Biotic resource
Topic: Natural Resources: Classification, Planning and Sustainable Use · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 1 "Resources and Development"
Meaning
A biotic resource is a resource that comes from the biosphere (the living part of the Earth) and has life. Examples are human beings, plants (flora), animals (fauna), fisheries and livestock. NCERT classifies resources by origin into two groups: biotic and abiotic. Biotic resources can grow and reproduce. This is why many of them are renewable if we use them carefully.
Example
The fish caught along the Kerala coast in south-west India are a biotic resource. They are living things taken from the sea to feed people and to earn a living.
Don't confuse with
- Abiotic resource: this is non-living, such as rocks, metals, minerals, water and air.
- Coal and petroleum: they formed from plants and animals that lived long ago, but they are abiotic because they are no longer alive. This is a common exam trap.