what is ecosystem
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Ecosystem science is the study of inter-relationships among the living organisms, physical features, bio-chemical processes, natural phenomena, and human activities in ecological communities. Within any given area, living and nonliving interact with each other. Together, these things form an ecosystem.
term used in man-made systems, see Digital ecosystem. For the system of classifying ecologically homogeneous land units, see Biome.
"Biosystem" redirects here. For the journal, see BioSystems.
Coral reefs are a highly productive marine ecosystem.
Left: Coral reef ecosystems are highly productive marine systems.[1], right: Temperate rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system.[2] These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.[3] Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one-another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and other microbes.[4]
Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors. External factors such as climate, the parent material which forms the soil and topography, control the overall structure an ecosystem, but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem.[5]
Ecosystems are dynamic entities—they are subject to periodic disturbances and are in the process of recovering from some past disturbance.[6] Ecosystems in similar environments that are located in different parts of the world can end up doing things very differently simply because they have different pools of species present.[5] Internal factors not only control ecosystem processes but are also controlled by them and are often subject to feedback loops.[5]
Resource inputs are generally controlled by external processes like climate and parent material. Resource availability within the ecosystem is controlled by internal factors like decomposition, root competition or shading.[5] Although humans operate within ecosystems, their cumulative effects are large enough to influence external factors like climate.[5]
Biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning, as do the processes of disturbance and succession. Ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services upon which people depend.