ecosystem

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A system formed by an ecological community and its environment that functions as a unit.

   Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.

2. 2
   noun

   A network of interconnected people, organizations, products or services that resembles a natural ecosystem due to the complex interdependencies.

   The company’s ecosystem mainly comprises its supply chain, customers, end consumers and competitors.

3. 3
   noun

   a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment

4. 4
   noun

   The interconnectedness of organisms (plants, animals, microbes) with each other and their environment.

Etymology

From eco- + system. Coined by English botanist Arthur Tansley in 1935 in a paper titled The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts in the journal Ecology.