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Grassland ecosystem is a terrestrial ecosystem that exists on the land surface of the earth. Grassland ecosystems can be found in both tropical and temperate climates of the world, where rainfall is not sufficient to support tree development.
- They are called by different names in different parts of the world.
- They occupy roughly 20% of the land on the earth's surface.
- The temperature and soil conditions influence the types of flora and fauna of grasslands.
- Grassland ecosystems have their peculiar kind of food chain, food webs, and food pyramids.
- Grassland ecosystems provide grazing grounds for many kinds of wild and domestic animals all over the ground.
| Table of Content |
Key Terms: Grassland Ecosystem, Food Chain, Food Web, Abiotic Components, Biotic Components, Nutrient Cycle, Producers, Consumers, Decomposer
What is Ecosystem?
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An ecosystem is a place where both the living and non-living components interact with each other. It is the structural and functional unit of ecology. The word “Ecosystem” was coined by an English Botanist, A.G.Tansley in 1935. The ecosystem can further be categorised into:
- Aquatic Ecosystem: The ecosystem of the water bodies like oceans, seas, rivers, freshwater ponds, and lakes is called the aquatic ecosystem.
- Terrestrial Ecosystem: The land-based ecosystem is called the terrestrial ecosystem. The terrestrial ecosystem is further classified into the following types:
- Grassland Ecosystem
- Forest Ecosystem
- Desert Ecosystem
- Tundra Ecosystem
What is the Grassland Ecosystem?
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The dominant plant species in the grassland ecosystem are grasses and other herbaceous plants (non-woody plants).
- As the grassland ecosystem has few or no trees and a space for desert, it is also called a transitional landscape.
- The grassland ecosystem is the largest biome on earth covering about 10 percent of the earth’s surface.
Location
Grassland ecosystems are seen in areas with 15-75 cm annual rainfall. This is the rainfall that is neither sufficient to support forest growth nor for the formation of a true desert. Grasslands are found in both tropical and temperate regions of the world where rainfall is not enough to support the growth of trees. They are also found in regions consisting of well-defined hot, dry, warm, and rainy seasons.
Grassland Ecosystem
In India, the grassland ecosystems are found mainly in the Himalayas. The rest are the Savannas and Steppes.
Components of Grassland Ecosystem
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The Grassland Ecosystem consists of the following components::
Abiotic Components
They are the non-living components or mineral nutrients like carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, etc.
Biotic Components
They are living components of the ecosystem. They can further be classified as follows:
(i) Producers: The primary food producers are the grass species like Aristida, Cynodon, Digitaria, Desmodium, Setaria etc. Some herbs and shrubs also contribute to the primary production of food in the grassland ecosystem.
(ii) Consumers: The consumers are the living organisms that directly or indirectly depend on the producers. They are of three levels as follows:
(a) Primary Consumers: They are direct consumers. They graze upon the grasses. They include herbivores such as Deer, Zebras, Rabbits, Cows, Buffaloes, Goats, Mice etc. and also many insects, termites, centipedes, millipedes etc.
(b) Secondary Consumers: The consumers that eat upon the primary consumers are the secondary consumers. They are jackals, foxes, snakes, lizards, frogs etc.
(c) Tertiary Consumers: The consumers that eat upon the primary and secondary consumers are the tertiary consumers. Hawks, Eagles and vultures are the examples.
(iii) Decomposers: Microbes like actinomycetes, fungi (Aspergillus, Mucor, Rhizopus, Penicillium, and Cladosporium), aerobic and anaerobic soil bacteria etc. are the decomposers that live upon dead and decaying organic matter. They release the simple minerals back into the soil thus making the soil fertile (mineralisation).
African Savannas
Types of Grassland Ecosystems
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The Grassland ecosystem is further recognised as
- Desert Grassland: They are characterized by arid conditions and sparse vegetation, where grasses adapt to survive in harsh, dry environments. These ecosystems often experience extreme temperatures and have low precipitation.
- Flooded Grassland: They are also known as wet grasslands, and are periodically inundated by water. These ecosystems, found in floodplains and wetlands, support a diverse range of hydrophilic plants.
- Montane Grassland: Montane grasslands thrive at high altitudes in mountainous regions, above the treeline. Characterized by cool temperatures and varying altitudinal conditions, these grasslands feature short-growing grasses and alpine plants.
- Tropical Grassland: Tropical grasslands, also known as savannas, are found in tropical regions with distinct wet and dry seasons. These ecosystems are characterized by a mix of grasses and scattered trees.
- Temperate Grassland: Temperate grasslands, such as prairies in North America and steppes in Eurasia, are found in regions with moderate temperatures and distinct seasons. Dominated by herbaceous vegetation, including grasses and forbs, these ecosystems support a variety of wildlife.
Functions of the Grassland Ecosystem
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The primary function of an ecosystem is food production. The producers fix the solar energy with the help of carbon dioxide and water in plants to produce the complex organic matter in chloroplasts. The functional aspects of the Grassland can be studied under two heads as follows:
- Food Chain in an Ecosystem: In the grassland ecosystem, one level of an organism serves as food for another level.
- A series of levels is formed which is known as the Food Chain.
- The food chain may not be linear. An organism may feed upon more than one organism in different food chains.
- The interconnected food chain system that is so formed is known as a food web.
- Nutrient Cycle in an Ecosystem: The constituent material nutrients in the grassland ecosystem move cyclically.
- At first, the producers (green plants) take up the mineral elements from the soil and air and convert them into organic compounds.
