Modern world technical progress is moving forward by leaps and bounds. Along with this, the question of the legacy of such progress – environmental problems – arises acutely. Report on the topic “Environmental problems” will talk about how technological progress affects the environment.
"Environmental problems" report
In every settlement there are buildings of factories, factories and other production facilities that emit tons of harmful substances into the atmosphere, dump waste into water bodies and dispose of their waste into the ground. And such actions are reflected not only in a specific localization, but throughout the entire planet.
Global environmental problems of our time:
* air pollution
This is one of the most important problems. After all, it was the air that became the first victim of technological progress. Just imagine for a moment that thousands of tons of toxic and harmful substances are released into the atmosphere every hour or even less often. Industry causes enormous harm to the environment. Large accumulations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead to warming of the planet. It seems that temperature fluctuations due to this are not large, but in global terms this is a significant deviation from the norm. Vapors of toxic substances that enter the atmosphere affect weather conditions. For example, due to excessive sulfur in the air, acid rain occurs. And they, in turn, harm plants, trees and the lithosphere.
* water pollution
This problem is particularly acute in some countries in Asia and Africa. Excessively polluted water bodies have led to a significant shortage of drinking water. It is not even suitable for washing clothes, much less for drinking or cooking.
* pollution land
Most enterprises, in order to get rid of waste, dispose of it by burying it in the ground. Of course, this has a negative impact on the soil not only in the area of disposal, but also in the surrounding area. As a result, vegetables and fruits grown in such soil can cause diseases that can be fatal.
Ways to solve environmental problems
1. Application of effective methods for recycling waste, as well as hazardous waste.
2. Transition to the use of safe, environmentally friendly fuel that does not pollute the atmosphere.
3. Introduction of strict government sanctions and fines for water, air and land pollution.
4. Conducting educational work and social advertising among the population.
At first glance, these actions are quite simple, but when it comes to practice, everything is not so simple. Many countries and non-profit organizations are constantly fighting against lawbreakers, but states lack the finances and people to implement projects to eliminate environmental problems.
We hope the information provided about environmental issues has helped you. And you can leave your report “Solving environmental problems” using the comment form.
Over the past hundred years, in the relationship between man and the biosphere, there has been, firstly, an increase in the Earth's population (1830 - 1 billion; 1994 - 550,000,000), and secondly, a sharp increase in industrial production, energy production, and agricultural products. This has led to a sharp increase in anthropogenic impact on the environment, the scale of which is becoming planetary, and in terms of quantitative effect human activity exceeds many natural processes.
The human impact on the biosphere can be straight(artificial fish breeding, direct destruction of plants and animals, etc.) And indirect(changes in groups due to changes in climate). Based on the results, human influence is conventionally divided into positive(planting forests, cleaning water bodies, etc.) And negative(pollution of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, etc.).
Human influence on the lithosphere:
Exhaustion and erosion soil Erosion- destruction of the upper soil horizons by strong winds(wind erosion) or water streams(water erosion).
Exclusion from land use of an increasingly larger area of land through waterlogging, salinization, desertification, and expansion of open-pit mining.
Pollution with heavy metals (lead, tin, zinc, copper, etc.), synthetic substances.
The extraction of oil, gas, coal, and the use of groundwater leads to collapses and landslides.
Human influence on the atmosphere:
Pollution with oxides of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, soot, methane, etc.
Destruction of the ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons CFCl3, CF2Cl2, which are used in the refrigeration industry and in the production of aerosols, and the formation of ozone holes. Ozone "holes" are local areas of the ozonosphere where the ozone concentration is significantly (by 40...50%) less than usual. the appearance of ozone holes poses a real environmental danger for the corresponding region due to the weakening of the protection of all living things from the harmful effects of “hard” ultraviolet radiation.
An increase in the concentration of CO2 and CH4 as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels, which leads to " greenhouse effect." Greenhouse effect, greenhouse effect - heating of the lower layers of the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth as a result of the absorption of thermal radiation reflected from the surface of the planet by water vapor and carbon dioxide. Over the past 200 years, the CO2 content in the atmosphere has increased by almost 25%, and the temperature has increased by 0.5 ° C.
