LIVING SUBSTANCE (LIVING ORGANISMS). BIOMASS
Living matter - the totality and biomass of living organisms in the biosphere.
The concept of "living matter" was introduced into science by V.I. Vernadsky. It is characterized by the total mass, chemical composition, energy.
Living organisms are a powerful geological factor that transforms the face of the Earth. IN AND. Vernadsky stressed that earth's surface there is no force more powerful in its final results than living organisms as a whole. And the atmosphere air envelope), and the hydrosphere (water shell), and the lithosphere (solid shell) with their state of the art and their inherent properties are due to the influence that organisms have had on them over the billions of years of their existence due to the continuous flow of elements in the biogenic metabolism. Influencing the surrounding world and changing it, living matter acts as an active factor that determines its own existence.
The idea of the planetary geochemical role of living matter is one of the main provisions in V.I. Vernadsky. Another important position in his theory is the idea of the biosphere as an organized entity, a product of complex transformations of material, energy and information capabilities by living matter. environment.
The biosphere from modern positions is considered as the largest ecosystem of the planet participating in the global cycle of substances. Under the systems of the biosphere are ecosystems of a lower level. Biogeocenosis is a structural unit of the active part of the modern biosphere.
The biosphere is a product of the long-term evolution of living things and ecosystems of varying complexity, which are in interaction and dynamic balance with each other and with the inert environment.
The amount of living matter of organisms per unit area or volume, expressed in units of mass, is called biomass. The organisms that make up the biomass have the ability to reproduce - multiply and spread around the planet.
A feature of any living organism and biomass in general is the constant exchange of matter and energy with the environment.
Currently, there are more than two million species of organisms on Earth. Of these, about 500 thousand species fall on the share of plants, and more than 1.5 million species fall on the share of animals. The most numerous group in terms of the number of species is insects (about 1 million species).
BIOGENIC CYCLE
The biochemical cycle is movement and transformation chemical elements through inert and organic nature with the active participation of living matter. Chemical elements circulate in the biosphere along various paths of the biological cycle: they are absorbed by living matter and charged with energy, then they leave the living matter, giving the accumulated energy to the external environment. Such cycles Vernadsky called biochemical. They can be divided into two main types:
1) circulation of gaseous substances with a reserve fund in the atmosphere and hydrosphere;
2) sedimentary cycle with a reserve fund in the earth's crust.
Living matter plays an active role in all biochemical cycles. The main cycles include the cycle of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus.
FUNCTIONS OF THE BIOSPHERE
Thanks to the biotic cycle, the biosphere performs certain functions.
1. Gas function - carried out by green plants in the process of photosynthesis and by all animals and plants, microorganisms as a result of the biological cycle of substances. Most gases are generated by life. Underground combustible gases are decomposition products of organic substances of plant origin buried in sedimentary rocks.
2. Concentration function - associated with the accumulation of various chemical elements in living matter.
3. Redox function (oxidation of substances in the process of life). Oxides and salts are formed in the soil. Bacteria create limestone, ores, etc.
4. Biochemical function - metabolism in living organisms (nutrition, respiration, excretion) and destruction, decomposition of dead organisms are carried out.
5. Biochemical activity of mankind. It covers an ever-increasing amount of the substance of the earth's crust for the needs of industry, transport, and agriculture.
ORGANIZATION AND STABILITY OF THE BIOSPHERE
The biosphere is a complex organized system functioning as a single entity capable of self-regulation. Its structural unit is biogeocenosis - one of the most complex natural systems, which is a complex of living organisms and an inert environment, which are in constant interaction with each other and are interconnected by the metabolism and energy. The stability of the biosphere is determined by the stability of biogeocenosis - the products of a long natural-historical development of the organic world.
An important property of biogeocenosis is its ability to self-regulate, which manifests itself in its stable dynamic balance. The latter is achieved by the coordination and complexity of those interactions that develop between its components - living and non-living parts. The consumption of the created organic matter occurs in parallel with its production and should not exceed the latter in scale. The more diverse the physical and chemical qualities of the environment, the living conditions within the biotope, the more diverse the species composition of the cenosis, the more stable it is. Deviations of the conditions of existence from the optimum lead to its species impoverishment. The stable state of the cenosis is also determined by the output of gross production, which ensures the flow of energy through the trophic levels and the preservation of all living components connected to each other in the food chain and participating in the general circulation of substances. A balanced relationship between organisms of different trophic levels is one of the conditions for the stability of biogeocenosis.
Under the conditions of the inconstancy of the physical and chemical environment, the reliability of biogeocenosis is ensured by the total redistribution of living matter between its constituent species that can replace each other (or duplicate) within the same level of the ecological pyramid. Under certain conditions, some species feel more comfortable (as a result of which the number of their populations increases) and worse - others that are close to them, but occupy a subordinate position in the biogeocenosis. A change in conditions can negatively affect the former and, on the contrary, contribute to the prosperity of the latter. Depending on the strength and duration of the action of a new natural factor, more or less significant changes in its organization occur within the biogeocenosis. One of the mechanisms that ensure the safety of biocenoses is manifested in the ability to form a different structure under the pressure of external factors with the strengthening of “elements of duplication”.
Separate biogeocenoses are not isolated from each other; they are interdependent and are in constant interaction. Vivid proof of this can be examples of the global circulation of biogenic elements, in which not only individual subsystems, but the entire biosphere and other geospheres of the Earth take part. The balance of the cycles of elements and substances on the planet, especially the cycles of biogenic elements, without which life is impossible, is ensured by the constancy of the entire mass of living matter. A large number of elements pass through living organisms. Photoautotrophs determine the speed of fixing solar energy and providing it to other inhabitants of the planet. Green plants supply the molecular oxygen necessary for the existence of almost all living organisms on Earth; the only exception is anaerobic forms. To ensure the stability of the circulation, in addition to the constancy of the mass of living matter, constancy between producers, consumers and decomposers is necessary. All together they create and stabilize the conditions for the existence of the biosphere as an integral and harmonious entity.
