The doctrine of the biosphere. The concept of the biosphere, the boundaries of the biosphere. The origins of the teachings of V.I. Vernadsky about the biosphere and noosphere. What components does the lower layer of the atmosphere consist of: Vernadsky's doctrine of the biosphere

Great achievements in the natural sciences were made by V.I. Vernadsky. He has many works, and he became the founder of biogeochemistry - a new scientific direction. It is based on the doctrine of the biosphere, which is based on the role of living matter in geological processes.

The essence of the biosphere

To date, there are several concepts of the biosphere, the main among which is the following: the biosphere is the environment for the existence of all living organisms. The region covers most of the atmosphere and ends at the beginning of the ozone layer. The biosphere also includes the entire hydrosphere and some part of the lithosphere. Translated from Greek word means "ball" and it is within this space that all living organisms live.

The scientist Vernadsky believed that the biosphere is an organized sphere of the planet, which is in contact with life. He was the first to create a holistic doctrine and revealed the concept of "biosphere". The work of the Russian scientist began in 1919, and already in 1926 the genius presented his book Biosphere to the world.

According to Vernadsky, the biosphere is a space, region, place, which consists of living organisms and their habitat. In addition, the scientist considered the biosphere to be derivative. He argued that it is a planetary phenomenon of a cosmic nature. A feature of this space is the "living matter" that inhabits the space, and also gives a unique look to our planet. Under living matter, the scientist understood all living organisms of the planet Earth. Vernadsky believed that various factors influence the boundaries and development of the biosphere:

• living matter;
• oxygen;
• carbon dioxide;
• water in liquid state.

This environment, in which life is concentrated, can be limited by high and low air temperatures, minerals and excessively salty water.

The composition of the biosphere according to Vernadsky

Initially, Vernadsky believed that the biosphere consists of seven different substances, interconnected geologically. These include:

• living matter - this element consists of a huge biochemical energy, which is created as a result of the continuous birth and death of living organisms;
• bioinert substance - created and processed thanks to living organisms. These elements include soil, fossil fuels, etc.;
• inert matter - refers to inanimate nature;
• biogenic substance - a set of living organisms, for example, forest, field, plankton. As a result of their death, biogenic rocks are formed;
• radioactive substance;
• cosmic matter - elements of cosmic dust and meteorites;
• scattered atoms.

A little later, the scientist came to the conclusion that the biosphere is based on living matter, which is understood as the totality of living beings interacting with inanimate bone matter. Also in the biosphere there is a biogenic substance that is created with the help of living organisms, and these are mainly rocks and minerals. In addition, the biosphere includes a bio-inert substance, which occurred as a result of the relationship of living beings and inert processes.

Properties of the biosphere

Vernadsky carefully studied the properties of the biosphere and came to the conclusion that the basis of the functioning of the system is the endless circulation of matter and energy. These processes are possible only as a result of the activity of a living organism. Living beings (autotrophs and heterotrophs) create the necessary chemical elements in the course of their existence. So, with the help of autotrophs, the energy of sunlight is converted into chemical compounds. Heterotrophs, in turn, consume the created energy and lead to the destruction of organic substances to mineral compounds. The latter are the foundation for the creation of new organic substances by autotrophs. Thus, there is a cyclic circulation of substances.

It is thanks to the biological cycle that the biosphere is a self-sustaining system. The circulation of chemical elements is fundamental for living organisms and their existence in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and soil.

The main provisions of the doctrine of the biosphere

Vernadsky outlined the key provisions of the doctrine in the works "Biosphere", "Area of ​​Life", "Biosphere and Space". The scientist marked the boundaries of the biosphere, including the entire hydrosphere along with the ocean depths, the earth's surface ( upper layer lithosphere) and part of the atmosphere up to the level of the troposphere. The biosphere is an integral system. If one of its elements dies, the biospheric shell will collapse.

Vernadsky was the first of the scientists who began to use the concept of "living matter". He defined life as a phase of the development of matter. It is living organisms that subjugate other processes that occur on the planet.

Characterizing the biosphere, Vernadsky asserted the following propositions:

• the biosphere is an organized system;
• living organisms are the dominant factor on the planet and they have shaped state of the art our planet;
• cosmic energy influences life on earth

Thus, Vernadsky laid the foundations of biogeochemistry and the doctrine of the biosphere. Many of his statements are relevant today. Modern scientists continue to study the biosphere, but they also confidently rely on the teachings of Vernadsky. Life in the biosphere is widespread everywhere and living organisms live everywhere, which cannot exist outside the biosphere.

Conclusion

The works of the famous Russian scientist are spread all over the world and are used in our time. The wide application of Vernadsky's teachings can be seen not only in ecology, but also in geography. Thanks to the works of the scientist, the protection and care of humanity has become one of the most urgent tasks today. Unfortunately, every year there are more and more problems with the environment, which threatens the full existence of the biosphere in the future. In this regard, it is necessary to ensure the sustainable development of the system and minimize the development of negative impacts on the environment.

Biosphere- the shell of the Earth, the composition, structure and energy of which is determined by the combined activity of living organisms.

global ecology- the doctrine of the biosphere of the Earth.

The biosphere covers part of the atmosphere up to altitude ozone shield (20-25 km), part of the lithosphere and the entire hydrosphere. The lower boundary drops on average 2-3 km on land and 1-2 km below the ocean floor.

In the biogeochemical aspect, it is the shell of the Earth within which life is widespread.

The term ʼʼbiosphereʼʼ was introduced by E. Suess (1875), who understood it as a thin film of life on the earth's surface, which largely determines the ʼʼface of the Earthʼʼ.

The holistic doctrine of the biosphere was developed by V.I. Vernadsky.

Basic properties of the biosphere according to V.I. Vernadsky:

1) integrity and organization of the biosphere;

2) ʼʼomnipresenceʼʼ of its living matter;

3) the presence in it of clear discrete formations.

He especially singled out the layer of the biosphere covered by life, where the bulk of organisms are concentrated: terrestrial, plankton and bottom film of life. The biosphere as a global system of life is formed by a combination of biogeocenoses.

The substance of the biosphere is complex and has several components:

1) the totality of living organisms - living matter;

2) a substance created and processed by living organisms, - nutrient(coal, bitumen, limestone);

3) inert substance, formed by processes in which living matter does not participate (solid, liquid, gaseous);

4) bio-inert, ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ is created simultaneously by living organisms and inert processes (almost all the water of the biosphere, oil, soil);

5) a substance in the process of radioactive decay;

6) scattered atoms, which are continuously created from various types of terrestrial matter under the influence of cosmic radiation;

7) matter of cosmic origin, ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ includes individual atoms and molecules entering the ionosphere from electromagnetic field Suns penetrating from space.

Living matter in the biosphere performs two main functions:

1) energy function: In order for the biosphere to exist and develop, it needs energy, own sources which she doesn't have. It can only consume energy from external sources. Such a main source for the biosphere is the Sun.

2) Environment-forming function. It is expressed in the corresponding biogeochemical functions, which indicate the participation of living organisms in the chemical processes of changing the material composition of the biosphere:

A) gas- absorption and emission of gases (for example, green plants absorb oxygen; bacteria restore nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide; animals and plants emit carbon dioxide).

b) concentration- organisms-concentrators accumulate nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, calcium, magnesium in their bodies and skeletons.

V) redox- living matter oxidizes, for example, carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and restores it to carbohydrates.

G) biochemical functions are associated with the vital activity of living organisms - their nutrition, respiration, reproduction, death and subsequent destruction of bodies. As a result, a chemical transformation of living matter occurs, first into bioinert, and then, after dying, into inert.

e) biogeochemical functions associated with human activity

The biosphere is a grandiose equilibrium system with a continuous circulation of matter and energy. The development of the biosphere is determined by the flow of energy, the dominant source of which is the Sun. In the biosphere, the energy of solar radiation is consumed, transformed, bound. energy storage is organic matter. The flow of energy in the biosphere is made up of the energy of the Sun and internal energy Earth. At the same time, energy exchange covers all the components of the biosphere, including living matter.

All substances on planet Earth are in the process of biochemical circulation. There are two basic cycles: large (geological) and small (biotic).

· big cycle lasts for millions of years. Rocks are destroyed, weathered and carried by water flows into the World Ocean, where they form powerful marine strata.

· small circle, being part of a larger one, it occurs at the level of biogeocenosis and consists, in fact, in the fact that nutrients soil, water, air are accumulated in plants, spent on the creation of their mass and life processes in them.

Human intervention negatively affects the cycle processes. For example, the drainage of swamps, deforestation, or disruption of the assimilation of substances by plants as a result of pollution lead to a decrease in the intensity of carbon absorption. Excess organic elements in water under the influence of industrial effluents causes rotting of water bodies and an overuse of oxygen dissolved in water, which prevents the development of aerobic (oxygen-consuming) bacteria. By burning fossil fuels, fixing atmospheric nitrogen in industrial products, binding phosphorus in detergents (synthetic detergents), a person disrupts the cycle of elements.

