Steppe, deciduous forest, swamp, aquarium, ocean, field - any item from this list can be considered as an example of an ecosystem. In our article, we will reveal the essence of this concept and consider its components.
Environmental communities
Ecology is a science that studies all facets of the relationship of living organisms in nature. Therefore, the subject of its study is not a separate individual and the conditions of its existence. Ecology considers the nature, outcome and productivity of their interaction. So, the totality of populations determines the features of the functioning of the biocenosis, which includes a number of biological species.
But under natural conditions, populations interact not only among themselves, but also with various environmental conditions. Such an ecological community is called an ecosystem. The term biogeocenosis is also used to denote this concept. Both the miniature aquarium and the boundless taiga are an example of an ecosystem.
Ecosystem: definition of a concept
As you can see, the ecosystem is a fairly broad concept. From a scientific point of view, this community is a combination of elements of living nature and an abiotic environment. Consider an example of an ecosystem such as the steppe. This is an open grassy space with plants and animals that have adapted to the conditions of cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers. In the course of adaptation for life in the steppe, they developed a number of adaptation mechanisms.
So, numerous rodents make underground passages in which they store grain reserves. Some steppe plants have such a modification of the shoot as the bulb. It is characteristic of tulips, crocuses, snowdrops. Within two weeks, while there is enough moisture in the spring, their shoots have time to grow and bloom. And they experience an unfavorable period underground, eating at the expense of previously stored nutrients and water from the fleshy bulb.
Cereal plants have another underground modification of the shoot - the rhizome. Substances are also stored in its elongated internodes. Examples of steppe cereals are a bonfire, bluegrass, hedgehog, fescue, and field mushroom. Another feature is the narrow leaves, which prevent excessive evaporation.
Ecosystem classification
As you know, the ecosystem boundary is established by phytocenosis - the plant community. This feature is also used in the classification of these communities. Thus, the forest is a natural ecosystem, examples of which are very diverse: oak, aspen, tropical, birch, fir, lime, hornbeam.
Another classification is based on zonal or climatic features. Such an example of an ecosystem is a community of shelf or sea coasts, rocky or sandy deserts, floodplain or subalpine meadows. The totality of such communities of different types make up the global shell of our planet - the biosphere.
Natural Ecosystem: Examples
Natural and artificial biogeocenoses are also distinguished. Communities of the first type function without human intervention. A natural living ecosystem, examples of which are quite numerous, has a cyclic structure. This means that the primary production of plants returns again to the system of the circulation of substances and energy. And this despite the fact that it always goes through a variety of power circuits.
Agrobiocenoses
Using natural resources, man has created numerous artificial ecosystems. Examples of such communities are agrobiocenoses. These include fields, gardens, orchards, pastures, greenhouses, forest stands. Agrocenoses are created to produce agricultural products. They have the same elements of food chains as the natural ecosystem.
The producers in agrocenoses are both cultivated and weed plants. Rodents, predators, insects, birds are consumers, or consumers of organic matter. And bacteria and fungi represent a group of reducers. A distinctive feature of agrobiocenoses is the obligatory participation of man, which is a necessary link in the trophic chain and creates the conditions for the productivity of an artificial ecosystem.
Comparison of natural and artificial ecosystems
Artificial ecosystems, the examples of which we have already examined, have a number of disadvantages compared to natural ones. The latter are distinguished by their stability and ability to self-regulation. But agrobiocenoses without human participation cannot exist for a long time. So, a wheat field or a vegetable garden with vegetable crops independently produces no more than a year, perennial herbaceous plants - about three. The record holder in this regard is the garden, the fruit crops of which are able to develop independently up to 20 years.
Natural ecosystems receive only solar energy. A person introduces its additional sources into agrobiocenoses in the form of tillage, fertilizers, aeration, weed and pest control. However, there are many cases when human activities led to adverse consequences: salinization and waterlogging of soils, desertification of territories, pollution of natural shells.
Ecosystems of cities
At the present stage of development, man has already made significant changes in the composition and structure of the biosphere. Therefore, a separate shell is created that is directly created by human activity. It is called the noosphere. Recently, such a concept as urbanization has reached wide development - the increasing role of cities in human life. They already live more than half the population of our planet.
The ecosystem of cities has its own distinctive features. In them, the ratio of the elements of trophic chains is violated , since the regulation of all processes associated with the conversion of substances and energy is carried out exclusively by man. Creating for himself all the possible benefits, he creates a lot of adverse conditions. Polluted air, transport and housing problems, high morbidity, constant noise negatively affect the health of all urban residents.
What is succession
Very often within the same range there is a successive change of natural communities. This phenomenon is called succession. A classic example of ecosystem change is the appearance of deciduous forest in the place of coniferous. Due to the fire, only seeds are preserved on the occupied territory. But for their germination it takes a long time. Therefore, first, grassy vegetation appears at the site of the fire. Over time, it is replaced by shrubs, and they, in turn, are deciduous trees. Such successions are called secondary. They arise under the influence of natural factors or human activities. In nature, they are found quite often.
Primary successions are associated with the process of soil formation. It is characteristic of territories deprived of life. For example, rocks, sand, stones, sandy loam. In this case, first conditions arise for the formation of soils, and only then the remaining components of the biogeocenosis appear.
So, an ecosystem is called a community, which includes biotic elements and factors of inanimate nature. They are in close interaction, connected by a cycle of matter and energy.