Ecological duplication at the level of species in the biogeocenosis is supplemented in nature by ecological duplication at the level of the cenosis, which manifests itself in the replacement of one biocenosis by another under changing conditions within the integral biosphere.
The total amount of living matter in the biosphere changes noticeably within a sufficiently long geological time (V.I. Vernadsky's law of constancy of the amount of living matter). Its quantitative stability is maintained by the constancy of the number of species, which determines the overall species diversity in the biosphere.
Thus, biogeocenoses are an environment in which various life processes take place on our planet, cycles of matter and energy caused by the vital activity of organisms and, in total, making up a large biospheric cycle.
Biogeocenosis is a relatively stable and open system that has material-energy "inputs" and "outputs" that connect adjacent biocenoses.
NOOSPHERE
The noosphere (Greek noos - mind + sphere) is the highest stage of development of the biosphere, the sphere of influence of the human mind, the interaction of nature and society. Appearing on Earth, man gradually became a powerful geological force influencing the world around him.
The concept of the noosphere as an ideally thinking shell of the Earth was introduced into science at the beginning of the 20th century. French scientists and philosophers P. Teilhard de Chardin and E. Leroy. P. Teilhard de Chardin considered man as the pinnacle of evolution and the transformer of matter through the inclusion of evolution in creativity. The scientist attached the main importance in evolutionary constructions to the team and the spiritual factor, without belittling the role of technological progress and economic development.
IN AND. Vernadsky, speaking of the noosphere (1944), emphasized the need for a reasonable organization of the interaction between society and nature, meeting the interests of every person, all of humanity and the world around him. The scientist wrote: “Humanity, taken as a whole, becomes a powerful geological force. And before him, before his thought and work, the question of the restructuring of the biosphere in the interests of free-thinking humanity as a single whole was raised. This new state of the biosphere, to which we are approaching without noticing it, is the noosphere.”
Nature bears the traces of human activity in the conditions of different socio-economic formations that succeeded each other. The forms of influence are varied. Its results for the last 100-150 (200) years, especially in the territories of Europe and North America, surpass those for the entire previous history of mankind. With the growth of the population and the increase in its well-being, the pressure on nature became more and more. It is believed that at the beginning of our era there were about 200 million people on Earth. By the millennium, this figure had risen to 275 million; by the middle of the twentieth century. The world's population has almost doubled (500 million). Over 200 years, the figure increased to 1.3 billion, and another 300 million were added in half a century (1.6 billion in 1900). In 1950, there were already 2.5 billion people on Earth, in 1970 - 3.6 billion, by 2025 the figure is expected to be 8.5 billion. Of this number, 83% of the world's population will live in developing countries - in Asia , Africa, South America where the population is still growing. It is necessary to have an idea about the possibilities for the livelihood of the population in order to avoid the catastrophic consequences of the population explosion.
The rapid growth of the planet's population makes the question of the limits of the biological productivity of the Earth's biosphere acute. As a result of active human activity during the period of scientific and technological progress, aimed at raising the material and spiritual level of all mankind, the reserves of non-renewable natural resources. Self-renewable resources have undergone a global disturbance over vast areas, some of them have lost the ability to self-renewal. Many inland reservoirs have become dead or are on the verge between life and death. The world's oceans are polluted with industrial waste, oil spills, radioactive substances, and the natural circulation - global and especially local - of a number of vital biogenic elements has been disrupted. Often, the consumers end up with environmentally "dirty" food and poor-quality drinking water.
Pollution and disturbance of the natural habitats of many plant and animal species has led to a reduction in the number of populations or their extinction, and, consequently, to the loss of the gene pool created over millions of years. Under the influence of mutagens that pollute the environment, not only new forms of pests of agrocenoses and natural biocenoses have appeared, but also pathogenic organisms against which protective properties have not been developed either in humans or other inhabitants of the planet.
The ruthless exploitation of nature, subordinated to the satisfaction of momentary needs, does not solve the pressing problems of even today, creating unfavorable prospects for the future. Part of the world's population is malnourished and starving (25% of the total crop is lost annually due to agricultural pests). Many people, among whom children predominate, die every year from diseases caused by the use of poor-quality water. Human health suffers from increased environmental pollution, especially in large industrial cities. Many people are negatively affected not only by the degradation of ecological systems, but also by poverty, the growing disparity between the rich and the poor.
To avoid negative consequences caused by human economic activity and natural disasters, it is necessary to take into account the laws that operate in the nature around us and support its self-renewal. The task of protecting nature and its rational use has become not only a state one, but also an international one, and its solution should be based on knowledge of the laws of life and development of the world around us.
Not only the well-being of people, but also their life depends on the degree of public awareness of the crisis situation in the biosphere and on the speed of its reaction.
IN AND. Vernadsky, considering the biosphere as a geological shell, clearly understood that the structure of this shell does not reflect the complexity of the processes going on in it. Therefore, he introduced the concept of the organization of the biosphere. Back in 1931, in his work “On the Conditions for the Emergence of Life on Earth”, Vernadsky defined the organization of the biosphere as the stability of a dynamic system, its equilibrium.
The organization of the biosphere in geological time is confirmed by the fact that the entire biosphere is covered by the troposphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and living matter. These parts of it interpenetrate and interact with each other, forming a single whole (Fig. 2).
BIOSPHERE
Rice. 2. The relationship of the shells of the Earth's biosphere
Thus, the concept of "organization" implies that surrounding nature is not a chaos of disparate elements, but is a single and coherent whole.
The organization of nature is not only an external empirical fact, but also its main property. It appears most clearly in the phenomenon of the living, where each grain can be regarded as a kind of microcosm.
Thus, the organization of the biosphere implies the unity, equivalence and connection of its parts. The organization of the biosphere is manifested in different levels. There are thermodynamic, physical, chemical, biological, paragenetic, energy, planetary levels of organization of the biosphere.
