Which of the following is NOT a type of biotic factor?

Biotic factors refer to the living components of an ecosystem that can affect other living organisms. This includes all the forms of life such as plants, animals, and microorganisms. Producers, consumers, and decomposers are all classified as biotic factors: producers create energy through photosynthesis, consumers obtain their energy by eating other organisms, and decomposers break down dead organic material, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

However, habitat pertains to the physical environment where organisms live, including both the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components such as water, soil, and climate. Therefore, habitat is not classified as a biotic factor but rather as an abiotic one, since it consists of the non-living aspects that support the biotic components of an ecosystem. This distinction between biotic and abiotic factors is crucial in understanding ecological relationships and the dynamics within ecosystems.