Page 3 - 2.Lesson notes-Ecosystem and its components

Functions

 They provide biological control over the production of producers and different
levels of consumers.
 Many consumers help producers in pollination and fruit dispersal.

(iii) Decomposers – They are saprophytes which obtain their nourishment from organic
remains. Decomposers break down the organic matter or waste material and release
nutrients into the soil. For example, bacteria, worms, slugs, and snails.

Functions

 They are natural scavengers as they cleanse the earth of organic remains.
 They create space for newer generations of organisms.

Producers Decomposers
1. They are green plants They are microorganisms
2. They are autotrophs They are heterotrophs
3. They require inorganic nutrients They liberate inorganic nutrients
4. Supply food to all other organisms They liberate raw material and
create space for newer
generations of organisms

ABIOTIC COMPONENTS

These include the non-living physi-chemical factors of the environment. These components not
only affect the distribution and structure of organisms but also their behaviour and inter-
relationships. Abiotic factors include:
(i) Inorganic substances- Carbon, Nitrogen, oxygen, calcium, phosphorus and their
compounds constitute the main abiotic component. These occur either in the form of
compounds dissolved in water in the soil or in free state in the air.
(ii) Organic compounds- These include carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids etc.
These are present in living organisms and dead organic matter.
(iii) Climatic factors – These include light, temperature, humidity, wind, rainfall, water etc.
and also edaphic factors.