Want to know what an ecosystem is? Here’s your complete guide to learning all there is to know about ecosystems – its components, functions, and human impacts.
Definition
The ecosystem is defined as
“The structural and functional unit of ecology where the living organisms interact with each other and the surrounding environment.”
Hence, a chain of interactions between organisms and their environment forms an ecosystem. A.G. Tansley, an English botanist, coined the term “ecosystem”, the first time in 1935.
Example:
Tropical forests are ecosystems composed of living things, including trees, plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms, constantly interacting among themselves and getting affected by other physical and chemical components.
In this article, we will explore the ecosystem’s structure, components, types, and functions.
Structure of Ecosystem
In the study of nature, an ecosystem is a basic unit consisting of two inseparable components, i.e., the biotope and the biocenosis.
The biotope (abiotic):
The
biotope is a particular physical environment with specific physical characteristics, including temperature, climate, humidity, pH, nutrient concentration, etc.
It is also synonymous with what we call a habitat. It is a specific geographical region that has a uniform environment.
Air, water, soil, minerals, sunlight, temperature, nutrients, wind, altitude, turbidity, etc., are the basic components constructing the biotope.
The biocenosis (biotic):
It is the living component of an ecosystem consisting of a set of living organisms (plants, animals, microorganisms) that are constantly interacting and quite interdependent.
An ecosystem can exist on many levels or scales, ranging from colonies of multicellular organisms, mountains, forests, lakes to the planet earth as a whole.
Based on nutritional differences, the
biotic components are classified into autotrophs, heterotrophs and saprotrophs.
1. Producers
Producers consist of all autotrophic organisms, like plants, as they can produce food via photosynthesis. Therefore, all other organisms higher in the food chain are dependent on producers for food.
2. Consumers/Heterotrophs
Consumers are the organisms dependent on other organisms for food. They are divided into primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consumers.
Primary consumers
Primary consumers depend on producers for food; subsequently, they are herbivores.
Secondary Consumers
They feed on primary consumers for energy, so they are either carnivores or omnivores.
Tertiary consumers
These are the organisms that feed on secondary consumers for food, making them carnivores or omnivores.
Quaternary consumers
They prey and feed on tertiary consumers for energy, placing them at the top of a food chain. Also, they don’t have natural predators.
3. Decomposers\ Stratotrophes
Decomposers are an integral part of our ecosystem and they decompose waste and transform it into reusable sources of energy. These include fungi and bacteria. They sustain on the dead and decaying organic matter. They help with the recycling of nutrients so plants can use them.
Different types of ecosystems?
We interact with our ecosystem in our daily life. It envelops us and consists of everything we touch or see. Humans impact the ecosystem in numerous ways. Therefore it is important to be aware of our surroundings to maintain the delicate balance of nature and ecosystems.
There are many ecosystems. Let’s get to know more about them so we know how it’s a part of our lives and how our interactions with it impact it.
The main ecosystems include:
1. Terrestrial Ecosystem
“A land-based community of organisms in any given area, including the interactions among biotic and abiotic components.”
Examples: Tundra, taigas, temperate deciduous forests, tropical rainforests, grasslands, and deserts, are all land-based ecosystems.
a. Forest Ecosystems
A natural woodland consisting of animals, plants, and animals interacting with the abiotic components is a forest ecosystem.
It is a common misbelief that forests are just an assemblage of trees. They are so much more complex, beautiful, and intricate working systems. The entire forest system is biologically interdependent with its non-living chemical/physical components. This intricate network gave birth to the combined production of unique soil, climate, plants, and tree species in forests worldwide.
Examples: Tropical, temperate, and boreal/taiga forest ecosystems.
b. Grassland Ecosystems
Grasslands are found in ecoregions and have different names across the globe; steppes in Asia, savannahs in Africa, and prairies in North America. The main characteristic of this ecosystem is the herbaceous vegetation, with grass and grass-like plants as the dominant plantation. They are mostly found in comparatively dry regions that are too dry for forests but do have sufficient quantities of water to support the growth of closed plant canopy (that are not present in the deserts).
