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An ecosystem is a place where living things, like animals and plants, interact with each other and with non-living things around them.

Many people think only of animals when they hear about ecosystems, but ecosystems also include plants and non-living things. For example, animals might hide inside rocks or dead trees. They need water to drink, and some animals even live in the water. Air is also a non-living part of an ecosystem, and all animals need it to survive.

Some ecosystems do important jobs for the whole world. Rainforests, for example, cover only 6% of Earth, but they make about 40% of the oxygen we breathe through a process called photosynthesis. Other ecosystems give us food, medicine, and useful materials like rubber and wood.

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Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright © 2015-2026 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

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An ecosystem is made up of all of the living and nonliving things in an area. This includes all of the plants, animals, and other living things that make up the communities...

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Science terms are easy to understand when you remove big scientific words from their definitions. Become a junior scientist by exploring key science terms.

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Learn about the different natural environments of plants and animals.

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warm-blooded

have backbones (vertebrates)

have hair

feed their young with milk

more advanced brains than other types of animals

Two examples of mammals are:

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warm-blooded

have backbones(vertebrates)

the only animals with feathers

a few types of birds (species) can't fly.

Two examples of birds are:

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cold-blooded

have backbones (vertebrates)

have dry skin covered with scales or bony plates

usually lay soft-shelled eggs

Two examples are:

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cold-blooded

have backbones (vertebrates)

don’t have scales

live part of their lives in water and part on land

Two examples of amphibians are:

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animals without a backbone or bony skeleton

come in many sizes from super tiny mites and almost invisible flies to giant squid with soccer-ball-size eyes

Two examples are:

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have backbones (vertebrates)

live in water

breathe using special organs called gills.

Two examples are:

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A food chain shows how living things depend on each other for food. Every place where living things live, called an ecosystem, has one or more food chains.

Most food chains start with things like plants that make their own food. Scientists call these producers. Animals that eat other living things are called consumers. For example, a squirrel that eats plants is a primary consumer. A hawk that eats the squirrel is a secondary consumer.

Decomposers are the last part of a food chain. They are tiny organisms, like bacteria, that break down dead plants and animals. Some decomposers are larger like mushrooms. Decomposers help make the soil healthy so new plants can grow. Then, the food chain starts again.

A food web is a group of connected food chains in an ecosystem. Most animals eat more than one type of food, so their food chains overlap. For example, the hawk that ate the squirrel might also eat fish, making it part of two food chains, which is called a food web.