This chapter studies how living and non-living things interact to keep nature in balance. A habitat provides the conditions an organism needs to live, and it has biotic components (plants, animals, microbes) and abiotic components (air, water, soil, sunlight, temperature). Organisms of the same kind in a habitat form a population, different populations sharing a habitat form a community, and a community interacting with its abiotic surroundings forms an ecosystem, which may be aquatic or terrestrial. The chapter shows how a change in one part of an ecosystem, such as fish affecting dragonfly numbers and therefore pollinators and seed production, ripples through the whole system. Organisms are classified by how they feed: producers (autotrophs) make their own food by photosynthesis, consumers (heterotrophs) include herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, and decomposers (saprotrophs) like fungi and bacteria break down dead matter and recycle nutrients. Feeding relationships are shown as food chains, which interlink into food webs, with each level called a trophic level. Other relationships include competition, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Ecosystems provide humans with air, water, food, medicine, and climate regulation, but human activities like deforestation, pollution, and overuse threaten them, as seen in the Sundarbans. The chapter ends with sustainable, eco-friendly farming as a way to protect soil health and biodiversity.
Habitat: biotic and abiotic componentsPopulation, community, and ecosystemProducers, consumers, and decomposersFood chains and food websEcosystem balance and sustainable farming
Key terms
Habitat
The place that provides an organism with the conditions it needs to live and grow.
Ecosystem
A unit formed by the interaction of biotic components with the abiotic components in an area.
Producer
An organism, such as a green plant, that makes its own food by photosynthesis; also called an autotroph.
Decomposer
An organism, such as fungi or bacteria, that breaks down dead matter and recycles nutrients; also called a saprotroph.
Food web
A network of interlinked food chains showing the many feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
Mutualism
A relationship in which both interacting organisms benefit, such as honeybees and flowers.
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What are the abiotic components of a habitat?
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