Biotic components are the living things that shape an ecosystem.

A biotic
factor is any living component that affects another organism, including
animals that consume the organism in question, and the living food that the
organism consumes. Each biotic factor needs energy to do work and food for
proper growth. Biotic factors include human influence.
Biotic components are contrasted to abiotic components, which are nonliving components of an organism's environment, such as temperature,
light, moisture, air currents, etc. Biotic components usually include:
Producers, i.e. autotrophs: e.g. plants, they convert the energy [from
photosynthesis (the transfer of sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into
energy), or other sources such as hydrothermal vents] into food.
Consumers, i.e. heterotrophs: e.g. animals, they depend upon producers
(occasionally other consumers) for food.
Decomposers, i.e. detritivores: e.g. fungi and bacteria, they break down
chemicals from producers and consumers (usually dead) into simpler form
which can be reused.

An abiotic factor is any of a number of the non-living components of a

habitat. Abiotic factors can be grouped into the categories of meteorology,
soil, air pollution, micro-topographic features, water availability and water
quality. In terms of meteorological factors, the primary abiotic factors can be
construed to be temperature, precipitation, wind velocity, solar insolation
and humidity. It should be noted that statistical variation and seasonal
variation of these basic parameters can be important elements of the
habitat description as well as the temporal correlation of these variables; for
example, for certain amphibian species, it is not only the average annual
rainfall which is important to reproductive success, but especially the timing
of rainfall that occurs in breeding season or the rainfall that occurs within
the temperature optima for breeding. In addition the thawing timing of
ponds can also be significant.[1]

A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and

consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack
of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to the
processes of denudation. About one third of the land surface of the world is
arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions where little
precipitation occurs and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold
deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls,
by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their
geographical location.
Deserts are formed by weathering processes as large variations in
temperature between day and night put strains on the rocks which
consequently break in pieces. Although rain seldom occurs in deserts, there
are occasional downpours that can result in flash floods. Rain falling on hot
rocks can cause them to shatter and the resulting fragments and rubble

strewn over the desert floor is further eroded by the wind. This picks up
particles of sand and dust and wafts them aloft in sand or dust storms.
Wind-blown sand grains striking any solid object in their path can abrade the
surface. Rocks are smoothed down, and the wind sorts sand into uniform
deposits. The grains end up as level sheets of sand or are piled high in
billowing sand dunes. Other deserts are flat, stony plains where all the fine
material has been blown away and the surface consists of a mosaic of
smooth stones. These areas are known as desert pavements and little
further erosion takes place.

Types of Forests
Tropical rainforests
forest point Hugely dense, lush forest with canopies preventing sunlight
from getting to the floor of the forest.
forest point All year high temperatures and abundant rainfall.
forest point Located near the equator.
forest point A vital storehouse of biodiversity, sustaining millions of different
animals, birds, algae and fish species.

Sub-tropical forests
forest pointLocated at the south and north of the tropical forests.
forest pointTrees here are adapted to resist the summer drought.

Mediterranean forests
forest pointLocated at the south of the
temperate regions around the coasts of the
Mediterranean, California, Chile and
Western Australia.
forest pointThe growing season is short
and almost all trees are evergreen, but
mixed with hardwood and
softwood.

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses

(Poaceae), however sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) families can
also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except
Antarctica. Grasslands are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. For
example, there are five terrestrial ecoregion classifications (subdivisions) of
the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (ecosystem),
which is one of eight terrestrial ecozones of the Earth's surface.

A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap) is a weather

phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as
used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in
temperature within a 24-hour period requiring substantially increased
protection to agriculture, industry, commerce, and social activities. The
precise criterion for a cold wave is determined by the rate at which the
temperature falls, and the minimum to which it falls. This minimum
temperature is dependent on the geographical region and time of year
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be
accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries.
While definitions vary,[1] a heat wave is measured relative to the usual
weather in the area and relative to normal temperatures for the season.
Temperatures that people from a hotter climate consider normal can be
termed a heat wave in a cooler area if they are outside the normal climate
pattern for that area.[2]