Sus.Planng..

& Arch - Question Bank - Unit 2 2019 – Sem 9

Unit 2: 2marks…….ANSWERS……..INCLUDE DIAGRAMS WHEREEVER REQUIRED

1. Brief about eco system?/what is an ecosystem
 A complex set of relationship among the living resources, habitats, and residents of an area.
 An ecosystem (the ecological systems) includes all of the living things (plants, animals and
organisms) in a given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living
environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, and atmosphere).
 Ecologist A. G. Tansely defined ecosystem as “ the system resulting from the integration of
all the living and non living factors in the environment”
 A community and its physical environment, Made up of two essential components:
i. Abiotic factors
ii. Biotic factors
2. What is food chain?
 The simplest feeding arrangement in an ecosystem
 Shows transfer of energy from one trophic level to another.
 The transfer of food energy from the source through a series of organism by regular eating
and eaten up.
 In food chain each stage of transfer of food energy is known as Trophic Level
3. Differentiate food chain and Food web/what is the difference between food chain and food web
 Food Chain
i. The simplest feeding arrangement in an ecosystem
ii. Shows transfer of energy from one trophic level to another.
iii. The transfer of food energy from the source through a series of organism by regular
eating and eaten up.
iv. In food chain each stage of transfer of food energy is known as Trophic Level
v. Therefore trophic level refers to successive levels of energy flow that form the link
of food chain
vi. A Trophic Level includes a group of organisms that obtain food in a similar manner.
a. Producers
b. Primary consumers
c. Secondary consumers
d. Tertiary consumers
e. Quaternary consumers
 Food web
i. Various food chain are interlinked with each other and these interlocking pattern
formed by several food chain linked together are called Food Web
ii. Many food chains interacting with each other.
iii. The arrow always points away from the organism being eaten to the organism
doing the eating.
iv. Shows the movement of energy and matter in an ecosystem

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 Sus.Planng.. & Arch - Question Bank - Unit 2 2019 – Sem 9

4. What is ecological footprint/What do you understand by ecological footprint?/define ecological

footprint/what is meant by ecological footprint
 Ecological footprints measure the extent to which humans are using the Earth’s
bioproductive capacity`
 The Ecological Footprint has emerged as the world’s premier measure of humanity’s
demand on nature.
 It measures how much land and water area a human population requires to produce the
resource it consumes and to absorb its wastes, using prevailing technology.
 it measures the extent to which humanity is using nature's resources faster than they can
regenerate

5. State the need for calculating ecological footprint.

 Ecological Footprint measures how much land and water area a human population
requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes under prevailing
technology
 That is, it measures the extent to which humanity is using nature's resources faster than
they can regenerate
 When humanity's ecological RESOURCE DEMANDS EXCEED what nature can supply, we
reach ECOLOGICAL OVERSHOOT
 Hence to keep a check on the resource consumption and need, The Ecological Footprint
has emerged as the world’s premier measure of humanity’s demand on nature.

6. Why is it important to know about the food chain?

 A food chain shows how energy is transferred from one living organism to another via
food.
 It is important for us to understand how the food chain works so that we know
what are the important living organisms that make up the food chain and how
the ecology is balanced.
 A food chain describes how energy and nutrients move through an ecosystem.
 At the basic level there are plants that produce the energy, then it moves up to higher-
level organisms like herbivores. After that when carnivores eat the herbivores, energy is
transferred from one to the other. Photosynthesis is only the beginning of the food chain.
 A change in the size of one population in a food chain will affect other populations.
This interdependence of the populations within a food chain helps to maintain
the balance of plant and animal populations within a community.
2 MSAJAA – BATCH 2015– 20 | CLASS V | S.P.&A | Faculty In charge : Prof. S.Porchelvi
 Sus.Planng.. & Arch - Question Bank - Unit 2 2019 – Sem 9

7. Name 2 components of ecosystem/ Describe the the components of ecosystem.

 Eco-system is made up of two essential components:
i. Abiotic factors-
a. The non-living components of an ecosystem
b. Consists of the elements which may be found in the
environment(Physical l& Chemical)
ii. Biotic factors
a. Autotrophs(Producers)-Autotrophic organisms may be photoautotrophic
or chemoautotrophic
 Photoautotrophs possess chlorophyll and carry on photosynthesis.
 Chemoautotrophs are bacteria that obtain energy from the
oxidation of inorganic compounds such as ammonia, nitrites and
sulfides.
b. Heterotrophs(Consumers)

8. Distinguish between ecological footprint and bio-diversity

 Ecological Footprint:

A measure of how much area of biologically productive land and water an individual,
population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the
waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices. The
Ecological Footprint is usually measured in global hectares. Because trade is global, an
individual or country’s Footprint includes land or sea from all over the world. Without
further specification, Ecological Footprint generally refers to the Ecological Footprint of
consumption. Ecological Footprint is often referred to in short form as Footprint. “Ecological
Footprint” and “Footprint” are proper nouns and thus should always be capitalized.

