rivers, oceans etc. 2. Artificial ecosystems :- like gardens, parks, crop fields, aquarium, zoo etc.

COMPONENTS OF AN ECOSYSTEM

An ecosystem consists of two main components.

They are:

Biotic components

Abiotic components

BIOTIC COMPONENTS Biotic components are the living components

like plants, animals and microorganisms. They consist of producers, consumers and decomposers.

Producers :- are green plants which produce food by photosynthesis.

Consumers :- are herbivores which get their food directly from plants, carnivores which get their food indirectly from plants and omnivores which get their food directly or indirectly from plants.

Decomposers :- are microorganisms which decompose dead plants and animals. They decompose complex organic substances into simple inorganic substances in the soil which are again used by plants.

ABIOTIC COMPONENTS Abiotic components :-All the non-living things make the abiotic component of an ecosystem. Air, water and soil are the abiotic components. Air provides oxygen (for respiration), carbon dioxide (for photosynthesis) and other gases for various needs of the living beings. Water is essential for all living beings because all the metabolic activities happen in the presence of water. Soil is the reservoir of various nutrients which are utilized by plants. Through plants, these nutrients reach other living beings.

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT All the interacting organisms in an area together

with the non-living constituents of the environment form an ecosystem.

Organisms in the ecosystem are classified into three groups: producers, consumers, decomposers.

Organisms that make their own food from inorganic substances are known as producers.

Organisms that consume the food produced, either directly from producers or indirectly by feeding on other consumers are consumers.

Microorganisms that break down the dead remains of organisms, that are used by other members of the ecosystem are decomposers.

QUESTIONSWhy are some substances

biodegradable and some non-biodegradable?

Give any two ways in which biodegradable substances would affect the environment.

Give any two ways in which non-biodegradable substances would affect the environment.

ANSWERS Substances which are of organic origin are

biodegradable, while those of inorganic origin are non-biodegradable. Organic substances can be utilized by decomposers as food, while other substances cannot be utilized by decomposers as food. Due to this, some substances are biodegradable while some others are non-biodegradable.

Biodegradable substances can affect the environment in following ways:

By recycling the raw materials in nature.By improving the humus content in soil. Non-biodegradable substances would affect the

environment in following two ways:By increasing the burden on the environment because they would accumulate.By producing harmful polluting gases, if they are burnt.

THE END