1.5. Stability and self-regulation in the process of biosphere development
Biosphere of the Earth- an open, complex, multi-component, self-regulating system of living matter and mineral compounds connected with space, forming the outer shell of the planet.
The biosphere is not only the area in which life arose and developed on planet Earth in all its diversity of forms. Living matter during its existence has deeply changed the original nature of the planet, biologized it. Life itself adapted and optimized the environment. An ozone shield appeared in the stratosphere, protecting living beings from the destructive effects of ultraviolet rays and other cosmic radiation.
Weathering, soil formation, deluvial and alluvial sediments covered monolithic, barren, waterless rocks with organo-mineral covers of fine earth. These processes have created loose horizons, favorable in terms of physical and chemical properties for the existence of plants, especially their root systems, and ecological niches for animals. Plant photosynthesis was a mechanism for the accumulation of active biochemical energy in the masses of organic matter in the form of humus, fossil fuels, guaranteeing the satisfaction of organisms in case of stressful conditions and unfavorable periods.
Living matter, having created a soil cover, overcame the limited resources of nitrogen-carbon, water, air and mineral nutrition. The neosynthesis of highly dispersed minerals provided the physicochemical absorption capacity in soils, thereby fixing the compounds N, P, Ca, K. Even more intensive accumulation of macroelements (C, N, P, Ca, S, K) and microelements (I, Zn, Cu , Co, Se, etc.) is observed during biogenic accumulation in the form of humus-organic compounds.
A mechanism of cooperation arose and showed its exceptional role - symbiosis - between plants, animals, insects, lower invertebrates, microorganisms with the formation of food chains. This mechanism in the biosphere makes it possible to manage with small reserves of energy and chemical compounds. But there are limits to this stability and self-regulation. If changes in the environment go beyond the periodic fluctuations to which organisms are adapted, then the coherence of ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole is violated.
Life, living matter, the biosphere, thanks to these processes, and also due to the continuity of the supply of cosmic energy, developed on Earth according to the principle of self-controlled expanded reproduction. Thus, about 12 thousand plant species existed in the Devonian, 27 thousand in the Carboniferous, 43 thousand in the Permo-Triassic, and 60 thousand in the Jurassic. The modern flora includes about 300 thousand species (Kovda, 1983). This directed progressive development of the biosphere was not continuous. Catastrophes (epochs of volcanism, glaciation, desertification) disturbed and delayed the general process of expanded reproduction, but could not stop the general process of the increasingly complex development of life and the biosphere.
1.6. The concept of biogeocenosis as an elementary structural
biosphere units
Biogeocenosis- this is an interdependent complex of living and inert components interconnected by the exchange of matter and energy (Greek: bios - life, gi - geo - earth, koinos - common). The concept is based on the definition of Academician V.N. Sukachev, according to whom biogeocenosis- "a set of homogeneous natural phenomena (atmosphere, rocks, vegetation, wildlife and the world of microorganisms, soil and hydrological conditions) over a known extent of the earth's surface, which has its own specific interaction of these constituent components and a certain type of exchange of matter and energy between them and other phenomena of nature and representing an internal contradiction, a dialectical unity, which is in constant motion and development.
Currently, the terms "biogeocenosis" and "ecosystem" are often considered as synonyms. But the concept of "biogeocenosis", proposed by V.N. Sukachev and related to terrestrial living systems, has certain territorial boundaries. The concept of "ecosystem" is dimensionless and can include space of any length - from a drop of water with microorganisms living in it to the entire biosphere as a whole. Thus, the concept of "biogeocenosis" in relation to the concept of "ecosystem" is more private. However, at the UNESCO symposium on the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems at the level of primary production, held in Copenhagen in 1965, it was agreed that the two terms had the same meaning.
So, biogeocenoses are parts of the earth or water surface, homogeneous in terms of topographic, microclimatic, botanical, zoological, soil, hydrological and geochemical conditions. In this system, the circulation of substances and the flow of energy are characterized by a certain intensity and direction. The starting point of the circulation of substances is photosynthesis and the creation of phytobiomass by plants. The actual sizes of biogeocenoses on the planet vary quite widely: from several meters (microdepressions in steppes and semi-deserts, sand dunes, etc.) to kilometers (biogeocenoses of solonchak, solonetz, takyr, homogeneous areas of steppes, forests, etc.). The vertical dimensions of biogeocenoses also vary widely: from a few centimeters on rocks to several tens of meters in the taiga or in tropical forests.
Biogeocenosis is relatively stable in time and thermodynamically open in relation to the inflow and outflow of matter and energy. It has an input of energy and various substances: solar energy, mineral elements of rocks, atmospheric fallout, groundwater. As well as the release of energy and nutrients into the atmosphere (heat, oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc.), the lithosphere (humus compounds, minerals, sedimentary rocks) and the hydrosphere (dissolved nutrients of ground, lake, river waters).
The self-regulating nature of the biosphere and biogeocenoses is the result of the autocatalytic properties of living matter, its ability to absorb and exchange substances, grow and multiply. The flow of energy and matter in the biogeocenosis goes from plants to herbivores, from the latter to predators, then to lower organisms and bacteria in the soil. It is herbivores that begin the food chain of organisms-consumers and destroyers of organic matter created in the process of photosynthesis. Hence, the primary source of food and energy for the food chain of organisms is the phytomass created by plants. Zoomass is a secondary product. Therefore, a distinction is made between primary and secondary productivity of biogeocenoses and landscapes.
