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Abiotic Factors in Ecosystems Soil Part 2

The document discusses the key abiotic factors that make up ecosystems, including inorganic mineral matter like clay, silt and sand; soil water obtained from rainfall; mineral nutrients formed from decomposing organic matter; soil air present between soil particles; and organic matter like humus formed by decomposing dead material. These abiotic factors influence various important properties of the soil like texture, ability to retain water and minerals, support for plant and soil organism respiration, and decomposition of organic matter.

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Shavane Davis
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11 views11 pages

Abiotic Factors in Ecosystems Soil Part 2

The document discusses the key abiotic factors that make up ecosystems, including inorganic mineral matter like clay, silt and sand; soil water obtained from rainfall; mineral nutrients formed from decomposing organic matter; soil air present between soil particles; and organic matter like humus formed by decomposing dead material. These abiotic factors influence various important properties of the soil like texture, ability to retain water and minerals, support for plant and soil organism respiration, and decomposition of organic matter.

Uploaded by

Shavane Davis
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Abiotic Factors

in Ecosystems
Living Organisms in the Environment
Components of the Soil
Inorganic Mineral Matter
Rock particles form from rocks by weathering and are classified by size:
Clay: less than 0.002 mm
Silt: 0.002–0.02 mm
Sand: 0.02–2.0 mm
Gravel: greater than 2.0 mm
The percentage of each determines the texture of the soil.
Importance of Inorganic Mineral Matter
• Influences how easy it is for plant roots to penetrate and animals to
burrow through the soil. The larger the particles, the easier to
penetrate and burrow through.
Soil Water
Soil water is obtained from rainfall and held in a thin film around soil
particles by capillarity and chemical forces.
Mineral nutrients
• Mineral nutrients is formed from decomposing organic matter and by
dissolving from the surrounding rock.
• Present as ions dissolved in soil water.
• Important for plant growth
Importance of Soil Water
• Essential for photosynthesis in plants.
• Dissolves minerals so they can be absorbed by plant roots.
• Prevents the desiccation (drying out) of soil organisms without
waterproof body coverings, e.g. earthworms.
Soil Air
Soil Air is present in the spaces between the soil particles.
Importance of Soil Air
• Oxygen in the air is essential for aerobic respiration in plant roots and
soil organisms.
• Oxygen in the air is necessary for bacteria and fungi to decompose
organic matter aerobically to form humus.
• Nitrogen in the air is necessary for nitrogen fixing bacteria to form
inorganic nitrogenous compounds, e.g. nitrates.
Organic Matter
• Humus is formed by bacteria and fungi decomposing dead or waste
organic matter.
• Humus is a dark brown, sticky material which coats soil particles,
mainly in the topsoil.
Importance of Organic Matter
• Improves the air content by binding soil particles together in small
clumps called soil crumbs.
• Improves the mineral ion content by adding minerals, and absorbing
and retaining minerals.
• Improves the water content by absorbing and retaining water.

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