What is the difference between biotic and abiotic factors?

Question

Michael Adams · Accepted Answer

Biotic factors are living whereas abiotic factors are non-living.

Abiotic factors refer to non-living factors such as water and air. While there are living organisms in the air and water, neither water nor air can be classified as a living thing. The amount of precipitation in an ecosystem is another example of an abiotic factor.

Biotic factors are living things. For example, plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and etc may all be components of your ecosystem and they are all living. They affect the environment in their own ways through interactions with other organisms and through their interactions with abiotic factors. For example, earthworms affect the soil, which is an abiotic component (if you don't include the microorganisms living in the soil).

Biotic factors are dependent on abiotic factors. Light and heat energy from the sun are the main key components that biota depend on. For further information on this idea, refer to the *Second Law of Thermodynamics. * The Second Law states that, in any cyclic process, the entropy will either increase or remain the same. As heat and light energy are used to form biotic components, entropy increases (due to the one directional flow of energy).

So we can say, Biotic factors are dependent on abiotic factors.

Cooper Alexander · Answer

undefined Biotic factors are living components of an ecosystem, such as plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms, while abiotic factors are non-living components, such as temperature, sunlight, soil, water, and air.