Perhaps you have already spent a day in a natural lake and noticed how few creatures, such as fish or plants, exist there. The only thing you will find there to a large extent are small patches of algae that can no longer live in the nutrient-poor water. Environmentalists try to research the cause of the death of living beings by examining and analyzing the respective abiotic environmental factors at the respective location.
Definition of abiotic environmental factors
Abiotic environmental factors are the non-living components of an ecosystem that interact with other inanimate factors and living organisms. All influences that emanate from the inanimate environment are among the abiotic environmental factors. These are environmental factors in which beings are not directly involved.
The abiotic environmental factors of an ecosystem are the following:
- temperature
- light
- water
- PH value
- climate
- substance concentration
- salinity
Abiotic environmental factors affect the life of all living things, i.e. animals, plants, fungi and bacteria.
Abiotic environmental factors can affect, among other things, the mating season of some animal species or the leaf fall of some tree species.
Abiotic vs. biotic environmental factors
environmental factors are both inanimate and animate factors that can directly or indirectly affect the environment of a living being. Abiotic environmental factors, i.e. changes that occur in nature, are not caused by other living beings.
As you may have already learned, abiotic environmental influences include all inanimate influences such as temperature, water and solar radiation. The abiotic environmental factors are opposed to the so-called biotic environmental factors.
Sometimes certain abiotic factors are of human origin, such as the pH of a lake due to the discharge of water into the lake. Individual abiotic factors are not isolated or individually present in the ecosystem. However, they can interact with each other.
Biotic environmental factors are all influences that come from living organisms.
Biotic environmental factors are all factors that emanate from organisms and affect other living beings both positively and negatively.
Examples and influence of abiotic environmental factors
Important environmental factors include temperature, light, water, pH, soil composition, climate, nutrient concentration and salinity.
temperature
Air and water temperatures are among the most important abiotic factors. All living things can only survive within a certain temperature range. If the temperature is out of range, their metabolism isn’t working properly. Therefore, deviations can lead to stress and even death of the organisms.
Influence of temperature on the life of plants
Temperature plays an important role in plants for both photosynthesis and germination. Plants can only grow and multiply at certain temperatures. In addition, plant seeds need a certain minimum temperature to germinate.
Rye, for example, germinates at temperatures of 1 – 2 °C, whereas tomato seeds only germinate at temperatures between 12 and 16 °C.
Influence of temperature on the way of life of animals
As a rule, animals have a relatively large tolerance range for temperatures. This means that their survival is assured even with large temperature fluctuations. But the animals can only grow and reproduce successfully within a specific temperature range.
Poikilothermic animals (equally warm animals) are particularly dependent on the temperature of their surroundings. They cannot regulate their own body temperature. As a result, the body temperature adapts to the outside temperature. The colder it is, the slower their metabolism and the lower their activity. In winter they even go into hibernation. But for such animals, winter is more than just a challenge. Many other animals have developed strategies to survive the winter. They either hibernate, hibernate, or in the case of birds, migrate south.
the Bergmann’s rule states that animals from colder regions generally weigh more and therefore have a larger body surface area to body volume ratio. The smaller the body surface, the less heat is emitted.
the Allen’s rule states, however, that animals in colder areas have smaller extremities than their relatives in warmer areas. Even small extremities offer little surface area to dissipate body heat.
light
For many living things, light is an important source of energy, so it is of great importance for their survival. Sunlight, here the energy source, is required for photosynthesis in plants.
Some tree species have developed different forms of leaf types. This depends on whether the leaves are growing in the areas where the most sunlight falls (sun leaves) or rather in the lower shaded areas of the tree (shadow leaves).
The solar leaf is thicker and has more layers of cells in which chloroplasts, which convert the incoming radiation, are more densely packed. Shade leaves, which are considerably thinner, only absorb diffuse and filtered radiation in the lower shaded area, but still provide an important complement to the higher photosynthetic activity of sun leaves in the upper areas.
water
Water is essential for the existence of all living things. They need it in order not to dry out, that is, for the so-called hydration. The requirements for water quantity, water composition or pH value are different for the respective animal and plant species.