Photochemical formation smog from vehicle exhaust gases over industrial cities. Smog is apparently severe air pollution characterized by a combination of dust particles, fog droplets, gaseous pollutants and smoke. The main source of smog is combustion products of coal, fuel oil, diesel fuel, and vehicle exhaust.
Education acid precipitation due to atmospheric pollution with sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrogen chloride. Acid precipitation - precipitation whose acidity exceeds the normal value (pH<5,5 ).
Human influence on the hydrosphere:
Irrational use of fresh water reserves.
Pollution of water bodies with petroleum products, pesticides, mineral fertilizers, household and industrial waste, etc.
Human influence on the biosphere:
■ Radioactive contamination leads to the accumulation of radioactive metals in living organisms: strontium-90 (instead of calcium, to which it is close) and cesium-137 (instead of potassium), etc.
■ An important factor in human influence on the distribution of organisms is introduction (lot. Introductio - introduction) - relocation of certain species of plants and animals outside their natural range and adaptation to new conditions of existence. Introduction can be conscious or unconscious. A person consciously imports economically or aesthetically valuable plants into a new area. It should be noted that most cultivated plants are grown far beyond the natural distribution of their wild ancestors. Sometimes the country where plants are introduced becomes their second home. Thus, the birthplace of coffee is Africa, and cocoa is tropical America. Now the main exporter of coffee is Brazil, and cocoa is Ghana.
■ One form of anthropogenic impact is acclimatization - adaptation of organisms to new environmental conditions (biocenoses) , to which they are mainly transferred (deliberately or accidentally) person. Adaptation to new conditions occurs under the influence of natural or artificial selection as a result of changes in the genetic structure of the species. An example of anthropogenic impact is the acclimatization of rabbits in Australia, which later turned into a real disaster. In 1859, 24 rabbits were brought to Australia, which began to multiply rapidly and destroy pastures. In 1950, the myxomatosis virus was used to reduce the number of rabbits, after which the process of reviving the pastures began.
Degradation of the natural environment is carried out under the influence of negative actions of two types: a) minor in impact, but long-lasting; b) one-time catastrophic ones that occur during accidents.
We live in a time of technological progress, which makes life easier in many ways thanks to new and useful inventions. But these achievements of mankind also have a flip side to the coin - the consequences of this progress directly affect the ecological situation of the environment throughout the world.
Many plants, factories and other production facilities constantly emit harmful substances into the atmosphere, pollute water bodies with their waste, as well as the earth when they dispose of their waste into the ground. And this is reflected not only locally at the place where waste is released, but throughout our entire planet.
What environmental problems exist in the modern world?
Air pollution
One of the main problems is atmospheric and, accordingly, air pollution. It was the atmospheric air that first felt the effects of technological progress. Just imagine that tens of thousands of tons of harmful and toxic substances are released into the atmosphere every hour every day. Many industries and productions cause an irreparable and simply stunning blow to the environment, for example, oil, metallurgy, food and other types of industries. As a result, large amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, causing the planet to constantly warm up. Despite the fact that temperature changes are insignificant, on a more global scale this can seriously affect hydrological regimes, or rather, their changes. In addition to all this, air pollution affects weather conditions, which have already changed with the advent of technological progress.
Acid rain, which occurs due to sulfur oxides entering the air, is now very widespread. These rains negatively affect many things and cause damage to trees, plants, the lithosphere and the top layer of the earth.
There are not enough resources, both financial and physical, to eliminate environmental problems, so at the moment they are only in the development stage.
Water pollution
This problem is particularly widespread in Africa and some Asian countries. There is a huge shortage of drinking water there, since all existing reservoirs are terribly polluted. This water cannot even be used for washing clothes, let alone used as drinking water. This is again due to the release of waste into wastewater from many industrial enterprises.
Earth pollution
To discharge waste, many enterprises use the method of recycling it in the ground. Undoubtedly, this negatively affects the soil, not only in the burial area, but also in nearby areas. Subsequently, vegetables and fruits of poor quality are grown in this soil, which can cause many fatal diseases.
