Functions of Ecosystem

The ecosystem performs the following functions:   

1.  Regulates basic ecological processes, supports life systems, and ensures sustainability.  
2.  It is also responsible for the nutrient cycle between biotic and non-living components.   
3.  Balances the different nutrient levels in an ecosystem.  
4.  Ensures mineral circulation in the biosphere.   
5.  Non-living components aid in the synthesis of organic components that enable energy exchange.

Thus, the functional units of an ecosystem, or functional components that work together in an ecosystem, are:  

•  Productivity – Represents the rate of biomass production.  
•  Energy flow is a sequential process in which energy flows from one trophic level to another. 
•  Solar energy flows from producers to consumers, to decomposers, and finally to the environment.  
•  Decomposition is the process by which dead organic matter decomposes. Topsoil is the main decomposition site.
•  Nutrition cycle- In an ecosystem, nutrients are consumed and reused in different forms for use by different organisms.

An ecosystem is defined as a community of living things, composed of non-living components that interact with each other. An ecosystem is a structural and functional unit of ecology in which living organisms interact with each other and with the environment. In other words, an ecosystem is a chain of interactions between an organism and its environment. All plants and animals in certain areas are interrelated and also interdependent on each other and their dependence on the environment is known as an ecosystem.