COMPONENT OF

ENVIRONMENT
 Nature is composed of Biotic and Abiotic
components.
 All the abiotic and biotic components
interact with each other to create an
ideal ecosystem
 ABIOTIC COMPONENTS
 The abiotic components are very essential for
the organisms to survive. These are non-living
and chemical components. These are divided
into three categories:

 A. Climatic components
These components determine the average
temperature of an area. These include
 1. TEMPERATURE
 The degree of hotness or coldness of an area
is called as temperature. It is the most
important ecological component. It influence
all the activities of an organism.
 For Example: Metabolic rate gets increased
up to certain limit by accelerating the
activities the activities of enzymes
 It also increases the rate of growth of
organisms
 2. LIGHT
 It is also one of the most important climatic
components of the environment. Metabolic
activities of both the plants and animals are
influenced by light.
 For Example: Rate of photosynthesis in the
plants gets increased by increasing the
number of chloroplasts and the amount of
chlorophyll.
 Light also influence the daily activities of the
animals.
 3. WIND
 Wind is the fast moving air. Both the
plants and animals gets influenced by
wind,
 For Example: Wind causes soil erosion
and desertification.
 Wind also in pollination in some plants.
 4. ATMOSPHERIC HUMIDITY
 The amount of the water vapours present in the
atmosphere is called atmospheric humidity. Both
plants and animals gets influenced by atmospheric
humidity.
 The humidity in air affects the rate of
transpiration in plants and animals. In low
level humidity water evaporates faster.
Humidity is lower during the day and higher
during the night.
 It transpiration (in plants) and perspiration (in
animals).
 5. RAINFALL
 Rainfall is a vital part of the environment. It
is the main source of water for agricultural
production , animal’s consumption,
industrial activities, etc.
B. Chemical components
 The chemical components include:
 Oxygen: About 21% of atmospheric air is oxygen. It is
used in aerobic respiration. It is mainly formed as a
by-product of the process of photosynthesis of the
plants.
 Carbon dioxide: About 0.03% of the atmospheric air is
carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is exhaled by an
organism during respiration.. Burning of the fossil
fuels also leads the formation of this gas. It is also used
in the process of photosynthesis by the producers.
 Nitrogen: About 79% of the atmospheric air
is nitrogen. It is fixed as nitrites and nitrates
either abiologically or biologically.

 pH of medium: Different pH conditions are needed

for different organisms for their optimal growth,
Most of the organisms live in neutral and
nearly neutral conditions. Some plants like
maize grow well in acidic condition and some
plants like coconut grow well in alkaline
conditions.

 These include
 Soil and substrate
 Soil profile
 Topography
 Minerals
 pH
 Fire
 Range of tolerance
 SOIL
 The word soil is derived from the Latin word solum
meaning earthy material in which plants grow.
 The process of formation of soil is called pedogenesis.
 A soil complex is formed of 5 categories of
components namely mineral matter, organic matter or
humus, soil water, soil air and living organisms.
 The quality of soil is due to its fertility, texture,
structure, organic contents and air - water
relationship.
 Soil is often considered an abiotic factor since it is
mostly made up of small particles of rock (sand and
clay) mixed with decomposed plants and animals.
Plants use their roots to get water and nutrients from
the soil. Soils are different from place to place – this
can be a big factor in which plants and animals live in a
certain area.