InsightsUnveiled

Detrius ecosystems are ecosystems which partially or fully depend o the dead organic matter produced in another ecosystem.Example:-Cave ecosystem.In certai subcomponents of the ecosystem,energy is derived from the detrius in the system obtained through decomposition as is the case with some autotroph based ecosystems. Decomposition is important for obtaining detrius through fragmentation,leaching but primarily by tyhe activity of organisms that may facilitate both leaching & fragmentation.However,it must be pointed that not all parts get decomposed at the same time or at the same rate,lignin decays more slowly than cellulose as an example.on the basis of the environment in which the detrius is decomposed it is subcategorized into the followinfg divisions:- 1)detrius decomposition in forest ecosystem; 2)detrius decomposition in grasslands; 3)detrius decomposition in chapparral; 4)detrius decomposition in deserts; 5) detrius decomposition in aquatic...

there are 3 broad categories on aquatic ecosystem:- a)Fresh water; b)Marine;and c)Estuarine. Together these 3 components compose 70% of Earth's surface 7 are diverse in their physical,chemical and biological components.Fresh water ecosystems cover 2% of earth;s surface.Eg.:-Lake supirior. Fresh water ecosystems are characterized by :- a)Havimg a running water(Lotic Ecosystem);and b)Stagnant water(Lentic Eosystem) Lentic ecosystems includes ponds/lakes/pools/bogs etc. and varies considerably in physical,chemical and biological characteristics.they can be considered to have 3 zones:- a)Littoral; b)Limnetic; and c)profoundal. Littoral zone extends from the shoreline to the innermost rooted plants successively passing from rooted emergent forms ,such as reeds and cattail,rooted species and is populated ,like water lilies and in deeper waters to various submerged but rooted species and is populated by snakes,frogs.A considerable variety of adult a...

Mar i ne ecosystem which are of singular ecological significance occupy 70% of Earth's surface,with average depth of 3750m & salinity averaging 3.5%.unlike fresh water ecosystems ,marine ecosystems are continuous & is in continuous circulation via major surface currents , waves , tidal action, upwelling etc. In the absence of vertical mixing of the deep waters which constitute 60% of ocean stay permanently at 3(degrees)celcius. the concentration of nutrients in ocean is low.Hydrogen & oxygen form 96% of total ocean elements.   The major zones in marine ecosystems are litoral,neritic,pelagic benthic.   a) The litoral or inter-tidal zone :-It is subjected to physical violence of waves & tides & to fluctuations of temperature ,moisture & light intensity. Along rocky shores we find sandy shores organisms are adapted to burrowing in or adhering to sand like- ghost crabs, sand dollars etc. Mud flats occurring in Bays houses algae on t...

American ecologist G.Clarke defined limiting factor as that which "first stops the growth or spread of an organism".the origin of this concept is attributed to German chemist J.V.Liebig in his treatise-"Organic chemistry & it's Application to Agriculture & Physiology" where he noted," Crops of a field diminish or increase in exact proportion to the diminution or increase of the mineral substances conveyed to it in nature". His law of minimum applied to inorganic nutrients although it got modified with the passage of time to include physical factors, temperature & rainfall etc. as well.   F.F.Beckman extended the Liebig's law of minimum to encompass the limiting effects of the maximum as well which came to be known as the Law of Limiting Factor. He noted that in treating physiological phenomena, assimilation, respiration, growth & the like, which have a varying magnitude under the varying ex...

Ground water is the wter that occupies pores,cavities,cracks and other spaces in the crustal rocks and includes the water precipitated from the atmosphere which has percolated through the soil,water that has risen from deep magamtic sources or liberated during the igneous activity or that which is stored in sedimentary rock layers. Most ground water originates as recharge in upland areas,through infiltration.However,it discharges from the saturated zones back to ground surface in low lying areas,usually at springs/bottom of surface water bodies.Since,ground water always moves towards lower heads,these exist points are always at a lower elevation than the water table where ground water enters the system as recharge. Increasing depth of the earth's crust causes rock porosity and permeability to decrease.Pore fluids become hotter and more concentrated with the dissoved minerals as depth increases.Deeper than about 10 Km. ,the crust has low intrinsic permeability due to ...

Limestone is sedimentary rock formed from carbonate minerals especially calcite & dolomite.Quartzite is a hard,impermeable whitish or greyish quartzite rock cemented by silica.From the above question it can be derived that there is uniformity of structure in the two cases.In case of limestone terrain ,the rain water will form surface drainage and start dissociating the terrain. the rain water has formed carbonic acid,a weak aid but strong enough to dissolve calcium carbonate.Surface drainage dissapears underground due to formation of sink holes & swallow holes.Underground caves and caverns come into existence which collapses & erodes down forming a peni plain like surface with drainage reappearing on the surface as surface drainage. There is loss of water to groundwater which is evident from the fact that hard ground water prevails in limestone aquifers.Portion of the water is found in springs.Formation of limestone channels,closed depressions etc. form supplies f...

