Abiotic resource
Topic: Natural Resources: Classification, Planning and Sustainable Use · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 1 "Resources and Development"
Meaning
An abiotic resource is a useful resource made of non-living things. Examples are rocks, metals, minerals, water and air. NCERT sorts resources by origin, meaning where they come from. The two groups are biotic resources, which have life, and abiotic resources, which do not. This matters because many basic needs depend on abiotic resources. We need water and air to live, and we need metals and fuels to build industry.
Example
The Jharia coalfield in Dhanbad district, Jharkhand, is one of India's main coal sources. Coal formed long ago from buried plants. It is still an abiotic resource, because nothing in it is alive any more. The same is true of petroleum.
Don't confuse with
- Biotic resource: it comes from the biosphere, the part of the Earth where life exists, and it is living. Examples are forests, fisheries and livestock. Once-living material that is now dead, such as coal or petroleum, is abiotic.
- Non-renewable resource: this group depends on whether a resource can run out, not on whether it is living. Some abiotic resources, such as water and air, are renewable. Others, such as minerals and fossil fuels, are non-renewable.