Ecology is the study of interactions between living organisms and their environment. It involves studying both biotic factors like plants, animals, and microorganisms, as well as abiotic factors such as climate, geology, and nutrients. Ecology views each ecosystem as an integrated system of interdependent relationships between producers, consumers, and decomposers. Ecosystems can be studied at different levels of organization from the biosphere down to individual organisms. Ecology provides an integrated and dynamic understanding of the environment as a complex system with many interacting species.