However, it is important to know that drinking too much water can also be harmful to plants and animals.
Influence of the water content on the life of the plants
The water content required differs from one plant species to another. In this case, a distinction is made between aquatic, wet and dry plants.
aquatic plants (hydrophytes) grow wholly or partially under water, on banks or in swamps. Compared to land plants, they do not have developed roots or no roots at all because they always have sufficient water. They can store oxygen in the leaves so they float on the water surface. For example, water lilies are hydrophytes.
wet plants (hygrophytes), like ferns and balsam, can be found in swampy or boggy areas and in tropical rainforests. The wet plants have shallow, weak roots because there is usually enough water in their habitat due to heavy rainfall.
dry plants (xerophytes), like cacti and conifers, are found in very dry regions, whether cold (conifers) or hot (cactus). Their roots go deep into the ground and are widely branched, so that they get enough water even with little rainfall.
Influence of the water content on the way of life of the animals
Without water, it is difficult for many living beings to survive. However, there are some animals that can survive for a few days without drinking water. Animals that live in very dry ecosystems, such as camels, can even survive without water for up to three weeks.
Many animals have adapted over time in terms of water intake.
Koalas and springbok eat plants that have stored enough water. They don’t need drinking water for this.
Some marine creatures, such as dolphins and rays, cannot drink the salt water around them. Instead, they eat fish species that contain enough fresh water.
Fish that live in salt water constantly lose water because the sea water is more saline than their body fluids (osmosis). Therefore, even fish that live in salt water need to drink. They ingest salt water with their mouths and filter it into drinkable fresh water.
pH and soil
The abiotic factors of soil and pH are closely related. The ground acts as a so-called raw material store. In the soil, water is filtered and stored, and important ions of mineral salts are supplied to living beings. The soil habitat is of great importance for many organisms such as bacteria, fungi, worms and insects.
The soil is also of great importance for plants, as it can store vital substances for plants. The pH value is particularly important for soils because it influences other soil properties and largely determines the fertility of the soil. Many plants prefer a pH between 6 and 7.5. They cannot survive well in very acidic or very alkaline environments.
Acidic, neutral or alkaline soil is determined based on the concentration of free hydrogen ions in soil samples.
climate and ocean currents
The climate depends on sun, wind, temperature and precipitation and therefore summarizes several abiotic environmental factors. There are plants and animals that have adapted to harsh environmental conditions. Ocean currents are also of great importance. Ocean currents are a relevant factor in our climate and therefore have a direct impact on the flora and fauna in their vicinity. They are caused by the rotation of the earth and the gravitational pull of the sun and moon.
Of the gulf stream is a sea current, which crosses the Atlantic Ocean from Africa, reaches the west coasts of South and North America, and traverses the Atlantic Ocean to the Arctic Ocean. The increased density of cold water plays a decisive role in the climate in Central Europe.
Due to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, the pumping capacity of the Gulf Stream has decreased. The disadvantage is that there is a sharp increase in precipitation in western Europe.
Since the climate is constantly changing due to global warming, plants and animals that have adapted to certain climatic conditions over long periods of time have to adapt again. Many species are not able to adapt at the pace at which climate change is progressing, which is why many species are threatened by climate change.
nutrient concentration
Roots of plants deprive the soil next to important nutrients, such as nitrogen, sulfur and magnesium from the soil. Nitrogen and phosphorus are particularly important in regulating the rate of photosynthesis and biome structure. If, among other things, the nutrient concentration in the soil changes, this would have considerable disadvantages for the structure of a biome.
A biome describes a place where plants and animals can live by adapting to their environment. Both biotic and abiotic environmental factors are at work in such a biome.
Likewise, the availability of these nutrients has changed significantly around the world due to human activities and the fact that humans have caused increases in carbon dioxide levels.
All nutrients are taken from the soil or, in the case of phytoplankton, algae and cyanobacteria, directly from the water…