Ways to solve environmental problems
- Effective recycling of garbage and other hazardous waste.
- Using environmentally friendly fuel that does not pollute the atmosphere.
- Strict sanctions and fines at the state level for air, water and land pollution.
- Educational work and social advertising among the population.
All these steps seem very simple and easy to put into practice, but often things are not so simple. Many countries and non-profit organizations are fighting violators, but they are sorely lacking financial support and human resources to implement their projects.
Content
1 Global environmental problems………………………….………………3
2 The relationship between global environmental problems and possible solutions……………………………………………………………… ……………..…..8
Appendix A…………………………………………………………………… …………………..10
- Global environmental problems
The most pressing problems at present are various types of pollution of the main shells of the Earth - the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. Also, recently it has become possible to add space pollution here. The problem, although new, is no less relevant compared to the above.
Let us expand on the term pollution, which is the main one in this work. So, pollution is the introduction into the natural environment or the emergence in it of physical phenomena and processes, chemical compounds and biological systems that are alien to it.
Impact on the atmosphere
Air pollution is a global phenomenon and requires international cooperation to control it. The most common air pollutants include gases such as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. Pollution can lead to a significant reduction in the natural concentrations of gases that make up the atmosphere, such as ozone in the stratosphere. Dust, noise, excessive heat, radiation and electromagnetic fields are all air pollution. As a result of the activities of metallurgical plants, waste incineration, and the operation of thermal power plants, the temperature of the atmosphere increases, and the increase in carbon dioxide, the share of which has increased by 17% over 120 years, leads to the so-called “greenhouse effect.” But the main greenhouse gas on Earth is still water vapor. With this phenomenon, the heat received by the Earth does not spread into the atmosphere, but, thanks to greenhouse gases, remains at the Earth's surface, and only 20% of the total thermal radiation of the Earth's surface goes irrevocably into space. The phenomenon of the “greenhouse effect” is one of the main root causes of such an urgent problem as global warming.
An equally important problem is the depletion of the Earth's ozone layer. As you know, the atmosphere is the Earth's radiation shield. In the upper layers of the atmosphere, at an altitude of 15–50 kilometers from the earth's surface, oxygen and ozone absorb most of the short-wave radiation coming from outside. These are ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays, which by their physical nature are harmful to living beings, as they destroy the genetic apparatus. The existence of this layer significantly limits the intensity and scale of convective mixing of the atmosphere, so any violation of the inversion layer will lead to a sharp global change in weather conditions, and therefore to climate change on Earth.
One cannot ignore the phenomenon of acid rain, which is also caused by chemical pollution of the atmosphere. This phenomenon is closely related to the pollution of the hydrosphere and lithosphere, but it can only be prevented by reducing emissions into the atmosphere. Acid rain is not a simple or isolated phenomenon. When fossil fuels are burned, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are formed, and when combustion is incomplete, hydrocarbons are also formed. All these substances enter the atmosphere in a gaseous state, but are sometimes washed out from there, falling to the ground with precipitation, which leads to damage to trees, death of the fauna of lakes and rivers, destruction of buildings and other consequences.
We also include noise pollution, which has a negative impact on human health, as atmospheric pollution. In our age - the age of factories, powerful technology, the age of airplanes and rockets, there is a very large pollution of the atmosphere with all sorts of sounds, thereby causing noise pollution of the atmosphere. In recent years, the scientific world has begun to pay increasing attention to the problem of electromagnetic pollution of the atmosphere. Electromagnetic pollution is, first of all, changes in the electromagnetic properties of the environment in which the property is located, which can lead to local geographical anomalies and destruction in fine biological structures, which also include humans.
The most severe negative impact on the human body is radioactive contamination of the environment. Today, the main source of radioactive contamination of the biosphere are radioactive aerosols that enter the atmosphere during nuclear weapons tests, accidents at nuclear power plants and radioactive production, as well as radionuclides that are released from radioactive waste buried on land and sea.
