Our Environment

This chapter studies how living organisms and their physical surroundings interact as an ecosystem. It covers the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem; producers, consumers and decomposers; food chains, trophic levels and food webs; the unidirectional flow of energy and the ten per cent law; biological magnification of harmful chemicals along food chains; and the impact of human activities on the environment - the depletion of the ozone layer by CFCs and the management of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.