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Did you know how external factors shape our ecology?
In our environment, the functioning of ecosystems is not only affected by internal factors, external factors also play a key role. Understanding how these factors affect our ecological environment is crucial to protecting and restoring natural ecology. Whether it is climate change, topographic effects, or soil formation, these external factors shape the living space of plants and animals, thereby affecting the health and stability of the overall ecosystem.
An ecosystem is a system of biotic and abiotic factors that are interconnected through material cycles and energy flows.
The importance of ecosystems is understandable. They provide many necessities and services to humans. Changing environmental factors such as climate, topography and minerals largely determine the structure and functioning of ecosystems. For example, the topography of a cave may affect how water moves, which in turn affects the environment in which organisms live. Ecosystems as different as tropical rainforests and deserts are home to completely different species and ecological interactions due to differences in structure and climate.
In these ecosystems, primary production is the basis for supporting the survival of other organisms. Plants convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and organic matter through photosynthesis. This process is the origin of energy flow in ecosystems, and the subsequent material cycles are also crucial. For example, animals eat plants and further transfer energy to other organisms, while decomposers such as bacteria and fungi are responsible for breaking down dead organic matter, releasing nutrients needed to be reabsorbed by plants.
The dynamics of ecosystems and their resilience allow them to not only tolerate various disturbances, but also continue to operate their core functions after disturbances.
External factors such as continuous changes in climate, especially in the context of recent global warming, have an especially important impact on ecosystems. Even small changes in such climate could have profound effects on the food chain. Ordinary climate changes, even replenishing or reducing rainfall, can cause ecosystems to reconfigure themselves, causing certain species to flourish or decline. The introduction of alien species may cause greater disturbance and marginalize native species.
As defined by ecologist F. Stuart Chapin, a disturbance is "a relatively unique event that removes plant biomass over a period of time." Changes resulting from these perturbations, even small-scale plant growth controls, may lead to ecosystem reorganization in the long term. Therefore, exploring the nature and frequency of these disturbances can more effectively understand how ecosystems respond and ultimately recover.
The resistance of ecosystems is their tendency to remain in a state close to equilibrium after a disturbance.
In addition to the influence of external factors, internal factors are also critical. These factors include resource availability and interactions within the community, such as competition among plant roots and microbial activity. The alternating influence between internal factors and external factors allows the ecosystem to maintain a certain stability. Imagine that lack of water sources and reduced soil quality are not only direct challenges to the external environment, but also weaken internal biological interactions, further affecting the reproduction of plants and animals.
Also, ecosystems are not static. As forests return and wastelands recover, ecological communities themselves are gradually reorganized due to external and internal disturbances. This is particularly important in the practice of global ecosystem restoration and protection. Ecosystem restoration can contribute to human sustainable development goals, providing fresh air, clean water and rich biodiversity.
In this context, should we pay more attention to those external and internal factors that are not easy to detect? They continue to affect our ecological environment, and what changes can we make for future sustainability?
