Ecosystem

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An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms(biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment.

A coral reef near the Hawaiian islands is an example of a complex marine ecosystem.

Introduction

Flora of Baja California Desert, Cataviña region, Mexico.
Savanna at Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania.

The term ecosystem was coined in 1930 by Roy Clapham, to denote the physical and biological components of an environment considered in relation to each other as a unit. British ecologist Arthur Tansley later refined the term, describing it as "The whole system,… including not only the organism-complex, but also the whole complex of physical factors forming what we call the environment".[1] Tansley regarded ecosystems not simply as given natural units but as "mental isolates".[1] Tansley later[2] defined the spatial extent of ecosystems using the term "ecotope".

Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that living organisms are continually engaged in a set of highly interrelated relationships with every other element constituting the environment in which they exist. Eugene Odum, one of the founders of the science of ecology, stated: "Any unit that includes all of the organisms (ie: the "community") in a given area interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity, and material cycles (ie: exchange of materials between living and nonliving parts) within the system is an ecosystem."[3] The human ecosystem concept is then grounded in the deconstruction of the human/nature dichotomy, and the emergent premise that all species are ecologically integrated with each other, as well as with the abiotic constituents of their biotope.

Ecosystems can be bounded and discussed with tremendous variety of scope, and describe any situation where there is relationship between organisms and their environment. If humans are part of the organisms, one can speak of a 'human ecosystem'. As virtually no surface of the earth today is free of human contact, all ecosystems can be more accurately considered as human ecosystems, or more neutrally as human-influenced ecoystems.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem"

More about Ecosystem: desert ecosystem, ocean ecosystem, ecosystem management, forest ecosystem, aquatic ecosystem, marine ecosystem, ecosystem network, rain forest ecosystem, coral reef ecosystem,

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