All organisms such as plants, animals, microorganisms and human beings as well as the physical surroundings interact with each other and maintain a balance in nature.
The ecosystem is a community of organisms and their physical environment interacting with each other as an ecological unit, involving the flow of energy. An ecosystem consists of biotic components including living organisms and abiotic components, the physical factors like temperature, rainfall, wind, soil and minerals.
An ecosystem can be natural or artificial. Ponds, forests and lakes are natural ecosystems while garden and crop fields are human made or artificial ecosystems. In both the ecosystems all living organisms interact with each other and their growth, reproduction and other activities are affected by the abiotic components of ecosystem.
Organisms in the ecosystem can be categorised into producers, consumers and decomposers according to the manner in which they obtain their substance from the environment.
Producers are the organisms that produce their own food without the help of any other organism. These are also known as autotrophs. They make their food from inorganic substances through a process called photosynthesis. Autotrophs are green plants, phytoplankton and blue green algae.
Consumers are the organisms which cannot produce food but depend directly or indirectly on producers for the same. These are also known as heterotrophs. Consumers can be classified into herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and parasites. Eg: Humans, Snake, Eagle Decomposers are the organisms which feed on dead and decaying matter. They break down the complex organic substances into simple inorganic substances that go into the soil and are sued up once more by the plants. Eg: Bacteria and fungi.