Ecosystems and Their Components
Think of an ecosystem as nature's neighbourhood - it's a complete community where plants, animals, soil, rainwater, and sunlight all interact to create a functioning system. Everything has a role to play, and nothing exists in isolation.
Within any ecosystem, you'll find biotic factors (the living residents like plants, birds, and insects) and abiotic factors thenon−livingelementslikeclimate,soil,androcks. These components work together constantly, influencing each other in ways that keep the system balanced.
Ecosystems come in different sizes too. Local small-scale ecosystems might be a pond in your local park or a woodland nearby, whilst global-scale ecosystems (called biomes) include massive areas like tropical rainforests and deserts that span continents.
Quick Tip: Remember that humans are part of ecosystems too - we're not separate from nature, we're living within these systems every day!