Hydrosphere pollution
One of the most valuable resources of the Earth is the hydrosphere - oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, glaciers of the Arctic and Antarctic. There are 1385 million kilometers of water reserves on Earth and very little, only 25% of fresh water suitable for human life. And despite this, people are very crazy about this wealth and destroy it without a trace, indiscriminately, polluting the water with various wastes. The lack of water is aggravated by the deterioration of its quality. Water used in industry, agriculture and everyday life returns to water bodies in the form of poorly treated or completely untreated wastewater. Thus, pollution of the hydrosphere occurs primarily as a result of the discharge of industrial, agricultural and domestic wastewater into rivers, lakes and seas. Urban runoff and large landfills often cause water pollution with heavy metals and hydrocarbons. In addition, humans transform the waters of the hydrosphere through the construction of hydraulic structures, in particular reservoirs. Large reservoirs and canals have a serious negative impact on the environment: they change the groundwater regime in the coastal strip, affect soils and plant communities, and, after all, their water areas occupy large areas of fertile land.
Nowadays, pollution of the world's oceans is growing at an alarming rate. Moreover, not only wastewater pollution plays a significant role here, but also the release of large quantities of petroleum products into the waters of the seas and oceans. Firstly, sea and river vessels pollute water with waste generated as a result of operational activities and products of internal combustion in engines. Secondly, pollution occurs as a result of accidents when toxic substances, most often oil and petroleum products, enter the sea. Harmful chemical compounds and radioactive waste entering the sea are gradually carried away by currents and waves, but if they enter shallow continental seas, they immediately harm the ecosystem, even before effective measures can be taken to combat this impact. In this regard, small seas are especially vulnerable.
Lithosphere pollution
The lithosphere is the solid shell of the Earth. The lithosphere is polluted by liquid and solid pollutants and waste. The upper layers of the lithosphere are called soil. Soil cover is the most important natural formation and component of the Earth's biosphere. It is the soil shell that determines many of the processes occurring in the biosphere. Soil fertility and climatic conditions determine the possibility of the existence and development of ecological systems on Earth. And every year there are fewer and fewer fertile soils, and this is also because the soils are polluted by waste. Residential buildings and public utilities are among the main soil pollutants.
Industrial enterprises are even more dangerous soil pollutants. Solid and liquid industrial waste constantly contains substances that can have a toxic effect on living organisms and plants. Soil pollution in agriculture occurs due to the introduction of huge quantities of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, which are used to increase soil fertility and make crops more durable. However, excessive fertilization of the soil leads to the fact that grown vegetables and fruits are simply dangerous to human health.
Soil contamination with pesticides (pesticides) used in agriculture is extremely dangerous. It is known that normal plant growth is determined by various physical, chemical and biological processes that occur in the soil. When released into the soil, pesticides can be incorporated into these processes and accumulate in plants. In addition, they remain stable in the soil for a long time, which also causes their accumulation in food chains. They are divided into groups according to their purpose:
- insecticides - to combat pests of agricultural crops;
- herbicides - to control weeds;
- fungicides - to combat fungal diseases;
- defoliants that cause premature aging of plant leaves.
The most severe consequences are caused by radioactive contamination of the soil. During the nuclear reaction at nuclear power plants, only 1% of nuclear fuel is converted into thermal energy, and the remaining 99% is discharged from nuclear reactors as waste. These wastes are radioactive fission products of uranium - plutonium, cesium, strontium and others. Disposal and disposal of spent nuclear fuel is an intractable problem. Currently, one of the safe ways to eliminate the danger of radioactive radiation from solid nuclear waste is its burial.
Back in 1973, UNESCO published a list of the ten most dangerous pollutants in the biosphere. Their list and brief description are given in Appendix A.
