Earth Science c/o decay

Question

when corn is harvested, corn stalks are left in the field.  They will decay.  Would thte decaying corn stalks be considered part of the biotic or abiotic environment?  Why or why not?

Answer 1

Hi L,

 

Biotic refers to living component of environment and abiotic to non-living component. Stalk itself is not a living part of the corn plant and it cannot grow. However, during decay it is providing food to bacteria and/or other microbes to grow on it. Those are living components, they grow and therefore, we see decaying corn stalks. Those microbes etc are biotic components.

 

I hope this helps and you can elaborate your answer on these key facts.

 

 

Answer 2

Hi There!

One easy way to remember the difference is that adding "a" in front of a word means "not", as it is a prefix. The easiest way to distinguish between biotic and abiotic is as follows: If it is or was composed of cells, it is biotic; if it is or was composed of molecules, it is abiotic. Water cannot die, so it is abiotic. A dead plant is made of cells so it is biotic. Additionally, if something is dead, it means it was once alive and composed of cells, so it was always biotic.