Notes

An ecosystem is an entity where living organisms interact with the physical environment. It is an area where physical objects (such as soil, rock, water) function together with plants and animals. An ecosystem can be categorized into two major types: aquatic ecosystems and terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems generally refer to interaction of living and non-living entities in lakes, streams, marshes and ponds. Terrestrial ecosystems are The key to the meaning of terrestrial ecosystems lies in the word “terrestrial", which generally means anything occurring on land. Therefore, terrestrial ecosystem refers to the interaction between living organisms and non-living objects occurring on land masses of islands and continents. They differ from aquatic ecosystems because of lower importance to water, which is a major part in aquatic ecosystems. The Earth’s surface comprises of 28 percent (approximately 55,000,000 square miles) of terrestrial ecosystems.