INDEX1

How to study - tips


Brain food


UNIT - i
Environmental studies: 
Definition, scope and importance, need for public awareness.
Natural resources: 
Water resources; use and over utilization of surface and ground water

Floods, drought, conflicts over water
Dams: Benefits and problems.
Effects of modem agriculture:
Fertilizer-pesticide problems
water logging and salinity.

Additional notes on effects of effects of modern agriculture
Energy resources:
Growing energy needs
Renewable and nonrenewable energy sources.
Land Resources:
Land as a resource, land degradation, soil erosion and desertification.

Forest resources and effects of mining

UNIT - ii
Ecosystems:
Concept of an ecosystem
Diagram depicting the concept of an ecosystem
Structure and functions of an ecosystem
Diagrammatic representation of Ecosystem Services
Diagrammatic representation of the structure of an ecosystem
Producers, consumers and decomposers
Energy flow in ecosystem.

Diagrams of Single channel, Y-shaped and Universal model of energy flow with discussion
Food chains, Food webs
Ecological pyramids
Aquatic ecosystem (ponds, streams, lakes, rivers, oceans, estuaries).

UNIT - iii
Biodiversity:
Genetic, species and ecosystem diversity
Biogeographical classification of India
Functions, Values and threats to biodiversity
Endangered and endemic species of India
Conservation of biodiversity

UNIT - iv
Environmental Pollution:
Causes, effects and control measures of

1. Air pollution
2. Water pollution
3. Soil pollution
4. Noise pollution
5. Thermal pollution

Solid waste management
Liquid waste management
Environmental legislation:

• Environment Protection Act
• Salient features of Air Act, Water Act, Forest & wildlife act
• Issues involved in enforcement of environmental legislation

UNIT - v
Social Aspects and the Environment:
Water conservation 
Watershed management
Rainwater harvesting
Environmental ethics
Climate change
Global warming
Acid rain
Ozone layer depletion
Environmental protection act
Population explosion


Disaster management:
Types of disasters
Impact of disasters on environment, infrastructure, and development
Basic principles of disaster mitigation
Disaster management, and methodology
Disaster management cycle
Disaster management in India.

Previous years question papers
Solutions to selected important questions -i
Solutions to selected important questions - ii
Solutions to selected important questions - iii

Important questions covering entire syllabus


Miscellaneous topics
Natural capital
Environmentally sustainable city
Bio gas, Solar desalination and Eco-labeling

Ecological succession

References

1. A. K. De, Environmental Chemistry, New Age Publications, 2002. 
2. E.P. Odom, Fundamentals of Ecology, W.B. Sunders Co., USA.
   GL. Karia and R.A. Christian, 
3. Waste Water Treatment, Concepts and Design Approach, Prentice Hall of India, 2005.
4. Benny Joseph, Environmental Studies, Tata McGrawHill, 2005
5. V.K. Sharma, Disaster Management, National Centre for Disaster Management, IIPE, Delhi, 1999.
6. Principles of Environmental Science - Cunningham, William; Cunningham, Mary
7. Environmental Science - Daniel D. Chiras
8. Essentials of Environmental Science -  Friedland, Andrew; Relyea, Rick
9. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, 2ND EDN  -  Heinke Henry
10. Environmental Science (Jntu Hyderabad), Fourth Edition - Anubha Kaushik
11. Environmental Engineering Science - Nazaroff
12. Introduction To Environmental Science And Engineering ,2Ed - A.k Amal Datta
13. Environmental Science - S.K. Tiwari
14. Introduction to Environmental Science - Joseph M. & Michael D. Morgan Moran
15. Basics of Environmental Science - Michael Alla     
     

Energy flow in an ecosystem

Discussion:

• The first diagram above shows the "SINGLE CHANNEL MODEL OF ENERGY FLOW"
• In this model, the energy is shown to move across various trophic levels in a linear fashion with only a small amount of energy being transferred to subsequent trophic levels, a small part being used for the organisms for metabolic activities like respiration, digestion, hunting, etc and a major part of the energy being lost to the environment as heat
• Upon death, both plants and animals are decomposed by the decomposers or saprotrophs that live in the soil.
• These decomposers remove the last energy from the living organisms. They also decompose the remains of the organisms to release the nutrients into the soil.
• The second diagram represents the universal model of energy flow where a species population is represented by energy inputs and links with other species as a conventional species oriented food web diagram.
• It is applicable to any living component
• The model represents a species population in which appropriate energy inputs and links with other species would be shown as a conventional, species oriented food web diagram.
• The model also represents a discrete energy level where biomass and energy channels represent all or part of many populations supported by the same source
• The 'Y' shaped or two channel energy flow model, shows the symbiotic relationship between the consumers in the grazing food chain and the decomposers in the detritus food chain.
• In all the energy flow models, it is seen that the "SUN" is the PRIMARY SOURCE of energy and the FATE of ALL ENERGY is for it to be LOST AS HEAT to the ecosystem. This follows the fundamental LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY that states that "ENERGY CAN NEITHER BE CREATED NOR DESTROYED BUT CAN ONLY BE CONVERTED FROM ONE FORM TO ANOTHER"
• However, chemotrophs that lie at the bottom of the ocean use chemical reactions to derive energy as sunlight cannot penetrate to those depths