ecosystem health
Nature's overall condition
Ecosystem health describes the condition of an ecological system—its ability to sustain biological diversity, maintain natural processes, and recover from disturbances.
A healthy ecosystem supports its native species, cycles nutrients efficiently, and resists degradation.
The term often appears in environmental policy and conservation contexts: Wetland restoration improved the ecosystem health of the entire watershed.
Like human health, it's easier to recognize when compromised than to define precisely.
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- conservationPreventing waste or loss
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
- natural balanceEnvironment's self-sustaining stability
- resilienceCapacity to recover quickly
sustainability · environmental · habitat restoration · homeostasis · living systems · watershed protection · biotic · wildlife corridors · bioindicators · interconnected · keystone species · invasive species · thriving · native · native plants · old growth · canopy · regeneration
- conservationconservation, wildlife, endangered, habitat, sanctuary
- ecologyhabitat, balance, niche, food webs, food chain
- biodiversityspecies diversity, endemism, genetic diversity, biodiversity hotspots, biota
- marine ecologyhabitat, kelp forest, coral reef, tide pool, estuary
- sustainabilityreduce, reuse, recycle, sustainable yield, recycling programs
- environmental dataair quality index, climate data, carbon dioxide level, ozone level, weather data
ecosystem healthecosystem collapse
Total breakdown of environmental systems
ecological degradation · habitat destruction · environmental degradation · ecological damage · ecosystem damage
ecosystem healthexploitation
Selfish use of others
resource depletion · overexploitation · destruction · ecocide · overharvesting
health, healthy, unhealthy, ecology, healthful, healthier, healthcare, ecological, ecosystem