TNPSC Free Notes Biology – Environment and Ecology

இந்தக் கட்டுரையில், TNPSC குரூப் 1, குரூப் 2, குரூப் 2A, குரூப் 4 மாநிலப் போட்டித் தேர்வுகளான TNUSRB, TRB, TET, TNEB போன்றவற்றுக்கான  முறைகள் இலவசக் குறிப்புகளைப் பெறுவீர்கள்.தேர்வுக்கு தயாராவோர் இங்குள்ள பாடக்குறிப்புகளை படித்து பயன்பெற வாழ்த்துகிறோம்.

Environment and Ecology

Our environment
 The surroundings or space in which a person, animal, or plant lives, is known as
on environment.
 Environment is everything that is surrounded us.
 It can have both living (biotic) and non-living things (abiotic).
 Abiotic factors are non-living parts such as sunlight, air, water and minerals in
soil.
 Biotic factors are living things of our environment such as plants, animals,
bacteria and more.
The Ecosystem
 Ecosystem is a community of living and non-living things that work together.
 Each part of an ecosystem has a role to play.
 Any changes in the environment such as increased temperature or heavy rains
can have a big impact on an ecosystem.
 We can therefore identify different feeding types in an ecosystem based on how
the organism obtain (gets) its food.
 They are producers and consumers.
Producers
 Producers are organisms that are able to produce their own organic food.
 They do not need to eat other organisms to do this. Producers are also called
autotrophs.
Consumers

 Organisms which cannot produce their own food, need to eat other organisms as
food.
 These organisms are called consumers.
 All animals are consumers as they cannot produce their own food. Consumers are
also called heterotrophs.
Decomposers
 Micro-organisms that obtain energy from the chemical breakdown of dead
organisms (both plants and animals).
 They break complex organic substances into simple organic substances that goes
into the soil and are used by plants.,(e.g) Bacterium, Fungi
Food chain
 It describes how organisms get energy and nutrients by eating other organisms.
 A food chain shows the relationship between producers (e.g. grass) and
consumers (e.g. deer, goats)
 Animals that eat plants are primary consumers.
 Animals that eat primary consumers are called secondary consumers.
 Animals that eat the secondary consumers (mostly predators) are the tertiary
consumers.
 There may even be large predators that eat tertiary consumers. They are called as
quaternary consumers
Food web
 If we put all the food chains within an ecosystem together, then we end up with
many interconnected food chains. This is called a food web.
Solid Waste Management and Recycling
 Solid wastes mainly include municipal wastes, hospital wastes, industrial wastes
and e-wastes etc.
 The solid wastes are dumped in the soil which results in landscape pollution
 Solid-waste management involves the collection, treatment and proper disposing
of solid material that is discarded from the household and industrial activities.

Two major types of Soild waste:
 Bio degradable waste
 Non – bio degradable waste
Methods of solid wastes disposal
Segregation:
 It is the separation of different type of waste materials like biodegradable and
non biodegradable wastes.
Sanitary landfill:
 Solid wastes are dumped into low lying areas.
 The layers are compacted by trucks to allow settlement.
 The waste materials get stabilised in about2-12 months. The organic matter
undergoes decomposition.

Incineration:
 It is the burning of non-bio degradable solid wastes (medical wastes) in properly
constructed furnace at high temperature.
Composting:
 Biodegradable matter of solid wastes is digested by microbial action or
earthworms and converted into humus.
Recycling of wastes
 Agricultural wastes like coconut shells, jute cotton stalk, bagasse of sugarcane
can be used to make paper and hard board.
 Paddy husk can be used as livestock fodder.
 Cow dung and other organic wastes can be used in go bar gas plant to provide
biogas and manure for fields.

3R Approach
 The 3R approach such as Reduce, Reuse and Recycle may be followed for
effective waste management.

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