Living organisms cannot live isolated from their non-living environment because the latter provides materials and energy for the survival of the former, i.e. there is interaction between a biotic community and its environment to produce a stable system; a self-sustaining natural unit known as an ecosystem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayAn ecosystem is, therefore, defined as a natural functional ecological unit comprising living organisms (biotic community) and their nonliving organisms (abiotic or physiochemical environment) that interact to form a stable, self-supporting system. A pond, a lake, a desert, a prairie, a meadow, a forest, etc. They are common examples of ecosystems. Structure and Function of an Ecosystem: Every ecosystem has two main components: (1) Abiotic (2) BioticAbiotic Components: The non-living factors or the physical environment prevalent in an ecosystem form the abiotic components. They have a strong influence on the structure, distribution, behavior and interrelationships of organisms. The abiotic components are mainly of two types: Climatic factors: which include rain, temperature, light, wind, humidity, etc. Edaphic factors: which include soil, pH, topographic minerals, etc.? The functions of important factors in abiotic components are given below: Soils are much more complex than simple sediments. They contain a mixture of weathered rock fragments, highly weathered mineral soil particles, organic matter and living organisms. Soils provide nutrients, water, a home, and a structural growth medium for organisms. Vegetation growing on top of a soil is closely linked to this component of an ecosystem through nutrient cycling. The atmosphere provides organisms in ecosystems with carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and oxygen for respiration. The processes of evaporation, transpiration and precipitation circulate water between the atmosphere and the Earth's surface. Solar radiation is used in ecosystems to warm the atmosphere and to evaporate and transpire water into the atmosphere. Sunlight is also necessary for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis provides energy for plant growth and metabolism and organic food for other life forms. Most living tissues are composed of a very high percentage of water, up to and even higher than 90%. The protoplasm of very few cells can survive if their water content drops below 10%, and most are killed if it is below 30-50%. Water is the medium through which mineral nutrients enter and are translocated into plants. It is also necessary for the maintenance of leaf turgor and is required for photosynthetic chemical reactions. Plants and animals receive water from the Earth's surface and soil. The original source of this water is precipitation from the atmosphere.Biotic Components:Living organisms including plants, animals and microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) present in an ecosystem form the biotic components. Based on their role in the ecosystem, biotic components can be classified into three main groups: Producers Consumers Decomposers or Reducers Producers: green plants are equipped with chlorophyll with the help of which they trap solar energy and transform it into energy carbohydrate chemistry using simple inorganic compounds namely water and carbon dioxide. This process is known as photosynthesis. Because green plants produce their own food, they are known as Autotrophs (i.e. auto = self, trophos = feeder). The chemical energy stored by producers)