Category Science

            Have you ever wondered whether we would run out of oxygen at some point in time if all living things used it for their existence? However, we know that trees and plants release oxygen to the atmosphere. Life in biosphere is cyclical. The elements that sustain life travel from one form of life to another making each of them dependent upon the other. The most important cycles in the biosphere are nitrogen cycle, oxygen cycle, carbon cycle and water cycle.

            Nitrogen is required in all living beings to produce proteins. Nitrifying bacteria present in certain plants carry out the process of nitrogen fixation. Denitrifying bacteria decompose the dead remains and waste products of plants and animals and release nitrogen back into the atmosphere.

            Living things take in oxygen from the air as it helps the release of energy from the food they consume. The process of photosynthesis that occurs in the leaves of green plants releases oxygen. Additionally, green plants play an important role in carbon cycle. They consume carbon dioxide to produce food. When animals consume these plants, they get some part of carbon. Carbon dioxide is released back to the H atmosphere when the animals exhale. Carbon is returned to nature when the animals die.

            In the case of water cycle, water changes into vapour and rises up in the atmosphere. When it cools down, it condenses into water droplets which combine together to constitute clouds. When clouds become heavy with water droplets they fall back on Earth in the form of rain or snow.

            These cycles are vital for the existence and sustenance of life on Earth.

            If you observe a pond or a river, you would be amazed to see the variety of living things there. You would find not only fishes, but also plants, frogs, insects, birds and many more creatures! They all live there quietly and interdependently.

            An ecosystem is the coexistence of different life forms in a given geographical area. Various species of creature from a community at such locations. The communities with its surroundings such as soil, temperature, vegetation etc. from an ecosystem.

            Individual animals fight for resources in an ecosystem, because there is a limit to resources available for a biological community. Different species interact with each other in the ecosystem for their survival, food, shelter etc.

            This interaction, however, may be in the form of relationships like that of the prey and the hunter. It may be one of mutual benefit or symbiotic. Symbiotic living means interdependence and a friendly relationship with nature and living beings.

            Life in an ecosystem is cyclical in nature as living organisms depend on each other. The continuity of the fragile ecosystem depends on the interrelationship between various physical and biological factors.

            In the entire universe known to him, Man is yet to find another planet like Earth where there is life. Our planet, therefore, is unique because it holds a system that contains life in its diverse manifestations. This diversity is so enormous that our attempt to study it seriously has just begun!

            You may have heard the saying that nature is the greatest teacher. Man tries to know more about nature systematically and scientifically. Ecology is the science that studies the behaviour of plants and animals, and in Particular, environmental conditions. Ecology addresses the full scale of life, from tiny bacteria to processes that spay entire planet.

            Ecology comes from the Greek word ‘Oikos’. The word means a place to live in. Ernest Haeckel, a renowned German biologist, used the term for the first time. However, his idea of ecology was forgotten until about 1900 when biologists began to take serious interest in it. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Hippocrates and Aristotle were the first thinkers who discussed ecology in their studies on natural history.

            Ecology has many practical applications today. Modern ecology became a much more rigorous science only in the late 19th century.

            When Man goes into space, he needs protective gear because he is out of his environment. We live comfortably in the biosphere where life thrives.

            Biosphere comes from the Greek word ‘bios’, which means life. We humans live in the biosphere. Biosphere is a layer that extends slightly above and slightly below the surface of the earth. This space covers the earth’s entire surface.

            Biosphere is, in fact, the living part of our home planet and it comprises a number of ecosystems. It also includes the atmosphere. The atmosphere acts just like a blanket over the earth as it protects our planet from harmful rays of the sun.

            Millions of different ecosystems are present in the biosphere and they are contained within many geographical areas known as biomes. The ecologists divide the biosphere into smaller units such as ecosystems, habitats and niches. This division makes its study easier because each of these units can be studied individually in detail.

            Biosphere consists of some 35,000 species of living creatures including human beings.

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            We tend to take our life for granted and think that the survival of living beings on earth depend; exclusively on the availability of fresh air, food and drinking water. However, our life depends on so many other factors too. The environment around us preserves life as a mother’s womb protects the child within!

            Environment is formed by whatever surroundings we live in. In the case of Earth, all the physical surroundings present on our planet are called environment. In other words, environment is the setting in which human life, as well as countless other life forms, comfortably exists.

            The environment includes both living and non-living things. The part of the environment where life exists is called the biosphere. All the living beings including human beings and plants are part of the biosphere.

            The non-living part of the environment has three main parts: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the lithosphere. The atmosphere is the air, which comprises of various gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon. Hydrosphere, as the name suggests, consists of water bodies. All oceans and other bodies of water on earth such as rivers and lakes make up the hydrosphere. The lithosphere denotes the outer layer of Earth.

            Our existence and survival depends entirely on atmosphere. All animals, plants, and other living beings rely on the non-living aspects of the environment to survive.

Picture Credit : Google