Biosphere is a set of means in which plant and animal life unfolds. Similarly, it is a set formed by living beings with the environment in which it operates.
The term biosphere is of Greek origin and is composed of bio that means “life” and sphaira that expresses “sphere or globe”, therefore, it is the sphere where life is. The biosphere was an expression set by geologist Eduard Suess, in 1975 and the Russian physicist Vladimir Vernadsky, it is important for geology, astronomy, climatology, paleography, among others.
The biosphere is one of the 4 layers that make up the earth: lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, they are formed by solid, liquid, gaseous and biological elements.
The biosphere is the only place where life is found, it is the most extensive layer of the earth’s crust where sun, air, water, light, and food prevail, it can be said that it is formed by factors biotics and abiotics that interact with each other with the help of energy, these elements are essential to establish the necessary conditions for the development of life.
As such, the biosphere is the geographer where all living beings that are related to each other and the environment that surrounds them and is the set of all ecosystems.
The interaction of living beings are sometimes harmonious and, in other situations it is not, causing negative effects on the biosphere, which is why the behavior of populations and their environment can affect the biosphere, through pollution of water, air, soil, which endanger the ecosystem and, therefore, causes alteration in the biosphere.
Currently, a great dilemma in society is to reconcile the development of technologies with the lack of natural resources such as the balance of the biosphere.
A natural ecosystem can remain in its original state for many years and is only altered by the same nature, for example: a natural disaster or, by man himself through activities such as biomass devastation, abusive fishing, substitution of natural ecosystems For areas destined to agriculture, among others that transform the biosphere, it is for this reason that the human being must be aware of the environmental effects and practice measures that allow the efficient administration of natural resources and, in this way achieve a ecological balance.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has set the expression Biosphere Reserves, the same according to UNESCO are:
“Areas of terrestrial or coastal / marine ecosystems, or a combination thereof that serve to boost the integration of populations and nature, in order to promote sustainable development through participatory dialogue, knowledge sharing, poverty reduction , the improvement of well-being, respect for cultural values and the ability of society to adapt to changes ” .
Layers of the Earth
As stated earlier, the earth is made up of 4 layers: the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere and the biosphere.
- The lithosphere is the layer of the globe formed by the crust and the outermost part of the mantle and is characterized by its rigidity as it is formed of rocks and minerals.
- The hydrosphere is the set of liquid parts of the globe, that is, it is the set of all the planet’s waters.
- The atmosphere is a mass of air that surrounds the globe. The atmosphere allows keeping temperatures within tolerable extremes, protects us from ultraviolet rays, meteorites and contains oxygen, in conclusion, the atmosphere creates favorable conditions for life on earth.
The biosphere is formed by the elements of the lithosphere, the hydrosphere and the atmosphere, that is, water, soil, heat, light and food. It is composed of the upper layer of the soil (lithosphere), continental and oceanic waters (hydrosphere) and atmosphere.
