Ecological systems of Montana

[1][2] An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight.

[3] It is all the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving (abiotic) factors with which they interact; a biological community and its physical environment.

[3] As stated in an article from Montana State University in its Institute on Ecosystems: "An ecosystem can be small, such as the area under a pine tree or a single hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, or it can be large, such as the Rocky Mountains, the rainforest or the Antarctic Ocean.

"[4] The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks called the state's main ecosystems montane forest, intermountain grassland, plains grassland and shrub grassland.

[4] The Montana Agricultural Experiment Station categorized Montana's ecosystems based on the different rangelands and recognized 22 different ecosystems; the Montana Natural Heritage Program recognizes 62 for the entire state.