Ecosystem: Definition, Structure, Types & Function

Ecosystem: Look around! What do you see? Plants? Flowers? Butterflies? Bees? Insects? Water? Have you ever wondered what they are doing here? Do you think they live in a different world and their world is different from ours? Well, they are very much part of our world. Are you wondering how? Read more to explore.

Ecosystem! Have you heard of this word? What is an Ecosystem? Do you know in which Ecosystem we live? Is it terrestrial or aquatic? Let’s explore the Ecosystem. The organism is the unit of the biosphere. Organisms make populations and multiple populations make up communities. After community, the ecosystem is the next higher level. The study of the interaction between living and nonliving things is called ecology.

What is an Ecosystem?

The term ecosystem was coined by Tansley in 1935. Organisms need to depend on one another to survive. There is a strong dependence between living organisms and their environment. All living organisms such as plants, animals and microbes depend on non-living components to thrive and maintain a balance in nature. The ecosystem deals with this interaction between living organisms and nonliving components. Thus, we may say that the ecosystem is the structural and functional unit of nature.

Definition of Ecosystem

“The Ecosystem is defined as a structural and functional unit of the biosphere, in which biotic and abiotic factors interact among themselves and with each other through the food chain, food web or chemical cycles, etc.”

Types of Ecosystem

Ecosystems can be classified into various categories depending on different factors. 

Ecosystem Classification based on region

Terrestrial Ecosystem– The ecosystem which exists on land is called a terrestrial ecosystem. Example: Forest, grassland, desert and tundra ecosystem.

1. Forest Ecosystem is a natural ecosystem, which consists of trees, herbs, shrubs, animals, microorganisms, soil, water, wind, etc. It includes deciduous forests and tropical and coniferous forests. 
2. Grassland Ecosystem consists of a large area covered with grasses and non-woody herbs. It does not include taller plants or trees. Grasses are low to the ground and do not need much water to grow. Their roots are deep and can survive in extreme conditions. It includes Temperate grasslands, Savannah, Shrublands, etc.
3. The Tundra Ecosystem is the earth’s coldest and harshest. These ecosystems are treeless and are covered with snow and ice. There may be Alpine and Arctic Tundras.
4. Desert Ecosystems receive less rainfall, i.e., less than 10 inches of rain per year. These regions are low in humidity or moisture deficient. 

Aquatic Ecosystem– The ecosystem which exists in water is called an aquatic ecosystem. Examples: Freshwater and marine water ecosystem.

1. Freshwater Ecosystem – Freshwater refers to water which has low salt content and is continuously cycling. This is two main types: Lentic (static water, like a pond) and Lotic (flowing water, like a river).

2. Marine Ecosystem – This ecosystem consists of high salt content in the water. Example: Shallow seas and open oceans.

Ecosystem Classification based on the basis of formation

1. Natural Ecosystem – It refers to the ecosystem, which occurs naturally and can sustain its life naturally without any human intervention. Like pond ecosystems, terrestrial ecosystems, etc.
2. Artificial Ecosystem – It refers to the ecosystem, that humans made artificially that mimic the natural one. An aquarium is a good example of an artificial ecosystem. Others are gardens, orchards, etc.

Classification based on the size of the Ecosystem

1. Micro Ecosystem – It refers to an ecosystem, which is very small, like pond ecosystems, communities living under a rock, etc.
2. Meso Ecosystem – It refers to the ecosystem, which is of medium size like large lakes, etc.
3. Macro Ecosystem – It refers to the ecosystem, which is of large size as the entire rainforest.

Structure of the Ecosystem

An ecosystem is made up of two words, i.e., “eco” which means habitat and “system” which means interconnected processes or components of the habitat. It is the functional unit of the biosphere. The ecosystem is made up of two components. These are:

1. Biotic Components

This includes all living organisms such as plants, animals and microorganisms. Biotic components can be divided or classified into the following groups:

Producers/Autotrophs – include all the plants that can prepare their own food with the help of raw materials like sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. This process is called photosynthesis. Any organism containing chlorophyll pigment can perform photosynthesis.

Consumers – include all the heterotrophs (or mainly animals), which are dependent on the producers. It is further classified into the following categories:

1. Primary Consumers include all the herbivores, which are dependent on plants directly, like cows, goats, rabbits, sheep, etc.
2. Secondary Consumers include all the carnivore animals that are dependent on the primary consumers for their food.
3. Tertiary Consumers include all omnivore animals. These animals have flexible food habits, i.e., they can feed both on plants and animals.

