![]() ![]() The atmosphere (air) is a part of the Earth that has a huge impact on the thriving and survival of many organisms. The atmospheric environment refers to the atmospheric component of an environment. There are six terrestrial ecosystems: taiga, rainforests, temperate forests, tundra, deserts, and grassland. ![]() ![]() Due to the relatively lower availability of water, the temperature of terrestrial environments fluctuates daily and seasonally. Unlike aquatic or marine environments, terrestrial environments are not abundant in water therefore, the presence of water in terrestrial environments is important. It represents the land of islands and continents and organisms living on them. Terrestrial environments are environments found on land only. Credit: Photo by DAVID ILIFF, CC BY-SA 3.0. Credit: photo by Betty x1138, CC BY-SA 2.0.įigure 2: Natural environment: a type of environment where organisms dwell or interact with the surrounding nature. Read: Freshwater Ecology – Biology Online Tutorial Figure 1: Marine environment. Marine pollution, acidification, and warming are threats to the marine environment as a result of human activities. These environments are of great importance to humans because it is an important source of nutrition and resources. Organisms within marine environments communicate with each other and with their physical surrounding. Marine environments represent about 97% of the water on Earth. On the other hand, freshwater environments have less salt content. Marine environments are the largest known environments, they are characterized by the presence of water with great salt content. Aquatic, terrestrial, and atmosphericīased on the components, the environment may also be classified into (1) aquatic environment (marine, such as oceans and seas, and freshwaters, such as lakes and rivers), (2) terrestrial environment (land), and (3) atmospheric environment (air). Human technology became widely distributed all over the world affecting all aspects of the environment either directly or indirectly. However, their tools are relatively primitive and often the impact is not as extensive as that of human tools and technology. Some animal species are also capable of using tools such as raw material to build nests, mounds, dams, and dwellings. Humans have developed advanced tools to change components of the environment to meet their needs. It is clear that man is a part of the environment however, the intervention of a man produces a built environment. With the current breadth of human interventions and conversions, many natural environments have acquired some degree or level of being “built”. It, therefore, involves the complex relationships of weather, climate, living species, and natural resources.īuilt environments, unlike natural environments, are made by humans, such as agricultural conversions or urban settings. It includes all naturally occurring things, both living and nonliving. A natural environment is a type of environment found in nature. A branch of environmental science is ecology, which deals with the ecological interactions within ecosystems.Įnvironments may be natural or built. For example, environmental science is interested in studying and investigating the interaction of organisms with their environment and its outcomes. ![]() What’s the difference between environment and nature? Similarly, the definition of nature includes all living and nonliving things on Earth but what characterizes nature is that it is a natural entity as opposed to the artificial that implicates an attribute that is not occurring naturally, and by that it is man-made or “built”.ĭifferent branches of science are interested in studying the environment, its components, and the interaction between living organisms and their environment. In this regard, the environment is a rather vast concept whereas the term “surrounding” is relatively more specific.Īnother related term is nature. The surroundings, in turn, refer to that which surrounds an organism or a population. However, they differ in such a way that the term “ecosystem” includes the interaction between the organism and its surroundings. The terms “ ecosystem” and “surroundings” are the common synonyms for the word “environment”. A related term “ environ” is defined as “to surround” or “to enclose”. The scope of the environment varies - from the tiniest, “ micro” scale to the largest, global scale. Thus, an environment contains all biotic and abiotic factors that have a role in the survival, evolution, and development of the organism occupying it. They are the chemical and biological attributes. However, apart from the physical, there are other types of elements that make up an environment. What does environment mean? If you mean physical environment, then it is defined as the surrounding conditions and elements with which a living thing interacts with. ![]()
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