Which term describes the global sum of all ecosystems, including living and nonliving components?

Which term describes the global sum of all ecosystems, including living and nonliving components?

• A. Biosphere
• B. Ecosystem
• C. Biome
• D. Habitat

Answer: (A)

The global sum of all ecosystems, including living and nonliving components, is the biosphere. Think of the biosphere as the entire life-supporting envelope of Earth—the air, water, soil, climate, and all the living organisms that interact within them across every corner of the planet. It covers every ecosystem from deep oceans to high mountains and everything in between, because it’s about life and the physical systems that sustain it on a planetary scale. An ecosystem refers to a local system where a community interacts with its immediate environment; a biome is a very large regional type defined by climate and predominant life; a habitat is the specific place where an organism lives. So, only the biosphere conveys the idea of the whole planet’s life-supporting system.

The global sum of all ecosystems, including living and nonliving components, is the biosphere. Think of the biosphere as the entire life-supporting envelope of Earth—the air, water, soil, climate, and all the living organisms that interact within them across every corner of the planet. It covers every ecosystem from deep oceans to high mountains and everything in between, because it’s about life and the physical systems that sustain it on a planetary scale. An ecosystem refers to a local system where a community interacts with its immediate environment; a biome is a very large regional type defined by climate and predominant life; a habitat is the specific place where an organism lives. So, only the biosphere conveys the idea of the whole planet’s life-supporting system.