Fig. 1: Abiotic and biotic factors interfering with plants in the space environment.
From: The physiology of plants in the context of space exploration
Abiotic factors include elements that are features of the space environment, like altered gravity, radiations, and the lack of a magnetic field, but also characteristics of the artificial environment that can be created in space, like hypobaria, and the controlled environment for plant growth (artificial light, soil-less technologies). Biotic factors relevant for plant production in space can be both pathogenic (plant and human pathogens) and beneficial (endophytes, root-associated microbes, and paedogenic bacteria) in nature.