Storm characteristics:- 1) Type and nature of storms and season:- Tropical cyclonic storms have torrential rainfall which is violent and lasts for few hours while rainfall in temperate cyclone is slow and continuous for many days with occasional heavy showers.Both types of rainfall will aid runoff after some time of it's commencement. In india monsoon season has the maximum rainfall and hence maximum runoff while in mediterrenean climate runoff will be maximized during winter season when there is maximum rainfall in this region.However,rainfall in summer will cause less runoff than it would have been in winter. 2) Intensity:- Low intensity rainfall storms over longer spells contributes to ground water storage and produce relatively less runoff and a high intensity storm or a smallere area covered by it increases runoff since the losses like infiltration and evaporation are less. 3) Antecedent precipitation an...

the groundwater pollution depends on the local geology,groundwater flow patterns,pore scale process and molecular scale process.Contamination might spread rapidly within a high conductivity second lens or it might diffuse at a snail's pace through a low conductivity clay.By ground water pollution we men solutes dissolved in water that can render it unfit for our use or unfit for an ecosystem that the water enters.Most natural water contains some amount of dissolved substances which we think of as contaminants.For a contaminant to be true problem ,it must be present at a concentration that poses some significant risk to the health of the human population or to the ecosystem.the 2 sources of ground water pollution are as follows:- a)Point source; b)Non-point source. Point source :-Tanks used for storing fuels and chemicals leak undetected causing contamination.Example;-U.S. Environmental protection Agency estimated in 1996 about 318000 such releases. Sep...

Agricultural landuse practice:- The quantities of water cycling in a catchment area is dependent upon the crop type,physical activities and works associated with cultivation and abstraction of water for irrigation.Over the growing season,millet have 22% less evaporation than other types allowing extra water to runoff.Farm roads and path's too aid quick runoff.Ploughing alters soil structure and compaction by the machinery reduces infiltration capacity thereby increasing overland flow. Urban and industrial development landuse:- Urbanization results in rapid runoff of rains rather than infiltration,evaporation or gradual movement towards ground water or rivers.The effect of urbanisation depends on the nature of catchment being urbanised,with the greatest effect with the more permeable the catchment. Afforestation:- In the south African catchment,runoff began to decrease 3 years after the Eucalyptus trees were planted and after 9 years runoff had falle...

A spring is a concentrated discharge of groundwater appearing the ground surface as a current of flowing water.They occur when water table intersects the ground surface.A sprig is different from a seepage ina sense that in seepage water moves through the ground or other porous media to the ground surface or surface water bodies and that the movement of water in seepage is slower than that of the velocity of water flowing in a spring. Springs occur in several forms and have been classified on the basis of rock structure,discharge,temperature and variabilty.   Bryan divided all springs into following divisions:-   a)Those resulting from non-gravitational forces;&   b)Those resulting from gravitational forces.   Those resulting from non-gravitational forces:- These include volcanic springs associated with volcanic rocks and the fissure springs,resulting from fractures extending to great depths in the earth's crust.Such sp...

The landscape and the terrain chracterises,besies geology,are closely related to occurence,availability,quality and utilization of the usable water for diferent puroses by man from different ouces,eg.:- surface wtare,ground water etc.there is direct relationship betwen limestone reas also helps in digging of dug wells.If the limestons have enough porosity and are capped by sand stones layers,there is every posibilty for rich ground water reserves and the water is also naurally filtered while passing through the sand stone beds and hence this groundwater will be free from pollutants. Limestone areas are'nt suitable for dam or reservoir construction because it requires a lot of expensive engineering work.The geomorphological history of the glaciated landscape ,characterizes of different types of glacial deposits and landform characteristics help in searching and determining the interglacial valleys under the surficial ground material provide large and rich ground wa...

Cycle in the strictest sense refers to a sequence of events which returns to it's starting point.Hydrological cycle in simple words refers to the cyclic movement of water in air,water and land which takes place by the change in it's phase from liquid to gas and again ack to liquid or solid(ice state). according to C.A.M.king(1996)- asystem is defined as a set of objects that are considered together by studying their relationships to each other and their individual attributes.   The earth system which is both an isolated system(those in which the boundaries for the input of energy and output or export of mass and matter are closed or fixed) on one hand and on the other hand.The functioning of the earth system is the sum of the simultaneous functioning of several subsystems of the earth system one of which is th hydrological cycle. Water which is the cheif and only component of the hydro...