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Definition of ecosystem

What is an ecosystem?

An ecosystem is the name for a group of plants and animal species, their surroundings and how they live together. An ecosystem can be as small as a puddle or as large as an ocean; and you can find them everywhere.

The word ecosystem is made up of two words eco and system.

Eco: is the relationship between living things and their environment. You may have heard people use the term eco-friendly to describe products and services, and that usually means it isn't damaging to the environment, or that it is less damaging than other products.

System: a set of connected things that form a whole or work together. Think about a railway system: railway stations are connected by rails, which a train must move along to get from one station to the next. Without any one thing - rails, trains or stations - the system wouldn't work.

If you want to put it simply - an ecosystem has three major parts

1. Physical environment (surroundings)
2. Living things (plants and animals)
3. How living things live in their surroundings

As we said earlier, there are thousands of different ecosystems in the world. Actually billions and billions. To narrow it down a bit, we give ecosystems names based on where they are, or who lives in them.