The term 'Ecosystem' means a biological community where living and nonliving things interact. It consists of both biotic and abiotic factors. Plants, animals, weather, and other organisms work together, where a bubble of life is created. Ecosystems are the foundation of the 'Biosphere.' It maintains the balance of Earth. It involves every living thing in these complex networks of interdependent relationships. In an ecosystem, even a slight change in any factor (living or nonliving) can affect all the other factors involved.
The scientists identified a total of 431 ecosystems in the World.Out of these, 278 units were natural or semi-natural environment combinations. The different ecosystems include terrestrial ecosystems, forest ecosystems, grassland ecosystems, desert ecosystems, tundra ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems, freshwater ecosystems, marine ecosystems, and many more. All of them are different from each other as they all consist of various factors. Each type of ecosystem can house a wide variety of habitats, thus accounting for the diversity of plants, animals, and other organisms on Earth.
The sun provides energy for every ecosystem. Also, an ecosystem must contain producers, consumers, decomposers, and dead and inorganic matter, which makes one complete. It is the main reason for maintaining the balance of our lives. Because a healthy ecosystem provides us with clean water, which we use regularly, purifies our air, regulates the climate and keeps it stable, maintains the pH of our soil, recycles nutrients, and provides us with food that makes us lead a good life with all the requirements.
Unfortunately, with our unhealthy lifestyles, we are slowly damaging the Earth that we live in. That is because we are adding up bad habits and destroying the climate. We are constantly hunting animals, wasting electricity and other natural resources. Hence, we are facing natural disasters and other problems. We can try and follow some simple steps to save our planet and make it healthier by:
1. Planting trees.
2. Use of fewer fossil fuels.
3. Stop cutting down trees for human needs,
4. Using public transport.
5. Spreading awareness about the problems
6. Conserving water.
7. Using long-lasting bulbs and many more.
There are more simple steps that can change our planet Earth. If we want to lead a healthy life, we also need to take proper care of our surroundings and leave all the bad habits that hamper it. A healthy ecosystem could remain stable forever only if it's taken care of how it provides us with everything we need to survive.
Examples of ecosystems
- Agro ecosystem
- Aquatic ecosystem
- Marine ecosystem
- Coral reef ecosystem
- Desert ecosystem
- Forest ecosystem
- Human ecosystem
- Urban ecosystem
- Littoral zone ecosystem
- Prairie ecosystem
- Rainforest ecosystem
- Savanna ecosystem
- Steppe ecosystem
- Taiga ecosystem
- Tundra ecosystem