effect of changes in abiotic factor

• Biotic components depend on abiotic factors for their survival and growth, meaning biotic components cannot live without the abiotic components
• Abiotic components do not depend on biotic factors for their existence
• Leonardo da Vinci: 'Water is the driving force of all nature'
• Rain


  Liquid precipitation or water falling from the sky
• Huge amounts of rain fall on land


  Effect on ecosystem is unknown
• No rain for many days

  Effect on organisms living on land and in bodies of water is unknown
• If one abiotic factor is changed or removed, it can affect the whole ecosystem
• Humans are part of the ecosystem, so we need to understand how changes in abiotic factors can affect us
• Air


  Invisible mixture of gases such as nitrogen and oxygen that surrounds the earth
• Without air, plants, animals, and humans will not survive
• The quality of air has changed due to the increasing population, vehicles, growing number of factories and establishments, and continuous burning of plastics and other garbage that results in pollution
• Air pollution


  The introduction of materials into the atmosphere that produces adverse effects, especially to humans and their daily activities
• Soil


  The basic medium for land-based ecosystems where plants grow and some organisms live, providing plants with essential nutrients, minerals, and humus from decayed plants and animals
• Human activity is the number one contributing factor to soil pollution, such as throwing and burning of garbage containing plastics
• Overproduction of compounds like nitrates, phosphates, and potassium can make the soil acidic
• Burning wood and grasses can lead to the loss of organic matter or topsoil, making it dry and not suitable for planting
• Sun


  A major source of energy
• Too much heat from the sun


  Effect on plants and animals is unknown
• No sunlight


  Effect on all living organisms is unknown
• Humans have become the biggest contributors to climate change through activities like cutting down or burning of trees, leading to deforestation, dumping of waste materials anywhere, using plastic products over reusable materials, and overpopulation
• Increase or decrease of atmospheric temperature


  Impact on organisms living on earth, despite their adaptive abilities
• Changes in temperature can limit reproduction and survival rate of organisms, so they must cope with the change in order to survive
• Water


  Essential to life on earth
• When the quality and quantity of water changes due to natural and man-made disturbances, greater problems arise, such as toxic chemicals, diseases from infectious organisms, and growth of plankton resulting in less dissolved oxygen, which may threaten organisms in the water
• What can we do to prevent the effects of changes in abiotic factors on the ecosystem

  • At school: Reuse school supplies, bike/walk/share rides, repair toys and clothes, turn off monitors/lights/taps, share toys, bring reusable bottles, hold clean and green drives, reduce plastic use, hold educational seminars
  • Individually and at home: Apply the 3Rs (reuse, reduce, recycle), engage in gardening/planting, segregate garbage, make compost pits, reduce air pollution activities, use bikes instead of cars, bring reusable bags to the grocery store