What is an ecosystem?
He ecosystem It is the set of species in a given area that interact with each other, through processes such as predation, parasitism, competition and symbiosis, and with their abiotic environment to disintegrate and become part of energy and nutrient cycles. .
The species of ecosystemincluding bacteria, fungi, plants and animals, depend on each other.
The relationships between species and their environment facilitate the flow of matter and energy within the ecosystem.
The concept of ecosystem has evolved since its origin. The term, coined in the 1930s, belongs to the British botanists Roy Clapham (1904-1990) and Sir Arthur Tansley (1871-1955).
Originally it applied to units of diverse spatial scale; from a piece of eroded tree trunk to a pond, a region or even the entire biosphere of the planet, the only requirement being that organisms, the physical environment and interactions could exist within them.
More recently, the ecosystem has been geographically focused and has become analogous to vegetation formations or types, eg scrub, pine forest, grassland, etc.
This simplification ignores the fact that the boundaries of some vegetation types are indistinct, while the boundaries of ecosystems are not. The transition zones between ecosystems are known as ecotones.
An ecosystem is a closely interdependent group of organisms, their natural environment, and the processes that connect them. All organisms on Earth exist within an ecosystem.
From pandas in the mountains of China to lions in the Serengeti, from redwoods in California to algae in tropical waters, each species has its own ecosystem. There are many different types of ecosystems, each with its own set of conditions and characteristics.
Some examples are grasslands, desert, rainforest, arctic tundra, and freshwater versus saltwater environments. Each type of ecosystem has specific plants and animals that live there permanently or seasonally.
An ecosystem is made up of several components: producers (those organisms that make their own food), consumers (those organisms that eat other organisms), decomposers (organisms that break down organic matter) and biotic factors (all living things).
Examples of these components are bacteria, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, fungi, microtubules (plant roots), green algae, ferns, shrubs, deciduous trees (trees that shed their leaves seasonally or annually), conifers (trees that keep their leaves for more than one year), vines, parasitic vines, carnivorous plants (plants such as
ecosystem definition
An ecosystem refers to all living and non-living beings that exist in a given place and maintain relationships with each other.
The concept was introduced in the mid-twentieth century by ecologists to account for the object of study of ecology. It is important to highlight that the notion of ecosystem is conventional and relative, therefore it supports some variants of specific use.
For example, each ecosystem can be divided into one of smaller size and complexity.
An example of these theoretical postulates can offer you a forest.
In this there are countless living beings that interact with each other (biotic factors), in addition to lacking life factors such as water, air and minerals, which are necessary for the development of life in some cases, while in others are at least linked to it (abiotic factors).
However, it can also refer to the treetops of the forest as an ecosystem to the extent that they fall within the definition used for them.
Habitat
The concepts of ecological niche and habitat are related to these schemes. In the first case, the aforementioned relationships that biotic and abiotic beings have with each other are mentioned.
These include conditions of temperature, humidity, light, power mode, diseases, etc. In the second case, it refers to the physical environment of the ecosystem to which its different species are adapted.
The ecosystem can undergo a gradual change of some elements for others. Thus, for example, new species of plants can appear. This phenomenon is called ecological succession.
When the emergence of life takes place in a way that it never had it is referred to as primary succession, while in other cases it refers to secondary succession.
There are many biologists who amplify this concept in laminated versions, that is, they prefer to define a set of ecosystems that are more or less stable in their components and dynamics to give rise to a kind of superior «taxon», generally called a biome.
In addition, each small ecosystem of a jungle region, united and interacting with each other, gives rise to the biome of the tropical forest or rain forest.
factors
Similarly, on a reverse scale, a simple home pot is an ecosystem, in which abiotic factors (earth, water, solar energy, air) are integrated with biotic components (vegetable planting, weeds, insects, earthworms, microorganisms). ) in a game of mutual relations with interaction.
In some cases with advantages for both elements (symbiosis): aphids and ants) or at least one of them (commensalism (: the spider that hides in the flower of the same color) or, on the contrary, with harmful effects for one of them. the members (parasitism: scale insects that devastate the crop).