Examples: The two main kinds of grasslands are tropical (hot savannas of sub-Saharan Africa and northern Australia) and temperate (Eurasian steppes, North American prairies, and Argentine pampas).
c. Tundra Ecosystems
Treeless regions found in the arctic and top of the mountains are classified as tundra ecosystems. They are covered in snow all year long, except for summers, when bursts of wildflowers are seen. They have cold, breezy weather all year round with scarce rainfall.
Examples: The Arctic and Alpine Tundra Ecosystems.
d. Desert Ecosystem
These arid, dried land areas receive little precipitation annually, with extremely dry hot/cold weather. The land is almost always barren; the most common vegetation is succulents that can survive the harsh weather. The desserts are extremely hot in the daytime. However, they cool down as the sun goes down. But there are cold desserts too.
Examples: Hot deserts (Sahara, Arabian, Kalahari, and Thar) & cold deserts (desert areas in Antarctic, Greenland, Iran, Turkestan, Northern, and Western China.)
2. Aquatic Ecosystem
An ecosystem in and surrounding a body of water is an aquatic ecosystem, i.e. community of organisms interacting with and dependent on the living/non-living water environment is known as an aquatic ecosystem.
Examples: Seas, oceans, rivers, and lakes etc, are all examples of aquatic ecosystems.
A. Freshwater Ecosystem
Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of the aquatic ecosystem. They are often brought up compared to marine ecosystems, with water bodies consisting of high salt concentrations. These are further divided into three types depending on how the water flow is: (a) lentic, (b) lotic (c) wetlands.
a) Lentic Ecosystem (Lakes)
They include faster-moving water bodies like streams and rivers.
b) Lotic Ecosystem (Rivers)
They include faster moving water bodies like streams and rivers.
c) Wetlands
Wetlands are the areas where the soil is submerged in water (saturated or inundated) for at least part of the time, like the marsh, swamp, bog, and fen.
B. Marine Ecosystem
Marine ecosystems are the largest aquatic ecosystems in the world. They are water bodies with high salt concentrations. They have a very diverse range of biodiversity of fauna and flora. It covers more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and provides for more than 97% of Earth’s water supply. Marine ecosystems occupy 90% of habitable space on Earth.
a) Marine Coastal Ecosystem
Marine surface ecosystems include habitats at the surface of marine water bodies.
Examples: These ecosystems include many habitats including estuaries and lagoons; salt marshes and mangrove forests; seagrass meadows and coral reefs; kelp forests and backwaters.
b) Marine Surface Ecosystem
Marine surface ecosystems include habitats at the surface of marine water bodies.
Examples: They include marshes, tidal zones, estuaries, the mangrove forest, lagoons, seagrass beds, the sea floor, and coral reefs.
Functions of Ecosystem
The
functional attributes of ecosystems necessary to keep the various components working together. These functions are the natural process/exchange of energies taking place in different floral and faunal communities across different world biomes.
Just take the example of green leaves. They prepare food; the roots absorb nutrients from the ground, then herbivores feed on these green plants, which are consumed by carnivores. On the other hand, the decomposers feed on the dead and decaying matter to transform complex organic materials into simple inorganic materials so producers can use them.
Decomposers execute the functions of breaking down complex organic materials into simple inorganic products, which the producers use.
These functions in the ecosystem are taking place via delicately controlled and balanced continuous processes to:
- Recycle minerals through the biosphere.
- Sustain the balance among various trophic levels.
- Recycle nutrients between biotic and abiotic components.
- Regulate vital ecological functions, support life systems, and maintain stability.
- The abiotic components aid synthesis of organic elements involving energy exchange.
Functional Units of an Ecosystem
Functional components liaising together in an ecosystem consist of:
Productivity:
The rate at which biomass production takes place accounts for productivity.
Energy Flow:
The sequential process allows energy to flow from one trophic level to another, from the sun to the producers, consumers, and then from decomposers back to the environment.
Decomposition
The breakdown of dead organic material into reusable inorganic nutrients is decomposition. The ideal place for decomposition to take place is top-soil.
