What do we call a community of living organisms and their physical environment?

An ecosystem is defined as a community of living organisms interacting with each other and their physical environment. This includes not only the organisms, such as plants, animals, and microorganisms, but also the abiotic factors like water, soil, air, and climate that make up their surroundings. The interactions within an ecosystem are essential for the survival and health of those organisms, as they rely on one another for food, shelter, and other needs.

In contrast, a biome refers to a large geographic area characterized by specific climate conditions and plant and animal communities, not focusing on the specific interactions within a smaller community. A population refers to a group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area, while a habitat is the natural environment in which a species or community lives, but does not encompass the broader interactions found in an ecosystem. Each of these terms highlights different aspects of ecology, but it is the ecosystem that encompasses both the living organisms and their physical environment in an interactive framework.