The rate of circulation of biogenic elements is quite high. The turnover time of atmospheric carbon is about 8 years. Total time The nitrogen cycle is estimated at more than 110 years, oxygen - at 2500 years.

The circulation of substances in nature implies a general consistency of place, time and speed of processes at levels from the population to the biosphere. This consistency of natural phenomena is called ecological balance. This balance is dynamic and mobile.

In general, the principle of circulation in nature is preserved. Simpler ecosystems are united into a common planetary ecosystem - the ʼʼbiosphereʼʼ, in which the circulation of substances is fully manifested.

The productivity of the biosphere, according to some estimates, reaches 164 billion tons of dry organic matter per year. According to other estimates, 83 billion tons per year: 30 for the oceans and 53 for land biomes.

Although the ocean covers 0.7 of the total surface of the Earth, its contribution to the production of net products is only 40%. Forests, occupying only 0.1 of the area of ​​the continents, fix almost half of the total energy by its producers.

Cultivated lands have high primary productivity. But it is not commensurate with the total primary productivity of the forest. The high net primary productivity obtained by agronomists does not mean progress in the use of photosynthesis.

None of the shells that make up the biosphere can develop in isolation from the others. Any qualitative change in one of them adequately affects the other. The universal law of the balance of the biosphere is the basic principle of the existence of the entire organic and inorganic world.

The amount of biomass of living matter tends to a certain constancy. There is an approximate planetary balance between the production of living matter and its decomposition. Imbalance in this process make not only (and not so much) any natural catastrophic changes occurring on earth, but also human economic activity, which can not only be commensurate with catastrophically developing natural factors, but even exceed the level of their impact.

The loss of biomass volume during secondary productivity is associated with enormous expenditures of energy for respiration, muscle energy, movement, etc. The longer the food chain, the lower the secondary productivity. For example, it takes 80 kg of grass to produce 1 kg of beef, and 5 kg of meat is required to produce 1 kg of trout.

Mankind, people are part of the biosphere. Due to the ever-increasing production impact on the environment, man and society make significant disturbances in the biosphere. The biosphere gradually evolves into the noosphere.

concept noosphere was introduced by the French philosophers Edouard Leroy (1870-1954) and Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955).

The Russian scientists V.I. came closest to understanding the noosphere. Vernadsky, K.E. Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) and A.L. Chizhevsky (1897-1964).

There are narrow and broad concepts of the noosphere:

- In a narrow sense the only noospheric object that determines its development is man. At the same time, the noosphere is commonly understood as the highest stage in the development of the biosphere, when the natural and artificial environments are controlled under the influence and influence of reasonable human transformations.

If we accept that intelligent life in the Universe is by no means limited to its manifestation on Earth, then we come to broad concept of the noosphere when rational activity goes beyond the scope of only human activity. In this approach, reasonable and conscious activity extends to the entire Universe (Cosmic Mind), and the noosphere acts as the intelligent side of the Universe.

IN AND. Vernadsky emphasized that humanity is becoming a powerful geological force capable of producing global changes on the Earth. Due to this biosphere how the area of ​​active life turns into noosphere - the realm of the mind.

Before the advent of man, the equilibrium of the biosphere was determined five energy factors:

· solar radiation,

the force of gravity

the tectonic forces

the chemical energy

biogenic energy.

These five factors evolved along the geological time scale and shaped the natural environment over 3.5 billion years.

currently appeared new factor - world production energy(it develops not according to the geological, but according to the historical time scale; the preservation or irreversible violation of the mobile equilibrium in the biosphere depends on the organization of production).

In science, there is one of the most important principles - principle of joint co-evolution society and nature parallel, co-evolution or historical adaptation of nature and mankind, the utmost importance of the harmonious joint development of mankind and the biosphere (based on Vernadsky's noosphere theory).

The doctrine of the biosphere - the concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Teaching about the biosphere" 2017, 2018.

One of the outstanding natural scientists who devoted himself to studying the processes occurring in the biosphere was Academician V. I. Vernadsky. He became the founder of the scientific direction, which he called biogeochemistry, which formed the basis of the modern theory of the biosphere.

Before the appearance of the works of V. I. Vernadsky, the role of living organisms on Earth seemed to scientists to be very modest. Indeed, it would seem, what could be the comparison of the consequences of their life activity with the power of the internal forces of the planet, uplifting the highest mountains, opening up the ocean depths, moving entire continents.

V. I. Vernadsky proved that, no matter how weak each organism is individually, all of them, taken together, act as a powerful geological factor that plays a significant role in the life of our planet for a long period of time. The geological activity of living organisms is manifested as a consequence of their following features: they are closely connected with the environment and interact with it in the process of exchanging matter and energy; the metabolism of organisms with the environment is carried out in the process of biological circulation; the total effect of the results of the activity of organisms manifests itself over very long (hundreds of millions of years) periods of time. Thus, priority in developing the theoretical foundations of the doctrine of the biosphere belongs to Soviet scientists.

According to the definitions of scientists, the age of the Earth is approximately 5 billion years. The most ancient traces of living organisms have been found in South Africa(Eastern Transvaal), in the thickness of rocks, whose age is 3.2 billion years. These organisms resembled modern filamentous bacteria. Scientists even gave them a name - eobacterium isolatum. Thus, we can assume that the Earth's biosphere arose about three billion years ago.

Terrestrial organisms appeared about 400 million years ago. These were the first primitive plants. With the appearance of living organisms on land and the emergence of plants, the most important stage in the history of the development of the biosphere begins. From this period, their rapid spread across the planet began, and at present the Earth is inhabited by a huge number of diverse plant and animal organisms.

In the 19th century, Russia gradually developed an idea of ​​the unity of man and nature, of the problems that humanity would inevitably face in its unbridled desire to completely subjugate nature. In general, the idea of ​​integral knowledge based on the organic fullness of life belongs to Russian philosophy. It formed the basis of the direction of public life, called "Russian cosmism". It was then that the names of the psychologist and physiologist I. M. Sechenov, the chemist D. I. Mendeleev, the soil scientist V. V. Dokuchaev, and the founder of cosmonautics K. E. Tsiolkovsky sparkled in the scientific community. V. I. Vernadsky also belongs to the galaxy of these outstanding scientists.

In 1926 he published in Leningrad a book called "Biosphere", which marked the birth of a new science about nature, about the relationship of man with it. In this work, the biosphere is shown for the first time as a single dynamic system inhabited and ruled by life, the living substance of the planet. The biosphere is an organized, definite shell earth's crust associated with life." In his works on the biosphere, the scientist showed that the interaction of living matter with inert matter is part of a large mechanism of the earth's crust, due to which various geochemical and biogenic processes, migration of atoms take place, and they participate in geological and biological cycles.

V. I. Vernadsky was the first to show that the chemical state of the outer crust of our planet is entirely under the influence of life and is determined by living organisms, with the activity of which the great planetary process is associated - the migration of chemical elements in the biosphere. The evolution of species, the scientist noted, leading to the creation of life forms, is stable in the biosphere and should go in the direction of increasing the biogenic migration of atoms.

The biosphere is the most complex planetary shell of life inhabited by organisms that together make up living matter. This is the largest (global) ecosystem of the Earth - the area of ​​systemic interaction between living and inert matter on the planet. The cumulative activity of living organisms in the biosphere manifests itself as a geochemical factor on a planetary scale.

The biosphere is vertically divided into two clearly separated regions: the upper one, illuminated by light, is the photobiosphere, in which photosynthesis occurs, and the lower, “dark”, melanobiosphere, in which photosynthesis is impossible. On land, the boundary between them runs along the surface of the Earth.

The biosphere covers the lower part of the atmosphere up to the height of the ozone screen (20-25 km), the upper part of the lithosphere (weathering crust) and the entire hydrosphere to the deep layers of the ocean. V. I. Vernadsky noted that “the limits of the biosphere are determined, first of all, by the field of existence of life.” The development of life, and, consequently, the boundaries of the biosphere are influenced by many factors and, above all, the presence of oxygen, carbon dioxide, water in its liquid phase. Limit the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe spread of life and too high or low temperatures. Elements mineral nutrition also influence the development of life. The limiting factor can also be attributed to the supersaline environment (exceeding the concentration of salts in sea ​​water about 10 times). Groundwater with a salt concentration of over 270 g/l is deprived of life.

In the planetary biosphere, continental and oceanic biospheres are distinguished, which differ in geological, geographical, biological, physical and other conditions. The lower limit of the distribution of living things is limited by the ocean floor (about 11 km deep) or by an isotherm of 100 degrees. C in the lithosphere (according to ultra-deep drilling at Kola Peninsula this figure is about 6 km). In fact, life in the lithosphere can be traced to a depth of 3-4 km. Thus, the vertical thickness of the oceanic biosphere is 17 km, and that of the land biosphere is up to 12 km. Up into the atmosphere, the biosphere extends no higher than the highest densities of the ozone screen, which is 22-24 km. Consequently, the limit of the length of the biosphere on Earth is expressed as 33-35 km, although theoretically it can be wider.

