Question

Differentiate between ecosystem and biome

Answer 1

Hint: An ecosystem is referred to as a functional unit of environment where biotic and abiotic components interact with each other. It makes up a community of living and nonliving components. Biome, on the other hand, is the community of living organisms that thrive in an ecosystem. The components of the biome have common characteristics to each other.

Complete answer:
An ecosystem is defined as the functional and basic unit of the environment which comprises living and nonliving components that interact with each other. Thus, an ecosystem is a community of biotic and abiotic units that exist in conjunction with each other. Temperature, water, soil, etc. are non-living components of an ecosystem. The living components include producers, consumers, and decomposers. Biomes are represented as communities of biotic components of the ecosystem that share common characteristics for the environment they live in. the response of living organisms towards their physical climate results in the formation of biomes. Following are the differentiating points between ecosystem and biome.

Ecosystem	Biome
An ecosystem is the result of interactions among living and non-living components of the environment.	A biome is a form of an ecosystem where a large land area exists with distinct climates and living species.
The geographical area under an ecosystem is small and covers less distance.	The geographical area under the biome is larger as compared to the ecosystem and covers a vast distance.
Climatic factors do not influence an ecosystem.	Climatic factors like temperature strongly influence a biome.
An ecosystem can be referred to as a biome with its living and non-living components.	A biome is made of multiple ecosystems.
Lesser species of plants and animals are found.	A large number of animal and plant species are present with great diversity.
All organisms of the ecosystem interact through various trophic levels and food chains.	It is not compulsory that organisms interact with each other in a biome.
Examples are coral reefs, aquatic ecosystems, etc.	Examples are grasslands, deserts, tundra, tropical rainforests, etc.

Note: The latitude also plays an important role in influencing the biome. Ecosystems are not affected by latitudes. Both biomes and ecosystems must stay in balance. Any disturbance in even a single unit may lead to the destruction of the environment.