Nutrient Cycling
The cycle of nutrients being absorbed from the soil by producers, and then flow of these nutrients all the way back to the soil again, is known as nutrient cycling.
Important Ecological Concepts
Some important ecological concepts have been defined as follows:
1. Food Chain
Solar energy is the ultimate power source on Earth, providing plants with the energy they require for photosynthesis, which plants use to synthesize food. The light energy gets converted into chemical energy. This energy then flows to higher levels, i.e., from producers to consumers, finally to an apex predator. This process is called a
food chain.
Similarly, somatotrophs feed on dead and decaying matter, converting them into their basic constituents. These are then absorbed by reducers, which release these molecules back into the environment to be utilized by the producers.
2. Ecological Pyramids
The graphical representation of a number, energy, and biomass of successive trophic levels within an ecosystem is called the
ecological pyramid.
Since producers are larger in number and go up to higher trophic levels, the number decreases, hence the pyramid structure. Therefore, producers have the largest populations, primary consumers have the second largest population, and so on,
For example:
Grasshoppers. They feed on crops like cotton and wheat, which are quite abundant. They are then preyed upon by common mice (comparatively less in number). Snakes feed upon these mice. And finally, apex predators ultimately consume the snakes like brown snake eagles.
This can be represented in the following manner:
Grasshopper →Mice→ Cobra → Brown Snake Eagle
3. Food Web
An interlinked network of food chains forms a food web. It consists of all the food chains in an ecosystem. It shows the fact that plants lay the foundation of all food chains. The producers in a marine ecosystem are phytoplankton.
How Do Natural Ecosystems Work?
The systems of natural ecosystems are extremely complex but very “balanced”. The various interactions between various ecosystem components contribute to a lot of stability within these biological systems. This can be explained by how herbivores feed on grass but give back to the soil via their droppings. This provides manure for the grass to grow again, restoring the systems to normal.
However, this doesn’t mean that the natural systems in an ecosystem are static. They are in a state of continuous flow. They keep evolving, owing to the constantly changing dynamic processes.
Biocenosis, the living organisms interact with the biotope and transform it constantly. The animals fertilize the soil, plants provide water and oxygen and regulate temperature, bacteria help other organisms by protecting them from diseases and facilitating digestion, and fungi help with decomposition.
However, ecosystems do evolve, but it requires a prerequisite, some sort of natural or climatic phenomenon. They can transform environments, forcing biocenosis to develop or adapt to the new conditions.
The fun fact is that the ecosystem is always trying to attain stability. However, it never perfectly succeeds at achieving it. Unexpected natural imbalances offset each other. Ecosystems evolve at different paces. Some change very quickly, while others might take ages. In extreme cases, the ecosystems are wiped off completely.
How Does Energy Flow In An Ecosystem?
According to the
law of energy conservation, we know that it can neither be created nor destroyed but can only transform from one form to another. In ecosystems, energy flow takes place via food chains and webs. Solar energy gets converted into chemical energy by plants that consumers take up. When they die, it is consumed by the decomposers.
Links Between Ecosystems And Human Activities
From the early stone ages, humans have interacted with the ecosystem to make it a better place to live. We mastered fire, cultivated lands, built modes of transportation, set up industries, dams, windmills, and solar panels. And now we are in search of ways to explore space. Our quest for constantly using, modifying, and transforming the natural world is never-ending. When we cut down forests for construction, we destroy the natural ecosystem, completely changing its original features.
Industrialization, urbanization, and modernization have profoundly impacted the natural ecosystems that we now refer to this phenomenon and age as the “Anthropocene” timeline. It defines the period of drastic impacts that human activities had on Earth’s atmospheric, biospheric, geologic, and hydrologic systems. This period also includes climate change events due to intense human activities.
The cutting down of Amazonian forests for construction has made it hard for biodiversity to thrive. Humidity levels and temperatures are also impacted greatly. Similarly, the building of dams has affected the water distribution and survival of aquatic species harder.
An example of how human activities affect ecosystems is often used in the U.S. Yellowstone National Park. The U.S. Biological Survey decided to kill wolves and other predatory species for predatory control. But it affected the entire ecosystem, including the course of the local river. Hence, the wolves were reintroduced 70 years later to balance the ecosystem.
