Structure of an Ecosystem

The different components making up the structure of an ecosystem are based on their respective functions. In other words, function and structure in an ecosystem go hand in hand and are inextricably linked.

Producers

The producers, such as plants, of an ecosystem's structure are organisms that are capable of manufacturing their own food from either sunlight or chemical sources.

Consumers

Consumers are those organisms in an ecosystem that are incapable of manufacturing their own food and so must derive nourishment and energy from consuming a producer.

Decomposers

Decomposers, like bacteria and fungi, can be considered a subcategory of consumers; their ecological role is to break down dead producers and consumers, thereby recycling the biomass.

Abiotic

Besides living things in an ecosystem there are the physical, nonliving components---such as mineral soil, rocks, air and water---on which the living organisms depend.

Succession

The specific, individual organisms that make up the structure of an ecosystem change over time, as in a forest regenerating after a storm or fire.

References

• Elements of Ecology and Field Biology; Robert Leo Smith; 1977