In the food chain of organisms in biogeocenosis there is a continuous flow of energy. At each new link in this chain, 50–90% of the energy and biomass stored at the previous stage is lost. There is a so-called ecological pyramid of energy reserves. The more links in the food chain, the higher the ecological pyramid and the more energy will be lost in the final link (Fig. 3).
| EAGLE | ||||||||||
| SNAKE | ||||||||||
| FROGs | ||||||||||
| Grasshoppers | ||||||||||
| HERBS | ||||||||||
Rice. 3. Food chain pyramid
The main provision of ecosystem energy is the irreversibility of bioenergetic processes. Therefore, when applied to ecosystems (and in particular, to soils), the expression “energy cycle” cannot be used, just as in biogeochemistry and soil science about the cycle of substances. The only correct term is “energy flow”, since the energy of primary biological products is only consumed in the future. To replenish and renew biomass in an ecosystem, a constant influx of energy from the outside is necessary, while there may not be an influx of atoms of matter. The same atoms can repeatedly circulate in a biogeocenosis.
"... in fact, we are dealing with a peculiar organization of the biosphere, with a natural planetary body, which we cannot divide without destroying it" V. I. Vernadsky (1977) Levels of organization: spatiotemporal b physical, including thermodynamic, aggregate , energy b chemical, including biogeochemical b biological (structural and functional) b paragenetic
The "planetary biosphere" is a single system, from among those accessible to study, that combines inanimate and living matter, has its own internal environment, different from the external one, thermodynamically non-equilibrium with respect to the environment (Space), independently maintaining this imbalance, exchanging with it (the external environment ) matter, energy and information, which has a pronounced boundary of immiscible media.
Cybernetic principles of biosphere organization Cybernetic systems are complex dynamic systems of any nature (technical, biological, economic, social, administrative) with feedback. complex dynamic systems such systems are called that contain many simpler, interacting with each other systems and elements that change, i.e., under the influence of certain processes, they pass from one stable state to another. Self-organization structure in action.
HOMEOSTASIS. The desire for homeostasis is the most powerful factor in evolution. FEEDBACK. Negative feedbacks maintain homeostasis, positive ones worsen the stability of the system. One of the features of any of the most important evolutionary processes occurring in the living world is the contradiction between the tendencies towards stability, i.e., the preservation of homeostasis, and the strengthening of negative feedbacks, and the tendencies towards the search for new, more rational ways of using external energy. and substance, i.e. strengthening positive feedbacks. INFORMATION - a reflected structure that reproduces the structure of the original, determines the purposefulness of the development of a living system (implementation of the genetic program, achievement of species diversity, etc.)
The properties of self-organizing systems maintain the state of thermodynamic equilibrium the non-entropic nature of the action (the use of information) has a functional activity, expressed in counteracting external forces has a choice of a line of behavior and purposefulness of action has a homeostasis and adaptability of the system
Patterns of internal development of systems Law of development vector. Development is unidirectional. The law of irreversibility of evolution (L. Dollo, 1857 1931). The law of complication of systemic organization (K. F. Rul'e, 1814 1858). Law of unlimited progress. The law of the sequence of passing the phases of the system development. systemic law. The law of synchronization and harmonization of subsystems (J. Cuvier, 1769 1832)
Patterns of the internal development of systems The rule of the development of subsystems in large systems at different times (the law of allometry, D. Huxley, 1887 1975) The rule of system dynamic complementarity
Thermodynamics of living systems The principle of energy conduction. Water exchange in a biological individual takes hours, in the aerobiosphere - 8 days, in rivers - 16 days, in lakes - 17 years, in groundwater - 1400 years, in the ocean - 2500 years. The law of conservation of mass. First law of thermodynamics. The second law of thermodynamics: 1. Energy processes can proceed spontaneously only under the condition of energy transfer from a concentrated form to a diffuse one; 2. Losses of energy in the form of heat unavailable for use always lead to the impossibility of one hundred percent transfer of one type of energy (kinetic) to another (potential) and vice versa;
3. In a closed (thermally and mechanically isolated) system, the entropy either remains unchanged (if reversible, equilibrium processes occur in the system) or increases (in non-equilibrium processes) and reaches a maximum in a state of equilibrium. ENTROPY is a measure of the disorder of a system, tending, according to the second principle of thermodynamics, to increase to a state of physical equilibrium, which is irreversible. Order preservation theorem (I. R. Prigogine, 1977). In open systems, entropy does not increase - it falls until a minimum constant value is reached, which is always greater than zero. In this case, the substance in the system is distributed unevenly and is organized in such a way that entropy increases in some places and decreases in other places. In general, using the energy flow, the system does not lose order.
Le Chatelier Brown's principle. The law of minimum energy dissipation (L. Onsager, 1903-1976). Law of maximization of energy and information (Yu. Odum). The principle of power maximization. Basic exchange rule
Spatio-temporal organization Space is understood as a form of existence of matter, characterizing its extension, structure, coexistence and interaction of elements in all material systems. Characteristics of the space of the biosphere: 1. Earth's crust chemically sharply different from the inner layers of the planet; 2. According to the set of chemical elements in the earth's crust, elements with even serial numbers predominate; 3. Chemical composition shells of the Sun and stars corresponds to the composition of the earth's crust; 4. The space of the biosphere is asymmetric and chiral.
Abiogenic symmetry and asymmetry of living matter 1. Hypothesis of holobiosis is a methodological approach based on the idea of the primacy of cellular structures endowed with the ability for elemental metabolism with the participation of the enzymatic mechanism. The appearance of nucleic acids in it is considered the end of evolution, the result of the competition of protobionts. 2. The hypothesis of genobiosis (information hypothesis) is based on the belief in the primacy of a molecular system with the properties of a primary genetic code. 3. Molecular chirality is inherent only in living matter and is its integral property (L. Pasteur, 1860). The transformation of molecularly symmetrical substances of inanimate nature into molecularly dissymmetric living substances is inextricably linked with the origin of living matter. It was carried out by means of special dissymmetric forces causing the dissymmetrization of the molecules of this matter (powerful electric discharges, geomagnetic oscillations, the rotation of the Earth around the Sun, the appearance of the Moon).
