2.1 ECOLOGY, CLIMATE AND POLLUTION THE THREE ES Ecology as a scientific discipline is relatively young, and only took importance in the second half of the 20th century . The term “ecology”, from the Greek , ‘house, household or family’, and , ‘study of’, was first used by the German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866, who defined it as the “comprehensive science of the relationship of the organism to the environment”. The central principle of ecology is that each living organism has a continuing relationship with every other element in its environment. Ecology 1 óikos lógos MORE In the early 19th century, Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist, focused on the delicate balance of nature, where everything is interconnected. The idea was completely radical at the time, because for centuries it had been presumed that nature was explicitly created for our benefit and use. 1 Environment and ecosystem The terms environment and ecosystem are often used However, the two terms differ dramatically in their ecological definitions: interchangeably. an is the total of an organism, but it does not any ecological relationship between members; environment surroundings imply an is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. In other words, an ecosystem is the complex of abiotic and biotic factors acting on an organism or ecological community and determining its form and survival. More precisely: ecosystem are all non-living components of an ecosystem: water, air, soil, temperature, light; Abiotic factors – include all living things: plants, animals, fungi and bacteria. Biotic factors Since the ecosystem is how living and non-living things in the environment interact as a unit, the biotic factors in an ecosystem are highly dependent on the abiotic factors. Anytime a “stranger” (another living thing) or an external factor (such as rise in temperature) is introduced into an ecosystem, it can be disastrous because the natural balance of interaction of the ecosystem can be distorted. Types of ecosystems Ecosystems can be roughly divided into: (forests, plains, mountains); terrestrial (lakes, rivers, wetlands); freshwater (seas and oceans). marine The total sum of all ecosystems is the , which can be subdivided into lithosphere (ground), atmosphere (air) and hydrosphere (water). biosphere Biome The relationships among different ecosystems lead to the concept of “biome”. A is a large community of vegetation and wildlife adapted to a specific climate. There are five major types of biomes and some of them can be further divided into more specific categories: biome (freshwater, marine); aquatic (savannah); grassland (tropical rainforest, temperate rainforest); forest ; desert (taiga). tundra The study and management of ecosystems are the most dynamic fields of contemporary ecology. 1 DO Do you know which science studies ecosystems? 1