Question

Describe different components of ecosystem in brief.

Answer 1

The structural component of an ecosystem may be classified under two main types:
1. Biotic components
2. Abiotic components
Biotic components comprise the living organisms present in an ecosystem. These include plants, animals and micro-organisms (bacteria and fungi). The biotic component of an ecosystem has been classified into three groups:
1. Producers (green plants)
2. Macro consumers (usually animals)
3. Micro consumers or decomposers (organisms like bacteria and fungi).
Abiotic components consist of the non-living components like light, temperature, water, oxygen,carbon, nitrogen and minerals. Various important abiotic factors have been classified as follows:
1. Climatic factors: These include light, temperature, precipitation, atmospheric humidity and wind.
2. Topographic factors: These include altitude, surface slope and exposure, etc.
3. Edaphic factors: These include soil and substratum.