The material composition of the biosphere is also diverse. V. I. Vernadsky includes seven deeply heterogeneous, but geologically not random parts:

a living substance

biogenic substance - born and processed by living organisms (fuel fossils, limestone, etc.);

inert substance formed without the participation of living organisms (solid, liquid and gaseous);

Bio-inert matter - inert matter transformed by living organisms (water, soil, weathering crust, silts);

substance of radioactive decay (elements and isotopes of the uranium, thorium and actinouranium series);

· scattered atoms of terrestrial matter and cosmic radiation;

A substance of cosmic origin in the form of meteorites, cosmic dust, etc.

In the structure and morphology of the biosphere, the following elements are of exceptional importance for the development of living matter (from top to bottom):

a layer of living matter, the so-called "film of life";

pedosphere, or soil cover;

landscape-ecological systems - functional systems, including living organisms and their habitat;

· weathering crust, i.e., the zone of destruction and transformation of rocks, their mineral and geochemical changes in the upper part of the earth's crust under the influence of various factors;

· ancient biosphere (paleobiosphere) - a complex of rocks, relief and other landscape components that lie below the modern biosphere and are buried under its latest formations. These are rocks, ore and non-metallic minerals, chemical elements widely used in industry;

Numerous minerals of the upper part of the earth's crust and biosphere: clays, limestones, bauxites, etc.;

natural waters of the sedimentary shell;

millions of organic and organomineral compounds: coal, graphite, humic substances, oil, natural gases;

· mineral resources biosphere and the earth's crust, distributed in the form of free elements: copper, silver, gold, bismuth, platinum, etc. All of them are the main source of raw materials for metallurgy, the chemical industry and many other industries. Their production and use in the economy are growing year by year.

It follows from the foregoing that the biosphere is the result of the most complex mechanism of the geological and biological development of inert and biogenic matter. On the one hand, it is the environment of life, and on the other hand, it is the result of life activity. The main specificity of the modern biosphere is clearly directed energy flows and biogenic (associated with the activities of living beings) circulation of substances.

Developing the doctrine of the biosphere, V.I. Vernadsky came to the conclusion that the main transformer of cosmic energy is the green matter of plants. Only they are able to absorb the energy of solar radiation and synthesize primary organic compounds. To explain the large total energy of the biosphere, the scientist made calculations that really showed the great importance of photosynthetic plants in creating the total organic mass. The scientist calculated that the surface of the Earth is less than one ten-thousandth of the surface of the Sun. The total area of ​​the transformation apparatus of green plants, depending on the time of year, is already from 0.86 to 4.2% of the surface area of ​​the Sun. The difference is colossal. This green energy potential underlies the preservation and maintenance of all life on our planet.

IN AND. Vernadsky, just like Lamarck 140 years ago, tried to give the main exhaustive signs of each kingdom of the living. And the more he delved into the problem, the more clear it became that a new section of the world was emerging. IN AND. Vernadsky compiled a table of 16 points, where he considered the dissimilarity of living and non-living things in the physical, chemical and thermodynamic sense.

An analysis of the table showed that in nature there are no transitions from the inanimate to the living: they are so contradictory that the living under no circumstances can come from the living. An impenetrable wall separates the organism and inert matter. The principle of the Italian naturalist and physician Francesco Redi, which says that the living comes only from the living, there is a sharp boundary between living and non-living matter, although there is a constant interaction, has been confirmed.

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE BIOSPHERE

ATMOSPHERE. This is an air shell, consisting mainly of nitrogen and oxygen; reaches a capacity of up to 20 thousand km. In smaller concentrations, it contains carbon dioxide and ozone. The state of the atmosphere has a great influence on physical, chemical and especially biological processes on the earth's surface and in aquatic environment. The most important for biological processes are the atmospheric oxygen used for the respiration of organisms and the mineralization of dead organic matter, carbon dioxide consumed during photosynthesis, and ozone, which shields the earth's surface from hard ultraviolet radiation. Outside the atmosphere, the existence of living organisms is impossible. This can be seen in the lifeless Moon, which has no atmosphere. Historically, the development of the atmosphere is associated with geochemical processes, as well as the vital activity of organisms. So, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor were formed during the evolution of the planet due to (largely) volcanic activity, and oxygen - as a result of photosynthesis.

HYDROSPHERE. Water is an important component of all components of the biosphere and one of the necessary factors for the existence of living organisms. Its main part (95%) is enclosed in the World Ocean, which occupies approximately 70% of the surface of the globe. The total mass of oceanic waters is over 1300 million km 3. About 24 million km 3 of water is contained in glaciers, and 90% of this volume falls on the ice cover of Antarctica. The same amount of water is contained underground. The surface waters of lakes are approximately 0.18 million km 3 (of which half are salty), and rivers - 0.002 million km 3.

The amount of water in the bodies of living organisms is approximately 0.001 million km. Of the gases dissolved in water, oxygen and carbon dioxide are of the greatest importance. The amount of oxygen in ocean waters varies widely depending on temperature and the presence of living organisms. The concentration of carbon dioxide also varies. A total its content in the ocean is 60 times greater than its content in the atmosphere.

LITHOSPHERE. The bulk of organisms living within the lithosphere is concentrated in the soil layer, the depth of which usually does not exceed several meters. Soils are represented by mineral substances formed during the destruction of rocks, and organic substances - the waste products of organisms.

BIOTIC CYCLE. The main function of the biosphere is to ensure the circulation of chemical elements. The global biotic cycle is carried out with the participation of all organisms inhabiting the planet. It consists in the circulation of substances between the soil, atmosphere, hydrosphere and living organisms. Thanks to the biotic cycle, a long existence and development of life is possible with a limited supply of available chemical elements. Using inorganic substances, green plants at the expense of the energy of the Sun create organic matter, which is destroyed by other living beings - heterotrophs, so that the products of this destruction can be used by plants for new organic syntheses.

An important role in the global circulation of substances belongs to the circulation of water between the ocean, the atmosphere and the upper layers of the lithosphere. Water evaporates and is transported by air currents for many kilometers. Falling on the land surface in the form of precipitation, it contributes to the destruction of rocks, making them accessible to plants and microorganisms, erodes the upper soil layer and goes along with chemical compounds dissolved in it and suspended organic particles into the oceans and seas. It is estimated that about 1 billion tons of water evaporate from the Earth's surface in 1 minute. The energy used to evaporate water is returned to the atmosphere. The circulation of water between the World Ocean and land is the most important link in maintaining life on Earth and the main condition for the interaction of plants and animals with inanimate nature.

As examples of the biotic cycle, consider the cycles of carbon and nitrogen in the biosphere. The carbon cycle begins with the fixation of atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Part of the carbohydrates formed during photosynthesis is used by the plants themselves for energy, part is consumed by animals. Carbon dioxide is released during the respiration of plants and animals. Dead plants and animals decompose, the carbon in their tissues is oxidized and returned to the atmosphere. A similar process occurs in the ocean.

The nitrogen cycle also covers all areas of the biosphere. Although its reserves in the atmosphere are practically inexhaustible, higher plants can use nitrogen only after combining it with hydrogen or oxygen. Exclusively important role nitrogen-fixing bacteria play a role in this process. When the proteins of these microorganisms break down, nitrogen returns to the atmosphere again.

An indicator of the scale of the biotic cycle is the rate of turnover of carbon dioxide, oxygen and water. All atmospheric oxygen passes through organisms in about 2 thousand years, carbon dioxide - in 300 years, and water completely decomposes and is restored in the biotic cycle in 2 million years.

BORDERS OF THE BIOSPHERE

The biosphere has no horizontal boundaries, and we should only talk about its vertical dimension.

The upper limit of the spread of life in the atmosphere is apparently determined not so much by low temperatures as by the destructive effect of solar radiation. So, pollen of flowering and gymnosperms, spores of fungi, mosses, ferns and lichens, bacteria and protozoa are constantly or with seasonal rhythms present in the air. Microorganisms were found in addition to pollen and spores over land and water in rain, snow, clouds and fog. The entire air environment is a suspension of viable pollen, spores and microorganisms, the content of which decreases with height. The intensity of radiation created by cosmic rays at an altitude of 9 km is ten times greater than at sea level, and at altitudes of 15-18 km it already increases hundreds of times. The high-altitude spread of microorganisms is limited mainly by the flow of hard ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, which kills all living things.

It can be argued that the entire troposphere, whose height is 8-10 km in polar latitudes and 16-18 km near the equator, is more or less populated by living organisms that are either temporarily or permanently in it. Already in the tropopause, the physical and temperature characteristics of the biosphere change dramatically, in particular, the intensive turbulent mixing of air masses stops. The stratosphere above the tropopause is hardly suitable for the existence of microorganisms. The upper limit of the biosphere, or the field of existence of life, is quite clearly visible in the tropopause. However, the upper limit of the introduction of spores and microorganisms, which determines the “life stability field” (living organisms exist, but do not reproduce), is possible up to the upper boundary of the stratosphere.