- After passing through the different trophic levels the mineral nutrients are again returned to the soil and air.
Importance of Grassland ecosystem
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The importance of Grassland Ecosystem are mentioned below:
- As the grassland ecosystem is a mixture of small herbs, grass plants, weeds, small shrubs, dicots, and other species, it creates a sample for biodiversity conservation.
- It serves as a grazing ground for many domesticated and wild herbivores such as zebras, deer, camels, llamas, cattle, horses, ass, mules, sheep, goats, birds, etc.
- The domesticated animals provide food, milk, wool and transportation to mankind.
Also Read:
| Related Articles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Difference between Environment and Ecosystem | Biome | Difference Between Environment and Ecology |
| Importance of Ecosystem | Ecology Pyramid | Components of Ecosystem |
Things to Remember
- The dominant plant species in the grassland ecosystem are grasses and other herbaceous plants.
- The grassland ecosystem is the largest biome on earth covering about 20 per cent of the earth’s surface.
- The Grassland ecosystems are called by different names in different parts of the world.
- The Grassland Ecosystem consists of biotic and abiotic components.
- Grasslands play an important role in the conservation of soil and soil moisture.
- It serves as a grazing ground for many domesticated and wild herbivores.
- The domesticated animals of grasslands provide food, milk, wool and transportation to mankind.
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Sample Questions
Ques. What is a grassland ecosystem (2 marks)
Ans. The terrestrial ecosystem which is favourable for the growth of grass and other herbaceous plants, but not for the formation of a desert or a climax forest is called the grassland ecosystem.
Ques. What does ‘R’ represent in the equation for productivity in an ecosystem? GPP – R = NPP (2 marks)
Ans. In the above equation for productivity in an ecosystem, GPP – R = NPP. ‘R’ represents the energy utilised by photosynthetic plants or primary producers in respiration. It is also referred to as respiratory loss.
Ques. Mention reasons why the primary productivity varies in different types of ecosystems on the earth. (2 marks)
Ans. Primary productivity of an ecosystem varies in different types of ecosystems because
- It depends upon the type of plant species (producers) of a given ecosystem and their photosynthetic efficiency.
- It is dependent on various environmental factors like sunlight, water availability, and availability of nutrients.
Ques. Write the equation to derive the net primary productivity of an ecosystem. (3 marks)
Ans. Net Primary Productivity (NPP) in an ecosystem is the weight of the organic matter stored by the autotrophs which is available to heterotrophs for consumption. It is equal to the rate of organic matter synthesised during photosynthesis.
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) minus respiratory losses (R) gives NPP.
NPP = GPP – R.
Ques. Write differences between net and gross primary productivity. (2 marks)
Ans. Differences between NPP and GPP:
- NPP is the biomass/organic matter available for consumption by heterotrophs, left after some respiratory losses.
- GPP is the rate of production of biomass/organic matter by producers during photosynthesis.
Ques . How is the dead organic matter decomposed in nature? Explain. (3 marks)
Ans. In nature, microorganisms like bacteria and fungi act on the dead and decaying organic matter and decompose it by releasing various digestive enzymes. The process of breaking down complex organic matter into inorganic substances like CO2, water and nutrients by actinomycetes, bacteria and fungi is called decomposition.
Ques. Describe the relationship between productivity, gross primary productivity and net productivity. (5 marks)
Ans. The rate of biomass production in an ecosystem is called productivity. The productivity of an ecosystem can be classified as primary and secondary productivity. Primary Productivity (PP) is the amount of biomass or organic matter produced per unit area over some time by plants during photosynthesis. It can be divided into
- Gross Primary Productivity (GPP): It is the rate of production of organic matter during the process of photosynthesis. A lot of GPP is utilised by plants during respiration.
- Net Primary Productivity (NPP): It is the amount of heat energy left in the producers after the utilisation of some energy for respiratory activity.
- Inter-relationship between GPP and NPP: Gross primary productivity minus the respiration losses is the net primary productivity. It is the available mass for consumption by heterotrophs.
GPP – R = NPP (R = Respiration losses)
Ques. Write any two limitations of the ecological pyramids. (3 marks)
Ans. The three limitations of ecological pyramids are:
- Ecological pyramids do not consider the same single species operating at two or more trophic levels in an ecosystem.
- Ecological pyramids assume simple food chains that do not exist in nature and do not accommodate the food web in any situation.
- Saprophytes, detritivores and decomposers are not given any place in ecological pyramids, despite their prominent role in the ecosystem.
Ques. What are the four types of interactions in ecological communities in nature? (2 marks)
Ans. Species interactions within ecological communities include four main types of two-way interactions. They are mutualism, commensalism, competition, and predation (herbivory and parasitism).
Ques. Differentiate between primary and secondary succession in ecology. Provide one example of each kind of succession. (5 marks)
Ans: Differences between primary succession and secondary succession in ecology are as follows:
| Primary succession | Secondary succession |
|---|---|
| Primary succession occurs in the bare land. | Secondary succession occurs in land denuded recently. |
| Hardly any soil layer is present at the time of the beginning of primary succession. | Soil quantity is present at the beginning of secondary succession. |
| Humus is absent at the beginning of the primary succession. | Humus has been present since the beginning of the secondary. |
| Pioneer community in the primary succession comes from outside. | Pioneer community- develops partly from previous communities and partly from migrants. |
| There Are many Serai communities here. | Serai communities are few here. |
| Primary succession takes a long time to complete, 1000 years or more. | Secondary succession takes less time for completion, 50-200 years, e.g. grass burnt land. |
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