Environment and Ecosystem are two terms that are often confused and used interchangeably. There is a difference between Environment and Ecosystem in the context of environmentalism as well as in science. This article will highlight the difference between Environment and Ecosystem.

What is the Environment?

Environment refers to the surroundings or place where a human presence exists. Generally, the environment is a place that surrounds us and keeps us alive. The environment is the sum of all external conditions affecting or modifying an organism or ecological community. Environmental effects can include abiotic factors (e.g., temperature, light, soil chemistry) and biotic factors (e.g., predation, competition). The term environment can be defined as a spatial area that influences an organism in some manner. The environment may be used interchangeably with habitat in scientific literature, but ‘habitat’ tends to be used when discussing ecology whereas ‘environment’ tends to refer to issues with a broader scope than ecology. While the environment can be a plant or animal’s home or environment, an ecosystem is much wider than that. As such an ecosystem is made up of living organisms with all of their organs and functions, these organisms collectively make up an ecosystem.

What is an Ecosystem?

An ecosystem refers to the collection of all living and nonliving things within a particular geographical area such as a region, country, island, or even the whole world. It refers to the natural community that exists in a particular place. Ecosystems contain physical and chemical elements (such as soil, and water) resulting from both living and nonliving interactions between plants and animals. An ecosystem has physical boundaries and a stable internal structure that can persist over at least a relatively long time span. Ecosystems are composed of interacting species (plants and animals), their individual members, biogeochemical systems, abiotic factors and energy relationships. The study of ecosystems is called Ecology.

How to Identify an Ecosystem

If you have a pond that is home to tadpoles, frogs, fish, water lilies and weedy plants in it then you have a pond ecosystem. If you take the above-mentioned plant life away from the pond and let it dry up then eventually all living matter will die out leaving only dead organic matter in the pond. The ecosystem is dead. The pond would then become a desert of dead organic matter.

If you have a bird-nest made from twigs, leaves and sticks in its natural habitat then you can get a feel for an ecosystem. If the birds start to move their nests and roost in other trees, bushes or on the ground then it is obvious that the birds are not happy with the change in their environment. It is not possible for them to adapt to such rapid changes in their environment. They are starving because they can no longer feed their young ones.

Why is it important to identify an Ecosystem?

The reason why it is important to identify an ecosystem is that ecosystems are very sensitively dependent on other ecosystems for their survival. This can be observed by the fact that the human population has increased approximately eight-fold since the time of our ancestors’ existence. Rapid industrialization and urbanization have increased the amount of chemicals in our environments, which has impacted negatively on flora and fauna ecosystems as well as natural resources like petroleum.

Difference between Environment and Ecosystem

1. An ecosystem is a living system that is composed of a balance of life forms, physical components and energy. The environment is made up of the physical surroundings that are the natural elements in which an ecosystem exists.
2. Ecosystems have stable internal structures that persist over time. The environment can change very quickly if you alter one thing from all other things in it. The environment does not have such stable structures as ecosystems do. Environmental changes affect many other things in the environment as well: changes in people’s behaviour, shifts in nature’s cycle and even weather patterns.
3. While habitats are an area of land, environment refers to a people’s surroundings and overall social being. Ecosystems tend to consist of many species and a high degree of interdependence between them.
4. Ecosystems are living organisms and their functions. While habitats are more often than not human-made (and therefore artificial) structures, ecosystems by definition include humans within them.
5. Ecosystems such as forests, rivers, lakes and oceans are considered to be biomes; a biome is defined as a distinctive community of plants and animals that live in a given area. Ecosystems can be identified through the use of satellite imagery, even from space.

Conclusion

An ecosystem is an interdependent community of living organisms (including humans) and nonliving components. It is a dynamic subset of interacting ecosystems. Ecosystems are made up of biotic components, abiotic factors, and energy. Ecosystems can be small areas or large regions like the whole world. They have their own boundaries and life cycles. The study of ecosystems is called ecology. Ecosystems are diverse but all ecosystems have one thing in common: they must exchange matter with their surroundings in order to live.