A brief notes about Environment,its aspects and management.

1. Environmental Management
ABHIJITH R.

2. Environment
 Encompasses virtually everything that
surrounds an organism in a holistic
ecological approach
 Life on earth experiences different types
of surroundings.
 Physical environment- soil, air, water….
 Biological environment – living beings.

3. Fundamental principles for the
protection of environment
 Maintenance of biodiversity
 Maintenance of all gaseous & material
cycles & interdependence of living
organisms among themselves & with
abiotic environments.
 Maintenance of ecological order &
natural balance, which depend on the
food chain relationship, sustainable
productivity & biotic interaction.

4. Segments of environment
 Natural environment :-
 Abiotic component-
a) Climatic factors-solar radiation,
temperature, wind, rainfall, water
current..
b) Physical factors- light, air, pressure&
geomagnetism

5. Cont…
 (c) clinical factors- oxygen, carbon
dioxide , acidity, salinity, availability of
inorganic nutrients & so on..
 Biotic factors:- microbes, plants, animals &
all living organisms & their organic by-
products

6. Cont…
 Man-made environment
 Crop fields
 Urban areas
 Industrial space
 Vehicles
 Power plants
 Telecommunications …

7. Cont…
 Social environment
 Formed by network of social institutions-
political, religious & economic
 Family
 Activities including socialization of
children, transference of cultural heritage
& morals from one generation to the next.

8. Environment of the earth
 Air / Atmosphere:
 Envelope of gases– nitrogen, oxygen,
carbon dioxide, traces of carbon
monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, sulphur,
hydrocarbon & very little amount of water
vapour.

9. Layers of atmosphere
1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Mesosphere
4. Thermosphere (ionosphere)
5. Exosphere

10. Cont….
 Water / Hydrosphere:
 Oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, polar
ice caps, streams, glaciers, ground water,
& water vapour.
 Oceans are storehouses of vast resources-
water, salt, minerals, & food.

11. Cont…
 Land / Lithosphere
 Is the outer mantle of rocks constituting
the earth’s crust.
 Rocks are subjected to continuous
physical, chemical & biological
weathering.
 Thickness ranging from 64 to 96 km.

12. Cont…
 Below the lithosphere lies the mantle;
thickness of 2400km.
 Upper part is Asthenosphere
 Lower mantle is Mesosphere
 The interior part of earth is Core, consist of
minerals such as iron, nickel, cobalt mixed
with sulphur & silica

13. Cont…
 Inner core appears to be solid
 Outer core is molten and metallic
 The direction & interaction b/w the
atmosphere, hydrosphere & lithosphere
for millions of years has made the earth
suitable for life & has formed the
Biosphere.
 Which is responsible for large scale of
recycling of matter & energy.

14. the study of the relationships
between biotic and abiotic factors
in environments
eco (G) root home, abode
ecoclimateecosyste
m
ecotourism
log, -o, y (G) suffix study of
zoologyepidemiologyclimatology
EcologyEc
o
logy

15. a major regional or global biotic
community, a super ecosystem,
defined chiefly by the dominant
forms of plant life and the
prevailing climate
Biome

16. desert
grassland
tropical rain forest
deciduous forest
coniferous forest
tundra
Major Biomes of the World
ocean

17. Aquatic biomes
2 types – marine and freshwater.
Stratified vertically – photic zone
(light) and aphotic zone (little
light).
Bottom of aquatic is benthos – food
is detritus that falls from above.

18. Lakes
ALakes classified by
nutrients –
1eutrophic – shallow and
nutrient-rich;
2oligotrophic – deeper and
nutrient-poor.

19. *Wetlands
Wetlands – area covered with
water; supports plants.
Estuaries – area where
freshwater meets ocean.
Intertidal zone – land meets
water.
Coral reefs – dominated by coral.

20. Terrestrial biomes
Defined vertically from the
canopy at top to the permafrost
at the bottom.
ATropical forest – little light
reaches ground because of deep
canopy.
Rainfall determines life in area.

21. Cont…
BSavanna – scattered trees and
grasses.
Fire helps increase diversity.
Has rainy season.
CTemperate grassland – seasonal
drought, fires prevent tree growth.
Most used for farming.

22. Deserts
Deserts – sparse rain, some are cold.
Plants have structures to allow
survival (i.e. water storage,
alternative forms of photosynthesis)
Chaparral – evergreen shrub; long,
hot, dry summers with fires.

23. Forest
Temperate deciduous forest – small
mammals, leaves fall during autumn.
Coniferous forest – cone-bearing
trees, trees have needles.
Tundra – permafrost covers ground,
low diversity.

24. Levels of Organization
smallest unit of living
things
group of similar cells
organized to work
together
group of different kinds
of tissues working
together
group of organs
working together
one individual living
thing
all organisms of the
same kind living in one
area
all interacting
populations in an
ecosystem
all living and nonliving
things interacting within
a certain area
large region with
typical plants and
animals that includes
several ecosystems
cell

25. Changes to Agriculture:
•1 After the Second World War, farming changed
dramatically and became more intensive.
•2 It changed because of the need for farmers to
maximize production.
•3 Farms became specialist such as growing cereals
and little else.
•4 This was made possible with the advent of cheap
inorganic fertilisers, pesticides,
•new high yielding varieties and improved
mechanization.
•5 Yields improved dramatically (Wheat yields in the
1950’s were about
2 tonnes per hectare and now in excess of 10 tonnes).
6 Food has also become much cheaper.
Agriculture

26. Effects of intensive agriculture:
 Benefits :
 High yields
 Greater productivity
 Cheaper food
 Higher quality food

27. Cont…
 Problems:
 Pollution(excess nitrates & pesticides)
 Disease
 Waste disposal (straw from cereals, slurry
from livestock)
 Toxic materials entering the human food
chain
 Damage to the environment
 Loss of jobs

28. Agriculture – Monoculture and
Intensive Farming
 Intensive agriculture is characterised by
most of the following:
 Large areas of monoculture (growing one
species or crop).
 High level use of –
 Fertilisers (especially inorganic fertilisers)
 Pesticides (includes herbicides)
 Mechanisation (large tractors etc)

29. Cont….
 Improved varieties of plants and animals
 Irrigation schemes (allows continuous
cropping)
 Continuous cropping from one area year
after year
 Several crops per season from the same land
 Low labour input
 Maximum yields for a minimum area of land
 Attempts to maximise profits
