THE 10 MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ECOSYSTEM - ENVIRONMENT - 2024

Some of the most important characteristics of an ecosystem are its abiotic and biotic components, food chains or stochastic events.

An ecosystem is a set of living organisms (which are scientifically known as biocenosis), -such as animals and plants- that are related to each other, are related to other physical factors (not living) and to their environment.

All of them have in common that they share a physical place –called biotope- that can vary in its extension as we will see in some of the characteristics of ecosystems.

Main characteristics of an ecosystem

Abiotic components of an ecosystem

Also known as "abiota" are the elements that are considered lifeless in an ecosystem, but that also interact with each other and with the other components.

Among abiotic components are physical factors such as humidity, light, temperature, wind, dew, and space.

Biotic components of an ecosystem

Also known as "biota" are the organisms that have life within an ecosystem. Biotic components can be classified according to the type of diet that characterizes them or according to their nutritional needs, into autotrophs and heterotrophs.

Autotrophs are self-nourishing or self-nurturing organisms. These are the bacteria, plants and algae that take in the inorganic raw materials to make their food themselves.

The heterotrophs, on the other hand, are those that feed on others. With this, we refer to those animals, fungi and microorganisms that obtain their energy and nutrients from the ingestion of other animals or plants.

Functioning of an ecosystem

Basically, for an ecosystem to function, it requires energy. Energy is what maintains the life of the ecosystem. The main source of energy in any ecosystem comes from the sun.

Another function of energy in an ecosystem is the mobilization of both water, minerals and other physical elements, which allows them to pass from the soil, water or air to the organisms.

The energy even allows these components to pass from one living organism to another to finally return to the soil, water or air from which they came, thus closing the cycle.

Ecological succession

Sometimes some of the elements of an ecosystem are replaced naturally by another element over time.

For example, in the case of vegetation when grasses replace mosses and lichens. Once the ecosystem reaches equilibrium again and changes cease, it is called climaxing.

From there, the changes that occur are between the same elements, for example, new trees replacing old trees.

When the changes happen from the intervention of a human being, it is said that the ecological succession has anthropogenic causes.

Biomes

Biome is understood to be large terrestrial ecosystems that are characterized by having the same type of vegetation.

On our planet there are many biomes that are determined mainly by climate (temperature and rainfall), soils and vegetation.

The climate is in turn influenced by the macroclimate of the region and the microclimate of the specific place.

Classification according to its origin

Ecosystems can be classified in different ways. A first classification is according to whether its origin is natural or artificial.

Natural ecosystems have not been modified by human activity. Artificial ecosystems are man-made for some purpose. Examples of the latter are dams or fish tanks.

Sorting by size and location

They can also be classified according to the size of the ecosystem. It is called a microecosystem when it has a small area, such as a fish tank or a small garden on the balcony of a home.

On the other hand, it is called a macroecosystem when they are large ecosystems such as the sea or a mountain.

It can also be classified according to the location of the ecosystem. When it is in water, it is called an aquatic ecosystem.

When they are aerial ecosystems that also combine relationships on earth, they are called aerial ecosystems.

While the so-called transition ecosystems are those that occur between water and land, such as riverbanks or swamps.

Food chains

In an ecosystem, living beings share the search for food in order to survive. In the case of animals, competition for food is combined with the need not to be eaten in this attempt.

In the case of plants, the need for food is given by water, natural light, air and minerals present in the soil. In both you require living beings need the energy provided by food.

The way in which energy passes from one living being to another is called the "food chain." In general, it happens like this: the energy from the sun is taken by plants.

Herbivores - animals that eat plants - obtain part of that energy by ingesting plants. And at the higher levels of the chain, that is, for carnivores, the energy that arrives is even better.

Ecosystem structure

An ecosystem can also be classified according to whether its structure is vertical or horizontal. In the vertical structure, as its name indicates, the greatest variety and complexity of the ecosystem occurs vertically, as can be seen in the jungle where there is a herbaceous stratum (relative to grass), a shrub stratum (relative to the shrubs) and an arboreal stratum (related to trees).

On the other hand, the horizontal structure of the ecosystem develops along, as for example it can be the example of a river bed.

Stochastic events in ecosystems

The modifications in ecosystems are given by events that most of the time cannot be predicted by humans. The modifications come from events that happen randomly and for this reason they are called stochastic events.

Before these events, the individuals that are part of that ecosystem have different reactions. And the future characteristics of that ecosystem will be the result of the sum of all these behaviors.

References

1. RICKLEFS, Robert (2001). "Invitation to Ecology", Editorial Médica Panamericana, Madrid.
2. Practical thematic consultant (2001). "Ecology", Editorial Nauta, Bogotá.
3. ATLAS OF ECOLOGY (1996). Editorial Thema, Madrid.
4. University of Navarra, Spain. (2015). E-book: Earth Sciences and the Ecosystem. Unit 4. Ecosystems. Recovered by: ecnun.es.
5. Mexican Biodiversity. National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity Government of Mexico. México (2017) "What is an ecosystem" Recovered from: conabio.gob.mx.