Components of Ecosystem and Its Functions

Components of Ecosystem: ‘Eco’ stands for ‘environment,’ while ‘system’ stands for ‘functional unit.’ The ecosystem is viewed as an interactive system in which ecosystem components interact with one another through energy exchange and nutrient flow. Ecology is the scientific study of ecosystems, including biotic and abiotic components.

Plants interact with nonliving things like wind, water, and other living things to keep nature in balance. There are biotic and abiotic components of ecosystem. Can you think of any such ecosystem components? Scroll down to learn more about the Ecosystem’s Components and Functions.

Components of Ecosystem Biotic and Abiotic

“An ecosystem consists of biotic components comprising living organisms and abiotic components comprising physical factors like temperature, rainfall, wind, soil and minerals.” An ecosystem and its components make up for all the life there is on this planet.

Components of Biotic Ecosystem & Abiotic Ecosystem Diagram

Fig: Components of Ecosystem

What are the Basic Components of the Ecosystem?

Ecosystem has two components which are:-
1. Biotic Components– It refers to living things of the ecosystem. It includes plants, animals and microorganisms.
2. Abiotic Components– It refers to the non-living things of the ecosystem. It includes wind, water, soil, etc.
Broadly, biotic components of an ecosystem are divided into three categories. These includes:
a. Producers– It refers to all the green plants of the ecosystem. These green plants can prepare their own food by photosynthesis, in which green plants convert sunlight energy into chemical energy of food. Plants can be called a converter in terms of energy. They can prepare their own food with simple inorganic substances like water, carbon dioxide in the presence of light.
b. Consumers– It refers to the organisms that consume food that are prepared by the producers. Consumers cannot prepare their own food from simple inorganic substances. They can be classified into the following categories:
i. Primary Consumers– These organisms are also called herbivores as they eat only plants. Like cows, goats, deer, rabbits, etc., are examples of primary consumers, and they directly depend on plants. They occupy the second trophic level of the food chain.
ii. Secondary Consumers– These organisms are also called carnivores. They eat the primary consumers, so are called secondary consumers, and occupy the third trophic level of the food chain. Examples are fox, dogs, cats, etc.
iii. Tertiary Consumers– Animals that feed on carnivores are called tertiary consumers. It occupies a tertiary trophic level in the food chain. Example-wolf eating fox.
iv. Quaternary Consumers– It refers to the animals which can kill the tertiary consumers. Like lions, tigers, vultures, etc. They are also called top carnivores. They occupy the highest trophic level.
d. Decomposers– What would happen if there were no decomposers on earth? Our earth would be full of organic matter! These organic matters need to be broken down back into its simpler inorganic form. Like that of simple sugars present in the body of the organisms should be broken down into their inorganic compounds when they are dead. This decay process is done by some microorganisms called decomposers. Examples- bacteria and fungi are well-known decomposers. These decomposers help in the recycling of materials in the biosphere, and while doing so, they get their nutrition. This is an unending process. These are also called saprophytes.

Abiotic Factors refer to the non-living things of the ecosystem, which includes the physical environment, i.e. water, wind and soil along with inorganic substances. It also involves climatic factors such as sunlight, temperature, humidity. These factors influence the survival and reproduction of organisms.

Following are the abiotic components of the ecosystem:

1. Water: Life on the earth is known to have originated from it. Life without water is not possible. Water, when mixed with the nutrients present in the soil, helps to make it available for plants. The productivity of the plants is dependent on water availability. Also, during photosynthesis, water is required by the plants. The majority of the life forms are present inside the water system. For that, they have different adaptations to survive in.
   
   Water can be freshwater or marine water. Marine water refers to the salty water of the seas and oceans. Organisms that are able to tolerate a wide range of salinity are called euryhaline organisms. Some organisms which cannot tolerate such a wide range of salinity are called stenohaline organisms.
   
2. Light: Light is another important abiotic factor of the ecosystem. Without light, plants cannot prepare their food. So, light plays an important role in the process of photosynthesis. These plants are called producers, and on producers, the entire living world depends. In plants, light affects not only photosynthesis but also enzyme action, flowering, transpiration, plant movement, i.e. phototropic movement, etc.
   
   Light also brings pigmentation to the skin of terrestrial animals. Light also affects reproductive activities in birds. Activation of gonads of birds takes place during more light intensities like in summer. Animals can be diurnal or nocturnal, i.e., the animals which are active during the daytime are called diurnal like that of humans, few kinds of birds like passerines, hummingbirds, etc. while those active during the night are called nocturnal animals, like bats, owls, cockroaches, etc.  Bees are active during daytime because of the light.
   
