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ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY

 Environmental microbiology is the study of microorganisms in their natural habitats and their interactions with each other and the environment

Biogeochemical cycling: the process of nutrient cycling with help of microbes such as carbon fixation, nitrogen fixation and sulfur cycle etc.

Bioremediation: using microbes we remove or degrade the pollution in air, water and soil.

Environmental health: using microbes to find the quality of environment e.g. using microbes to identify fecal contamination in water.

Ecology: microbes involve in decomposition, nutrient cycling and food webs.

Importance of Environmental Microbiology

Environmental microbiology is an important field of study because it helps us to understand the role of microorganisms in the environment.

Some of the key areas of research in environmental microbiology include:

  • The role of microorganisms in climate change
  • The use of microorganisms for bioremediation
  • The impact of pollution on microbial communities
  • The development of new methods for studying microorganisms in the environment.

Types of ecosystems

Terrestrial Ecosystems (Land-Based)

Forest Ecosystems: Dominated by trees and other woody vegetation, forests are incredibly diverse and vital for carbon storage and oxygen production.
  • Tropical rainforest: Hot humid and has the richest biodiversity of earth.
  • Temperate rainforest: It consists of moderate rainfall and different seasons.
  • Boreal Forests (Taiga): cold and coniferous trees grow in high altitude areas.
Grassland Ecosystems: Characterized by grasses as the dominant vegetation.
  • Savannas: It consists of shrubs and scattered lands.
  • Temperate Grasslands (Prairies, Steppes): It experience hot and cold environments with less rainfall.
Desert Ecosystems: Extremely dry with sparse vegetation and specialized adaptations in plants and animals to conserve water.

Tundra Ecosystems: Cold, treeless regions with permafrost (permanently frozen soil).

  • Arctic Tundra: It is found in high altitude areas where low growing season and less plants grow.
  • Alpine Tundra: It is similar to Artic tundra grows in high altitude areas.
 Aquatic Ecosystems (Water-Based)

Freshwater Ecosystems: Characterized by low salt concentration.

  • Lentic: It consists of still water bodies like lakes, ponds etc.
  • Lotic: It consists of flowing waters such as rivers, streams etc.
Marine Ecosystems: High salt concentration.

  • Oceans: high salt concentrations that covers most of space on earth.
  • Coral Reefs: Diverse and vibrant ecosystems formed by coral polyps in warm, shallow waters.
  • Estuaries: Where freshwater rivers meet the ocean, creating a unique mix of salinity and high productivity.

Lithosphere

  • Physical Support: It acts as physical support for soil formation which also supports plant growth.
  • Nutrient Cycling: The weathering down of rocks due to time, breaks the mineral and nutrient which spreads in soil helps for plant growth.
  • Water Storage and Movement: It stores the water underground and filters the underground water.
  • Habitat Provision: It consists of different terrains that supports various plants and animals.

Hydrosphere

  • Life's Foundation: The fundamental of all life forms, the major component for cell and for the biological process that takes place.
  • Habitat Provision: From algae to whale it supports the life forms in water. Aquatic ecosystems, both freshwater and marine, are vital for global biodiversity.
    • Climate Regulation: The water has heat storing capacity which stores large amount and heat and stabilizes the environment.
    • Nutrient Transport: It transports minerals and organic matter through the soil, rivers, and oceans, making them available to plants and animals.

Atmosphere

  • Life sustaining gases: It has the essential gases for life like oxygen, carbon etc.
  • Climate regulation:  The atmosphere traps the heat and regulate the climate of earth.
  • Protection: The atmosphere protects living beings from harmful UV radiations.
  • weather patterns: The atmosphere is responsible for weather patterns include wind temperature variations.

Energy flow

The flow contains
  1. Primary source-sunlight.
  2. Producer(autotrophs)-plants.
  3. Consumers.
  4. Decomposers.

10% rule:

Only 10% of energy is transferred to next level, the rest of energy is lost as heat by metabolic process.

Food chain

It is a linear sequence in which the energy is transferred from one organism to another organisms.
  • Producer.
  • Consumer.
In consumer there are several types that include
  1. Primary
  2. secondary.
  3. Tertiary.
  4. Quaternary

Food web

The interconnected food chains make up the food web.

Features of food web

Complexity: Many different species are involved in this process.
Stability: The food web will be stable even if one species is removed from the process.

Examples:

Producer: Trees.
Primary consumer: Deer.
Secondary consumer: Foxes.
Tertiary: Bears.





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