Decomposers – These include all the microorganisms like bacteria and fungi which feed on the dead and decaying matter to get nourishment. These are also called probiotic organisms. They can be saprozoic (feeding on dead animals) or saprophytic (feeding on dead plants). It helps in cleaning the environment and recycle nutrients in the ecosystem.

These nutrients help in the growth of plants and hence maintenance of the ecosystem.

2. Abiotic Component

It encompasses all the non-living things. This includes wind, water, soil, light, temperature, precipitation, humidity, etc.

Functions of Ecosystem

The following are the functions of the ecosystem:

1. It is an open system. It receives inputs in the form of sunlight and inorganic nutrients and gives out energy and waste matter as output.
2. It ensures the cycling of nutrients between the components of the ecosystem.
3. It helps in the flow of energy from one trophic level to another.
4. It maintains all essential ecological processes of the ecosystem.
5. It provides a habitat for different organisms.

Important Ecological Concepts

Food Chain

What is Food Chain? – Food chain refers to the chain where there is a series of organisms in which energy is transferred from one organism to another through feeding. A food chain consists of producers, consumers and decomposers. Each one is considered as one trophic level. Producers are at the base of food chains; herbivores are directly dependent on producers. Secondary consumers and tertiary consumers are carnivores.

Importance of Food Chain

1. Food chains are straight and in one direction. It generally has 3-4 steps.
2. The flow of energy takes place in one direction, i.e., the unidirectional flow of energy. 
3. In every step or trophic level, there is a 10% loss of energy. Because of this loss, a maximum of 3-4 or 5 trophic levels occur in a food chain. Organisms at the highest trophic level get less energy. 
4. When organisms die, then decomposers act upon them, and their complex biomolecules are changed into simpler biomolecules, which can be used by plants for their own growth and development.

Lindeman’s 10% Law

According to Lindeman’s 10% Law, only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to another and the remaining 90% is lost during various life processes of the body like respiration and to the surroundings. So, maximum energy is present with the producers and least with the top consumer. So, a maximum of 4-5 trophic levels is possible in a food chain.

Food Web

1. It refers to several interlinked food chains. 
2. It forms when food is not available in one food chain; then organisms search for its food in another food chain. The food chains are connected to each other at various trophic levels. 
3. This makes the food chain more complicated and interlinked and is therefore called the food web. 

Importance of Food Web

1. This helps in forming various feeding connections among the organisms. 
2. It provides an alternative way to obtain food.
3. It makes the ecosystem more stable as a deficiency of food at one food chain can be compensated by the other chain.

Ecological Pyramids

1. The graphical representation of the trophic structures of an ecosystem in the form of a pyramid is called an ecological pyramid.
2. The base of the pyramid is the broadest, with the producers occupying the first position.
3. Ecological pyramids are of the following three types:

Summary

Ecosystem refers to the open system that constitutes biotic components and abiotic components that interact with each other. The ecosystem helps in the cycling of nutrients and also in the flow of energy among different trophic levels. To sum up, we can say that the ecosystem forms the connection between the living organisms and the physical environment that they live in and helps in sustaining the life forms on this planet.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Ecosystem

Q.1. What are the 3 major functions of an ecosystem?
Ans: Following are the functions of the ecosystem:
1. It ensures the cycling of nutrients between the components of the ecosystem.
2. It helps in the flow of energy from one trophic level to another.
3. It provides habitat to different organisms.

Q.2. What is the structure of the ecosystem?
Ans: The structure of the ecosystem refers to the interlinking network between biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic components of the ecosystem refer to the living organisms that are present in the ecosystem while abiotic components refer to the non-living matter of the ecosystem.

Q.3. What are the 4 types of ecosystems?
Ans: The 4 types of ecosystems are- 
1. Natural Ecosystem
2. Artificial Ecosystem
3. Terrestrial Ecosystem
4. Aquatic Ecosystem

Q.4. What is an ecosystem and example?
Ans: Ecosystem refers to the community of organisms where they interact with each other and abiotic factors. This interaction between biotic and abiotic factors refers to the ecosystem. Example of ecosystem – Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Q.5. What is the importance of the ecosystem?
Ans: Following are the importance of ecosystem-
1. It provides habitat to living organisms.
2. It helps in the cycling of nutrients between different components of the ecosystem.
3. It helps in the flow of energy from one trophic level to another.

Q.6. Which ecosystem do we live in?
Answer: We live in a terrestrial ecosystem.

We hope this detailed article on the Ecosystem is helpful to you.