Thus, the area of ​​distribution of living organisms is limited mainly by the troposphere. For example, the upper limit of the flight of eagles is at an altitude of 7 km; plants in mountain systems and insects in the air are not distributed above 6 km; the upper limit of permanent human habitation is 5 km, cultivated land is 4.5 km, forests in the mountain systems of the tropics do not grow above 4 km.

The troposphere is an air environment in which only the movement of organisms is carried out, often with the help of organs that are peculiarly adapted for this. Apparently, there is no real aeroplankton, constantly living and breeding in the air. Otherwise, the troposphere would be a “kissel” saturated with microorganisms to the maximum. The entire cycle of their development, including reproduction, organisms carry out only in the lithosphere and hydrosphere, as well as on the border of the air environment with these shells.

The upper layers of the troposphere and stratosphere, into which microorganisms can be introduced, as well as the coldest and hottest regions of the globe, where organisms can exist only in a resting state, are called the parabiosphere.

The composition of the biosphere completely includes the hydrosphere - lakes, rivers, seas and oceans. In the seas and oceans, the greatest concentration of life is confined to the euphotic zone, where sunlight penetrates. Usually its depth does not exceed 200 m in the seas and continental freshwater basins. It is in the photobiosphere, where photosynthesis is possible, that all photosynthetic organisms are concentrated and primary biological products are produced.

The aphotic zone (melanobiosphere), starting from a depth of 200 m, is characterized by darkness and the absence of photosynthetic plants. It is an aquatic habitat for actively moving animals. At the same time, dead plants, secretions and corpses of animals descend to the bottom of the seas and oceans in a continuous stream through it.

There is no clear idea yet about the lower, lithospheric, limit of the biosphere. In most works devoted to the biosphere, it is indicated that its lower limit on the continents is on average 2-3 km. Here, under conditions of low, in comparison with deeper layers, temperature and pressure, but with the participation of living organisms (microorganisms) and water, the migration of chemical elements stops. Microbiological studies indicate that microorganisms are also present in formation waters washing oil, although the oil itself is sterile.

Beneath the oceans, the lithospheric limit of the biosphere probably extends to 0.5-1.0 km and possibly 3.0 km below the bottom. However, there is a more reasonable assumption that only a 200-250-meter layer of bottom sediments can be inhabited by microorganisms. It has been reliably established that the microflora lives in bottom sediments with a thickness of 5 cm (Black Sea) to 10-12 m (Pacific and Indian Oceans) and 114 m (Caspian Sea). There is no reliable information about a deeper penetration of life into the lithosphere, despite intensive drilling operations. It is very difficult to establish the exact mass and volume of the biosphere, since the exact position of its vertical boundaries is unknown. We can only talk about approximate values ​​of these characteristics. The mass of the entire biosphere (atmosphere + hydrosphere + lithosphere within the boundaries of the biosphere) is 3 * 10 in the 9th billion tons, or 0.05% of the mass of the Earth, and the volume is 10 billion cubic meters. km, or 0.4% of the volume of the Earth.

Below the lithospheric boundary of the biosphere lies the "region of former biospheres", by which V. I. Vernadsky understood the shell of the Earth, which in the geological past was affected by life. The scientist noted that the earth's crust, with a thickness of several tens of kilometers, with sedimentary rocks and a granite shell, was once on the surface of the planet and was part of the biosphere. Coal, oil, marble, dolomite, limestone, chalk, iron ore and other rocks of sedimentary origin are witnesses to the existence of life in the "former biospheres".

Some scientists (V. A. Kovda, A. N. Tyuryukanov) include in the biosphere not only the area of ​​life, but also other structures of the Earth that are genetically related to other matter, i.e. "former biospheres", currently devoid of life. Such a multi-layered shell of the Earth, formed as a result of the activity of living matter, was supposed to be called the megabiosphere (from the Greek mega - large).

Megabiosphere includes:

A) apobiosphere - the upper part of the Earth's atmosphere above the level of distribution of life forms in a state of suspended animation;

b) parabiosphere;

c) the biosphere;

d) the metabiosphere, corresponding to V. I. Vernadsky's "area of ​​former biospheres".

In physical geography, the concept proposed by A. A. Grigoriev in 1937 is used - “geographical shell”, which denotes the area of ​​interaction of litho-, hydro-, bio- and atmosphere. The upper boundary of the shell is usually determined somewhat below the layer of maximum ozone concentration - in the stratosphere at a height of 20-25 km. Sometimes its vertical strike is narrowed or widened to the mesopause at an altitude of 70-80 km. The lower boundary of the geographic envelope is located in the subcortical layer slightly below the "Mohorovichic surface".

In scientific works devoted to the geographical shell, the biosphere has long been considered as a collection of living organisms, or organic matter. With this approach, the features of the biosphere as a planetary formation were not fully taken into account. In the modern view of geographers, the concept of "biosphere" reflects only a private, biocentric view of geographical envelope, which is the only planetary level geosystem on Earth (Isachenko, 1991). (1.9)

LIVING SUBSTANCE OF THE PLANET

One of the central links in the concept of the biosphere is the doctrine of living matter. Investigating the processes of migration of atoms in the biosphere, V. I. Vernadsky approached the question of the genesis (origin, occurrence) of chemical elements in the earth's crust, and after that, the need to explain the stability of the compounds that make up organisms. Analyzing the problem of atomic migration, he came to the conclusion that “nowhere exist organic compounds independent of living matter. Later, he formulates the concept of “living matter”: “The living matter of the biosphere is the totality of its living organisms ... I will call the totality of organisms, reduced to their weight, chemical composition and energy, living matter.” The main purpose of living matter and its integral attribute is the accumulation of free energy in the biosphere. The usual geochemical energy of living matter is produced primarily through reproduction.

The scientific ideas of V. I. Vernadsky about living matter, about the cosmic nature of life, about the biosphere and its transition to a new quality - the noosphere, have their roots in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when philosophers and natural scientists made the first attempts to comprehend the role and tasks of man in the general evolution of the earth. It was through their efforts that man began his advancement to the heights of the natural evolution of the living, gradually occupying the ecological niche allotted to him by nature.

In the 1930s, V. I. Vernadsky singled out humanity as a special part of the total mass of living matter. This separation of man from all living things became possible for three reasons. First, humanity is not a producer, but a consumer of biogeochemical energy. Such a thesis required a revision of the geochemical functions of living matter in the biosphere. Secondly, the mass of humanity, based on demographic data, is not a constant amount of living matter. And thirdly, its geochemical functions are characterized not by mass, but by production activity. The nature of the assimilation of biogeochemical energy by humanity is determined by the human mind. On the one hand, man is the culmination of unconscious evolution, the “product” of the spontaneous activity of nature, and on the other hand, the initiator of a new, reasonably directed stage of evolution itself.

What characteristics inherent in living matter? First of all, it is a huge free energy. In the course of the evolution of species, the biogenic migration of atoms, i.e., the energy of the living matter of the biosphere, has increased many times over and continues to grow, because the living matter recycles the energy of solar radiation, the atomic energy of radioactive decay, and the cosmic energy of scattered elements coming from our Galaxy. Living matter is also characterized by a high rate of chemical reactions compared to non-living matter, where similar processes are thousands and millions of times slower. For example, some caterpillars per day can process food 200 times more than they weigh themselves, and one tit eats as many caterpillars per day as it weighs itself.

It is characteristic of living matter that the chemical compounds that make it up, the most important of which are proteins, are stable only in living organisms. After the completion of the life process, the original living organic substances decompose to chemical constituents.

Living matter exists on the planet in the form of a continuous alternation of generations, due to which the newly formed is genetically connected with the living matter of past eras. This is the main structural unit of the biosphere, which determines all other processes on the surface of the earth's crust. Living matter is characterized by the presence of an evolutionary process. The genetic information of any organism is encrypted in each of its cells. V. I. Vernadsky classified living matter into homogeneous and inhomogeneous. The first in his view is a generic, specific substance, etc., and the second is represented by natural mixtures of living substances. This is a forest, a swamp, a steppe, that is, a biocenosis. The scientist proposed to characterize living matter on the basis of such quantitative indicators as chemical composition, average weight of organisms and average speed their colonization of the earth's surface.

Life on our planet exists in non-cellular and cellular forms.

The non-cellular form of living matter is represented by viruses that are devoid of irritability and their own protein synthesis. The simplest viruses consist only of a protein shell and a DNA or RNA molecule that makes up the core of the virus. Sometimes viruses are isolated into a special kingdom of wildlife - Vira. They can only reproduce inside certain living cells. Viruses are ubiquitous in nature and are a threat to all living things. Settling in the cells of living organisms, they cause their death. About 500 viruses that infect warm-blooded vertebrates and about 300 viruses that destroy higher plants have been described. More than half of human diseases owe their development to the smallest viruses (they are 100 times smaller than bacteria). These are poliomyelitis, smallpox, influenza, infectious hepatitis, yellow fever, etc.

