What is an Ecosystem?

An ecosystem is a complete community of living organisms and the nonliving materials of their surroundings. This includes plants, animals, microorganisms and their environment, such as soil, rocks, and minerals. An Ecosystem also consists of the local atmosphere. Animals and plants within an ecosystem depend on each other for their survival. If conditions change, they need to adapt quickly to survive. Ecosystems can be a variety of different sizes, ranging from an entire rain forest to a small puddle or your garden. Even an animal could be considered an ecosystem, containing many microorganisms. But some of the much larger examples, such as deserts, tundra, coral reefs or forests are called biomes. In each of these, the animals and plant life all depend on each other in different ways.