ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: CHARACTERISTICS AND CLASSIFICATION - ENVIRONMENT - 2024

The environmental factors are those elements whose interplay determines the dynamics of life on the planet. There are two major environmental factors: biotic factors, which are all those living beings and their interactions among themselves; and abiotic factors, which are elements that do not have life but are essential for living organisms to develop.

Among the abiotic factors, two elements of vital importance stand out: physical and chemical. Each of these fulfills different functions, always framed in generating the conditions that will determine which organism will live in a certain place and what are the characteristics that it must have in order to survive in that scenario.

You may be interested What are Biotic and Abiotic Factors?

Classification of the main environmental factors

- Biotic factors

Biotic factors correspond to all those living organisms. This term also has to do with the interaction that occurs between these living beings, their interrelationships and coexistence implications.

According to the way in which they absorb nutrients, biotic factors are classified into three main types: producers, consumers and decomposers.

Producers

Ipomoea stans cowboy grave plant, a producer organism. Source: Tpe.g5.stan, from Wikimedia Commons Biotic producers are those that are characterized because they are capable of generating their organic matter based on inorganic material found in the environment.

Organisms that have this ability to form their own organic matter are called autotrophs.

There are basically two sources through which organisms can generate their own organic matter: through solar energy (photosynthetic processes) or through energy generated from chemical compounds (chemosynthetic processes).

Consumers

Foxes are secondary consumers, as they prey on primary

Unlike producer organisms, consumers necessarily require other living beings to be able to synthesize their own food. They are also known as heterotrophic organisms.

Heterotrophs are classified into 5 groups:

1. Herbivores, which feed only on plants and herbs
2. Carnivores, which focus their consumption on other organisms, both carnivores and herbivores
3. Omnivores, which feed on plants and herbs as well as other animal organisms
4. Scavengers, who eat dead animals
5. Detritivores, which feed on decaying matter.

Decomposers

Snake decomposed by bacteria and insects.

They are responsible for decomposing matter corresponding to dead organisms. Through this decomposition process, the decomposing organisms generate inorganic matter, which is used by the biotic producing factors.

- Abiotic factors

Abiotic factors are all those that do not have life and do not need interaction with other living beings to exist. On the contrary, these factors are what allow living beings to function and develop correctly.

These factors can be physical or chemical, depending on their composition and behavior. They are vital for the beings that inhabit the planet, they constitute the necessary space in which organisms are able to subsist and reproduce.

Abiotic factors basically include 4 great elements: water, sun, soil and air.

Water

Water is a fundamental chemical compound for all living things. It has the characteristic of being part of the physical composition of most beings and is capable of dissolving a large part of the elements that exist in nature.

Floor

The soils are full of minerals that allow the generation of life. This abiotic factor is considered one of the most important due to the high impact it has on all living organisms on the planet.

Air

The basic components of air are oxygen and carbon dioxide. These gases are generated by the different living organisms that exist on the planet, and play an essential role in the respiratory processes of beings, as well as in the photosynthesis carried out by plants.

Sun

Sunlight is responsible for providing energy for terrestrial organisms to survive.

Sunlight creates the right conditions for species to develop in one habitat or another, and it is also essential during the photosynthesis process.

- Physical factors

Physical factors are a subclassification of abiotic factors, because they are elements that do not have life. Within this category, three fundamental elements can be highlighted: temperature, atmospheric pressure and rain.

Temperature

The temperature level in a given environment will determine which species will thrive there. There are organisms that need very high temperatures to survive, while there are others that can only develop optimally when they are at sub-zero temperatures.

The temperature changes that occur throughout the year as a consequence of the different seasons, directly affect the behavior of plants, the hibernation processes of some animals and the moments of mating and reproduction of organisms.

Atmospheric pressure

This element has an important influence on the amount of oxygen in the water.

In addition, the level of atmospheric pressure that exists in a space will determine the execution of a series of internal processes in organisms, which are generated so that they can adapt to existing conditions.

Rain

Precipitation affects living things in different ways. For example, when falling on the soil, the rains favor the erosion processes of the rocks, which allows the incorporation of minerals into the soils.

- Chemical factors

Being non-living elements, chemical factors are also considered part of abiotic factors. On this occasion, two of the main chemical factors will be highlighted: the salinity of the water and the minerals.

Water salinity

The salt concentrations in the waters also influence the organisms that can be found in a particular place.

There are beings that function perfectly under high levels of salt, such as halophilic microbes; while there are others that can only survive in scenarios with low salinity levels.

Minerals

As explained above, minerals are an essential part of soils, because they serve as nutrients for plants.

Minerals are also part of the constitution of living beings and perform important functions within organisms, such as strengthening bones and participating in metabolic processes, which are essential for the proper development of beings.

References

1. "The importance of minerals in living beings" in Mining Consciousness. Retrieved on September 9, 2017 from Conciencia Minera: conscienceminera.com.ar
2. "Atmospheric Pressure" in the Department of Education of the Basque Government. Retrieved on September 9, 2017 from the Department of Education of the Basque Government: hiru.eus.
3. "Function of minerals in the body" in Innatia. Retrieved on September 9, 2017 from Innatia: innatia.com.
4. "The environment" in Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved on September 9, 2017 from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: fao.org.
5. "Explore: Abiotic Factors" (December 2016) at Mountain Heights Academy. Retrieved on September 9, 2017 from Mountain Heights Academy: openhighschoolcourses.org.
6. Vicente, M. "Living among salt: halophilic microbes" (May 2, 2010) at the Madri + d Foundation for Knowledge. Retrieved on September 9, 2017 from the Madri + d Knowledge Foundation: madrimasd.org.