Time characterizes the sequence of changing states and the duration of existence of any objects and processes, the internal connection of changing and remaining states. Geological properties Properties of biological time are unidirectional, cyclic, linear, rounded, irreversible, exist irreversibly, always arise, birth, the background for all processes is the flow caused by birth, growth, death and generational change. The movement of time is carried out biologically, it is taken into account by the change of generations of living matter, which determines the "lengthening" of time. Geological time is determined only through biological time. Biological time is an absolute time reference system. In the biosphere, there is a "space-time" category, the basis of which is the existence of life.
Structural and functional organization of the biosphere The food chain is a series of organisms interconnected by the transfer of energy from its source - autotrophs to the consumer - heterotrophs. The links of the food chain formed by organisms similar in type of nutrition are called trophic levels. The energy material for the functioning of the trophic level is the biomass of organisms of the previous trophic level or the products of the destruction of dead remains. There are two main types of food chains: grazing or grazing chains starting with a green plant, and detrital or decay chains.
Energy balance of producers: 1. storage of energy in the process of photosynthesis (114 kcal of energy is stored for each mole of assimilated carbon dioxide); 2. solar energy is stored in a form that is very convenient for biological use - in a molecular form, i.e. in the chemical bonds of sugars, amino acids, proteins; 3. part of the stored energy is used by the producer to build his own organism, part enters the detrital chains and part enters the trophic level of consumers.
Energy balance of consumers: 1. Ingested food is not fully digested, 10-20% (saprophages) up to 75% are carnivorous species; 2. Most of the energy is spent on metabolism - spending on breathing; 3. A smaller part of the energy is spent on plastic processes; 4. The transfer of energy of chemical compounds in the body comes with a loss in the form of heat (low efficiency of animal cells); 5. Energy losses are about 90% for each energy transfer through the trophic level. The energy lost in the food chains can only be replenished by the supply of its new portions. Therefore, biogeocenosis functions only due to a directed flow of energy, its constant supply from outside in the form of solar radiation or ready-made reserves of organic matter.
The interlacing of different food chains in the composition of biogeocenoses form complex combinations of species populations, which are called food cycles or food webs. The principle of food web formation is that each producer has not one, but several consumers. In turn, consumers use not one, but several sources of food.
Paragenetic level of organization Paragenesis is a natural co-occurrence in the earth's crust of minerals related by the general conditions of formation. The study of mineral paragenesis is of great importance in the search for and evaluation of mineral deposits with a similar geochemical history. biosphere - paragenetic shell reflecting the paragenesis of biospheric matter are its types:
Types of biospheric matter: living matter biogenic matter inert matter bioinert matter in the process of radioactive decay scattered atoms matter of cosmic origin
Scientific background Spherical shape of the planet (XYI-XYII, Leonardo da Vinci, J. Bruno, Galileo Galilei) Geological significance of living organisms on the surface the globe(XYII-XYIII, D. Woodward, J. Buffon, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck) 1803 Lamarck: used the term biosphere to refer to the totality of living organisms (the habitat of living organisms) Starting from the XYII century, not only the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere are distinguished, but and their interpenetration is noted
Scientific background XIX century: Humboldt - on the interaction of natural phenomena Dokuchaev (Vernadsky's teacher) in "The Doctrine of Natural Zones" about "... a natural connection between dead and living nature, between the plant, animal and mineral kingdoms, on the one hand, man, his way of life and even the spiritual world on the other. E. Suess - 1875 Under the biosphere understands not only the organic world, but also its environment.
The main provisions (empirical generalizations) of Vernadsky's doctrine of the biosphere in 1926 "Biosphere": "Living matter is also distributed concentrically in the earth's crust. The area occupied by it forms a shell, which we call the biosphere. This biosphere covers part of the lithosphere and atmosphere and the entire hydrosphere"
Empirical generalizations Marking the central role of living matter, Vernadsky points out: 1. There is a genetic connection between modern living matter and the living matter of the past, the continuity of the influence of this substance on the environment, the continuity of biogeochemical weathering processes. The principle of actualism is the continuity of the existence of the biosphere “The spreading of life is a movement expressed in the ubiquity of life, it is a manifestation of its internal energy, the chemical work it produces. I will call it the geochemical energy of life."
Empirical generalizations 2. Redi's principle (1712) - all life comes from life. On the scale of geological time, there are no geochemical data for the spontaneous generation of life. Azoic (i.e., devoid of life) geological epochs have never been observed during the entire geological time. 3. Dan's principle (1863) - the direction of the evolutionary process (cephalization). The appearance in the human biosphere is natural. Man has become a geological force on the planet. 4. The radiant energy of the sun, through living organisms, regulates the chemical manifestation of the earth's crust.
Empirical generalizations 6. Living matter is a planetary phenomenon and cannot be separated from the biosphere, of which it is a geological function. 7. Cosmic radiation coming from everyone celestial bodies, cover the biosphere, penetrate everything in it. The biosphere is an area of transformations of cosmic energy. The substance of the biosphere becomes active thanks to this energy. The face of the Earth is changing, it is not only a reflection of our planet, but at the same time is the creation of external forces of the cosmos.
The place of the biosphere in the planetary system "Earth" (atmosphere) The upper boundary of the biosphere - the upper limits of the field of existence of life - the ozone layer on the border of the troposphere and stratosphere. The upper limit is determined by radiation (at an altitude of 9000 m it is tens of times greater than at sea level, at an altitude of 15 km it is 100 times greater). The concentration of life decreases with distance from the Earth's surface. In 1 cu. m of air contains: Near the soil surface - 10 -100 thousand microorganisms 11 -21 km - 0, 14 organisms (fungi, bacteria) 48 -85 km - microorganisms detected
Boundaries of the biosphere The upper limits of the life stability field are above the ozone screen (85 km and above, space). Living organisms are present either in a dormant state, not having an active metabolism, or protected by some substance (for example, the substance of an iron meteorite 800 angstroms thick is a safe haven for a microbe).
