Definitions (Ecosystem)
ECOSYSTEM
Ecosystem: The delicate and dynamic balance that exists between biotic and abiotic component of an environment is known as ecosystem.
Ecology: The branch of science which deals with the interrelationship between the biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem.
Producers: The organisms which can prepare their food are called producers.
Consumers: Those organisms which cannot prepare food themselves and depend upon producer for their food is called consumer.
Decomposers: The saprophytic organism that feed on dead and decaying organic matter and decomposed them into simpler forms.
Food chain: The process of transfer of energy from one trophic level to another through a series of eating and being eaten.
Food web: The network of various food chains which are interconnected at various trophic levels.
Ecological pyramid: The graphical presentation of number, biomass and accumulated energy at different trophic level in a food cycle.
Biogeochemical cycle: The circulation of nutrients elements like carbon, hydrogen etc through physical world and biological world.
Carbon cycle: The cyclic process in which carbon is circulated continuously through the living and non-living component of biosphere.
Nitrogen cycle: The cyclic process in which nitrogen is circulated continuously through the living and non-living component of biosphere.
Water cycle: The circulation of water in different form in the biosphere is called water cycle.
Nitrogen fixation: The process of conversion of free nitrogen gas of the atmosphere into nitrites and nitrate in the soil is called nitrogen fixation.
Nitrification: The process of conversion of ammonia into nitrites and nitrates which can be taken by plants.
Denitrification: The process of conversion of nitrates salt present in soil into free nitrogen is called denitrification.
Ammonification: The process in which the proteins of plants and animals are broken into ammonium salt by the action of ammonifying bacteria.
Symbiosis: The association of bacteria and plants for their mutual benefits.
Nitrogen fixing bacteria: Those soil bacteria which are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen into nitrates.
Aquatic ecosystem: The ecosystem which exist in water.
Terrestrial ecosystem: The ecosystem which exist on land.
Food pyramid: The pyramidal structure which shows the relationship between various trophic level of an ecosystem on the basis of amount of food consumed by the trophic levels.
Pyramid of biomass: The pyramidal structure which shows the relationship between various trophic level of an ecosystem on the basis of their biomass.
Pyramid of number: The graphical representation which shows the relationship between various trophic level of an ecosystem in terms of their number.
Pyramid of energy: The graphical representation which shows the relationship between various trophic level of an ecosystem in terms of energy.
Primary consumers: The consumers which consume green plants directly.
Secondary consumers: The consumers which feed on the primary consumers.
Tertiary consumers: The consumers which feed on the secondary consumers.
Biosphere: Largest unit of biological system in which many ecosystem can operate together.
Abiotic components: The non-living environment of an ecosystem.
Biotic component: The group of living organism of the ecosystem.
Nitrogen assimilation: The process of conversion of nitrogen compound into complex organic molecule like protein that become a part of living organism.
Biological fixation: The process of conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into usable compounds of nitrogen like nitrites with the help of soil bacteria and other microbes is called biological fixation.
Trophic level: The step representing organisms in a food chain at which the transfer of food and energy takes place.
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