All living organisms and non-living constituents of an area together form an ecosystem.
For example - In a garden, we have plants and trees. We also have animals there, like dogs, cats, frogs, birds, and insects. All these living organisms live in a particular temperature, plants are formed from the soil. Rainfall and wind also affects the living organisms. So, these non-living constituents like Temperature , Soil, Rainfall, Wind.
All of these living and non-living things constitute an ecosystem of the garden.
Types of Ecosystem
Ecosystem can be of two types
- Natural Ecosystems - Ecosystem can be on land, or on Water.
- Land ecosystems include Forests, Grasslands, Desert Ecosystem.
- Aquatic ecosystems include Ocean and Lake Ecosystem
- Artificial Ecosystems - These Ecosystems are made by human beings. Example - Garden, Crop-fields, Aquarium
Function of Ecosystem
The function of ecosystem is to keep all its living and non-living components running in a balance.
So, we can say that the functions of the ecosystem are:
- Ecosystem maintains balance among Producers, Consumers and Decomposers
- It provides an environment for producers to trap sun’s energy and provide food.
- It is responsible for the cycling of nutrients between biotic and abiotic components.
- The Ecosystem supports life through bio-geochemical cycles and other biospheric processes. (Example - Cleaning the air, adding nutrients to the soil)
