NATURAL VEGETATION
AND
WILDLIFE
The Earth is the home of human being and other living
organisms. This is possible due to the presence of favorable living condition
which makes up their environment.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
Environment: The term environment refers to the surrounding organisms
within which a person, animal or plants exist. It is a combination of natural
and human-made phenomena. Natural environment means both biotic and abiotic
condition existing on Earth. Human environment refers to activities, creatures
and interactions among different human beings.
The natural
elements such as mountains, rivers, vegetation, animals, etc. are created by
nature. This is called natural environment. It includes the biotic and abiotic
components.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
The human-made
elements, such as agriculture, industries, settlement, means of transport, etc.
are created by human beings. Therefore, it is called human-made environment.
Human beings developed these features to live comfortably in their environment.
The two types
of environments interact with one other. They change in course of time from
place to place due to natural processes and human activities.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
Natural Environment:
Natural environment of an organism consists of those element that a provided by nature. The natural environment is made up of two kinds of components.
(i). Biotic components and
(ii). Abiotic (Non-living) components.
Let us briefly discuss them.
Biotic components: The biotic components comprise living beings like micro-organisms, plants and animals including man. This is also known as living or biological environment.
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Abiotic (Non-living) components: The Abiotic components comprise inorganic or non0livings things in the environment. Based on the physical state and characteristics, they are divided into:
Lithosphere:
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
The solid crust of rocks forming the surface of the Earth is called lithosphere. The word ‘litho’ means rocks or stones and ‘sphere’ means domain, so the term lithosphere can be described as ‘rocksphere’.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
Lithosphere has an average thickness of about 100km. It is irregular in shape
and not like smooth like a table top. It includes the various land-forms such as
mountain, plains, plateaus, valleys etc. The part of the ocean floor is also
uneven and not smooth surface. Lithosphere provides us mineral wealth, forest,
grassland, agriculture land and land for human settlements.
Hydrosphere:
The hydrosphere is the part of the Earth’s surface
covered by water. The water on Earth found in ocean, seas, rivers, lakes and streams
etc. and in the form of ice and snow together make the hydrosphere. It occupies
a major part of the Earth’s surface and has an importance of its own.
More than 70% of Earth’s surface is covered with water.
We cannot imagine life on Earth without water. Water is essential for all
living organisms.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
Atmosphere:
The Earth is a unique planet. Its capacity to support
life makes it different from all other planets. The Earth is surrounded by an
envelope of air which is called atmosphere.
The atmosphere extends to about 1,000 km from the surface
of the Earth.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
The layer of air which surrounds the Earth is a mix of gases which change with altitude. The gravity of the Earth holds the atmosphere around it. The atmosphere also has dust and water vapor. Changes of the atmosphere affect weather and climate. The atmosphere also works as a shield of the Earth to protect it from the harmful rays and scorching heat of the sun.
Biosphere:
The three spheres-lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere
meat to from a narrow zone of interaction, the biosphere, which supports life.
Therefore, it includes the biotic and abiotic elements.
Biosphere is
a unique component of the Earth. Outside the limits of biosphere, no life is
possible. Biosphere is a beautiful part of the Earth which consists of a great
variety of flora and fauna. Other planets do not have biosphere. Each organism
in the biosphere has central limiting condition for its growth and survival.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
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Ecosystem:
It is a system formed by the interaction of all living
organisms with each other and with the physical and chemical factor of the
environment in which they live. All plants, animals and human being depend on
each other and on the immediate surroundings of natural environment. There
could be different ecosystems in different environments like deserts,
mountains, dense forests, grass lands, rivers, and oceans and even in ponds.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
Energy is
transferred from one living thing to other in the form of various food chains
and many different food chains like up to form food webs. All the food webs are
delicately branched. So, if one like in the web is destroyed, all the other
organisms will be affected.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
Human Environment:
Human beings are part of the environment in which they
live. They are, to an extent, influenced by the environment. They are also able
to depot and modify the environment according to their needs. With scientific
and technological advancement, they have succeeded in controlling and
dominating nature.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
The
interaction of human being with the environment is complex in nature. It varies
from place to place and from time to time.
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
Human-Environment Interaction:
In spite of all the development, the physical environment still provides human being with their material needs.The primary activities-farming, fishing, forestry and mining-still provide food and raw materials, without which advanced socialites cannot survive and progress.
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Thus, they have disturbed the natural branches of the environment.