2 Relationship between global environmental problems and possible solutions
Currently, the ecological situation on the planet is in a very difficult situation. If at this historical period humanity does not come to its senses and does not try to find a way out of the current situation, then in the end something irreparable will happen; nature will not withstand constant human intervention in its natural processes. In this case, an environmental disaster is simply inevitable. That is why solving existing environmental problems is the first and most important task not of individual states or groups of states, but of all humanity as a whole. One way or another, all the problems that currently exist are interconnected, and it is the concept of “Man” that unites them. And these problems are caused by the size of the population living on the planet, its uneven distribution over the surface of the planet, and its constant growth. If we take this statement as a basis, then the connection between all environmental problems will be easy to trace. The next chain emerges.
An ever-growing population demands more and more food, shelter and consumer goods. This in turn causes the growth of cities and the construction of more and more industrial enterprises. To create them, people cut down forests, and to provide the population with food, they plow lands that have not previously been used for agriculture. These actions lead to a decrease in the areas of habitat for wild animals, and cultivated plants displace wild ones. Due to the growing demand for wood, deforestation is increasing, which in turn affects the oxygen content in the Earth's atmosphere. Industrial enterprises pollute the atmosphere with toxic compounds, and then they, along with precipitation, enter the soil and water. Carbon dioxide, which is formed when burning fuel, does not have time to be absorbed by plants and accumulates in the atmosphere. Many substances released into the environment react with the Earth's ozone layer and thereby destroy it. Ultraviolet radiation penetrates through the resulting “ozone holes,” which, together with the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causes a phenomenon known as the “greenhouse effect,” which ultimately leads to global warming. Such a result, sooner or later, can lead to a catastrophe on a planetary scale, the main victim of which will be humanity. It is also impossible not to mention such problems as the decline in numbers or complete disappearance of some species of animals and plants and the associated serious disruption of food chains in nature, soil pollution with emissions from industrial enterprises, pesticides and fertilizers applied in excess. Soil erosion and the resulting erosion-induced reduction in fertile land areas have become a serious problem, which ultimately led to the fact that in certain areas of the planet humanity was faced with crop failures and famine. Improper reclamation quickly leads to a decrease in the quality and fertility of the soil, a decrease in the amount of moisture retained by the soil and the plants growing on it, which leads to desertification. Instead of trying to restore lost lands, people plow up new ones, seeing in this a salvation from hunger, while, as a rule, forests are destroyed.
The consequence of the above chain is a violation of the natural balance. The very possibility of life on Earth is being threatened. If there are no changes in humanity’s attitude towards the environment in the near future, then sooner or later man as a biological species may disappear forever from the face of the planet.
Since, as we were able to prove above, the root cause of all problems is humanity, it is society, and not individual people, that must combat the problems. Without the entire world community realizing the destructiveness of the current situation, the problem simply cannot be physically resolved. First of all, it is necessary to develop a high level of human consciousness, which will become the starting point in solving environmental problems. It is necessary that Man learns to love and care for nature from a young age.
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Otradnensky Oil College
Abstract on the topic:
"Ecology of Life"
Student:
gr. 01 EXM – 2
Savelieva Yu.A.
Teacher:
Akhremenko O.A.
Otradny 2002
Introduction
The term ecology is derived from two Greek words ( oikos- house, dwelling, homeland, and logo– science), literally meaning “the science of habitats.” In a more general sense, ecology is a science that studies the relationships of organisms and their communities with their environment (including the variety of relationships they have with other organisms and communities).
Ecology took shape as an independent science only in the twentieth century, although the facts that make up its content have attracted human attention since ancient times. The great importance of ecology as a science has only recently begun to be truly understood. There is an explanation for this, which is due to the fact that the growth of the Earth's population and the increasing impact of man on the natural environment have confronted him with the need to solve a number of new vital problems. To satisfy his needs for water, food, and clean air, a person needs to know how the nature around him works and functions. Ecology studies these problems.
It is obvious that ecology is closely related to other biological disciplines, such as zoology and botany. This is true. At the dawn of the development of these sciences, the attention of researchers was focused on the systematics and structure of organisms. But already in the first works on flora, the writing of each plant species began to be accompanied by an indication of its places of growth. In the study of fauna, we also came to the conclusion that the way of life of an animal is interconnected with its living conditions. Most of this information relates essentially to ecology.
