What is an "ecosystem?" An ecosystem is a community, or neighborhood, of living and nonliving parts including plants, animals, minerals, water, soil, etc. These parts interact and depend on each other. Some examples of Florida ecosystems include estuaries, forests and ponds. There are rarely definite lines to distinguish one ecosystem from the next and they are sometimes described on multiple scales. For example, the Everglades ecosystem has many smaller ecosystems within it. For more information about Florida ecosystems visit the U.S. Geological Society.