Question

Ecosystem can get severely disturbed due to natural disasters. Explain.

Answer 1

An ecosystem comprises of biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components of an environment. The interaction between abiotic and biotic components can lead to a stable equilibrium in an ecosystem, it can be the aquatic or terrestrial ecosystem. Anything that enters an ecosystem--from sunlight to rain to contaminants --has the potential to change it. Humans can drastically impact ecosystems, but ecosystems also change naturally over the course of time.

The natural process like storms may adversely affect an ecosystem because of its strong destructive force.

Droughts have a major impact on an ecosystem as plants which can adapt to dry climates occupies the major part of flora. Droughts also lead to an increased risk of fire, which can swiftly change a forest ecosystem into utter barrenness. When forests redevelop, they are sometimes colonized by exotic foreign species, which may grow faster than native ones. Geological hazards that can affect ecosystems include volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Additional biological factors include disease, invasive species, and algae blooms.