Now let's move on to the next division of ecology and consider an individual not in isolation, but as part of a group of similar individuals occupying a certain territory and belonging to the same species. Such groups are called populations (from the Latin word populus- people, or population). Our individual begins to experience the influence of its neighbors, and most importantly, it begins to reproduce. And here new problems arise related to the study of the influence of external factors not on an individual individual, but on their group, on changes in its number and composition.
The life and functioning of populations is a rather complex process. The fact is that a population is not just the sum of individuals. The interactions of organisms in a population lead to the fact that it develops its own properties that differ from the properties of individual individuals. A natural population always represents a certain unity.
Under the influence of various factors, the size (number of individuals) of a population, its age composition and area of distribution can vary significantly over time. Often these changes can lead to adverse consequences. For example, outbreaks of insect pests can cause great damage to agriculture. Conversely, damage may occur due to a decrease in the number of organisms used by humans for their needs (commercial fish, game and other species of animals and plants).
The study of the life of individual populations and the determination of the causes of their changes constitute a large amount of material that determines population ecology.
In nature, cohabiting populations of different organisms always form a certain unity called a community, or biocenosis (from the Greek words bios- life and cenosis– general). A community is a fairly stable biological formation, since it has the ability to self-maintain its natural properties and species composition under external influences caused by normal changes in climatic and other factors. The stability of a community is determined not only by the stability of its constituent populations, but also by the characteristics of the interaction between them. The study of communities allows us to more accurately determine the reasons for changes in the numbers of individual groups of organisms, correctly organize agriculture, hunting or forestry, develop ways to combat infections, plan the location of settlements, etc. Here we are faced with the next, even more complex section of ecology - the ecology of communities.
The totality of all ecosystems of the Earth, within three geospheres (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere), with which living organisms interact, forms the largest ecological system of the Earth, called the biosphere (from the Greek words bios - life and sphere– ball).
Very complex processes take place in the biosphere. All living organisms are closely interconnected with each other and with their environment, consisting of elements of inanimate nature. These are water, air, soil, light, temperature.
Organisms not only depend on external conditions, but also have a huge impact on the world around them. In other words, living organisms and inanimate nature are closely related and are in constant interaction. The study of the biosphere is the most complex branch of ecology, called global ecology.
There are other subdivisions in ecology. One of them places the study of man at the center of attention. This branch of ecology, which uses an ecological approach in relation to human society, is now called environmental science, or human ecology.
So, ecology is a science that studies the relationships of living organisms (including humans) with each other and with the environment. Moreover, the objects of its study are not only individual organisms, but, mainly, their populations, communities in certain habitats, that is, natural ecological systems that develop and operate according to their own laws.
Ecology is a vitally important science for humans that studies their immediate natural environment. Man, observing nature and its inherent harmony, involuntarily sought to bring this harmony into his life. This desire became especially acute only relatively recently, after the consequences of unreasonable economic activities leading to the destruction of the natural environment became very noticeable. And this ultimately had an adverse effect on the person himself. This is why the term “ecology” has become so widespread.
It should be remembered that ecology is a fundamental scientific discipline, the ideas of which are very important. And if we recognize the importance of this science, we need to learn to correctly use its laws, concepts, and terms. After all, they help people determine their place in their environment and use natural resources correctly and rationally.
Knowledge of the basics of ecology will help both society and the individual to build their lives wisely; they will help everyone feel like a part of the great Nature, achieve harmony and comfort where previously there was an unreasonable struggle with natural forces.
Currently, ecology has become one of the dominant interdisciplinary synthetic sciences, solving an urgent problem of our time - the study of the relationship of humanity with the environment. This is primarily due to the negative environmental consequences of the impact of anthropogenic factors on the Earth's biosphere: the greenhouse effect, acid rain, depletion of the ozone layer, deforestation, desertification, threatening environmental pollution with various toxicants, depletion and degradation of natural ecosystems.
Target: I want to study the basis of the science of ecology.
