Life Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Range of tolerance === The inert components of an ecosystem are the physical and chemical factors necessary for life—energy (sunlight or [[biochemistry|chemical energy]]), water, heat, [[Earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]], [[gravitational biology|gravity]], [[nutrient]]s, and [[ultraviolet]] [[ozone layer|solar radiation protection]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cmapsnasacmex.ihmc.us/servlet/SBReadResourceServlet?rid=1025200161109_2045745605_1714&partName=htmltext |title=Essential requirements for life |access-date=14 July 2009 |publisher=CMEX-NASA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817100436/http://cmapsnasacmex.ihmc.us/servlet/SBReadResourceServlet?rid=1025200161109_2045745605_1714&partName=htmltext |archive-date=17 August 2009 }}</ref> In most ecosystems, the conditions vary during the day and from one season to the next. To live in most ecosystems, then, organisms must be able to survive a range of conditions, called the "range of tolerance".<ref name=tolerance>{{Cite book |last=Chiras |first=Daniel C. |edition=6th |title=Environmental Science – Creating a Sustainable Future |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-7637-1316-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/environmentalsci0000chir |publisher=Sudbury, MA : Jones and Bartlett }}</ref> Outside that are the "zones of physiological stress", where the survival and reproduction are possible but not optimal. Beyond these zones are the "zones of intolerance", where survival and reproduction of that organism is unlikely or impossible. Organisms that have a wide range of tolerance are more widely distributed than organisms with a narrow range of tolerance.<ref name=tolerance/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page