Which term refers to the living parts of an ecosystem?

The term that refers to the living parts of an ecosystem is biotic factors. These include all the organisms—plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms—that interact with one another and their environment within a specific area. Biotic factors play a crucial role in shaping the dynamics of ecosystems, influencing processes like food webs, competition, and symbiosis.

In contrast, abiotic factors pertain to the non-living components of an ecosystem, such as sunlight, temperature, water, and soil composition. Environmental factors is a broader term that can encompass both biotic and abiotic elements and does not specifically highlight the living aspects. Physical factors refer primarily to the non-living traits of an ecosystem, similar to abiotic factors, and are important in studying ecosystem dynamics but do not address the living components. Therefore, biotic factors is the most precise term to denote the living parts of an ecosystem.