Tasks :
1. Study the “ecology of life.”
2. Understand environmental terms.
3. Summarize the facts of ancient times of ecology.
"Ecology of Life"
Ecology is currently of particular interest both in various natural science disciplines and in the humanities. The integrating direction in this science is associated with the study of harmonious interactions between the system and the environment and with the study of ecosystems. This direction correlates well with the concept of relative equilibria in nature. One might even say that the relative ideas of ecology are based on relative equilibria. Ecology is one of the sciences of the biosphere class, which have become widespread in modern natural science, since in it the equilibrium interactions of the natural system and the environment are taken as the initial concept.
Ecology is considered in the light of the basic principles of natural science. The opportunity to approach ecology as a science that studies ecosystems exists thanks to the development of a systematic research method. To effectively use this method, it is necessary to expand the understanding of the basic concepts of this science, based primarily on such as “adaptation”, “ecosystem”, “ecological balance”, “ecological niche”.
The term “ecosystem” itself was introduced by A. Tansley in 1935. An ecosystem consists of all the organisms that live in a given area and depend on each other in various respects, and from the physical and chemical environment surrounding these elements. The identification of different ecosystems in the landscape is carried out quite arbitrarily. Clear boundaries between them are rare. Processes in one ecosystem affect the other. Water cycles provide connections between water and land ecosystems. Consequently, all ecosystems are interconnected and together form a single whole - the biosphere.
An important type of ecosystem can be considered the human ecosystem, which refers to individual people along with their cultivated plants and domestic animals. Each organism can only live by interacting with its environment within an ecosystem. Sustainable ecosystems are the main condition for the sustainability of life on Earth. Each ecosystem has two main components: organisms and factors from the inanimate environment surrounding them. The first (a set of organisms - plants, animals, microbes) is called the biota of an ecosystem.
The development of ideas about ecology as the science of ecosystems allows us to formulate three basic principles for the functioning of ecosystems (N.F. Reimers).
1. Obtaining resources and getting rid of waste is carried out within the framework of the cycle of all elements.
2. Ecosystems exist due to non-polluting and almost eternal solar energy, the amount of which is relatively constant within ecosystems and is abundant.
3. The greater the biomass of the population, the lower the trophic (nutritional) level it occupies.
The first principle is in good harmony with the law of conservation of mass. Since atoms do not disappear, do not appear, and do not transform into one another, they can be used endlessly in a wide variety of compounds and their supply will never be exhausted.
The second principle places emphasis on the main factor that ensures the sustainability of the processes of interaction of ecosystems with their environment. The amount of solar energy reaching the earth's surface is a constant value and can serve as a clear example of natural equilibrium. The second principle fits organically into the fundamental principles of modern natural science; it correlates well with the concept of relative equilibrium of nature.
The third principle is related to the principle of complementarity. One of the most important forms of energy flows in ecosystems is food chains. The initial cause of all these flows is solar radiation; their practical implementation is characterized by special mechanisms.
There are two types of processes in nature: the first is ecological balance and natural changes in the environment; the second is the ecological balance of organisms over time. The study of ecosystems is carried out primarily within the framework of the study of biogeocenoses. Here the main role was played by V.N. Sukachev, who in 1940 introduced the very concept of “biogeocenosis”, and N.V. Timofeev-Resovsky, who proposed dividing ecosystems into types: biotropic, nontropic, hydrotropic and equitropic. This division is based on differences in the storage capacity of biomass contained in soils, reservoir soils, and silts. Biomass is a powerful reservoir of many elements, and this is what explains the intensity of migration of elements and the conditions for accelerating and decelerating this migration.
The concepts of “ecosystem” and “adaptation” are closely related. They are focused on a joint consideration of the concepts of “system” and “environment” and their influence on each other. Ecological balance ensures the sustainability of the existence of the totality of animals, plant organisms and humans in nature. The basis of ecological balance is the relative constancy of the cycle of substances in each specific ecosystem. In this regard, it is appropriate to emphasize that simple systems are ecologically unstable and, conversely, diversity is the key to stability.