The place of the biosphere in the planetary system "Earth" (hydrosphere) The entire hydrosphere is inhabited by living organisms: from the surface waters of the ocean to deep-sea basins
The place of the biosphere in the planetary system "Earth" (lithosphere) The lithosphere is a solid layer of the earth's crust (weathering crust) underlain by a plastic and less viscous asthenosphere. The lithosphere is composed of rocks: Sedimentary 12-15 km (up to 20 km) Metamorphic (granites) Igneous (basalts) The lithosphere is composed of plates (oceanic and continental). The cause of plate tectonics (horizontal movements) is thermal convection in the Earth's mantle)
Borders in the lithosphere On continental plates, the lower limits of the field of existence of life are 2-3 km (up to 6 km). For example, microorganisms in the waters washing layers of oil (up to 10-40 thousand per 1 ml). In oceanic plates - 0.5 -1 km. The lower limits of the life stability field in the lithosphere are determined by the presence of liquid water (10.5 km was found), but not more than 25 km, where life is fundamentally impossible, because despite the high pressure at a temperature of 460 degrees, liquid water passes into a state of vapor.
Average thickness of the biosphere km (Shipunov, 1980) Latitudinal belts Polar Continental Oceanic region 12 13 Mid-latitude 14 15 Tropical 22 21
The organization of the biosphere "The structure of the biosphere is conveniently called the organization according to the nature of the geological processes going on in it" The functional nature of this concept is emphasized. The organization of the biosphere as a whole dynamic formation exists only within the framework of energy flows and the circulation of matter. The levels of organization of the biosphere are distinguished: physical, thermodynamic, chemical, biological, paragenetic
The physical level of organization of the biosphere The biosphere can be considered as a very complex dispersed system composed of solid, liquid and gaseous phases. In all parts of the biosphere (tropospheric, hydrospheric, lithospheric) there are always substances in three aggregate states (solid, liquid and gaseous). In the biosphere, there is a transition, with the active participation of living organisms, from one state of aggregation to another.
Thermodynamic level of organization of the biosphere The gas phase connects the thermodynamic parts of the biosphere Their thermodynamic properties are dependent on each other (eruption of volcanic gases, evaporation of water, etc.) The role of living matter in regulating the gas component of the biosphere (for example, the binding of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis)
Chemical level of biosphere organization Chemical structure of biosphere waters: terrestrial (surface), aboveground, underground Chemical structure of biosphere gases (aboveground, terrestrial, underground gases) in the continental and oceanic regions Chemical structure of solid bodies of the biosphere (aboveground, terrestrial, lithospheric proper) Chemical structure of living substances The chemical organization of the biosphere is studied by biogeochemistry
Biological level of organization of the biosphere Layer 1 - aboveground living matter of the photobiosphere Producers (photosynthetic microorganisms) Environment (troposphere) Consumers Decomposers (fungi and bacteria)
Biological level of organization of the biosphere Layer 2 - living matter of the terrestrial and aquatic photobiosphere Producers (photosynthetic plants and bacteria) Environment (troposphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere) Consumers Decomposers (fungi and bacteria)
Biological level of organization of the biosphere Layer 3 - living matter of the underground and aquatic aphotobiosphere Producers (chemosynthetic microorganisms) Environment (hydrosphere, lithosphere) Decomposers (fungi and bacteria) Consumers
Paragenetic level of organization of the biosphere “To the thermodynamic, phase and chemical shells, we must add ... a paragenetic shell that determines the paragenesis of elements, that is, the laws of their coexistence. The biosphere is one of these paragenetic shells, the most accessible and known to us.
Living matter, being a special manifestation of the thermodynamic, physical and chemical conditions of the planet, constantly strives to organize them in such a way as to have the maximum stability of its structure, that is, it transfers them to a more complex level of organization. As a result, a paragenetic shell of the planet arises - the biosphere. The paragenesis of structures of different levels of organization is manifested in the biosphere. This leads to the emergence of such complex structures as bioinert bodies.
Categories of biospheric matter 1. Living matter is the sum of living organisms constantly dying and being born (biogenic migration of atoms links with other categories of matter). 2. Biogenic substance (past living substance: coal, bitumen, oil, limestone, etc.). 3. Inert matter - abiotic, living matter does not participate in its formation. 4. Bioinert substance - created by living organisms and inert processes (soils, natural waters, biosphere)
Biogeochemical functions of living matter Gas (oxygen-carbon dioxide, ozone, etc.) Concentration Redox Biochemical Biogeochemical functions of man
Organization of life at the planetary-cosmic level 1. On the scale of the biosphere and a short time - the totality of living organisms. 2. On the scale of geological time, the entire biosphere becomes an actually organized part of life. 3. On the scale of cosmic time, it can be assumed that the entire cosmos (?) can become a potentially organized part of life, its potential body!
The organization of life at the planetary-cosmic level James Lovelock (1972) idea of the living planet "Gaia" . The planet, inhabited by living organisms, itself, as a whole, acquires some properties of a biological organism. Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela (1974 -1979) Theory of autopoiesis, the theory of self-producing autonomous systems. A metasystem theoretical model of life has been created.
