Definition of environment
environment
1. The environment, object, or condition in which a person is surrounded.
2. The complex of physical, chemical and biological factors (such as climate, soil and organisms) that act on an organism or ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival.
Or the sum of social and cultural conditions that affect the life of an individual or community.
3. The position or characteristic position of the language element in the sequence.
4. A computer interface that can perform various tasks, such as a programming environment.
So we call it, “environment” is a term used to describe the environment around you. It includes where people live, the cultural and social interactions that exist in people, and all the other components that make up the world.
Who is the environment?
An ecosystem (also called an environment) is a natural unit that consists of all the plants, animals, and microorganisms (biological factors) in an area, and all the abiophysical (abiotic) elements of the environment.
some synonyms for environment
environment, atmosphere, climate, clime, context, context, environment, medium, environment, mise-en-scène, setting, surround, environment, terrain
type of environment
The three environments are physical environment, social environment and culture.
Environment definition in details
What does environment mean? If you are referring to the physical environment, then it is defined as the surrounding conditions and elements with which living things interact. Beyond physics, however, there are other types of elements that make up the environment. They are chemical and biological properties. Thus, the environment contains all the biotic and abiotic factors that contribute to the survival, evolution and development of the organisms that occupy it. The related term “environment” is defined as “surrounding” or “surrounding”. Environments vary in scope – from the smallest “micro” scale to the largest on a global scale.
The terms “ecosystem” and “environment” are common synonyms for the word “environment”. However, they differ in that the term “ecosystem” includes the interaction between an organism and its surroundings. Environment, in turn, refers to the environment surrounding an organism or population. In this regard, environment is a fairly broad concept, while the term “surrounding” is relatively more specific.
Another related term is natural. What is the difference between environment and nature? Likewise, the definition of natural includes all living and non-living things on earth, but nature is characterized as a natural entity, not a man-made one, it implies a non-naturally occurring property, so it is man-made or “built” .
Different branches of science are interested in studying the environment, its components, and the interactions between organisms and their environment. For example, environmental science is interested in the study and investigation of the interaction of organisms with their environment and their outcomes. A branch of environmental science is ecology, which deals with ecological interactions within ecosystems.
Type of environment
The environment is different from one angle to another. Let’s take a look at the following ways to group or categorize environments.
inside and outside
In physiology, the environment may be internal or external. The internal environment would be that of a multicellular organism. Maintenance of the internal environment of an organism through homeostasis is critical for the survival of an organism. The external environment refers to the environment outside the body. The next section will focus on the external environment.
nature and built
The environment may be natural or man-made. The natural environment is an environment found in nature. It includes all naturally occurring things, animate and inanimate. As such, it involves complex relationships between weather, climate, biological species and natural resources.
Unlike the natural environment, the built environment is made by humans, such as agricultural transformations or urban environments. With the current breadth of human intervention and modification, many natural environments have acquired some degree or level of “build”.
It is clear that people are part of the environment; however, the intervention of one person produces a built environment. Humans have developed advanced tools to alter the components of the environment to suit their needs. Some animal species are also able to use tools such as raw materials to build nests, mounds, dams and dwellings. However, their tools are relatively primitive and often less widespread than human tools and techniques. Human technologies are widely distributed around the world, directly or indirectly affecting every aspect of the environment.
aquatic, terrestrial and atmospheric
Based on composition, environments can also be divided into (1) aquatic environments (ocean, such as oceans and freshwater, and freshwater, such as lakes and rivers), (2) terrestrial environments (land), and (3) atmospheric environments (air).
The marine environment is the largest known and is characterized by the presence of water with a high salinity. On the other hand, freshwater environments have lower salinity levels. The marine environment contains about 97% of the water on Earth. Organisms in marine environments communicate with each other and with their physical environment. These environments are very important to humans as it is a great source of nutrients and resources. Ocean pollution, acidification and warming are threats to the marine environment from human activities.
External environment components
The external environment includes all living (living) and non-living (non-living) things. They are as follows: air, land, water.
The crust is the solid surface of the Earth, also known as the lithosphere. The lithosphere is part of the environment. A natural source of the lithosphere is the solidification of magma.
Water (hydrosphere) is one of the main components of the environment. It covers about 71% of the Earth’s surface. It is found in oceans, rivers, seas and lakes. Oceans cover most of the Earth’s surface. They contain brackish water in continuous oceanic bodies and small seas.
Unlike oceans, rivers contain fresh water, and they flow into the sea, lake, ocean, or another river. Few rivers flow to the ground and dry up without reaching another body of water. The river flows in the channel. They complete the water cycle as river water is collected from glaciers, groundwater recharge and springs. Small rivers are called streams. They are important in the environment because they connect different habitats and maintain biodiversity.