Why Is Preserving Ecosystems Important?
Our ecosystems give us life; food, water, oxygen, shelter, and raw materials. We, humans, are dependent on our ecosystems for survival. Therefore, to keep our living conditions maintained, we must start taking measures to preserve our ecosystems.
To better understand why the preservation of ecosystems is important, let’s discuss an example. Agriculture, which provides us food, requires certain temperature and humidity conditions, the specific characteristics of an ecosystem, to grow. They are also dependent on natural processes, like pollination. If we keep changing these characteristics, it will lead to serious consequences, like food scarcity.
Certain agricultural techniques can help manage food production, including agroforestry, permaculture, or regenerative agriculture. They can be used to overcome the impacts of herbicide/pesticide use, which exhausts nearby water sources or different types of vegetation that allows ecosystems to be more resilient.
Ecosystems & Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) encompasses a broad-range of actions that can be practiced by businesses, from philanthropy to ethical trade. Environmental preservation is one of the primary focuses of CSR.
Environmental CSR strives for the reduction of damaging effects on the environment from one’s business processes. These activities have their focus on:
- Recycling
- Water Conservation
- Emission Control
- Energy Conservation
- Waste Management
- Eco-friendly Office/Business/Travel Policies
Green CSR has a wide-range of advantages, as they reduce business risk, improve reputation and cost savings. The simplest of energy efficient measures can account for large savings and make a huge difference for your business, by:
- switching lights and equipment off when not required.
- limiting water usage.
- reducing paper waste.
This way you care for the environment as well as boost your revenues. Buyers are becoming more and more conscious that they make their purchases from responsible companies.
You can take a few small and easy steps to reduce your business’ environmental impact. These include:
- Packaging reduction.
- Sourcing responsibly.
- Develop recyclable products.
- Product life cycle optimization.
- Buy local products to save fuel costs.
- Implement a fuel-efficient distribution network.
- Work with environmentally conscious suppliers/distributors.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is an ecosystem?
Answer: “It is the community of living organisms and nonliving components of the environment, interacting as a system.”
2. What are the different types of ecosystems?
Answer: The different types of ecosystems are:
Forest ecosystem
Desert ecosystem
Tundra ecosystem
Marine ecosystem
Grassland ecosystem
Terrestrial ecosystem
Freshwater ecosystem
3. What are the functional components of an ecosystem?
Answer: The main components of an ecosystem include:
- Productivity
- Energy flow
- Decomposition
- Nutrient cycling
4. Which ecosystem do we live in?
Answer: Humans live in a terrestrial ecosystem, an ecosystem where organisms interact on landforms.
Examples of terrestrial ecosystems include:
Tundra, taigas, and tropical rainforests.
5. Which is the largest ecosystem in the world?
Answer: The largest ecosystem in the world is the aquatic ecosystem, comprising freshwater and marine ecosystems. It occupies 70% of the surface of the earth.
6. What is the major function of an ecosystem?
Answer: The ecosystem is the functional unit of the environment system. The abiotic components provide the matrix for the synthesis of organic components. This process involves the exchange of energy.
7. What makes a good ecosystem?
Answer: It consists of native plants and animal species that interact with one another and the environment. It has a constant energy source and the decomposers to break down dead and decaying matter, giving back the essential nutrients to the soil.
8. What is included in the non-living things of an ecosystem?
The non-living things in an ecosystem consist of air, wind, water, rocks, soil, temperature, and sunlight, known as abiotic factors of an ecosystem.
9. How can we be more responsible with conversing in our ecosystems?
Answer: We need to reduce our
carbon footprint, reduce plastic use, save energy, use public transport, go organic.
Conclusion:
Our ecosystems are deteriorating. We, as humans, have wreaked havoc on our natural habitats. The impacts of climate change will be devastating for us and our coming generations. We need to take action on an individual, as well as on a global scale. As inhabitants of this Earth, it is our responsibility to stop destroying, polluting, and making it inhabitable for ourselves and future generations to come.
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