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The environment and the ecosystem are two interrelated concepts, in ecology. The primary difference between environment and ecosystem is that the environment relates to the immediate surroundings, whereas the ecosystem refers to a community of living species and their interactions with non-living elements of the environment. Environment is everything around us including living organisms and non-living beings such as soil, air, water while ecosystem is a much broader term of which environment is a part of.
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Key Terms: Environment, Ecosystem, Ecology, Earth, Biotic, Living Things
What is Environment?
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Everything that surrounds us is the environment. It is the area we live in and sustains life on the earth. All the physical, chemical, and natural forces that exist on our planet are part of the environment. The word environment is derived from ‘environ’ which means surrounding in French. All organisms like birds, animals, human beings, reptiles, including the microorganisms like bacteria, algae, viruses, and so on are the biotic components of environment. Whereas the soil, land, mountain, river, cloud, air, including physical components like temperature, humidity, and so on are all abiotic components. An environment in the real sense is the surrounding around us, where wesee, touch, feel and perform actions.
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| Topic Related Concepts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Four Spheres of Earth | Components of Ecosystem | Biome |
| Aquatic Ecosystem | Terrestrial Ecosystem | Forests |
What is Ecosystem?
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The ecosystem is a community where the living and non-living components of the environment are in continuous interaction. It is the structural and functional unit of ecology and can be termed as the chain of interactions that take place between the living things and the environment. An ecosystem can be small or huge and is responsible for maintaining stability within the environment. An ecosystem can either be:
- Terrestrial Ecosystem, i.e., land based
- Aquatic Ecosystem, i.e., water based
Different land-based ecosystems are forests, grassland, tundra, and desert. The aquatic ecosystem is further categorised into freshwater and marine. Ecosystem is always in a continuous evolution where all the biotic and abiotic components are interrelated. Ecosystem provides the circumstances for any living-organism to live along with other factors.
Ecosystem Division
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| Chapter Related Concepts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tundra Ecosystem | Effects of Climate Chnage | Deforestation and Afforestation |
| Biotic Factors | Abiotic Factors | Biomass |
Difference between Environment and Ecosystem
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Environment and ecosystem being important parts of ecology differ in several areas. A brief differentiation between the two is given below:
| Environment | Ecosystem |
|---|---|
| The surrounding in which organisms dwell is environment. | Ecosystem is a community of organisms where the biotic and abiotic components are in continuous interaction with each other. |
| It consists of physical components. | It consists of biological or living components. |
| It is a living space for elements on the planet earth. | It is the interaction between living and non-living factors. |
| The environment is further divided into macro and micro environment. | The ecosystem is either aquatic or terrestrial. |
| When an organism moves from one place to another, the environment changes. | The ecosystem remains the same despite the movement of the organism. |
| The environment is an area at a given time. | The ecosystem comprises all the essential life processes. |
Also Read: Environmental Pollution
Things to Remember
- All the physical, chemical, and natural forces that exist on our planet are part of the environment.
- The ecosystem is a community where the living and nonliving components of the environment are in continuous interaction.
- Ecosystem is always in a continuous evolution where all the biotic and abiotic components are interrelated.
- An environment in the real sense is the surrounding around us, where wesee, touch, feel and perform actions.
- When an organism moves from one place to another, the environment changes but the ecosystem remains same.
Sample Questions
Ques: What is Ecology? (2 Marks)
Ans: Ecology is the branch of environmental science that deals with the study of relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. It aims at understanding the vital connections between plants and animals and the world around them.
Ques: How environment and ecosystem are different? (3 Marks)
Ans: The environment is everything around us, including living organisms and nonliving beings such as soil, air, water, etc. The environment helps nourish life on Earth. But, the ecosystem is a community of living beings and nonliving components interacting with each other.
Ques: What are the types of ecosystem? (2 Marks)
Ans: An ecosystem is either aquatic, that which exists in the water or terrestrial, which means land-based ecosystems. Different land-based ecosystems are forests, grassland, tundra, and desert. An aquatic ecosystem is either freshwater or marine
Ques: What are the components of environment? (2 Marks)
Ans: Biotic and abiotic are the two components of the environment. The biotic components of the environment are all organisms like birds, animals, human beings, reptiles, including the microorganisms like bacteria, algae, viruses, and so on. The abiotic components of the environment are soil, land, mountain, river, cloud, air, including physical components like temperature, humidity, and so on.
Ques: Is river an ecosystem? (2 Marks)
Ans: In a given natural habitat, an ecosystem is the sum of interactions between plants, animals, and microbes, as well as between them and non-living physical and chemical components. River habitats have largely unidirectional flowing water.
Ques: What is the role of environment in our lives? (3 Marks)
Ans: Environmental resources play a wide range of roles in human well-being. It possesses both instrumental and fundamental characteristics. We benefit from its existence in both ways. The environment sustains life, promotes physical and mental well-being, and brings spiritual pleasure.
Ques: Is an aquarium a complete ecosystem?. (2 Marks)
Ans: An aquarium is an artificial ecosystem made by man. An ecosystem is said to be complete if it possesses all the biological and physical components vital for the survival of fishes. Hence it is a complete ecosystem.
Ques: What is the importance of ecosystem? (2 Marks)
Ans: Ecosystem maintains a balance in the environment. It provides fresh air to breathe and sequesters carbon to regulate the climate. It cycles the nutrients through various biogeochemical cycles so that we have access to clean drinking water without any costly methods. It provides food and shelter to a number of living organisms. It also provides raw materials for different industrial and domestic purposes.
Ques: Give examples of aquatic ecosystem and terrestrial ecosystem. (3 Marks)
Ans:
Aquatic ecosystem–The ecosystems present in a body of water is called the Aquatic ecosystem. There are two types of Aquatic ecosystem :
- Marine Ecosystem.
- Freshwater Ecosystem.
Terrestrial ecosystems–The ecosystems, which are exclusively land-based are called the Terrestrial ecosystems. There are four different types of terrestrial ecosystem:
- Desert Ecosystems.
- Forest Ecosystems.
- Tundra Ecosystems.
- Grassland Ecosystems.
Ques: Explain biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem with exampples. (2 Marks)
Ans: Biotic Components include different life forms in an ecosystem. Based on nutrition, biotic components can be categorised into autotrophs, heterotrophs and saprotrophs (or decomposers). Abiotic components includes the non-living component of an ecosystem. Air, water, soil, minerals, sunlight, temperature, nutrients, wind, altitude, turbidity are few examples of abiotic Components.
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