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Definition: ecosystem from Philip's Encyclopedia

Interacting community of organisms and their physical environment. It includes all organic life in an area with the soil, water and other inorganic components, and the ecological interactions that take place within and between the organic and inorganic. It is a complete ecosystem only if it can incorporate energy into organic compounds and pass it from organism to organism, and if it recycles elements for re-use. Examples include meadows, woodland and ponds.


ecosystem

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In ecology, a unit consisting of living organisms and the environment that they live in. A simple example of an ecosystem is a pond. The pond ecosystem includes all the pond plants and animals and also the water and other substances that make up the pond itself. Individual organisms interact with each other and with their environment in a variety of relationships, such as two organisms in competition, predator and prey, or as a food source for other organisms in a food chain . These relationships are usually complex and finely balanced, and in natural ecosystems should be self-sustaining. However, major changes to an ecosystem, such as climate change, overpopulation, or the removal of a species, may threaten the system's sustainability and result in its eventual destruction. For instance, the removal of a major carnivore predator can result in the destruction of an ecosystem through overgrazing by herbivores. Ecosystems can be large, such as the global ecosystem (the ecosphere), or…
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Full text Article ECOSYSTEM

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
German biologist Ecosystems are thus phenotypic and functional images of our environment and are divided up and delimited in different ways. New concepts such as agricultural ecosystems, urban ecosystems, etc. are now coming to be accepted. Together with natural, nearly natural and semi-natural…
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Full text Article ecosystem

From Environmental History and Global Change: A Dictionary of Environmental History
A concept first developed by British ecologist A.G. Tansley in the early C20 who argued that organisms could not be understood without examining their relationships to each other and to their environments. The flows of energy and material through an ecosystem can often be quantified. Aspects of…
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Energy systems model showing some of the...
1. Ecosystem Health and Ecological Integrity 2. Historical Background on Ecosystem Health 3. Energy Systems Analysis, Health and Emergy 4. Energy and Ecosystems 5. Direct Measures of Ecosystem Health 6. Indirect Measures of Ecosystem Health Glossary ascendency A summary measure of the magnitude of…
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Full text Article ecosystem

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In ecology, a unit consisting of living organisms and the environment that they live in. A simple example of an ecosystem is a pond. The pond ecosystem includes all the pond plants and animals and also the water and other substances that make up the pond itself. Individual organisms interact with…
| 954 words
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Full text Article Ecosystems

From World of Sociology, Gale
Ecosystems, such as this marsh and wetland strip,...
The term “ecosystem” was coined in 1935 by British plant ecologist Arthur Tansley. An ecosystem is an interdependent, sustainable community in a particular environment, consisting of plants, animals, and microorganisms as well as abiotic (nonliving) materials such as solar energy, carbon, nitrogen, …
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Full text Article Ecosystems

From 50 Biology Ideas You Really Need to Know
Ecosystems
From lakes and deserts to rainforests and reefs, every habitat includes a web of interactions that allows energy and biomass to flow through the environment. These ecosystems contain limited resources, creating competition both within populations and between communities – a major driving force for…
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Full text Article Ecosystems

From The Visual Guides: Understanding Weather and The Environment Full text Article THE ENVIRONMENT
Description Time Total Time To survive, an animal must draw its resources from the species that surround it and from its environment. 00:02 - 00:09 00:01:31 A community of animals and plants living in relationship with each other in a given environment is an ecosystem. 00:10 - 00:18 In an ecosystem, …
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Full text Article ecosystem

From The Penguin Dictionary of Science
A fundamental concept in ecology relating to a community of organisms which interact with each other and with their physical and chemical ➤ environment to produce a characteristic pattern of energy flow through the living system. The pattern of energy flow is determined by the arrangement and…
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Full text Article marine ecosystem

From Science Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia of Marine Science
The plants and animals of a region, together with their chemical and physical environment, make up an ecosystem. All the plants and animals on Earth, together with their environment (the atmosphere, the oceans, and the land) make up the ecosphere. Ecosystems can be delineated in many ways. For…
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Full text Article Ecosystem Services

From International Encyclopedia of Human Geography
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Glossary Ecosystem Services (ES) A broad term for the direct and indirect benefits that humans receive from ecosystems. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) IPBES, founded in 2012, is an intergovernmental…
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