The autopoietic system interacts with the environment as a single collective, as an integrity. In the process of structural conjugation with the environment, adaptive structural changes occur in the body. Perturbations also occur in the environment under the influence of the organism. The medium is not inert. In the process of interaction, the organism and the environment (which may include other organisms) act as co-evolving partners. The biosphere is an autopoietic system
Noosphere The term was introduced by E. Leroy (French mathematician and philosopher) in 1927: Further evolution of life on the planet will be carried out only by spiritual means: society, language, culture, etc. And this will be the noosphere, which will follow the biosphere. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (French anthropologist) in 1930 Wrote the book The Noosphere: A Phenomenon of Man. The noosphere is understood as a separate shell of the Earth, formed during the evolution of matter (tangential energy) and radial (fine) energy on the planet
Noosphere VI Vernadsky (1935) Noosphere is a natural body, the components of which are the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and the organic world, transformed by intelligent human activity. “The explosion of scientific thought in the 20th century was prepared by the entire past of the biosphere. The biosphere will inevitably pass, one way or another, sooner or later, into the noosphere.
biospheric level- the highest form of organization of life on Earth. At this level, all the cycles of matter are combined and energy is transformed into a single cycle. Living things are organized according to the type of hierarchical systems: the transition from one level to another is associated with the preservation of the functional mechanisms that operated at the previous level, and with the emergence of new structures and functions, new qualities. The level is represented by the biosphere - the area of active life. She covers aerosphere(lower atmosphere) hydrobiosphere(hydrosphere), terrabiosphere(land surface) and lithobiosphere(upper part of the lithosphere). The biosphere is a fairly thin layer: microbial life is distributed up to 22 km above the surface, and in the oceans, the presence of life has been found at depths up to 10-11 km below sea level. Life penetrates less into the earth's crust, microorganisms are found when drilling to depths of 2 - 3 km. By chance, living matter also falls into the layers lying next to "above" and "below", they are called pair- and metabiosphere respectively. But the "film of life" covers the entire Earth, even in the deserts and ice traces of the living have been found. The distribution of life is extremely uneven. In the soil (upper layers of the lithosphere), hydrosphere and lower layers of the atmosphere - the most a large number of living substance.
The development of the doctrine of the biosphere has its own history. One of the first naturalists who looked at the Earth as a whole was M.V. Lomonosov. He wrote in his work “On the Layers of the Earth” that “chernozem is not primitive and not primordial matter, but came from the decay of animals and growing bodies over time”, that brown coal, coal and chernozem are the results of the influence of organisms on the soil. Lomonosov gave a general outline of the Earth's geology and proved its antiquity as a planet. At that time, even fossils - the fossil remains of organisms - were far from being perceived by everyone as traces of once former life. In 1802, Lamarck, in Hydrogeology, pointed out the role of living organisms in geological processes. A. Humboldt's book "Cosmos" contains a lot of material about the influence of living things on geological structures.
The origin of the domestic agrochemistry associated with D.I. Mendeleev. He researched the problems of plant nutrition and increasing yields.
crops. The efficiency of mineral and organic fertilizers was studied by A.N. Engelgardt and D.N. Pryanishnikov. Emerged at the beginning of the 20th century. geochemistry proceeded from the principles of evolution. Soil forest formation studied V. A. Obruchev, initiating permafrost, he studied tectonics and geology. V.V. Dokuchaev, with his work "Russian Chernozem", opened soil science as scientific discipline standing at the junction of geology, biology and chemistry. He has soil - a special natural body, which is of great importance for agriculture. He gave the world's first classification of soils, outlined the doctrine of landscape-geographical zones, developed plans to combat drought, providing for a number of agronomic and forest reclamation measures. M. M. Sibirtsev and P. A. Kostychev worked with him. Sibirtsev participated in many expeditions to the southern steppes of Russia, wrote the first textbook "Soil Science" (1889). Kostychev showed the relationship between soil properties and the vital activity of plants and microorganisms, and the role of man in changing these relationships. He established (1886) the decisive role of lower organisms in the formation of humus (humus). The German scientist G. Gelriger showed experimentally the symbiosis of legumes with nodule bacteria (1888), which turned out to be important in agronomy.
The Russian scientist V. R. Williams proved the role of biological factors (natural communities of higher green plants and microorganisms) in the formation of soil fertility. He was the first to emphasize the importance of the biological cycle of elements in the formation of not only the organic, but also the mineral part of soils, and developed the scientific foundations of the grass-field system of agriculture (1914). Dokuchaev, who taught mineralogy, determined the vital interests of V. I. Vernadsky as early as his student years. Vernadsky studied the evolution of the minerals of the earth's crust (1908), created a geochemical classification of chemical elements, developed the doctrine of the migration of atoms in the earth's crust, laid the foundations of the genetic direction in mineralogy, and it was the general problems of mineralogy and geology that led him to the concept of biogeochemistry (1917). "Biosphere" by Vernadsky gives a complete picture of the mechanism of formation of the earth's crust, taking into account the determining influence of life.
V.I.Vernadsky created the doctrine of the biosphere as an active shell of the Earth, in which the total activity of living organisms - geochemical factor planetary scale and significance. The term "biosphere", introduced (1875) by E. Suess, referred to the totality of organisms living on the surface of the Earth. Vernadsky also included man in the concept of living organisms. He singled out in the biosphere inert(solar energy, rocks, minerals, etc.) and bio-inert(soil, surface water and organic matter). Although living matter in terms of mass and volume makes up an insignificant part of the biosphere, it plays a major role in the geological processes associated with the change of our planet.
According to Vernadsky, the biosphere is the living substance of the planet and the inert substance transformed by it. The concept of "biosphere" is a fundamental concept of biogeochemistry, and not biological or geological. The biosphere organizes processes on the Earth and near the Earth, bioenergetic processes and metabolism occur in it as a result of vital activity. A living organism is an integral part of the earth's crust that can change it. Living matter - a set of organisms involved in geochemical processes. Organisms take chemical elements from the environment, build bodies from them, return them to the same environment both in the process of life and after their death. Therefore, living matter binds the biosphere together, is a system-forming factor. Changes in living matter occur much faster than in inert matter, therefore they use the concept of historical time in it, and geological time in inert matter. In the course of geological times, the power of living matter and its impact on inert matter grows, and only in living matter during these times qualitative changes occur. And living matter, perhaps, has its own process of evolution, regardless of changes in the environment.
If the "life cycle" of an individual organism is finite and its existence is not unlimited, then the living as a whole can be considered geologically immortal. Geologically, life is eternal, so if an individual eventually loses the ability to do work and ceases to exist, then the process of life itself is distinguished by the continuous growth of the ability to do external work. He expressed this idea in three principles, which he called biogeochemical:
1 - free (biogeochemical) energy tends to the maximum manifestation in the biosphere;
2 - during the evolution of species, those organisms survive that increase their free energy with their lives;
3 - the settlement of the Earth should be the maximum possible during geological time.
