Abiotic

Abiotic is the term used to describe non-living components of an environment, such as physical and chemical factors. These include climate, temperature, light, water, oxygen, minerals, soil and other non-living components of the environment. These abiotic components are essential for providing the necessary conditions for life within an ecosystem and allow the physical, chemical and biological interactions between the different components of the environment. Abiotic components play an important role in the formation and maintenance of different ecosystems, and their effects can be seen on the species, abundance and pattern of distribution within an ecosystem. Understanding the impacts of abiotic components on an environment is important for for conservation efforts and management of ecosystems.