Entry 8:What is an Ecosystem?

I have completed on my first topic and I hope you have enjoyed reading it and learnt something new. I shall be starting on my second topic, Ecology and Nutrient cycles in the Ecosystem. I do not know much about this topic, and would like to learn more about it through the Internet. I hope the information below would be useful.
Firstly, what on Earth is the Ecosystem? An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment. Ecosystems vary in size. They can be as small as a puddle or as large as earth itself. Any group of living and non-living things interacting with each other can be considered as an ecosystem. The whole Earth's surface can be described by a series of interconnected ecosystems. Within each ecosystem, there may also be habitats which vary in size. A habitat is a place in which a population lives. A population is a group of living organisms of the same kind living in the same place at the same time. All of the populations interact and form a community. The community of living organisms interact with the non-living world around it to form an ecosystem. The habitat must also be able to support the needs of organisms, such as food, water, temperature, oxygen and minerals.
I hope you have learnt more about the ecosystem, and I would continue this topic on ecology and nutrient cycles in my next post. :D

Information obtained from:
1)http://www.fi.edu/tfi/units/life/habitat/habitat.html
2)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem
3)http://www.abheritage.ca/abnature/Ecosystems/intro.htm