Abiotic components The way in which plants and animals grow and carry out their different activities

is a result of several abiotic factors. These factors are light, temperature, water, atmospheric gases, wind as well as soil (edaphic) and physiographic (nature of land surface) factors.

Light Light energy (sunlight) is the primary source of energy in nearly all ecosystems. It is the energy that is used by green plants (which contain chlorophyll) during the process of photosynthesis; a process during which plants manufacture organic substances by combining inorganic substances. Visible light is of the greatest importance to plants because it is necessary for photosynthesis. Factors such as quality of light, intensity of light and the length of the light period (day length) play an important part in an ecosystem. Quality of light (wavelength or colour): Plants absorb blue and red light during photosynthesis. In terrestrial ecosystems the quality of light does not change much. In aquatic ecosystems, the quality of light can be a limiting factor. Both blue and red light are absorbed and as a result do not penetrate deeply into the water. To compensate for this, some algae have additional pigments which are able to absorb other colours as well. Light intensity ("strength" of light) The intensity of the light that reaches the earth varies according to the latitude and season of the year. The southern hemisphere receives less than 12 hours of sunlight during the period between the 21st March and the 23rd of September, but receives more than 12 hours of sunlight during the following six months. Day length (length of the light period): Certain plants flower only during certain times of the year. One of the reasons for this is that these plants are able to "measure" the length of the night (dark periods). However, it was thought that it is the day length (light periods) to which plants reacted and this phenomenon was termed photoperiodism. Photoperiodism can be defined as the relative lengths of daylight and darkness that effect the physiology and behaviour of an organism. Short-day Plants These plants flower only if they experience nights which are longer than a certain critical length. The chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum sp.), the poinsettia ( Euphorbia pulcherrima) and the thorn-apple (Datura stramonium) are examples of short day plants. The Euphorbia plant flower only when the nights are longer than the days.

Long-day plants These plants flower if they experience nights which are shorter than a certain critical length. Spinach, wheat, barley, clover and radish are examples of long plants. Day-neutral plants The flowering of day-neutral plants is not influenced by night length. The tomato (Lycopersicon esculeutum) and the maize plant (Zea mays) are examples of day-neutral plants.

The Maize plant is not influenced by night length.

The following definitions are also important: Phototropism Phototropism is the directional growth of plants in response to light where the direction of the stimulus determines the direction of movement; stems demonstrate positive phototropism i.e. they came towards the light when they grow. Phototaxis Phototaxis is the movement of the whole organism in response to a unilateral light source, where the stimulus determines the direction of movement. Photokinesis Variation in intensity of locomotory activity of animals which is dependent on the intensity of light stimulation, and not the direction, is called photokinesis. Photonasty Photonasty is the movement of parts of a plant in response to a light source, but the direction of the stimulus does not determine the direction of the movement of the plant. Light requirements of plants differ and as a result distinct layers, or stratification, can be observed in an ecosystem. Plants which grow well in bright sunlight are called heliophytes (Greek helios, sun) and plants which grow well in shady conditions are known as sciophytes (Greek skia, shade ).

Temperature The distribution of plants and animals is greatly influenced by extremes in temperature for instance the warm season. The occurrence or non-occurrence of frost is a particularly important determinant of plant distribution since many plants cannot prevent their tissues from freezing or survive the freezing and thawing processes. The following are examples of temperature effects with ecosystems: -the opening of the flowers of various plants during the day and night is often due to temperature difference between the day and night; -the seed of some plants (biennials) normally germinate in the spring or summer; this phenomenon is well observed in carrots and is called vernalization; -some fruit trees such as the peach require a cold period each year so that it can blossom in the spring; -deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter and enter into a state of dormancy, where the buds are covered for protection against the cold; -the seeds of many plants, e.g. peach and plum, must be exposed to a cold period before they germinate; this chilling ensures that seeds don't germinate during autumn, but after winter, when the seedlings have better chances to survive; -in animals, a distinction is made between ectothermic ("cold-blooded" or poikilothermic) animals and endothermic ("warm-blooded" or homothermic) animals although the difference is not clear cut; -in desert conditions are a greater temperature variation between day and night and organisms have distinct periods of activity, for e.g. many cacti flower at night and are pollinated by nocturnal insects; -seasonal changes have also a great influence on animal life in an ecosystem; torpor in winter is common in reptiles and some mammals in South Africa, but a winter sleep occurs in bears of the northern hemisphere; some animals collect fat or other resources during favourable periods (often summer and autumn) and become dormant (this is called hibernation), there are also animals that are dormant during warm and dry conditions and this is known as aestivation; examples of such animals are snails and the African lung-fish; -seasonal movements occur in some animals; this phenomenon is called seasonal migration, examples of such animals are migratory locusts, butterflies and various marine animals like whales, penguins and marine turtles.

Water Plant and animal habitats vary from entirely aquatic environments to very dry deserts. Water is essential for life and all organisms depend on it to survive in especially desert areas.

Water requirements of plants Plants can be classified into 3 groups according to their water requirements: Hydrophytes Hydrophytes are plants which grow in water e.g. water-lilies and rushes. -Mesophytes Mesophytes are plants with average water requirements e.g. roses,sweetpeas. Roses are mesophytes -Xerophytes Xerophytes are plants which grow in dry environments where they often experience a shortage of water e.g. cacti and often succulents. Aloes are xerophytes

Adaptations of plants to survive without water include reversed stomatal rhythms, sunken stomata, thick cuticles, small leaves (or the absence of leaves) and the presence of water-storage tissues. -Water requirements of animals Terrestrial animals are also exposed to desiccation and just a few interesting adaptations are mentioned here: -the body covering limits water loss e.g. the chitinous body covering of insects, the scales of reptiles, the feathers of birds and the hair of mammals; Canaries are examples of birds who's feathers limit water loss. -some mammals have few or no sweat glands and use other cooling devices, less dependant or independent of evaporative cooling; Springbok are mammals who use other forms of cooling devices. -the tissues of animals may be tolerant to water loss e.g. a camel can live without water for long periods because its body tissues have this adaptation; -there are also known cases where insects are able to absorb water in the form of water vapour directly from the atmosphere for example the dew from the coastal fog is an important source of moisture for insects of the Namib.