   Light is also responsible for the distribution of organisms like that of some illuminated area of the sea or pond. More green plants can be found in such illuminated areas. And organisms dependent directly or indirectly on these green plants can be found more around it.
   
3. Temperature: It is an important ecological factor. It varies with season and changes from the equator towards the poles and from plains to the mountain tops.
   
   Living organisms can survive in a limited range of temperatures, while some can survive in a wide range of temperatures. Like- polar bears can live in such a cold region. These are called stenothermal animals as they can tolerate a narrow range of temperatures. While the animals that can tolerate a wide range of temperatures are called eurythermal animals. Animals hibernate during the cold season and aestivate during summer days. Birds can migrate during the winter season to warmer places to avoid the low temperature during the cold season. Temperature affects the geographical distribution of animals.
   
4. Humidity: It refers to the amount of water vapour in the air. This depends on temperature and pressure. Humidity affects the rate of transpiration in plants. The distribution of plants is affected by the humidity along with temperature and precipitation. Animals found in more humid and warm regions tend to be darker than the animals found in more dry and cold regions. In some organisms, reproduction is dependent on the relative humidity of that place. Like that of silverfish, reproduction occurs when relative humidity is \(80 – 90\% .\)
   
5. Soil: Soil is the habitat of many different microorganisms. Plants grow on soil. It derives nutrition from the soil through roots. Soil comprises different minerals which are required by the plants like magnesium is the important constituent of chlorophyll. Nitrogen is also an important component for the growth of plants as it is one of the components of protein.
   
   Plants growing in nitrogen-deficient soil have adapted with some other mechanisms like that of insectivorous plants, e.g. Pitcher plant. This plant can trap a fly which is attracted towards it and can digest it to compensate for their nitrogen deficiency. Pitcher plants can be called carnivorous plants. The leaf is modified as a cup-shaped pitcher to trap insects.
   
6. Topographic Factor: It refers to the altitude and shape of the land, which can also affect the distribution of organisms. Like the temperature difference between the top and down plain of the mountain led to the distribution of different types of animals. Mountain top is always covered with snow, so the organisms found there are adapted to live in cold temperatures.

Functions of the Components of Ecosystem

The main functions of the components of ecosystem are:

1. Energy Flow: Energy from the sun enters the ecosystem through the plants as they undergo the process of photosynthesis. Energy is transferred from one trophic level to another. Only \(10\% \) of the energy is transferred to the next trophic level of the food chain. Rest is used in metabolic processes or are lost in surrounding ecosystems. So, maximum energy is present with the lower trophic level organisms of the food chain. The flow of energy is unidirectional.
   
2. Nutrient Cycling– Nutrients are constantly circulated in the ecosystem through different components of the ecosystem.
   
3. Homeostasis– Both the components of the ecosystem are dependent on each other and are regulated, and so balance is maintained between them.

Components of Ecosystem Summary

Ecosystem is the functional unit of nature that comprises biotic or living components and abiotic or non-living components. Biotic components refer to the plants and animals while that of abiotic components refers to the soil, water, air, temperature, topographic factor, etc. Biotic factors interact among themselves and with the abiotic factors for the proper functioning of the ecosystem. The main functions of components of the ecosystem are energy flow, nutrient cycling, homeostasis.

FAQs on Components of Ecosystem

Following are the frequently asked questions on the components of ecosystem:

Q.1: What are the major components of an ecosystem?
Ans: Major components of the ecosystem are biotic components and abiotic components. Biotic components are like plants, animals and microorganisms and abiotic components are like light, wind, soil, water, etc.

Q.2: Describe different components of the ecosystem in brief.
Ans: Biotic Components- It refers to the living components of the ecosystem. Plants, animals and microorganisms are the biotic components of the ecosystem. It can be divided into producers, consumers and decomposers.
Abiotic Components- It refers to the non-living components of the ecosystem. It includes light, water, wind, temperature, humidity. Plants can photosynthesize well in proper light and water availability. Humidity affects the rate of transpiration. It also determines the distribution of animals.

Q.3: What makes a good ecosystem?
Ans: Good and healthy ecosystem refers to the ecosystem where native plants and animals interact with each other with different abiotic factors present in the environment and there is proper flow of energy, nutrient cycling and homeostasis between them.

Q.4: What are abiotic components of an ecosystem?
Ans: Abiotic components are the non-living components of the ecosystem. These are light, water, wind, temperature, humidity, etc.

Q.5: What is an ecosystem?
Ans: Ecosystem is the functional unit of nature where biotic and abiotic components interact with each other. Biotic components refer to plants and animals, while abiotic components refer to the soil, water, air, temperature, etc.