The addition of individuals is determined by biotic potential, their death by environmental resistance. Such equilibrium is called dynamic, since resistance parameters rarely remain unchanged for a long time. The size of populations is the result of a dynamic equilibrium between their biotic potential and environmental resistance.
Something similar can be said about the species. The main condition determining the viability of a species is its ability to establish and maintain equilibrium with other species within an ecosystem that ensures an effective cycle of nutrients and a sustainable flow of energy. As for humanity, it is dealing with intermediate equilibria and has not yet reached its own population equilibrium, which can be considered the starting point for constructing other equilibria.
The approach we have outlined to environmental problems is illustrated by a number of the most important environmental principles and laws.
Let us note V. Shelford’s rule, according to which the prosperity of a population depends on a complex of environmental factors, each of which corresponds to a certain range of endurance (tolerance). Adjacent to this rule is the law of J. Liebig, who formulated it in relation to agricultural crops: a substance available in a minimum volume determines the yield, as well as the size and stability of the latter over time. Usually Shelford's rule is combined with Liebig's law into the principle of limiting factors. To these laws should be added the rule of A. Mitscherlich: the productivity of a biological system is determined by the entire set of operating environmental factors. This rule can be considered as an amendment to Liebig's law. This rule is based on a mathematical formula that describes the combined effect of environmental factors and their interaction. In 1918, the rule was supplemented by a mathematical formula and transformed by B. Baule into the Mitscherlich–Baule law of cumulative action.
In ecology, special mention should be made of the thermodynamic method, which allows one to study the transfer of mass and energy. It is associated with food chains, as well as environmental pollution. Energy degradation processes are inevitable, but the principles of thermodynamics do not prohibit using work to transform more dangerous degradation products into less dangerous ones. Unwisely organized energy produces especially a lot of destructive (degradative) effects. Currently, it alone can lead to a planetary environmental disaster.
The cyclical processes associated with the interactions of organisms and their environment are often organized in very complex ways. According to Williams, solar radiation causes two types of cycles of substances on Earth: geological and biological. Consequently, all cyclical interactions of systems with their environment are involved in these planetary cycles.
Thus, all the basic concepts of ecology considered are closely related to various types of equilibria, moreover, dynamic equilibria, i.e. continuously regulated. Ecology can be considered a step in the ascent to planetary thinking.
Ecology is a science that studies the conditions of existence of living organisms and the relationships between organisms and the environment. The term and general definition of ecology were first given by the German biologist E. Haeckel (1866) in his major work “General Morphology of Organisms.” He wrote: “By ecology we understand the sum of knowledge related to the economics of nature: the study of the entire set of relationships between an animal and its environment, both organic and inorganic, and, above all, its friendly or hostile relationships with those animals and plants with which he directly or indirectly comes into contact.”
However, there is currently a diversity of interpretations of the term itself:
1) ecology is one of the biological sciences that studies living systems in their interaction with their environment;
2) ecology is a complex science that synthesizes data from natural and social sciences about nature and the interaction between it and society;
3) ecology – a special general scientific approach to the study of problems of interaction between organisms, biosystems and the environment (ecological approach);
4) ecology – a set of scientific and practical problems of the relationship between man and nature (ecological problems).
Conclusion
So, I got acquainted with the main sections of ecology. Completing any course from the disciplines with which I became acquainted requires summing up some results. Getting acquainted with ecology, I learned that the sustainable existence of organisms in nature is ensured by a certain way of their organization.
Literature
1. Brylov S.A., Grabchak L.G., Komashchenko V.I. Environmental protection.
2. Vronsky V.A. Applied ecology: textbook. – Rostov n/d.: Phoenix, 1996.
3. Golubev I.R., Novikov Yu.V. Environment and its protection.
4. Danilova V.S., Kozhevnikov N.N. Basic concepts of modern natural science: Textbook. manual for universities. – M.: Aspect Press, 2000.
5. Kriksunov E.A., Pasechnik V.V., Sidorin A.P. Ecology. 9th grade: Educational. for general education. textbook establishments. – M.: Bustard, 1997.
6. Handbook of nature conservation / Ed. K.P. Mitryushkina.
