Human ecosystems are human-dominated ecosystems of the Anthropocene era that are viewed as complex cybernetic systems by conceptual models that are increasingly used by ecological anthropologists and other scholars to examine the ecological aspects of human communities in a way that integrates multiple factors such as economics, sociopolitical organization, psychological factors, and physical factors related to the environment.

A human ecosystem has three central organizing concepts: human environed units (an individual or group of individuals), environment, interactions and transactions between and within the components. The total environment in human ecosystems have been described in three components: natural, human-constructed, and human behavioral. While this framework is commonly considered, scholars argue that it reflects an anthropocentric perspective by centering human activity within the environment. Different human communities conceptualize the environment in ways that reflect their individual cultural values with the non-human world. For example, Indigenous scholars such as Kyle Powys Whyte describe the environment not as separate from the human, but as a large network of reciprocal relationships among humans, non-humans, and the land. Expanding its definition to include multiple cultural perspectives can provide a more comprehensive understanding of human ecosystems. Which is important because these environments furnish the resources and conditions necessary for life and constitute a life-support system.

Human ecosystems are shaped not only by interactions between people and their environments but also by the systems of power that influence how people interact with the environment. These systems affect several facets of human societies such as political, economic, and social structures, all of which determine how individuals and groups of individuals interact within an ecosystem.

Systems of power refers to the organized structures in which power is delegated within society. These systems operate at every level, from local communities to global institutions. And these systems shape not just formal legalities such as laws and economic policies but heavily shape cultural norms and social interactions, which are so deeply ingrained, they become nearly impossible to see. Along with the differences in how systems of power shape society, it's also important to note that power within human ecosystems is not distributed evenly. Power is concentrated with the global elite. And in turn, decisions for the betterment of society are oftentimes for about 20-30% of the global population, at the expense of the rest. Understanding systems of powers can help clarify how human ecosystems function within and with their surrounding environments.

Political systems, such as governments and local authorities, also have an important role within human ecosystems. They regulate things like land usage, environmental policies, and general access to resources. For example, zoning laws and environmental regulations can shape urban development and influence the sustainability of human ecosystems. Specifically, this can be seen in government policies on the dumping of nuclear waste in locations seen as expendable. This has affected large areas of Spokane, Washington State, and the Yakama Reservations.

Social hierarchies, such as class, race, and gender, further influence power dynamics within human ecosystems. These factors create unequal access to both environmental benefits and burdens. Communities with less political or economic power may be disproportionately exposed to environmental burdens such as pollution. For example, there has been much documentation on how marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by infrastructures like landfills, mines, incinerators, and ecologically harmful transportation systems. These communities also experience negative consequences of climate change and pesticide exposure at a larger scale. One specific example of this is from restoration ecologist, Eric Krieg, “Communities where people of color make up 25% or more of the total population average nearly five times as many pounds of chemical emissions from polluting industrial facilities per square mile as compared to communities where less than 5% of the population are people of color”.

Environmental justice is a concept that examines the fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens, particularly with respect to marginalized communities. Within human ecosystems, environmental justice is concerned with how a myriad of factors can influence who has access to things like clean air and water and how environmental risks like pollution are unevenly distributed among human populations.

In many human ecosystems, environmental injustice is closely linked to already existing social structures. Communities with lower income levels or less political influence are often more likely to experience exposure to environmental hazards. This can be seen with gold mining in Kalimantan, Indonesia. This area largely homes low-income communities who work in these mines. It has been found that approximately 1/3 of global anthropogenic emissions have been released into the environment from this location, leading to environmental degradation and lower quality of living for the people that live in Kalimantan. These burdens are frequently the result of historical social foundations, such as discriminatory policies, which shape how human ecosystems evolve over time.