 Bio-Diversity

Biodiversity measures the variety of animal and vegetable species in the biosphere and is
the result of long evolutive processes. The elements that make up biodiversity can be
subdivided into three different levels:

a. Genetic level
b. Species level
c. Ecosystem level

9. What is meant by bio-capacity?

 The capacity of ecosystems to regenerate what people demand from those surfaces.
 Biocapacity refers to the capacity of a given biologically productive area to generate an on-
going supply of renewable resources and to absorb its spillover wastes.
 Unsustainability occurs if the area’s ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity.
3 MSAJAA – BATCH 2015– 20 | CLASS V | S.P.&A | Faculty In charge : Prof. S.Porchelvi
 Sus.Planng.. & Arch - Question Bank - Unit 2 2019 – Sem 9

10. Name 3 natural cycles in the ecosystem / List any four natural cycles of the environment
 Some of the major biogeochemical cycles are as follows: (1) Water Cycle or Hydrologic Cycle
(2) Carbon-Cycle (3) Nitrogen Cycle (4) Oxygen Cycle.
11. What is the difference between an ecological footprint and biocapacity?
 The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a
standardised measure of demand for natural capital
 Biocapacity is the amount of resources available to people at a specific time and population.
It is a standardised measure of the supply of natural capital
 An ecological deficit occurs when the Footprint of a population exceeds the biocapacity of
the area available to that population. ... Ecological Footprint is often referred to in short
form as Footprint.
12. Living within the limits of an eco system depends on 3 factors – list any two of them
Living within the limits of an ecosystem depends on three factors:
 The amount of resources available in the ecosystem,
 The size of the population, and
 The amount of resources each individual is consuming.

Biological Capacity Or Biocapacity :

It is the ability ecosystems can provide natural resources and absorb the waste produced by humans. The
capacity of ecosystems to regenerate what people demand from those surfaces. Life, including human
life, competes for space. The biocapacity of a particular surface represents its ability to renew what
people demand. Biocapacity is therefore the ecosystems’ capacity to produce biological materials used
by people and to absorb waste material generated by humans, under current management schemes and
extraction technologies. Biocapacity can change from year to year due to climate, management, and also
what portions are considered useful inputs to the human economy. In the National Footprint and
Biocapacity Accounts, the biocapacity of an area is calculated by multiplying the actual physical area by
the yield factor and the appropriate equivalence factor. Biocapacity is usually expressed in global
hectares.

Carbon Footprint:

The carbon Footprint measures CO2 emissions associated with fossil fuel use. In Ecological Footprint
accounts, these amounts are converted into biologically productive areas necessary for absorbing this
CO2. The carbon Footprint is added to the Ecological Footprint because it is a competing use of
bioproductive space, since increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere is considered to represent a

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 Sus.Planng.. & Arch - Question Bank - Unit 2 2019 – Sem 9

build-up of ecological debt. Some carbon Footprint assessments express results in tonnes released per
year, without translating this amount into area needed to sequester it.

What is biodiversity?

The Earth is populated by an incredible number of different living creatures. The term that is used to
define this “crowd” of organisms that populate every corner of the Planet, and that have adapted even
to the most extreme environments, is biodiversity or biological diversity. Biodiversity measures the
variety of animal and vegetable species in the biosphere and is the result of long evolutive processes. The
elements that make up biodiversity can be subdivided into three different levels:

Genetic level

Species level

Ecosystem level

Genetic biodiversity
Genetic diversity refers to the differences in the genetic heritage of a species. The morphological
characteristics, i.e. the visible characteristics of living organisms, such as for example the colour of the
eyes and fur of a cat, which are examples of variety, from a genes level, in each single species.
Species biodiversity
However when we speak of biodiversity, we generally refer to the species biodiversity, i.e. the diversity
of the different species in a determined environment, where by species we mean a group of organisms
that can be crossed with one another giving life to prolific offspring.
Species biodiversity can be measured through the number of species in a particular area (richness of
species), the number of units in each species in a place (abundance of a species) and through the
evolutive relationship of the different species (taxonomic diversity). For example, a man and a
chimpanzee have 98% of common genes, but as we all well know, their characteristics make them very
discernible one from the other. Some areas of the Planet have greater richness of species than others: at
the equator, for example there is the largest number of species that decreases nearer to the Poles. In the
ocean there are many more different species near the coastlines than in the abysses.
Ecosystem biodiversity
the variety of environments in a determined natural area is the expression of biodiversity in the
ecosystem, in other words, consider the differences there are, for example, between a temperate forest
in South America and a mangrove forest at the Equator.

5 MSAJAA – BATCH 2015– 20 | CLASS V | S.P.&A | Faculty In charge : Prof. S.Porchelvi