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Watershed vs Ecosystem - What's the difference?

watershed | ecosystem |

As nouns the difference between watershed and ecosystem

is that watershed is the topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest while ecosystem is a system formed by an ecological community and its environment that functions as a unit.

watershed

English

Noun

(wikipedia watershed) (en noun)
  • (hydrology) The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest.
  • (US) A region of land within which water flows down into a specified body, such as a river, lake, sea, or ocean; a drainage basin.
  • A critical point marking a change in course or development.
  • (Canada, British) The time after which material of more adult nature (violence, swear words, sex) may be broadcast on television or radio, either one laid down or one contrived (e.g. when children are not watching...)

    • Synonyms

    * (boundary between two adjacent catchment basins) water parting, drainage divide, water divide, divide * (drainage basin) catchment basin, catchment, catchment area, drainage area, river basin, water basin * (time after which adult material may be broadcast) safe harbor (US) * (critical point marking a change in course or development) turning point

    Derived terms

    * postwatershed * prewatershed * watershedding

    ecosystem

    English

    (wikipedia ecosystem)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A system formed by an ecological community and its environment that functions as a unit.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-01
    • , author=Donald Worster , title=A Drier and Hotter Future , volume=100, issue=1, page=70 , magazine= citation , passage=Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems , and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.}}
  • The interconnectedness of organisms (plants, animals, microbes) with each other and their environment.
  • (business, marketing) A set of interconnected products and services.