An ecosystem creates a link that has both the biological community as well as the non-living components of an area. The ecosystem was defined as the living world and its habitat by A.G. Tansley. It meant that any habitat on the earth which includes plants, animals, and non-living substances interact to produce materials that can be exchanged between living and nonliving components of the habitat in an ecosystem. Thus, they perform as a unit, which gets conspicuous during the processes of nutrient cycling, energy flow, decomposition, and productivity. Many ecosystems like ponds, forests, grasslands, etc are there.
The two components of an ecosystem are:
► Biotic component: The living component of an ecosystem is the biotic component. Which includes biotic factors such as producers, consumers, decomposers, etc. It is divided into major groups:
(a) Producers are green plants that include plants and algae. The presence of chlorophyll pigment, helps them carry out the process of photosynthesis in the presence of light. Thus, they are also referred to as converters or transducers.
(b) Consumers or heterotrophs are organisms that cannot manufacture food and are, therefore, directly (primary consumers) or indirectly (secondary and tertiary consumers) dependent on producers for their food.
(c) Decomposers are the microorganisms like bacteria and fungi. The largest population is contributed by them in a food chain by breaking down the remains of dead plants and animals, and nutrients are obtained.
► Abiotic component: These are the nonliving components within an ecosystem such as light, temperature, water, soil, air, inorganic nutrients, etc.