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External factors, also called state factors, control the overall structure of an ecosystem and the way things work within it, but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. On broad geographic scales, climate is the factor that "most strongly determines ecosystem processes and structure".
Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of living and non-living components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components such as chemicals , bedrock , soil , plants , and animals .
The underlying concept of an ecosystem can be traced back to 1864 in the published work of George Perkins Marsh ("Man and Nature"). [ 67 ] [ 68 ] Within an ecosystem, organisms are linked to the physical and biological components of their environment to which they are adapted. [ 65 ]
Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components such as chemicals, bedrock, soil, plants, and animals. Ecosystem ecology examines physical and biological structure and ...
Marine ecosystems are important sources of ecosystem services and food and jobs for significant portions of the global population. Human uses of marine ecosystems and pollution in marine ecosystems are significantly threats to the stability of these ecosystems.
Much variation in the flow of energy is found within each type of ecosystem, creating a challenge in identifying variation between ecosystem types. In a general sense, the flow of energy is a function of primary productivity with temperature, water availability, and light availability . [ 25 ]
The biosphere (from Ancient Greek βίος (bíos) 'life' and σφαῖρα (sphaîra) 'sphere'), also called the ecosphere (from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos) 'settlement, house' and σφαῖρα (sphaîra) 'sphere'), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth.
Many desert ecosystems are limited by available water levels, rather than rates of radiation or temperature. Water flow in these ecosystems can be thought of as similar to energy flow; in fact, it is often useful to look at water and energy flow together when studying desert ecosystems and ecology. [3]