Concept of Ecosystem

The concept of an ecosystem involves a collection of living and nonliving organisms and their interactions. It is a dynamic system made up of both biotic and abiotic elements. These biotic and abiotic interactions maintain the ecosystem’s balance. We, as humans, are an essential component of it. The phrase ‘ecosystem services’ refers to the multiple advantages humans receive from the ecosystem.

Types of Ecosystem

There are majorly two types of ecosystems: terrestrial and aquatic. More ecosystems come under terrestrial ecosystems: forest, grassland, desert and the tundra. 

Terrestrial Type

As the anime suggests, the terrestrial type of ecosystem is all about those environments that don’t involve water bodies. One of the best examples of terrestrial ecosystems would be the forest. There could be various biotic and abiotic components in a forest. Biotic components include trees, herbs and shrubs, and animals. On the other hand, abiotic components include different water bodies, sunlight, etc.

Aquatic Type  

Aquatic ecosystem is of four types:

• Marine coastal ecosystem: It includes oceans and seas, including the organisms in them. The marine ecosystem occupies about 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, with an average depth of around 4000 metres. Freshwater rivers gradually drain into the ocean, and various species live at different depths of the sea or ocean.

• Wetlands: In these ecosystems, the soil is inundated or saturated for at least a portion of the year. These are marshy areas that are frequently flooded and are home to various plants and animals. Wetlands are home to water lilies, marshes, swamps, northern pikes, dragonflies, and green herons.

• Lentic ecosystem: Pools, ponds, and lakes are examples of still or slow-moving water, and are home to floating and rooted plants, algae, and animals. Lentic ecosystems comprise all standing water environments, such as lakes and ponds.

• Lotic ecosystem: These include environments with rapidly moving water, for example, rivers and streams. They are home to many insects, including beetles, mayflies, and stoneflies. River dolphins, beavers, otters, eels, minnows, and trout are among the creatures that are frequently found here.

Aquatic ecosystems involve water bodies like ponds and lakes. Marine ecosystems are more complex and are divided into various levels.

Aquatic  ecosystems could be complex or straightforward. The most straightforward aquatic ecosystem comprises living biotic creatures like fishes and other marine animals. The aquariums are composed of special aquatic herbs and shrubs placed on special aquatic rocks. These are the simplest forms of aquatic ecosystems.

Structure of the Ecosystem

When one talks about the ecosystem’s structure, there could be two different basic components:

• Abiotic
• Biotic

The abiotic component of the ecosystem is the non-living component. This includes numerous things such as the sunlight, soil temperature and even water.

They are crucial and play a beneficial role in assisting the biotic components.

On the other hand, living organisms form the biotic components of an ecosystem. The living organisms interact with the non-living ones to complete an ecosystem. The biotic components could range from unicellular organisms to highly-developed multicellular organisms. 

When one defines the structure of the entire ecosystem, it could be divided into four different major groups:

• Producers
• Consumers
• Decomposers
• Another abiotic component

Producers

Producers are the primary producing organisms in an ecosystem. The producers manufacture food using different processes such as photosynthesis. Producers are the primary energy source and produce energy at the primary level. 

Consumers

Consumers are the ones that depend on producers for their energy. They are not capable of producing their own energy. To get an accurate energy source supply, consumers are always looking  to the producers and are entirely dependent on them.

Decomposers

Decomposers are the organisms that rely on dead and decaying organisms for their primary energy source. Decomposers are not the leading energy producers in the entire ecosystem. They have the big role of finishing up the dead and the decayed matter to return the initial energy to the ground to help the producers gain this energy back.

Functions of an Ecosystem

• The primary function is to regulate and promote the essential ecological processes to support life on Earth and provide stability to the ongoing process.
• There are different trophic levels of ecosystems, and the work of an ecosystem is to maintain a balance between all such tropic labels. 
• It also provides a way to cycle the minerals.
• It maintains the interaction of abiotic components with the biotic components.
• It maintains energy flow through the food chain.
• It ensures nutrient cycling (biogeochemical cycles).
• It ensures ecological succession or ecosystem development.
• It involves Homeostasis (or cybernetic) or feedback control mechanisms.

Factors Affecting the Productivity of an Ecosystem 

Here are a few factors that affect the productivity of an ecosystem: 

Solar radiation: With the increase in solar radiation, productivity increases.

Temperature: The most productive ecosystem can be found near the equator terrestrial region.

Moisture: Elements like soil moisture, precipitation fluctuation and transpiration, and leaf water potential rely upon the surrounding environment’s moisture content. 

Mineral nutrition: There is an increase in productivity due to the high mineral content uptake from the soil and nitrogen metabolism. However, the availability of heavy metals and salinity reduces the productivity of an ecosystem. 

Biotic activities: Herbivores who live above and below the ground parasites and predators decrease primary productivity. 

Human population:

There is a reduction in productivity due to population increase as it causes a decrease in greenery. The lower parts do not get enough light and nutrition in aquatic ecosystems. Hence there is a hindrance to productivity. We can call the aquatic environment the least productive ecosystem. 

Conclusion

The ecosystem is the smallest structural and functional unit of nature or the environment. It is a self-regulatory and self-sufficient unit. Different ecologists define ecosystems differently. The ecosystem is the basic functional unit that explains all the essential functions an organism interacts with its environment and defines many other components.