A

PRESENTATION

ON

FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM

Prepared byAbhishek- 2014bpln022Prakash Nagesh- 2014bpln023Gaurav kushwaha-2014bpln028Pushpender Satyarthi-2014bpln030Yash Songara- 2014bpln034Peeysh Kumar Shishodia-2014bpln037

CONTENTS 1. What are fresh water ecosystems2. Type of fresh water Habitats3. Lentic Ecosystems4. Lotic Ecosystems5. Freshwater Wetlands6. Forest Wetlands 7. Tidal Freshwater Marshes8. Conclusion

What are the Freshwater Ecosystems Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of Earth's aquatic ecosystems. They include lakes

and ponds, rivers, streams and springs, and wetlands

• Occupy relatively a small portion of the surface of earth compared with marine or terrestrial ecosystems.

• They are most important as being used for the various purposes. • They are called bottleneck of hydrological cycle.• They provide a natural waste disposal system.

pond lake

TYPES OF FRESHWATER HABITATS

LenticStanding Water or

lentic( calm) ecosystems : lakes

and ponds

LoticRunning water or

lotic (washed) ecosystems :

springs, streams and rivers

WetlandsWetlands where

water level fluctuates up and

down, often seasonally as well

as annually : marshes and

swamps

Ground water although a large freshwater habitat reservoir but it does contain life that’s why it is not considered as ecosystem

To study the environment of lentic ecosystems it is being divided into zones

Lentic Ecosystems

Contained rooted vegetation along the shore

Open water dominated by plankton

A deep water zone containing only heterotrophs

Life forms in a ponds include plankton, nekton, benthos, neuston, periphyton (hydras)

Lentic Ecosystems

Lentic Ecosystems In temperate regions, lakes often become thermally stratified during summer and again in winter

During spring and fall, the entire body of water approaches the same temperature, mixing occurs, occurs. Blooms of phytoplankton's often follow these turnovers, as nutrients from the bottom become available in the photic zone. Photic zone is the lighted portion of a lake inhabited by phytoplankton

Lentic Ecosystems Lakes are often classified as either oligotrophic or eutrophic on the basis of productivity

Eutrophic lake has high nutrients contents the high contents of nutrients causes lake to go in process which known as eutrophication of lake.

Lentic Ecosystems

Diagram showing eutrophication of lake

Lentic Ecosystems IMPOUNDEMENTS

Humans have changed the landscape in regions that lack natural bodies of waterIn US almost every farm have now includes at least one farm pond, and large impoundments have been constructed partially on every river.

The heat budget of impoundments may differ greatly from that of natural lakes, depending on the design of the dam. If water is released from the bottom- cold, nutrient-rich but oxygen poor water is exported downstream, whereas warm water is retained in the lakes. This impoundments becomes a heat trap and nutrient exporter, in contrast to natural lakes. This typre of discharge affects down stream conditions

Lotic Ecosystems Streams and Rivers

Difference between running and standing water generally revolve around a triad of conditions

1. Current is much more of a major controlling and limiting factor in

streams

2. Land-water interchange is relatively more extensive in

streams, result in a more open ecosystems and a heterotrophic type of community metabolism when the size of stream is small

3. Oxygen tension is generally high and more uniform in streams, and

there is little or no thermal or chemical stratification , except in

large, slow-moving rivers

Lotic Ecosystems In a given stretch of stream, 2 zones are generally apparent

A rapid zone has a current great enough to keep the bottom clear of silt or other loose material, thus providing a firm substrate. This zone is occupied by specialized organisms that become firmly attached or cling to the substrate.

A pool zone has deeper water, where the velocity of current is reduced by, so that sand and silt settle , providing a soft bottom favorable for burrowing and swimming animals, rooted plants, and, in large pools, plankton. In fact, the communities of pools in large rivers resemble those of ponds

River in their upper reaches are generally eroding; they cut into substrate, so a hard bottom predominates

Lotic Ecosystems In terms of the chemical composition of the water, lotic ecosystems can be divided in 2 types

1. Hard water, with 100 or more ppm dissolved inorganic solids

2. Soft water, with less than 25 ppm dissolved solids

The water chemistry of carbonate rivers is controlled largely by rock weathering , whereas atmospheric precipitation is the dominant factor in Cl rivers.Humic or Black water streams, with high concentrations of dissolved organic material, represent still another class of streams that are found in warm lowlands.

Springs holds a position of importance as study areas that is far out of proportion to their size and number .

Freshwater Wetlands Definition It is defined as an area covered by shallow freshwater for at least part of the annual cycle.: accordingly, wetland soils are saturated with water continually or part of the year . The key factor that determines the productivity and species composition of the wetland community is the hydro period

River Wetlands Located in low lying depression(oxbows)

and flood plains associated with

rivers. The bottom land hardwood

forests on the flood plains of large rivers are among the most productive of natural

ecosystems

Lacustrine Wetlands

Associated with lakes, ponds or dammed river

channels. They are periodically flooded When these deeper

bodies of water overflow

Palustrine WetlandsInclude marshes, bogs, fens, wet

prairies . Occur in depressions not

directly connected with lakes or rivers .

Fens are slightly acidic, bogs are very

acidic as they contain peat

Wetland occupy only about 2 % of the surface of the earth. They are estimated to contain 10 to 14 % of the carbon. Wetland soil histosol may contain 20 % carbon by weight. Peats are even more carboniferous.Draining of wetland releases large quantities of CO2 .

Freshwater Wetlands

Bog

In the last century public attitude towards wetland changed dramatically as ecological and economic studies revealed previously unrecognized values

Freshwater Wetlands

Rice culture is one of the most productive and dependable of agricultural systems yet devised by humans it is a freshwater marsh ecosystem. The flooding, draining and careful rebuilding of the rice paddy each year of the rice plant.The flooding process is similar to the hyperiod ( duration, frequency and depth) of natural wetlands.

Forested Wetlands

Swamp and floodplains occur in river bottoms, often intermixed with marshes especially where large rivers cross coastal plains. They are also found in large depressions, lime sinks and other low-lying areas that are flooded at least some of the time. As with marshes, hydrology plays a major role in determining species composition and productivity.

Bald cypress

The knees of bald cypress trees conduct air from atmosphere to roots when a swamp is flooded and the water logged sediments contain little or fee oxygen. The greatest productivity occurs where the soil surface is flooded in winter or spring and is relatively dry during most of the growing season

Water Tupelo

A tidal marsh is a type of marsh that is found along coasts and estuaries of which the flooding characteristics are determined by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. According to the salinity of the flooding water, freshwater, brackish and saline tidal marshes are distinguished. In low lying coastal plains, tides extend inland on large rivers.For example-meter amplitude tide occurs on the Potomac river beyond Washington DC and on the James River as far inland as Richmond, Virginia, creating a unique habitat of freshwater wetland.

Fleshy, low –fiber vegetation is produced in fresh water tidal marshes summer, which then decomposes back to mud in winter, in contrast to salt marshes where the more fibrous marsh grass remain standing all year around

Potomac river marshes

Tidal Freshwater Marshes

1. Freshwater Ecosystems are very important part of our earth ecosystem as they provide the water for various purposes and use.

2. They also help the domesticated and Terrestrial ecosystem to survive and keep these kind of ecosystem alive in nature.

3. Ecosystem of Freshwater are very less on our earth4. They just occupy 1 %total water present on earth which supports the more than 7

billion human population and thousand of species present on our earth.5. So it is important to keep fresh water ecosystem safe from other system as it is a life for

other ecosystem.

Conclusion