Define ecosystem and describe its components.

by Mudassir Mohammad Mafara
(Zamfara, Nigeria)

Ecosystem refers to as the assemblage of plants, animala and microbial species living together in one place interacting to each other as well as their physical and chemical environment.

Components of ecosystem includes the following:

1. Inorganic substances. These are simpler materials which are build up to form complex compounds that makes up the body of living organisms e.g C, N, CO2, H2O etc.

2. Organic substances. These are compounds of carbon that forms a link between living and non-lving parts of an ecosystem. they are formed from inorganic compounds and passed into the body of living organisms through feeding.

3. Climatic factors. These includes physical factors such as temprature, light, relative humidity, rainfall etc., they determined abundance of organisms in their habitats and also determined which orgasnism to survive, in which habitat and inn what codition.

4. Producers. These are autotrophic organisms that manufacture foods from simple inorganic substances using CO2 and H2O in the presence of sunlight. all other organisms depend either directly or indirectly on producers.

5. Consumers. These are heterotrophic organisms mainly anmals that ingest organic matter from other organisms.

6. Decomposers. They are also known as saprotrophs and mainly bacteria and fungi. they break down dead protoplasm of an orrganisms to9 release their products back to inorganic materials usable by producers.