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Carbon capture and storage is a technology of capturing carbondioxide and injects it deep into the underground rocks to a depth of 1 km or more and it is an approach to mitigate global warming by capturing CO2 from large point sources such as industries and power plants and subsequently storing it instead of releasing […]
Endemic species are plants and animals that exist only in one geographic region. Species can be endemic to large or small areas of the earth. Some are endemic to a particular continent, some to a part of a continent and others to a single island. Any species found restricted to a specified geographical area is […]
Conservation India due to its topography, geology and climate patterns has diverse life forms. Now this huge diversity is under threat due to many environmental issues for this conservation becomes an important tool by which we can reduce many species getting lost from our native land. By employing conservation management strategies like germplasm conservation, in […]
Invasion of alien or introduced species disrupts ecosystem processes, threaten biodiversity, reduce native herbs, thus reducing the ecosystem services (benefits). During eradication of these species, the chemicals used increases greenhouse gases. Slowly they alter ecosystem, micro climate and nature of soil and make it unsuitable for native species and create human health problems like allergy, […]
Afforestation is planting of trees where there was no previous tree coverage and the conversion of non-forested lands into forests by planting suitable trees to retrieve the vegetation. Example: Slopes of dams afforested to reduce water runoff, erosion and siltation. It can also provide a range of environmental services including carbon sequestration, water retention. Afforestation […]
Deforestation is one of the major contributors to enhance green house effect and global warming. The conversion of forested area into a non-forested area is known as deforestation. Forests provide us many benefits including goods such as timber, paper, medicine and industrial products. The causes are • The conversion of forests into agricultural plantation and […]
Agro forestry Agroforestry is an integration of trees, crops and livestock on the same plot of land. The main objective is on the interaction among them . Example: intercropping of two or more crops between different species of trees and shrubs, which results in higher yielding and reducing the operation costs. This intentional combination of […]
Ozone layer is a region of Earth’s stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun’s ultra violet radiation. The ozone layer is also called as the ozone shield and it acts as a protective shield, cutting the ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun. Just above the atmosphere there are two layers namely troposphere (the lower layer) […]
Green House Effect is a process by which radiant heat from the sun is captured by gases in the atmosphere that increase the temperature of the earth ultimately. The gases that capture heat are called CH4 20% CO2 60% Green House Gases which include carbon dioxide CFC 14% (CO2), methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O) and […]
Plant Succession We very often see that forests and lands in our areas are drastically affected by natural calamities (Flood, earthquake) and anthropogenic activities (Fire, over grazing, cutting of trees). Due to these reasons all plants of an area are destroyed and the areas become nude. When we observe this area, over a period of […]
Adayar Poonga is located in Chennai and covers an area around a total of 358 acres of Adayar creek and estuary, of which 58 acres were taken up for eco restoration under the auspices of Government of Tamil Nadu. It is maintained by Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT).This was a dumping site previously. Presently it […]
Ecosystem Management It is a process that integrates ecological, socio economic and institutional factors into a comprehensive strategy in order to sustain and enhance the quality of the ecosystem to meet current and future needs. Ecosystem management emphasis on human role in judicious use of ecosystem and for sustained benefits through minimal human impacts on […]
Structure of Pond ecosystem It is a classical example for natural, aquatic, freshwater, lentic type of ecosystem. It helps us to understand the structure and function of an ecosystem. When rain water gathers in a shallow area, gradually over a period of time, different kinds of organisms (microbes, plants, animals) become part of this ecosystem. […]
Exchange of nutrients between organisms and their environment is one of the essential aspects of an ecosystem. All organisms require nutrients for their growth, development, maintenance and reproduction. Circulation of nutrients within the ecosystem or biosphere is known as biogeochemical cycles and also called as ‘cycling of materials.’ There are two basic types, 1. Gaseous […]
Decomposition: Decomposition is a process in which the detritus (dead plants, animals and their excreta) are breaken down in to simple organic matter by the decomposers. It is an essential process for recycling and balancing the nutrient pool in an ecosystem Nature of decomposition The process of decomposition varies based on the nature of the […]
Ecological pyramids Graphic representation of the trophic structure and function at successive trophic levels of an ecosystem is called ecological pyramids. The concept of ecological pyramids was introduced by Charles Elton (1927). Thus they are also called as Eltonian pyramids. There are three types: (1) pyramid of number (2) pyramid of biomass (3) pyramid of […]
Food chain The movement of energy from producers upto top carnivores is known as food chain, i.e., in any food chain, energy flows from producers to primary consumers, then from primary consumers to secondary consumers, and finally secondary consumers to tertiary consumers. Hence, it shows linear network links. Generally, there are two types of food […]
The rate of biomass production per unit area in a unit time is called productivity. It can be expressed in terms of gm /m2/year or Kcal/m2/ year. It is classified as given bellow. 1. Primary productivity 2. Secondary productivity 3. Community productivity 1. Primary productivity: The chemical energy or organic matter generated by autotrophs during […]
The amount of light available for photosynthesis of plants is called Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) which is from of 400-700 nm in wave length. It is essential for photosynthesis and plant growth. PAR is not always constant because of clouds, tree shades, air, dust particles, seasons, latitudes and length of the daylight availability. Generally plants […]
Have you seen lakes, ponds and pools in your surroundings? They are all called water bodies with many components in them. Can you list out the things which are found in water bodies? Mud, nutrients, clay, dissolved gases, planktons, microorganisms, plants like algae, Hydrilla, Nelumbo, Nymphaea and animals like snake, small fish, large fish, frog, […]