Cellular life forms are represented by prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Prokaryotes include various bacteria. Eukaryotes are all higher animals and plants, as well as unicellular and multicellular algae, fungi and protozoa.

List of used literature:

Radkevich V.A. "Ecology". Minsk-1997, p. 81.

Kiselev V.N. "Fundamentals of Ecology". Minsk-1998, p.256.

Odum Y. Ecology: In 2 volumes - Per. from English. - M.:. Mir, 1986. Vol.1. - 328 p. T.2. - 376 p.

Gilyarov A. M. Population ecology: Textbook. - M.: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1990-191 p.

Giller P. Community structure and ecological niche. - M.: Mir, 1988. - 184 p.

W. Grant. The evolution of organisms. M.: Mir. Chapter 22

Bigon M., Harper J., Townsend K. Ecology. Individuals, populations and communities. Volume 1. - M.: Mir, 1989. - 667 p.

Rozenberg G.S., Mozgovoy D.P., Gelashvili D.B. Ecology. Elements of theoretical constructions of modern ecology. (Tutorial).-Samara: SNC RAS, 1999-396 p.

There are an infinite number of creatures on Earth, and they, having a high reproductive potential, actively interact with the environment and ultimately represent in the aggregate a special, global development factor that transforms the upper shells of the Earth.
Living organisms are infinitely diverse, ubiquitous, reproduce in many generations, have selective biochemical activity and exceptionally high chemical activity compared to other components of nature.
The totality of organisms on the planet Vernadsky called living matter, which is characterized by the total mass, chemical composition and energy. Vernadsky wrote about the role of living organisms on Earth: “It can be said without exaggeration that the chemical state of the outer crust of our planet, the biosphere, is entirely under the influence of life, is determined by living organisms; there is no doubt that the energy that gives the biosphere its usual appearance is of cosmic origin. It comes from the Sun in the form of radiant energy. But it is living organisms, the totality of life, that transform this cosmic radiant energy into earthly, chemical energy and create the infinite diversity of our world. These are living organisms that, by their breathing, their nutrition, their metabolism, their death and decomposition, the constant use of their substance, and most importantly, the continuous change of generations lasting hundreds of millions of years, their birth, reproduction, give rise to one of the grandest planetary phenomena that does not exist anywhere else. except for the biosphere.
According to the scientist, the only correct approach to the biosphere is inevitable as an integral global ecological system with a certain structure and stability, its inherent features of formation and development. Such an understanding of the biosphere is especially important now, when the technogenic impact of man on nature has reached an unprecedented scale and is capable of causing planetary changes in the human environment.
Within the biosphere, almost every chemical element passes through a chain of living organisms and is included in the system of biogeochemical transformations. So, all the planet's oxygen - a product of photosynthesis - is renewed every 2000 years, and carbon dioxide - after 300 years.
Biochemical processes in organisms are also complex chains of reactions organized into cycles. Their reproduction in inanimate nature would require huge energy costs, while in living organisms they proceed through protein catalysts - enzymes that lower the activation energy of molecules by several orders of magnitude. Since living beings draw materials and energy for metabolic reactions in the environment, they transform the environment by the very fact that they live. Vernadsky emphasized that living matter carries out gigantic geological and chemical work in the biosphere, completely transforming the upper shells of the Earth during its existence.
More than 99% of the energy entering the Earth's surface is solar radiation, this energy is wasted in the vast majority of physical and chemical processes in the hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere: the movement of air and water masses, evaporation, the redistribution of substances, the absorption and release of gases, etc. .
On Earth, there is only one process in which the energy of solar radiation is not only spent and redistributed, but also bound, sometimes stored for a very long time - this is the creation of organic matter in the process of synthesis. Thus, by burning coal in furnaces, we release and use solar energy stored by vegetation hundreds of millions of years ago.
Thus, the main planetary function of living matter on Earth is to bind and store solar energy, which then goes to support many other geochemical processes in the biosphere.
Vernadsky considered the biochemical function of the biosphere as a universal manifestation of life on Earth. No single species of organisms could fulfill this role. To ensure the diversity of forms of biogenic migration of chemical elements, it was necessary to develop a certain complex of organisms. This gives rise to the problem of the evolution of the biosphere as a single whole in the process of the historical and geological development of our planet.
Thus, the modern biosphere is the result of a long historical development of the whole organic world in its interaction with inanimate nature. Thanks to this, a complex network of interrelated processes and phenomena arose in the biosphere; due to the interaction of abiotic and biotic factors, the biosphere is in constant motion and development. It has undergone a significant evolution since the appearance of man, that is, over the past 2 million years. However, if initially, in terms of its impact on nature, man could be considered only as one of the secondary factors, then with the development of civilization and the growth of its technical equipment, his role became comparable to the action of powerful geological processes. This circumstance makes us take seriously the possible long-term consequences of both industrial and environmental human activities.
As a result of technogenic activity of mankind, the Earth's biosphere is radically transformed and becomes, according to Vernadsky's definition, the noosphere - the "sphere of reason". Noosphere - new geological phenomenon on our planet, in it man for the first time becomes the largest geological force. The noosphere is the world of reasonable, scientifically based actions on a global scale.
Of course, one can hardly expect that the era of the noosphere will arise spontaneously on Earth. By itself, only the process of degradation can develop. And it is already underway, and on the territory of Russia as well. Pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil in many of our cities and regions is many times higher than the norms that are safe for human health. Treatment facilities at industrial enterprises and agricultural facilities, as well as in sewer systems, are often in a pre-emergency state. Increasing violations of their normal functioning lead to disasters.
About the global ecological catastrophe due to the uncontrolled and unrestricted growth of production and consumption in the industrial developed countries strongly warned the Russian scientist N. Moiseev. In a generalized form, his warning can be stated as follows: if in the near future humanity does not radically change its behavior on a planetary scale in relation to nature and in relationships at the personal, interethnic and interstate levels, then by the middle of the twenty-first century. on Earth, such environmental conditions may arise under which the human race cannot exist.
Of particular concern is the fact that the biosphere has not yet responded to the significant increase - by 20-21% - in the share of carbon dioxide in the planet's atmosphere that has occurred over the past hundred years. Since this gas serves as food for plant organisms, as a result of natural processes, the total volume of the Earth's biomass should have increased significantly. But for some reason this did not happen, and the absence of such a reaction is a formidable symptom.
Perhaps this indicates that the biosphere has already lost (or is beginning to lose) its inherent ability to compensate for the perturbations occurring in it, under the influence of which it can move into a new state unsuitable for human existence.
However, to the greatest regret, this very likely threat to all mankind has not yet become a subject of consideration either in the UN or in any other international organizations. And no government in the world, including ours, officially recognizes or denies the existence of such a threat. Politicians don't seem to notice it.
Corporations based in the countries of the "golden billion" have a vested interest in maintaining a world economic order in which 14% of the world's population consumes 86% of the world's natural resources.
The silence on the part of politicians about the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such sustainable development"for the fate of all mankind helps to maintain this ratio and deprives the disadvantaged majority of the inhabitants of the Earth of even a ghostly hope that someday this ratio will change.
It is possible that in some countries of absolute poverty, where about 60% of the world's population lives today, the average per capita annual income has increased by several tens of US dollars, and in countries of relative poverty, whose inhabitants make up more than a quarter of all mankind, by several hundred dollars. But they will not be able to overcome backwardness. In order to meet the effective demand of the "gold billionaires", transnational corporations will continue to pump out the best that they have from developing countries.
It is possible to stop the destructive impact of the current post-industrial system of social order on nature only with the development and phased implementation by all countries of a new socio-economic doctrine. Its defining principle should be the recognition of natural resources, water and air basins as a universal property. Through this principle, the inalienable right of every person to have access to natural benefits must be realized.
It is important to pay attention to the Earth Charter and the possibility of its adoption as an official UN document. "Charter (Declaration) of the Earth" contains fundamental principles to create a just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century. This document is a kind of analogue of the Declaration of Human Rights in the field of environment. And of course new
an arms race, in particular, the continuation of large-scale experiments by the United States in the field of purposeful and powerful impact on the near-Earth environment by high-frequency radio waves, i.e., in fact, the creation of a geophysical weapon that carries a colossal potential danger to mankind, is completely incompatible with the Earth Charter.
Russia, as you know, in terms of its national natural wealth is more than 2 times superior to both the United States and Western Europe. But if Europe uses this wealth by 50%, then Russia - by only 2%.
Russia is able to make a significant contribution to the noospheric security of the planet, following the new eco-ethics of the 21st century. To do this, it will have to strengthen truly collective security not only at three levels (in the post-Soviet space of the CIS, in the expanded and modified format of NATO and the parameters of the "Shanghai Six"), but also at the global level.
The circulation of the main elements in the biosphere is the repeated participation of substances in the processes occurring in the atmosphere and hydrosphere, including those layers that are part of the planet's biosphere. Of particular importance are the cycles of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus. The biogeochemical oxygen cycle is a planetary process that connects the atmosphere and hydrosphere with the earth's crust. The nodal links of the cycle are: the formation of free oxygen during photosynthesis in green plants, the consumption of oxygen for respiration by all living organisms, the oxidation of organic residues and inorganic substances(for example, fuel combustion) and other chemical transformations that lead to the formation of such oxidized compounds as carbon dioxide, water, and their subsequent involvement in a new cycle of photosynthetic transformations.