A lake is a body of water that is part of the land, not connected to the ocean, and is deeper and larger than a pond. Natural lakes usually exist in areas or mountains where recent glaciers have formed. Ponds are small bodies of stagnant water, they are either naturally formed or man-made, they are smaller than lakes. Artificial ponds include fish ponds and solar ponds.
Water in the built environment can be affected by humans in a variety of ways, such as deforestation, urbanization, building dams, and modifying the channels of rivers and streams. Dams are designed to hold water in order to hold water and change its direction. Although dams can be used to generate electricity and build water reservoirs, they can negatively impact the natural environment by preventing fish and organisms from moving in rivers and streams. In addition, they can affect the water supply of the forest. This ultimately leads to the degradation of trees and a reduction in food availability for different biological factors in the environment.
The atmosphere is the main factor that maintains the balance of the ecosystem. The atmosphere consists of a thin layer of gas that covers the Earth. The atmosphere is held in its place by gravity. The atmosphere is composed of different gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon and inert gases. In addition, the atmosphere includes water vapor and ice crystals that form clouds. One of the atmospheres is ozone, which reduces the intensity of ultraviolet light reaching the Earth’s surface. UV radiation damages the DNA of living organisms. Therefore, the atmosphere, which is an integral part of the environment, is very important for the survival of organisms, including humans, and for maintaining environmental balance by preventing extreme temperatures.
Global warming is one of the major challenges affecting our environment today. It refers to the recent increase in Earth’s average atmospheric temperature due to increased levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and fluorocarbons. These gases keep heat in the atmosphere. Their rising levels in the atmosphere are caused by human activities such as deforestation and the burning of carbon dioxide. As a result, the Earth’s surface temperature becomes higher, hence the name. Global warming is said to increase the average temperature of the Earth’s surface enough to cause climate change. As a result, global surface temperature has increased by 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) over the last century.
Climate is the state of wind, humidity, rainfall, air pressure, and temperature in a given area over a long period of time. It is classified according to different variables such as precipitation and temperature. Instead, the weather represents the condition of these elements, but only in the short term. Both are important parts of the environment. Weather is the sum of all phenomena that occur in a given area at a given time. Generally, weather describes daily temperature values, while climate describes the average condition of the atmosphere over a long period of time.
Weather describes the difference in humidity and temperature in different places. These differences are caused by several factors, such as the angle of the sun in a given area. Surface pressure will vary due to temperature differences from one area to another. Humans have developed systems that can predict the future state of the atmosphere, in addition, they have tried to control the weather through different methods. There is evidence that human activities such as industry and agriculture have changed the weather as it is affected by any small changes in the atmosphere.
Biosphere
Biological components represent all living things on earth, such as bacteria, protists, algae, fungi, plants and animals. Life has existed on Earth for over 3.7 billion years. It is generally characterized by metabolism, growth, organization, adaptation, response and reproduction. It includes all living things in the environment. The part of the earth occupied by living things is called the biosphere. Different organisms are found in the biosphere. Living organisms have unique features and characteristics that enable them to adapt to specific environments.
A biome is an ecological community of different organisms that can adapt to the environmental conditions and climate of a given geographic area; thus, a biome is a large environment characterized by biotic and abiotic factors, such as light, temperature, precipitation, and other factors. Biomes are divided into 6 regions, which may be terrestrial or aquatic. Terrestrial biomes are grasslands, forests, tundra, and deserts, while aquatic biomes are freshwater and marine biomes. Biomes are useful in ecological research and ecosystem change because they provide information about environments and how they change, adapt, evolve and function.
Ecological role
An ecosystem is an external environment in which all living things function together with all non-living things in the environment. Living things in ecosystems form complex relationships with abiotic factors in the environment to support their development and survival.
Energy flow
Energy flows between biotic and abiotic parts of the environment in a cyclic manner within an ecosystem system. Therefore, all the components of the ecosystem are harmoniously integrated with each other. In the image below, notice how energy flows through the ecosystem. Energy (light energy) from the sun flows through all trophic levels (from producers to consumers and decomposers) as it is converted into chemical energy that drives various metabolic activities and ultimately dissipated, for example as heat, into the environment.
Biogeochemical cycle
Biogeochemical cycles are pathways that allow different chemicals to pass through biotic and abiotic factors on Earth. Biogeochemical cycles are critical to different environments, especially those of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and water. For example, water is constantly moving through different parts of the earth in different forms (like liquid, ice or steam) in different places in the water cycle. Although water is constantly moving in this cycle, its balance remains the same over time. Likewise, the carbon and oxygen cycle maintains the balance of oxygen and carbon on Earth to sustain life and atmosphere on Earth.
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