Biosphere. Photo: NASA (no copyright infringement intended)
The Biosphere is the collection of all life on Earth.
The Biosphere (literally “sphere of life”) is the collection of all life on Earth, from deep-sea crabs in ocean trenches, to the birds in the air. This very complex interactive system supports all life. The Biosphere exists in constant balance with those smaller parts of itself in which we live – Biomes and Ecosystems. As they change, so does the Biosphere.
Other huge natural elements surround the Earth. The Lithosphere is the rocky layer that extends for kilometres into the Earth and is covered with a thinner layer of soil. The Hydrosphere comprises all the Earth’s water, and although we tend to think of it as the oceans, it also includes water on land, in the Atmosphere, and in ice sheets. The Atmosphere is the air surrounding the Earth. As you can imagine, all these systems merge into one another.
The Biosphere gets its vitality from the life within it. In return it maintains stability for uncounted lifeforms.
The Biosphere is a robust system, which has developed and evolved over a very long time. It receives its energy from the sun, and depends on the Lithosphere, Hydrosphere and Atmosphere for its existence as well. Yet the Biosphere gets its vitality from the life within it. In return, it maintains stable conditions for an uncounted number of lifeforms. Human activity that impacts other lifeforms, and radically changes natural energy flows, will change the Biosphere.