In the oxygen cycle, the active geochemical activity of living matter, its leading role in this cyclic process, is clearly manifested. Based on the mass of organic matter synthesized during the year (taking into account 15% spent on the respiration process), it can be concluded that the annual production of oxygen by the green vegetation of the planet is about 300 x 109 tons. Only a little more than 25% of this amount is released by land vegetation, the rest - by photosynthetic organisms of the World Ocean (free oxygen is present not only in the atmosphere, it is also found in a dissolved state in natural waters). The total volume of the waters of the World Ocean is 137 x 109 liters, and from 2 to 8 cm3 of oxygen is dissolved in 1 liter of water. Consequently, in the waters of the World Ocean is from 2.7 to 10.9 x 1012 tons
dissolved oxygen. Part of the organic matter is buried, as a result of which bound oxygen is removed from the annual cycle.

On land, in the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is fixed by plants with the formation of organic substances and the release of oxygen. The remains of plants and animals are decomposed by microorganisms, as a result of which carbon is oxidized to carbon dioxide and re-enters the atmosphere. A similar cycle of carbon occurs in the aquatic environment. The carbon fixed by plants is consumed in a significant amount by animals, which, in turn, release it in the form of carbon dioxide during respiration.
The carbon cycle in the hydrosphere is a more complex process than in the atmosphere, since the age of this element in the form of carbon dioxide depends on the supply of oxygen to the upper layers of water both from the atmosphere and from the underlying thickness, since there is a constant exchange of carbon between land and the oceans . The removal of this element in the form of carbonate and organic compounds from land to the ocean predominates. The inflow of carbon from the World Ocean to land takes place in incomparably smaller quantities, and then only in the form of carbon dioxide diffusing into the atmosphere and then carried by air currents.
Microorganisms play an extremely important role in the nitrogen cycle: nitrogen fixers, nitrifiers, denitrifiers. All other organisms affect the nitrogen cycle only after it has been assimilated into their cells. Nitrogen is also fixed by purple and green photosynthetic bacteria, various soil bacteria.
In the biosphere as a whole, nitrogen fixation from the air averages 140-700 mg/m3 per year. This is mainly biological fixation, and only a small amount of nitrogen (on average, no more than 35 mg/m3 per year) is recorded as a result of electrical discharges and photochemical processes.
A high intensity of fixation was noted in some polluted lakes with many blue-green algae. In the ocean, where productivity is lower, nitrogen fixation per m3 is less than on land. However, the total amount of fixed nitrogen is quite significant and important for the global cycle.
Out of the huge supply of this element in the atmosphere and lithosphere, only fixed nitrogen takes part in the nitrogen cycle, assimilated by living organisms on land and in the ocean. The nitrogen cycle involves: biomass nitrogen, nitrogen of biological fixation by bacteria and living organisms, juvenile (volcanogenic) nitrogen, atmospheric (fixed during thunderstorms) and technogenic.
On vast areas where no human activity is carried out, plants take the nitrogen they need from the nitrogen introduced into the soil from the outside (nitrates with rain, ammonia from the air), from the nitrogen returned to the soil (the remains of animals, plants, animal excrement), as well as from various nitrogen fixing organisms.
The largest amount of nitrogen and ash elements is contained in the biosphere of forest vegetation; in almost all types of vegetation, the mass of ash elements is 2-3 times higher than the mass of nitrogen. The exception is tundra plants, in which the content of nitrogen and ash elements is approximately the same. The largest number of elements turning over during the year (i.e., the capacity of the biological cycle) is in wet tropical forests, then - in the chernozem steppes and broad-leaved forests of temperate climate (in oak forests).
The process of cyclic transformations of sulfur and its compounds is well developed in the biosphere.
The reservoir fund of sulfur is extensive in soil and sediments, smaller - in the atmosphere. The main role in the sulfur exchange fund is played by special microorganisms, each type of which performs a certain oxidation and reduction reaction; as a result, hydrogen sulfide moves from deep-sea sediments to the surface. On a global scale, the regulation of the sulfur cycle involves geochemical and meteorological processes (erosion, sedimentation, leaching, rain, adsorption, desorption, etc.), biological processes (biomass production and decomposition), the relationship of air, water and soil. Sulfate, like nitrate and phosphate, is the main, available form of sulfur, which is reduced by autotrophs and incorporated into proteins (sulfur is part of a number of amino acids).
The nitrogen and sulfur cycle is increasingly affected by industrial air pollution, and the burning of fossil fuels has significantly increased the content of volatile oxides of nitrogen (NO and M02) and sulfur (S02) in the air, especially in cities. Their concentration becomes dangerous for the biotic components of ecosystems.
The geochemical cycle of phosphorus differs to a greater extent from the cycles of carbon and nitrogen. The content of this element in the earth's crust is 0.093%. This is several tens of times more than nitrogen, but unlike the latter, phosphorus is not one of the main elements of the Earth's shells. Nevertheless, its geochemical cycle includes various migration routes in the earth's crust, an intense biological cycle, and migration in the hydrosphere.
Phosphorus is one of the main organogenic elements. Its organic compounds play an important role in the life processes of all plants and animals, are part of nucleic acids, complex proteins, membrane phospholipids, and serve as the basis for bioenergetic processes. Phosphorus is concentrated in living matter, where its content is 10 times greater than in the earth's crust. On the land surface, an intensive cycle of phosphorus occurs in the "soil-plants-animals-soil" system. Due to the fact that mineral phosphorus compounds are hardly soluble and the element contained in them is almost inaccessible to plants, the latter mainly use its easily soluble forms formed during the decomposition of organic residues. The phosphorus cycle also occurs in the “land-World Ocean” system: phosphates are removed with river runoff, they interact with calcium, and phosphorites are formed, the deposits of which eventually come to the surface and are again included in migration processes.
A person must plan economic activity taking into account the personality of natural processes. This should be done especially carefully in agriculture, grazing, water supply, and navigation. Plowing, application mineral fertilizers, pollution by oil and heavy metals impoverish soil fauna. Links of normal food chains and biogeochemical cycles are broken and even completely dropped out. The reaction of the soil to human intervention is unusually great.
The reserves of inorganic compounds necessary to maintain the vital activity of the organisms inhabiting them would suffice for a short time if these reserves were not renewed both during the life of the organisms and after their death. After all, society

forms a certain system with the inorganic medium, in which the flow of atoms, caused by the vital activity of organisms, forms a cycle.
The biogeocenoses of forest and grassy landscapes become the main mechanism for retaining solar energy and forming phytomass, which includes huge amounts of carbon, water, and common biophiles.
Subsoil resources are non-renewable resources. These resources can only be used once (although some metals can serve secondary raw materials), and it inevitably leads to the depletion of their reserves, such types of resources have finite reserves, and their replenishment on Earth is practically impossible due to the lack of conditions in which they arose many millions of years ago, or it occurs very slowly.
Renewable resources include soil, vegetation, wildlife, as well as some mineral resources, such as salts deposited in lakes and sea lagoons, they can be reproduced in natural processes and maintained in a certain constant amount, determined by the level of their annual reproduction and consumption.
However, sometimes, if used wastefully, some types of renewable resources can become non-renewable or take too long to be renewed. For example, the composition of soils that improve fertility when used wisely can deteriorate drastically with improper cultivation, and the resulting erosion often physically destroys the topsoil. The same can be said about the resources of flora and fauna. With predatory use, the ability of biological systems to self-reproduce is violated, and then these resources become practically non-renewable.
Thanks to the unceasing functioning of the "atmosphere-soil-plants-animals-microorganisms" system, a biogeochemical circulation of many chemical elements and their compounds on land, in the atmosphere and inland waters has developed. Its total characteristics are comparable with the total river runoff of land, the total inflow of matter from the upper mantle into the planet's biosphere. That is why living matter on Earth has been a factor of geological significance for many millions of years.
Nature is fraught with unlimited possibilities to meet human needs. However, only by the power of scientific knowledge in the process of production activity does a person force
natural resources serve to satisfy their needs.
Man used resources (primarily food, water, air) from the very beginning of his existence, but at first he did not make efforts to reproduce them. Resources determined the areas of early human settlement. Resources for the simple reproduction of a pre-industrial society are understood as the natural productive forces of traditional centuries-old forms of farming, which used mainly substances that did not undergo deep processing: stone, wood, natural fibers, etc. An industrial society is based on natural resources that are needed not so much for the maintenance of human life, but for the production of goods and services that meet the more developed needs of individuals and society as a whole. The vast majority of resources are spent in the process of expanded reproduction.

