Major Abiotic Factors

Every habitat type is regulated by a number of abiotic, or physico-chemical, factors -- these are the non-living components of the environment, as opposed to the biotic (living) components such as the other plants, predators and pathogens present in a habitat. Among the many abiotic factors that can influence a habitat, the four that affect almost every habitat on Earth are ambient temperature, the availability of water, the amount of light, and the type of soil present. All four vary diurnally and seasonally, and organisms must be able to cope with this variation -- whether by regulating their internal state, conforming to it, migrating away from it, or suspending activity until conditions improve (Section 13.3) -- in order to …