A resource is a source or supply from which benefit is produced. Resources are two types based upon their availability they are renewable and non renewable resource s.Typically resources are materials, energy, services, staff, knowledge, or other assets that are transformed to produce benefit and in the process may be consumed or made unavailable. Benefits of resource utilization may include increased wealth or wants, proper functioning of a system, or enhanced well being. From a human perspective a natural resource is anything obtained from the environment to satisfy human needs and wants. From a broader biological or ecological perspective a resource satisfies the needs of a living organism (see biological resource).
The concept of resources has been applied in diverse realms, with respect to economics, biology and ecology, computer science, management, and human resources, and is linked to the concepts of competition, sustainability, conservation, and stewardship. In application within human society, commercial or non-commercial factors require resource allocation through resource management.
Resources have three main characteristics: utility, limited availability, and potential for depletion or consumption. Resources have been variously categorized as biotic versus abiotic, renewable versus non-renewable, and potential versus actual, along with more elaborate classification.
In economics a resource is defined as a service or other asset used to produce goods and services that meet human needs and wants.Economics itself has been defined as the study of how society manages its scarce resources. Classical economics recognizes three categories of resources, also referred to as factors of production: land, labour, and capital.Land includes all natural resources and is viewed as both the site of production and the source of raw materials. Labour or human resources consists of human effort provided in the creation of products, paid in wage. Capital consists of human-made goods or means of production (machinery, buildings, and other infrastructure) used in the production of other goods and services, paid in interest.In biology and ecology a resource is defined as a substance that is required by a living organism for normal growth, maintenance, and reproduction (see biological resource). The main essential resources for animals are food, water, and territory. For plants key resources include light, nutrients, water, and a place to grow. Resources,can be consumed by an organism and, as a result, become unavailable to other organisms. Competition for resources vary from complete symmetric (all individuals receive the same amount of resources, irrespective of their size) to perfectly size symmetric (all individuals exploit the same amount of resource per unit biomass) to absolutely size-asymmetric (the largest individuals exploit all the available resource). The degree of size asymmetry has major effects on the structure and diversity of ecological communities, e.g. in plant communities size-asymmetric competition for light has stronger effects on diversity compared with competition for soil resources.The degree of size asymmetry has major effects on the structure and diversity of ecological communities.