Academician Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1864-1945) was one of the outstanding natural scientists who devoted himself to studying the processes occurring in the biosphere. He is the founder of the scientific direction, named by him biogeochemistry which formed the basis of the modern theory of the biosphere.

Research by V.I. Vernadsky led to the realization of the role of life and living matter in geological processes. The appearance of the Earth, its atmosphere, sedimentary rocks, landscapes - all this is the result of the vital activity of living organisms. Vernadsky assigned a special role in the formation of the face of our planet to man. He presented the activity of mankind as a spontaneous natural process, the origins of which are lost in the depths of history.

Being an outstanding theorist, V.I. Vernadsky stood at the origins of such new and now universally recognized sciences as radiogeology, biogeochemistry, the doctrine of the biosphere and noosphere, science of science.

In 1926 V.I. Vernadsky published the book "Biosphere", which marked the birth of a new science about nature and the relationship of man with it. The biosphere is shown for the first time as a single dynamic system inhabited and controlled by life, the living matter of the planet: "The biosphere is an organized, definite shell of the earth's crust, associated with life." The scientist established that the interaction of living matter with inert matter is part of a large mechanism of the earth's crust, due to which various geochemical and biogenic processes take place, atoms migrate, and they participate in geological and biological cycles.

IN AND. Vernadsky emphasized that the biosphere is the result of geological and biological development and the interaction of inert and biogenic matter. On the one hand, it is the environment of life, and on the other hand, it is the result of life activity. The specificity of the modern biosphere is clearly directed energy flows and biogenic (associated with the activities of living beings) circulation of substances. Vernadsky was the first to show that the chemical state of the outer crust of our planet is entirely under the influence of life and is determined by living organisms, with whose activity the great planetary process is connected - the mythology of chemical elements in the biosphere. The evolution of species, leading to the creation of life forms, is stable in the biosphere and must go in the direction of increasing the biogenic migration of atoms.

IN AND. Vernadsky noted that the limits of the biosphere are determined primarily by the field of existence of life. The development of life, and consequently, the boundaries of the biosphere, is influenced by many factors, and above all, the presence of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water in its liquid phase. Too high or low temperatures, elements of mineral nutrition also limit the area of ​​\u200b\u200bdistribution of life. The supersaline environment (exceeding the concentration of salts in sea water by about 10 times) can also be attributed to the limiting factors. Groundwater with a salt concentration of over 270 g/l is deprived of life.

According to Vernadsky's ideas, the biosphere consists of several heterogeneous components. The main and main living matter, the totality of all living organisms that inhabit the Earth. In the process of life, living organisms interact with non-living (abiogenic) - inert substance. Such a substance is formed as a result of processes in which living organisms do not take part, for example, igneous rocks. The next component is nutrient, created and processed by living organisms (atmospheric gases, coal, oil, peat, limestone, chalk, forest floor, soil humus, etc.). Another component of the biosphere - bio-inert substance- result joint activities living organisms (water, soil, weathering crust, sedimentary rocks, clay materials) and inert (abiogenic) processes.

Inert matter sharply prevails in mass and volume. Living matter by mass makes up an insignificant part of our planet: approximately 0.25% of the biosphere. Moreover, "the mass of living matter remains basically constant and is determined by the radiant solar energy of the planet's population." At present, this conclusion of Vernadsky is called the law of constancy.

IN AND. Vernadsky formulated five postulates relating to the function of the biosphere.

The first postulate: “From the very beginning of the biosphere, the life included in it should already have been a complex body, and not a homogeneous substance, since its biogeochemical functions associated with life, in terms of diversity and complexity, cannot be the lot of any one form of life.” In other words, the primitive biosphere was originally characterized by rich functional diversity.

The second postulate: “Organisms do not appear singly, but in a mass effect ... The first appearance of life ... should have occurred not in the form of the appearance of any one kind of organisms, but their combination, corresponding to the geochemical function of life. Biocenoses should have appeared immediately.

The third postulate: "In the general monolith of life, no matter how its constituent parts change, their chemical functions could not be affected by morphological change." That is, the primary biosphere was represented by "sets" of organisms such as biocenoses, which were the main "acting force" of geochemical transformations. Morphological changes in "aggregates" were not reflected in the "chemical functions" of these components.

The fourth postulate: "Living organisms ... by their breathing, their nutrition, their metabolism ... by the continuous change of generations ... give rise to one of the grandest planetary phenomena ... - the migration of chemical elements in the biosphere", therefore "throughout the past millions years, we see the formation of the same minerals, at all times there were the same cycles of chemical elements that we see now.

Fifth postulate: "Without exception, all the functions of living matter in the biosphere can be performed by the simplest unicellular organisms."

Developing the doctrine of the biosphere, V.I. Vernadsky came to the conclusion that the main transformer of cosmic energy is the green matter of plants. Only they are able to absorb the energy of solar radiation and synthesize primary organic compounds.

The main provisions of the teachings of V.I. Vernadsky about the biosphere (1863-1945)

To the concept of "" (without the term itself) as early as the beginning of the 19th century. came up Lamarck. Later (1863) French explorer reut used the term "biosphere" to refer to the area of ​​distribution of life on the earth's surface. In 1875 an Austrian geologist Suess called the biosphere a special shell of the Earth, including the totality of all organisms, opposing it to others

earthly shells. Starting with the work of Suess, biosphere is interpreted as a set of organisms inhabiting the Earth.

The complete doctrine of the biosphere was created by our compatriot academician Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky. The main ideas of V. I. Vernadsky in the doctrine of the biosphere were formed at the beginning of the 20th century. He expounded them in lectures in Paris. In 1926, his ideas about the biosphere were formulated in the book "Biosphere", consisting of two essays: "Biosphere and space" and "Life area". Later, these same ideas were developed in a large monograph "Chemical structure of the Earth's biosphere and its environment", which, unfortunately, was not published until 20 years after his death.

First of all, V.I. Vernadsky defined the space that covers biosphere Earth - the entire hydrosphere to the maximum depths of the oceans, the upper part of the lithosphere of the continents to a depth of about 3 km and the lower part of the atmosphere to the upper boundary of the troposphere. He introduced the integral concept into science living matter and began to call the biosphere the area of ​​\u200b\u200bexistence on Earth of "living matter", which is a complex combination of microorganisms, algae, fungi, plants and animals. Essentially, we are talking about a single thermodynamic shell (space) in which life and
there is a constant interaction of all living things with inorganic environmental conditions (a film of life). He showed that the biosphere differs from other spheres of the Earth in that the geological activity of all living organisms takes place inside it. Living organisms, converting solar energy, are a powerful force that affects geological processes.

A specific feature of the biosphere as a special shell of the Earth is the continuous circulation of substances in it, regulated by the activity of living organisms. According to V.I. Vernadsky, in the past they clearly underestimated the contribution of living organisms to the energy of the biosphere and their influence on inanimate bodies. Although living matter in terms of volume and mass makes up an insignificant part of the biosphere, it plays the main role in the geological processes associated with changing the appearance of our planet.

Pursuing the science he created biochemistry, studying the distribution of chemical elements on the surface of the planet, V.I. Vernadsky came to the conclusion that there is practically not a single element from the periodic table that would not be included in living matter. He formulated three important biogeochemical principles:

• Biogenic migration of chemical elements in the biosphere always tends to its maximum manifestation. This principle is now violated by man.
• The evolution of species in the course of geological time, leading to the creation of life forms stable in the biosphere, occurs in a direction that enhances the biogenic migration of atoms.
• Living matter is in continuous chemical exchange with its environment, which is created and maintained on Earth by the cosmic energy of the Sun. Due to the violation of the first two principles, cosmic influences from supporting the biosphere can turn into factors that destroy it.

The listed geochemical principles correlate with the following important findings IN AND. Vernadsky: each organism can exist only under the condition of constant close connection with other organisms and inanimate nature; life with all its manifestations has produced profound changes on our planet.

The initial basis for the existence of the biosphere and the biochemical processes occurring in it is the astronomical position of our planet and, first of all, its distance from the Sun and the inclination of the earth's axis to the plane of the earth's orbit. This spatial arrangement The Earth is determined mainly by the climate of the Earth, and the latter, in turn, determines the life cycles of all organisms existing on it. The sun is the main energy source of the biosphere and the regulator of all geological, chemical and biological processes on Earth.

The living matter of the planet Earth

The main idea of ​​V.I. Vernadsky lies in the fact that the highest phase of the development of matter on Earth - life - determines and subjugates other planetary processes. On this occasion, he wrote that it can be said without exaggeration that the chemical state of the outer crust of our planet, the biosphere, is entirely under the influence of life and is determined by living organisms.

