Glossary

Botany : Ecosystem

Glossary

Ecosystem: Study of interaction between living and non-living components

Standing quality: Total inorganic substances presents in any ecosystem at a given time and given area

Standing crops: Amount of living material present in a population at any time.

Biomass: Can be measured as fresh weight or dry weight of organisms

Benthic: Bottom zone of the pond

Trophic: Refers to the position of organisms in food chain

Omnivores: Those eats both plants and animals

Food chain: Refers movement of energy from producers up to top carnivores

Food web: Interlocking pattern of food chain

Pyramid of number: Refers number of organisms in a successive trophic level

Pyramid of biomass: Refers to quantitative relationship of the standing crops

Pyramid of energy: Refers transformation of energy at successive trophic levels

Ten per cent law: refers only 10 per cent of energy is stored in each successive trophic levels

Bio geo chemical cycle: Exchange of nutrients between organisms and environments

Carbon cycle: Circulation of carbon among organisms and environments

Guano: It is a accumulated excrement of sea birds and bats.

Phosphorus cycle: Circulation of Phosphorus among organisms and environments

Succession: Successive replacement of one type of plant communities by other on barren or disturbed area.

Pioneers: Invaded plants on barren area

Primary succession: Plants colonising on barren area

Secondary succession: Plants colonising on disturbed area.

Climax communities: Final establishment of plant communities which are not replaced by others.