Abiotic component
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
In ecology and biology, abiotic components (also known as abiotic factors) are non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment which affect ecosystems. Abiotic phenomena underlie all of biology. Abiotic factors, while generally downplayed, can have enormous impact on evolution. Abiotic components are aspects of geodiversity. They can also be recognised as "abiotic pathogens".
From the viewpoint of biology, abiotic influences may be classified as light or more generally radiation, temperature, water, the chemical surrounding composed of the terrestrial atmospheric gases, as well as soil. The macroscopic climate often influences each of the above. Not to mention pressure and even sound waves if working with marine, or deep underground, biome.
Those underlying factors affect different plants, animals and fungi to different extents. Some plants are mostly water starved, so humidity plays a larger role in their biology. If there is little or no sunlight then plants may wither and die from not being able to get enough sunlight to do photosynthesis. Many archaebacteria require very high temperatures, or pressures, or unusual concentrations of chemical substances such as sulfur, because of their specialization into extreme conditions. Certain fungi have evolved to survive mostly at the temperature, the humidity, and stability of their environment.
For example, there is a significant difference in access to water as well as humidity between temperate rainforests and deserts. This difference in water access causes a diversity in the types of plants and animals that grow in these areas.