If all living organisms are evenly distributed on the surface of the Earth, they form a film 5 mm thick. Despite this, the role of living matter in the history of the Earth is not less role geological processes. The entire mass of living matter that has been on Earth, for example, for 1 billion years, already exceeds the mass of the earth's crust.

The quantitative characteristic of living matter is the total amount biomass. IN AND. Vernadsky, having carried out analyzes and calculations, came to the conclusion that the amount of biomass is from 1000 to 10,000 trillion tons. the surface of the leaves of trees, grass stems and green algae, gives numbers of a completely different order - in different periods of the year it ranges from 0.86 to 4.20% of the surface of the Sun, which explains the large total energy of the biosphere. IN last years similar calculations using the latest equipment were carried out by a Krasnoyarsk biophysicist I. Gitelzon and confirmed the order of numbers, more than half a century ago, determined by V.I. Vernadsky.

A significant place in the works of V.I. Vernadsky, according to the biosphere, green living matter of plants is assigned, since only it is autotrophic and capable of accumulating the radiant energy of the Sun, forming with its help primary organic compounds.

A significant part of the energy of living matter goes to the formation of new biosphere vadose(unknown outside of it) minerals, and part is buried in the form of organic matter, eventually forming deposits of brown and hard coal, oil shale, oil and gas. “We are dealing here,” wrote V.I. Vernadsky, - with a new process, with a slow penetration into the planet of the radiant energy of the Sun, which reached the surface of the Earth. In this way, living matter changes the biosphere and the earth's crust. It continuously leaves in it a part of the chemical elements that have passed through it, creating huge thicknesses of unknown, in addition to it, vadose minerals or penetrating the inert matter of the biosphere with the finest dust of its remnants.

According to the scientist, the earth's crust is mainly the remains of former biospheres. Even its granite-gneiss layer was formed as a result of metamorphism and remelting of rocks that arose sometime under the influence of living matter. He considered only basalts and other basic igneous rocks to be deep and, in their genesis, not connected with the biosphere.

In the doctrine of the biosphere, the concept of "living matter" is fundamental. Living organisms transform cosmic radiant energy into terrestrial, chemical and create an endless variety of our world. With their breath, nutrition, metabolism, death and decomposition, lasting hundreds of millions of years, continuous change of generations, they give rise to the grandiose planetary process that exists only in the biosphere. — migration of chemical elements.

Living matter, according to the theory of V. I. Vernadsky, is a biogeochemical factor on a planetary scale, under the influence of which both the surrounding abiotic environment and the living organisms themselves are transformed. In the entire space of the biosphere, there is an incessant movement of molecules generated by life. Life has a decisive influence on the distribution, migration and dispersion of chemical elements, determining the fate of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, oxygen, magnesium, strontium, carbon, phosphorus, sulfur and other elements.

The epochs of the development of life: Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic reflect not only the forms of life on Earth, but also its geological record, its planetary destiny.

In the doctrine of the biosphere, organic matter, along with the energy of radioactive decay, is considered as a carrier of free energy. Life is considered not as a mechanical sum of individuals or species, but as a matter of fact - a single process, covering all the substance of the upper layer of the planet.

Living matter has changed throughout all geological epochs and periods. Therefore, as noted by V.I. Vernadsky, modern living matter is genetically related to the living matter of all past geological epochs. At the same time, within the framework of significant geological periods of time, the amount of living matter is not subject to noticeable changes. This pattern was formulated by the scientist as a constant amount of living matter in the biosphere (for a given geological period).

Living matter performs the following biogeochemical functions in the biosphere: gas - absorbs and releases gases; redox - oxidizes, for example, carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and restores it to carbohydrates; concentration - organisms-concentrators accumulate nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, calcium, magnesium in their bodies and skeletons. As a result of the performance of these functions, the living substance of the biosphere from the mineral base creates natural waters and soils, it created in the past and maintains the atmosphere in a state of equilibrium.

With the participation of living matter, the weathering process takes place, and rocks are included in geochemical processes.

The gas and redox functions of living matter are closely related to the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. As a result of the biosynthesis of organic substances by autotrophic organisms, a huge amount of carbon dioxide was extracted from the ancient atmosphere. As the biomass of green plants increased, the gas composition of the atmosphere changed - the content of carbon dioxide decreased, and the concentration of oxygen increased. All oxygen in the atmosphere is formed as a result of the vital processes of autotrophic organisms. Living matter has qualitatively changed the gas composition of the atmosphere, the geological envelope of the Earth. In turn, oxygen is used by organisms for the process of respiration, as a result of which carbon dioxide is again released into the atmosphere.

Thus, living organisms created in the past and maintain the atmosphere of our planet for millions of years. An increase in the oxygen concentration in the planet's atmosphere affected the rate and intensity of redox reactions in the lithosphere.

Many microorganisms are directly involved in the oxidation of iron, which leads to the formation of sedimentary iron ores, or to the reduction of sulfates with the formation of biogenic sulfur deposits. Despite the fact that the composition of living organisms includes the same chemical elements, the compounds of which form the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere, organisms do not completely repeat the chemical composition of the environment.

Living matter, actively performing the concentration function, selects from the environment those chemical elements and in such quantity that it needs. Due to the implementation of the concentration function, living organisms have created many sedimentary rocks, for example, deposits of chalk and limestone.

In the biosphere, as in every ecosystem, the circulation of chemical elements is constantly carried out. Thus, the living matter of the biosphere, performing geochemical functions, creates and maintains the balance of the biosphere.

Empirical generalizations of V.I. Vernadsky

The first conclusion from the doctrine of the biosphere is the principle of the integrity of the biosphere. The structure of the Earth is a coordinated system. The living world is a single system cemented by many food chains and other interdependencies. If even a small part of it dies, everything else will collapse.

The principle of harmony of the biosphere and its organization. In the biosphere, "everything is taken into account and everything is adjusted with the same precision and with the same subordination to measure and harmony, which we see in the harmonious movements of celestial bodies and begin to see in systems of atoms of matter and atoms of energy."

The role of living things in the evolution of the Earth. The face of the Earth is actually shaped by life. "All the minerals of the upper parts of the earth's crust - free aluminosilicic acids (clays), carbonates (limestones and dolomites), iron and aluminum oxide hydrates (brown iron ore and bauxites), and many hundreds of others - are continuously created in it only under the influence of life."

Cosmic role of the biosphere in the transformation of energy. VI Vernadsky emphasized the importance of energy and called living organisms the mechanisms of energy transformation.

Cosmic energy causes the pressure of life, which is achieved by reproduction. The reproduction of organisms decreases as their number increases. Population sizes increase as long as the environment can withstand their further increase, after which equilibrium is reached. The number fluctuates around the equilibrium level.

The spreading of life is a manifestation of its geochemical energy. Living matter, like a gas, spreads over the earth's surface in accordance with the rule of inertia. Small organisms reproduce much faster than large ones. The rate of transmission of life depends on the density of living matter.

The concept of autotrophy. Autotrophic organisms are called organisms that take all the chemical elements they need for life from the bone matter surrounding them and do not require ready-made compounds of another organism to build their body. The field of existence of these autotrophic green organisms is determined by the area of ​​penetration of sunlight.

Life is entirely determined by the field of sustainability of green vegetation, and the limits of life - by the physicochemical properties of the compounds that build the body, their inviolability in certain environmental conditions. The maximum field of life is determined by the extreme limits of the organism's survival. The upper limit of life is determined by radiant energy, the presence of which excludes life and from which the ozone shield protects. The lower limit is associated with reaching a high temperature.

The biosphere in its main features represents the same chemical apparatus from the most ancient geological periods. Life remained constant during geological time, only its form changed. Living matter itself is not a random creation.

The "ubiquity" of life in the biosphere. Life gradually, slowly adapting, captured the biosphere, and this capture did not end. The field of stability of life is the result of its adaptability in the course of time.

The law of frugality in the use of simple chemical bodies by living matter. Once an element has entered, it goes through a long series of states, and the organism introduces into itself only the required number of elements.

The constancy of the amount of living matter in the biosphere. The amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere is of the same order as the amount of living matter. Living matter is an intermediary between the Sun and the Earth and, therefore, either its quantity must be constant, or its energy characteristics must change.

Any system reaches a stable equilibrium when its free energy equals or approaches zero, i.e. when all the work possible in the conditions of the system has been done.

V. I. Vernadsky formulated the idea of ​​human autotrophy, which has become important in the framework of the discussion of the problem of creating artificial ecosystems in spacecraft. The creation of such artificial ecosystems will be an important stage in the development of ecology. In their construction, an engineering goal is combined - the creation of a new one - and environmental focus on the preservation of the existing, creativity and reasonable conservatism. This will be the implementation of the principle of “designing with nature”.

So far, an artificial ecosystem is a very complex and cumbersome structure. What in nature functions by itself, a person can reproduce only at the cost of great effort. But he will have to do this if he wants to explore space and make long flights. The need to create an artificial ecosystem in spacecraft will help to better understand natural ecosystems.