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What is an ecosystem?

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Quick answer

An ecosystem is a community of living things — plants, animals, and microbes — interacting with each other and with their non-living surroundings like air, water, soil, and sunlight. Energy and nutrients flow through it, linking every organism into one interdependent system.

Key things to understand

  1. It includes both living parts (organisms) and non-living parts (water, air, soil, climate).
  2. Energy flows one way — from the Sun to plants to animals — while nutrients are recycled.
  3. Producers (plants) make food, consumers eat, and decomposers return nutrients to the soil.
  4. Ecosystems range from a single pond to an entire rainforest or the whole ocean.
  5. Removing one species can ripple through the whole web of relationships.

People also ask

What is the difference between an ecosystem and a habitat?
A habitat is the place where a species lives; an ecosystem is the larger web of all the organisms in an area plus their physical environment.
Why are ecosystems important?
They provide clean air and water, food, pollination, and climate regulation — services that all life, including humans, depends on.
What is a food web?
A food web maps who eats whom in an ecosystem, showing how energy and nutrients pass from producers to consumers to decomposers.
What are the parts of an ecosystem?
Living things (plants, animals, microbes) and non-living factors like sunlight, water, air, and soil.
How does energy flow in an ecosystem?
From the sun to plants (producers), then to animals (consumers), and finally to decomposers.
What happens if part of an ecosystem is removed?
It can disrupt food chains and balance, sometimes harming many other species.

Part of the guide: Nature & Earth: Living Things and Rocks →