The interconnectedness of organisms (plants, animals, microbes) with each other and their environment
means a dynamic complex of organisms and their non-living environment, interacting as a functional unit
an ecological community; complete with plants, animals, and its physical environment (soil, water, air etc )
is the complex of plant, animal, fungal, and microorganism communities and their associated non-living environment interacting as an ecological unit Ecosystems have no fixed boundaries; instead, their parameters are set according to the scientific, management, or policy question being examined Depending upon the purpose of analysis, a single lake, a watershed, or an entire region could be considered an ecosystem
A community of different species interacting with one another and with the chemical and physical factors making up the nonliving environment An ecosystem can be small (for example, a pond), or very large (for example, a major river valley)
A more or less self-contained biological community together with the physical environment in which the community's organisms occur
a community of plants, animals, and microorganisms that are linked by energy and nutrient flows and that interact with each other and with the physical environment Rain forests, deserts, coral reefs, grasslands, and a rotting log are all examples of ecosystems
The interacting system of a biological community (plants, animals) and its non-living environment; a collection of all living and non-living things found in a given area
The most complex level of organization is the ecosystem An ecosystem includes the plant and animal communities in an area together with the non-living physical environment that supports them Ecosystems have physically defined boundaries, but they are also dynamic: their boundaries and constituents can change over time They can import and export materials and energy and thus can interact with and influence other ecosystems They can also vary widely in size
A dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit This definition does not specify any particular spatial unit or scale Thus, the term "ecosystem" does not, necessarily, correspond to the terms "biome" or "ecological zone", but can refer to any functioning unit at any scale Indeed, the scale of analysis and action should be determined by the problem being addressed It could, for example, be a grain of soil, a pond, a forest, a biome or the entire biosphere In the words of Eugene Odum "the grandfather of ecology" an ecosystem is a unit of biological organization interacting with the physical environment such that the flow of energy and mass leads to a characteristic trophic structure and material cycles
An ecosystem is all the plants and animals that live in a particular area together with the complex relationship that exists between them and their environment. the forest ecosystem. all the animals and plants in a particular area, and the way in which they are related to each other and to their environment ecology. Complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all their interrelationships in a particular unit of space. An ecosystem's abiotic (nonbiological) constituents include minerals, climate, soil, water, sunlight, and all other nonliving elements; its biotic constituents consist of all its living members. Two major forces link these constituents: the flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients. The fundamental source of energy in almost all ecosystems is radiant energy from the sun; energy and organic matter are passed along an ecosystem's food chain. The study of ecosystems became increasingly sophisticated in the later 20th century; it is now instrumental in assessing and controlling the environmental effects of agricultural development and industrialization. See also biome
The basic functional unit in ecology: the interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings These are inseparable and act upon each other The term was coined by the Oxford ecologist A G Tansley in 1934, though the concept is much older (Source: Mintzer, 1992)
An ecosystem is a system where populations of species group together into communities and interact with each other and the abiotic environment
A community of organisms and their physical environment interacting as an ecological unit