In return, some relationships between living beings with peculiar characteristics have transcended the only symbiosis and today, they are defined by science as true ecosystems.
Thus, the presence of normal bacteria in the human intestine, commonly known as microflora, is considered by many experts as a true ecosystem, in which the local environment is the abiotic factor and various microbial species constitute the biotic component.
The stability and protection of this «ecosystem» is beneficial for the human being, both microorganisms, while its anomalies are associated with mutual prejudices.
It should be noted that this description in terms of ecosystems can also be applied to aquatic environments, although terrestrial ecosystems are generally more complex.
In addition, mixed systems, such as air-land or coasts, must not be forgotten, which are highly complex ecosystems due to the dynamics of each component that integrates them.
deserts
Finally, there are surprising ecosystems and quite hostile environments such as the edge of volcanoes, Antarctica or deserts, which shows that the diversity of life is capable of proliferating in the most adverse contexts.
Alpha, beta and gamma diversity. Robert Whittaker (1920-1980), American ecologist and researcher of vegetation successions and gradients, proposed three measures of ecosystem diversity: alpha (α), beta (β), and gamma (γ). Alpha is the diversity within an ecosystem that is usually described as the number of species.
Beta diversity involves the comparison of different ecosystems on environmental gradients, for example, in a mountainous area within a coastal area.
Likewise, beta diversity shows us the size of the change of species from one ecosystem to another.
In gamma diversity refers to the total diversity of a region, that is, geographic diversity. It is the sum of the alpha diversity of various ecosystems.
ecosystem structure
At a basic functional level, the ecosystem generally contains primary producers (plants) capable of harvesting energy from the sun through the process called photosynthesis.
This energy then flows through the food chain. Then come the consumers. Consumers could be primary consumers (herbivores) or secondary consumers (carnivores).
These consumers feed on the captured energy. Decomposers work at the bottom of the food chain. Dead tissue and waste products are produced at all levels.
Scavengers, detritus eaters, and decomposers not only feed on this energy, but also break down organic matter into its organic constituents.
It is the microbes that finish the job of decomposition and produce organic constituents that can be used again by producers.
The energy that flows through the food chain, that is, from producers to consumers to decomposers, is always inefficient.
This means that there is less energy available from secondary consumers than from primary producers. Not surprisingly, the amount of energy produced from one place to another varies greatly due to the amount of solar radiation and the availability of nutrients and water.
Types of environmental ecosystems
An ecosystem consists of all living and non-living things in a specific natural environment.
Plants, animals, insects, microorganisms, rocks, soil, water, and sunlight are important components of many ecosystems. All types of ecosystems fall into two categories: terrestrial or aquatic.
Terrestrial ecosystems are terrestrial, while aquatic ecosystems are aquatic. The main types of ecosystems are forests, grasslands, deserts, tundra, freshwater, and marine.
The word «biome» can also be used to describe terrestrial ecosystems that extend across a large geographic area, such as the tundra.
Keep in mind, however, that within any ecosystem, the specifics vary widely – for example, an ocean ecosystem in the Caribbean Sea will contain very different species than an ocean ecosystem in the Gulf of Alaska.
forest ecosystems
Forest ecosystems are classified according to their type of climate as tropical, temperate or boreal. In the tropics, rainforest ecosystems contain more diversity of flora and fauna than ecosystems in any other region on the planet.
Likewise, in these hot and humid environments, the trees grow tall and the foliage is lush and dense, with species inhabiting the forest floor all the way up into the canopy.
In temperate zones, forest ecosystems can be deciduous, coniferous, or often a mixture of both, with some trees losing their leaves each fall, while others remain evergreen throughout the year.
In the far north, just south of the Arctic, boreal forests – also known as taiga – feature abundant conifers.
grassland ecosystems
Different types of grassland ecosystems can be found in the grasslands, savannahs and steppes.
Grassland ecosystems are typically found in tropical or temperate regions, although they can also exist in colder areas, such as the well-known Siberian steppe.
The grasslands share the common climatic characteristic of semi-aridity. Trees are sparse or…