The Water Cycle in Nature Water cycles through the biosphere in the manner is described in the figure below. Freshwater is distilled from salt water. The sun's rays cause fresh water to evaporate from sea water and the salts are left behind. Vapourized fresh water rises into the atmosphere, cools and falls as rain over the oceans and the land. A smaller amount of water also evaporates from bodies of fresh water. Since land dies above sea level, gravity eventually returns all fresh water to the sea, but in the meantime, it is contained within the standing waterbodies such as lakes and ponds, flowing water (streams and rivers) and groundwater. When rain falls, some of the water sinks or percolates into the ground and saturates the earth to a certain level. The top of the saturation level is called the groundwater table or simply the water table. Ground water is also sometimes located in a porous layer, called an aquifer, that lies between two sloping layers of impervious rock. Wells can be used to extract some of this water for human consumption PH VALUE The pH value of a soil is influenced by the kinds of parent materials from which the soil was formed. Soils developed from basic rocks generally have higher pH values than those formed from acid rocks. Rainfall also affects soil pH. Water passing through the soil leaches basic nutrients such as calcium and magnesium from the soil. They are replaced by acidic elements such as aluminum and iron. For this reason, soils formed under high rainfall conditions are more acidic than those formed under arid (dry) conditions. Human distractions like pollution alter the pH of soil. Researches have also revealed that soil pH is affected by the vehicular and ongoing traffic. This largely hampers the soil pH and in turn the primary productivity by compacting the soil and decreasing its friability. Application of fertilizers containing ammonium or urea speeds up the rate at which acidity develops. The decomposition of organic matter also adds to soil acidity A pH level of around 6.3-6.8 is also the optimum range preferred by most soil bacteria, although fungi, molds, and anaerobic bacteria have a broader tolerance and tend to multiply at lower pH values. Therefore, more acidic soils tend to be susceptible to souring and putrefaction, rather than undergoing the sweet decay processes associated with the decay of organic matter, which immeasurably benefit the soil. These processes also prefer near-neutral conditions. pH is actually a component of water quality, but it is sufficiently important to be treated as a separate parameter within the abiotic factors.[10] The pH of water is the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in an aqueous solution; it is also a usedl to measure the acidity or base level of soil. The lower case p in pH stands for "power of" with H being the symbol for the element hydrogen. Mathematically, it is the negative log of the concentration in molarity of hydrogen ions in a solution. For chemists, the term hydronium ion (H3O+ ) is often substituted for hydrogen ion.

Water undergoes dissociation into hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxyl ions (OH-). When the concentrations of these two ions are equal, the solution is considered neutral. If the concentration of hydrogen ions is larger than the concentration of hydroxl ions, the solution is acidic. If hydroxyl ions are in greater concentration, the solution is considered alkaline or basic. Pure water at room temperature will have a neutral pH of 7.00. Values of pH below 7.00 are found in acidic solutions while values above 7.00 characterize basic solutions. The pH of natural rainwater is slightly acidic, around 5.6, because carbon dioxide dissolves in water and forms carbonic acid. Human blood has a pH of 7.3-7.5. Seawater has a pH of 7.8-8.3 Each organism has an optimum range of pH tolerance, since pH governs most basic metabolic processes within cells, as well as molecular transport through cell walls. The pH of a solution controls mineral solubility, solubility and structure of organic molecules, and protein structure.

Topography Topography is the variety of shapes found on the landscape determined by slopes, elevation and aspects. The topography of grassland ecosystems is a varied landscape of gently rolling hills and prairies, rock outcrops, cliffs, gullies, and low lying areas. Diverse topography is what gives incredible variety to grassland ecosystems. Aspect refers to the direction in which a piece of land is facing. Areas that face towards the south, or the sun, are hotter and drier than areas that face north, or away from the sun. The slope of an area is the angle at which the land lies. Slope is important in our grasslands as water may run downhill rather than soak into the ground where it is available for plants. An area that slopes with a southern aspect will be much drier and hotter than an area that slopes with a northern aspect. Elevation describes the height of land above sea level. Temperatures are generally cooler and rainfall is higher as elevation is gained. Micro-topography can have important influences upon habitat definition, both as to adaptations of plants and animals, as well as bacteria and other organisms. With respect to plantlife, topography interacts with meteorology in producing a variety of wind shear, turbulence, and thermocline effects that can influence plant growth and even plant selection for a given habitat. Topography interacts with soil type by influencing the ratio of surface runoff to downward percolation following precipitation; in fact, micro-topography shapes the fundamental ponding that leads to surface water retention and vernal pool formation, factors significant in determining plant viability and selection. With respect to animal life, topography influences the suitability of habitat for burrows,[7] for nests, for hiding from predators (and conversely for stalking by predators) and for transport efficiency with respect to animal movement capability (speed and traction). As nesting examples, certain birds have a clear preference for cliffside nesting sites, requiring extreme verticality in micro and macro topography; puffins and many penguins have a slope preference for their burrows, which slope is somewhat dependent on the exact soil type. An example of movement restriction, migrating

salamanders have a maximum slope tolerance for micro-topography, which is also soil type dependent.