These principles express the law of living nature only and do not contradict the laws of thermodynamics. The entire flow of living matter from the simplest to the most advanced forms, including the human mind and social labor, is that form of matter movement where the law of entropy decreases, while it grows for inorganic matter. And these two types of matter are connected into a single whole. Vernadsky successfully applied the entropy increase law to explain the cosmic evolution of the Earth. And he considered the birth of the biosphere as a planetary-cosmic "special point" - a qualitative leap, up to which processes of inanimate nature prevailed on the surface of our planet, and after which processes in living nature began to predominate.
kind. Under the action of radiant energy, organic life arises and irreversibly develops.
Vernadsky believed that life on Earth arose simultaneously with the formation of the planet: “The creatures of the Earth are the creation of a cosmic process, necessary and natural part harmonious cosmic mechanism. Among the many patterns that take place in biology, geology, biochemistry and geochemistry, Vernadsky singled out the main empirical principles.
1. The principle of integrity of the biosphere is ensured by the self-consistency of all processes in the biosphere. Life is limited by narrow limits - physical constants, radiation levels, etc. Gravitational constant determines the size of stars, temperature and pressure in them. If it becomes smaller, the stars will have smaller masses, their temperature will become insufficient for nuclear reactions to occur; if a little more, the stars will pass their "critical mass", leave the general circulation and turn into black holes. Electromagnetic interaction constant determines chemical transformations, is responsible for the electron shell of atoms and the strength of bonds in molecules. Weak interaction constant, responsible for the transformation of elementary particles, when it changes, it will “undermine” our entire world. The strong interaction constant, responsible for the stability of the nuclei of atoms, should also not change, otherwise the reactions in stars will go differently, carbon and nitrogen may not be formed. And it is not clear whether life of our type will be possible at all.
2. The principle of harmony of the biosphere and its organization related to the previous one. The laws of energy transformation on Earth, the laws of atomic movement are a reflection of the harmony of the Cosmos, the rhythm of the movement of celestial bodies. The basis for the existence of the biosphere is the position of the Earth in Space, the tilt earth's axis to the ecliptic, which determines the climate and life cycles of all organisms. The sun is the main energy source of the biosphere and the regulator of biological processes. As Yu. R. Mayer noted, "life is the creation of a sunbeam."
3. Space role of the biosphere in energy transformation- this part of living nature can be considered as a further development of the same process of converting solar light energy into effective energy of the Earth. The biosphere has been one and the same spacecraft since the most ancient geological times. Life has remained constant all this time, only its form has changed. Living matter itself is not a random creation. Sources of energy of geological phenomena - cosmic, mainly solar; planetary, associated with the structure and cosmic history of the Earth; the internal energy of matter is radioactivity. Living matter actively transforms solar energy into chemical molecular motion and into the complexity of biological structures.
4. The spread of life- a manifestation of its geochemical energy, an analogue of the law of inertia of inanimate matter. Small organisms reproduce faster than large ones. The rate of transmission of life depends on the density of living matter.
5. autotrophic organisms take everything they need for life from the inert matter surrounding them and do not require ready-made compounds of another organism to build their body. The field of existence of green autotrophic organisms is determined primarily by the area of penetration of sunlight.
6. space energy causes the pressure of life, which is achieved by reproduction. The reproduction of organisms decreases as their number increases.
7. Forms of finding chemical elements: rocks and minerals, magmas, trace elements, living matter. The earth's crust is a complex mechanism where atoms and molecules are constantly moving, various geochemical cycles occur, determined to a large extent by the activity of living matter. The law of frugality in the use of simple chemical bodies by living matter: once an element enters, it goes through a long series of states, and the organism introduces into itself only the required number of elements.
8. Life on Earth is completely determined by the field sustainability of green vegetation. The limits of life are determined by the physicochemical properties of the compounds that build the body, their indestructibility under certain environmental conditions. The maximum field of life is determined by the extreme limits of the survival of organisms. The upper limit of life is due to radiant energy, the presence of which excludes life and from which the ozone layer protects. The lower limit is associated with reaching a high temperature. The interval of 432 °С (from -252 to +180 °С) is the maximum thermal shield.
9. The principle of 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 (1.5-10 18 kg and 10 17 -10 18 kg). The rate of transmission of life cannot exceed limits that violate the properties of gases. There is a struggle for the necessary gas.
10. Every system reaches a position of stable equilibrium
this, when its free energy is equal to zero or approaches
to it, i.e., when all the work possible under the conditions of the system
exhausted. The concept of stable equilibrium is extremely important.
anthropic principle, put forward by G. M. Idlis (1958), is associated with the first of the principles of Vernadsky listed here and consists in the exact correspondence of the values of world constants with the possibilities of the existence of life. The amazing consistency of a number of quantities gives the impression that there may be a hidden principle ordering the entire Universe. To that
In fact, many people applied. Now it is formulated in two versions - weak and strong. As the famous American physicist J. Dyson put it: “If we look at the Universe and see how many accidents have served us well, it almost seems that the Universe knew that we would appear.” This is one of the formulations of the weak principle, in English literature- WAP. But it does not answer many questions, such as why the universe is such that it allowed the origin of life. Or maybe it is not necessary to create theories that do not allow the existence of an observer? A strong principle is that the emergence of life is natural in the Universe, but perhaps the appearance of an observer is the goal of the evolution of the Universe?
The geological role of the living Vernadsky classified into five categories: energy, concentration, destructive, environment-forming, transport. Living organisms create the migration of chemical elements in the biosphere through their respiration, nutrition, metabolism, continuous change of generations. The biogeochemical energy of the living is the source of energy for the transformation of the geospheres.