Introduction: The Classification of Ecological Systems

Abstract

Ecology is a biological science of highest dignity and, just as life itself (as far as we currently know), it is limited to our own planet. Life, on the whole, is bound in a cycle—synthesis, based on the binding of solar energy, and decomposition, based on the disintegration of this bound energy. The smallest autonomous unit of life is the cell, the structure and function of which are investigated by the sciences of molecular biology and biochemistry. The single-celled microorganisms are primarily objects of the science of microbiology. The unit of life at the next-highest level of organization is the organism, with its multicellular tissues and organs. We distinguish between plant and animal organisms, which are morphologically, anatomically and functionally of quite different natures. The first group is the subject of the science of phytology (botany), and the latter is assigned to zoology. The green plants are autotrophic and anabolic, while the colorless and the animal organisms are heterotrophic and catabolic. The highest units of life are the communities of plant and animal organisms which, together with abiotic environmental factors (climate and soil), form ecosystems. These are characterized by a continous cycling of material and flow of energy. Ecology in the widest sense of the word is the science of these ecosystems, from the very smallest to the global level (the “biosphere”). This book is intendend to serve as a brief comprehensive introduction to this global ecological system.