abiotic components Archives

What is an Abiotic Component

Abiotic Components
The word ‘abiotic’ means ‘non-living’. Light, air, water, soil, and temperature are some examples of abiotic components of the environment. Even though these components are themselves non-living, they have an effect on the living organisms, i.e., the biotic components of the environment.

Light
Plants use light to prepare their food.

Temperature
Temperature is a measure that tells us how hot or cold something is. Earth is the only known planet that has a temperature suitable for life to exist. Even on Earth, the temperature is not uniform all around. It is very hot near the equator, while places near the poles are very cold. Temperature affects the distribution of plants and animals around the planet.

Animals whose body temperature changes with the outside temperature are called cold-blooded animals. Most reptiles, insects, and amphibians are cold-blooded. Animals whose body temperature does not change with the outside temperature are called warm-blooded animals. Most mammals and birds are warm-blooded.

Warm-blooded animals can survive in areas having extreme temperatures like the desert and the Arctic region. Here, cold-blooded animals would have difficulty in surviving. Polar bear is adapted to survive in the harsh temperatures of the Arctic.

What is an Abiotic Component 1 — Polar Bear

Air
Oxygen and carbon dioxide present in air are very important for the survival of organisms. Both plants and animals need oxygen for respiration. Animals and human beings release carbon dioxide during respiration, which is used by green plants for photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also released by burning of fuels in vehicles and factories. Plants, in turn, release oxygen into the environment. Thus, green plants play a very important role in maintaining the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the environment. Moving air or wind also helps in the reproduction of plants through pollination and dispersal of certain fruits and seeds.

What is an Abiotic Component 2 — The balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in atmosphere

Water
Water is very important for living organisms. Plants absorb water through their roots, which is then transported to different plant parts. Water is essential for carrying out photosynthesis in plants.
It also plays an important role in the human body. Blood, which transports substances within the human body, is largely composed of water. In fact, 70% of the human body consists of water.
Water dissolves vital gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide. This enables living beings to survive in water.

What is an Abiotic Component 3 — Water is essential for living organisms

Soil
Soil is the uppermost layer of the Earth’s crust. It has four sub-layers – topsoil, subsoil, parent material, and the bedrock. It is in the topsoil that plants grow.
Soil is very rich in minerals like magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. Without soil, there would be no plants and thus, no food for us. Plants grow well in loosely packed soil as it allows their roots to grow deeper and also makes it easier for them to absorb water and nutrients. This is why farmers plough their fields before sowing seeds.

What is an Abiotic Component 4 — Sub layers of soil

Animals like earthworm and snail also make the soil loose by turning it.

Habitat
Thus in nature, biotic and abiotic components are closely interrelated. Biotic components (organisms) interact with one another too. A group of interdependent organisms that live in the same region and interact with one anotherform a biotic community. A biotic community includes plants, animals, and microorganisms.

What is meant by Biotic Components in Environment

All living things depend on their surroundings for food, water, and shelter.
All that surrounds living things and affects their growth and development is called their environment.
Both living and non-living things form the environment. Thus, we can say that the environment is made up of two parts or components – biotic and abiotic.

Components Of Environment

Living things like plants and animals are called biotic components.

Non-living things like air, light, water, soil, and temperature are called abiotic components.

What is meant by Biotic Components in Environment 1

Biotic and abiotic components of the environment

1. Biotic Components
The word ‘biotic’ means ‘living’. Biotic components are those that have life. Plants, animals, scavengers, and decomposers are biotic components.
Plants
Most plants have green leaves. Leaves are green because they contain a green pigment called chlorophyll (<chloro, green; phyll, leaf). Chlorophyll gives plants the special ability to make their own food using light, water, and carbon dioxide.
The process by which green plants make their food using carbon dioxide and water in the presence of light and chlorophyll is called photosynthesis (photo, light; synthesis, production).

What is meant by Biotic Components in Environment 2

Diagrammatic representation of photosynthesis

Animals
Animals cannot make their own food, as green plants do, thus they are called heterotrophs. Both animals and plants need substances called nutrients in order to grow. Plants absorb nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium from the soil. These nutrients enter the bodies of animals when they eat plants or the flesh of other animals. After these plants and animals die, their bodies decompose and nutrients reach back to the soil.

Scavengers and Decomposers
Some organisms feed on the bodies of dead plants and animals and release the nutrients trapped inside them.
Animals that feed on the dead bodies of other animals are called scavengers. For example, hyena and vulture.

What is meant by Biotic Components in Environment 3

vulture

Tiny organisms that feed on the remains of dead plants and animals to break them down into simpler substances are called decomposers.
Bacteria and fungi are common decomposers.

What is meant by Biotic Components in Environment 4

fungi

The nutrients released from the dead bodies by the action of scavengers and decomposers get mixed with the soil and are again absorbed by plants. This process is called recycling of nutrients.

Scavengers and decomposers play two important roles in the environment because:

They keep the environment clean by removing the bodies of dead plants and animals.

They help in the recycling of nutrients in the environment.

Interactions Among Biotic Components
Plants and animals depend on each other for various needs. Animals mainly depend on plants for food and shelter. Animals in turn help plants by pollinating flowers, dispersing seeds, etc.

What is meant by Biotic Components in Environment 5

A bee pollinates flowers while collecting nectar

In nature, the following relationships are observed among plants, animals, scavengers, and decomposers.

Plants (called producers) utilize sun’s energy and manufacture their own food through photosynthesis.

Herbivores (called primary consumers) like rabbit and deer feed on plants.

Carnivores (called secondary consumers) like tiger and lion feed on herbivores.

Omnivores (called secondary consumers) like human beings and bear feed on both plants and flesh of other animals.

Scavengers and decomposers feed on dead plants and animals and release the nutrients trapped inside their bodies into the soil. These nutrients are then absorbed by plants, which helps them to grow and manufacture their food.