Question

All of these are biotic factors except:
(A) Trees
(B) Mushrooms
(C) Squirrels
(D) Soil
(E) Bacteria

Answer 1

Hint: Biotic components in an ecosystem are the components that have life. Whereas, abiotic components include those factors that have no life or are non-living.

Complete step by step answer: An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life. The ecosystem has two factors in itself namely biotic factors and abiotic factors. Biotic factors are the living component of the ecosystem like animals, plants and microorganisms, while abiotic factors are those who are non-living in the ecosystem, but their presence is very much important such as air, water, temperature, sunlight, minerals, etc. One of the most critical interactions in an ecosystem between the biotic and abiotic environment is photosynthesis, i.e, the base chemical reaction that drives most life on earth. Plants and algae use sunlight, water, carbon dioxide to create the energy they need to grow and live via photosynthesis. Here, trees and mushrooms are plants or products of plants. Squirrels come under animals and bacteria is a microbe. All these come under the category of biotic factors. While the soil is non-living but has a significant role in the ecosystem and it falls under the category of abiotic factors.

Additional information: Ecosystems are controlled both by external and internal factors. Biodiversity plays a very important role in ecosystem functioning. The reason for this is that ecosystem processes are driven by the number of species in an ecosystem, the exact nature of each individual species, and the relative abundance of organisms within these species.
Hence, the correct answer is option D.

Note: Soil is the environment in which seeds grow. They provide heat, nutrients and water available to nurture plants to maturity. These plants grow with other plants and organisms nearby to create an ecosystem.