Understanding Planet as an Ecosystem

Understanding Planet as an Ecosystem.

Understanding Planet as an Ecosystem. Earth is an ecosystem as a larger scale.

What is an ecosystem?

Ecosystem refers to an interconnected system.

It’s a biological community that involves interactions between the organisms and their physical environment.

These organisms include humans, animals, micro-organisms, etc. Anything that qualifies to be a living organism.

There are various types of ecosystems. Namely:

  • Forest Ecosystems
  • Grassland Ecosystems
  • Desert Ecosystems
  • Tundra Ecosystems
  • Freshwater Ecosystems
  • Marine Ecosystems

These ecosystems have been classified as per their vegetation types and nature, climatic conditions as well as water type.

They can be subdivided into various other groups when being very specific of an ecosystem in a particular area.

What connects living organisms and their physical environment ?

They are connected by the nutrients cycles and energy flows.

Everything in our planet depend on another thing for basic needs such as food, habitat, reproduction, dispersal, etc.

What happens to this ecosystem when one species is destroyed or goes extinct?

As we have seen we are a connected system. So our survival and quality of life relies on the connections among us. So when one thing is removed, we will surely feel the inbalance.

Food chain vs Food Web in the ecosystem

Foodchain is a linear sequence of organisms which starts from producer organisms and ends with decomposer species. While foodweb is a connection of multiple food chains and follows different lines.

Food web helps understands representation of the energy flow through different organisms in an ecosystem.

In both food chains and food webs, we have producers, consumers and decomposers.

If producers reduced, consumers will have nothing to consume and decomposers will have alot to decompose due to high rates of death as a result of hunger.

The producers need help from insects and other animals so as to disperse, fertilise and reproduce. If these organisms are not present to aid in this process. Producers will eventually die. So there will be no production of food. And the effects will be felt along the chain and web.

Are humans affected directly by the extinction of species in our ecosystem ?

Are we affected by the extinction of species in our planet? Does it affect our quality of life?

Technology and researches have made it possible for us to get food from a wide range of options. That’s we can either get through genetically modified techniques or the old fashion way, the non-genetic modifications process.

As much as the genetic modified techniques offer easy ways to fight food scarcity around the world. It has been criticized by several scientist and blamed for some lifestyle diseases. These technique heavily depend on the science in the laboratories, making it look like we can literally produce food in our labs with no help from the insects or other organisms.

We also have the greenhouses that allow control of conditions that make food production easier, cheaper and faster. But just like the GMOs, it’s full of chemicals.

Our bodies are full of chemicals hence the chronical diseases that we are yet to get cure for

Almost half of our plate if not whole, is made up of of food genetically engineered. Food that has been subjected to chemicals for its growth and speedy maturity. This includes both vegetable and meat.

These foods have also contributed to most of the current chronic diseases as well as lifestyle diseases.

We no longer allow processes time as nature does. We like instant results.

Conclusion

Each and every species in our ecosystem is connected. And all these oraganisms need each other as well as interact with their physical environment. For a balanced and great quality life.

We need the pollinators to transfer the pollen grains, animals to disperse seeds, and microbes to decompose the decaying matters.

Each of us play an important role. May it be the producers, prey , predators and decomposers. Science may offer a helping hand but we can’t replace everything with it. Some things to run well, need us to allow nature to take its course.

Every species is importance hence should be protected from extinction. The physical environment is resourceful too, hence should be maintained and conserved.

We obtain a sustainable ecosystem when we balance what we are extracting from nature and time we allow it to produce the same. If we are taking more than it can produce, then our ecosystem will not be balanced. And we will feel the impact after some time.

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