Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment. An ecosystem is a completely independent unit of interdependent organisms that share the same habitat. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs, which show the interdependence of the organisms within the ecosystem. Examples of ecosystems are rain forest, savanna, desert, coral reef and urban ecosystem.

Similar to an ecosystem is a biome, which is a climatically and geographically defined area of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as communities of plants, animals and soil organisms, often referred to as ecosystems. Biomes are defined based on factors such as plant structures (such as trees, shrubs and grasses), leaf types (such as broadleaf and needle-leaf), plant spacing (forest and woodland) and climate. Unlike ecozones, biomes are not defined by genetic, taxonomic or historical similarities. Biomes are often identified with particular patterns of ecological succession and climax vegetation.