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Article: Ecosystem
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- Biology
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ecosystem
An ecosystem is all the living organisms in an area along with the nonliving, or abiotic, parts of their environment. The abiotic parts of an ecosystem include physical substances such as soil, air, and water; forces such as gravity and wind; and conditions such as temperature, light intensity, humidity, or salinity.
Components and Boundaries
Physical substances can include
organic
materials that were once alive, such as bits of wood from trees, rotting plant material, and animal wastes and dead organisms. The physical substance of an ecosystem also includes
inorganic
materials such as
minerals
, nitrogen, and water, as well as the overall landscape of mountains, ...