Every organism on this earth requires a friendly external environment to sustain life. The environment is the totality of surroundings that includes both living and nonliving elements. Learn more about the topics related to the basics of environment to prepare for competitive exams.

• Nature maintains a delicate balance between the earth’s environment and living species. This is called the ecological balance. If this equilibrium is upset, the existence of life is likely to be harmed or even destroyed.
• There are biotic and abiotic resources that humans and other animals utilize to maintain life. Some of these resources are renewable while others are non-renewable. Keeping a check on anthropogenic activities that upset the natural balance is the need of the hour.

Definition of Environment

• Environment is defined as the sum total of biotic and abiotic factors in an organism’s surroundings.
• Biotic factors include other organisms, plants, microorganisms etc. that are living beings.
• The biotic elements include both autotrophs and heterotrophs. Autotrophs are plants that prepare food on their own for sustenance. Heterotrophs are animals and other beings that depend on plants and other animals for energy.
• Abiotic factors include elements like soil, wind, water, rain ect.

Learn more about the plant kingdom here.

Factors Sustaining Life

Water

• Water covers three-fourths of the earth’s surface.
• The majority of the water on Earth’s surface is found in the seas (97.25 %) and the polar ice caps and glaciers (2.05 %), with the remainder in freshwater lakes, rivers, and groundwater.
• Water makes up two-thirds of a living creature, and it also makes up 90% of cell composition. Hence it is essential for sustenance of life.

Read about the quality of water here.

Atmosphere

• The planet is surrounded by a gaseous atmosphere that allows life to exist.
• The earth’s atmosphere is composed mostly of nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%), with minor amounts of carbon dioxide, water vapour, ozone, and rare gases such as argon, neon, and others.
• During respiration, living organisms consume oxygen from the atmosphere. Oxygen is required to oxidise food in order to produce energy for numerous processes in living organisms. During photosynthesis, green plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Learn about the different layers of Earth’s Atmosphere here.

Carrying Capacity of Earth

• Every ecosystem’s carrying capacity is governed by the available resources and the system’s ability to cope with residual waste.
• The ability to extract resources such as raw materials, water, and human infrastructure without causing long-term environmental impact is referred to as supportive capacity.
• The ability to absorb a particular amount of waste without damage is referred to as assimilative capacity.
• The carrying capacity of a region is defined as the number of people who can be maintained by a unit quantity of land while absorbing the trash they produce. Thus, carrying capacity is made up of both supporting and assimilative capacity.

Environmental Cycles

Water Cycle

• The water cycle, also known as the hydrological cycle, is the continual movement of water on, above, and beneath the Earth’s surface.
• Water changes its form (vapour, liquid, ice) throughout the cycle. A series of energy exchanges along with the cycle influence the temperature and climate of the earth.

Here is an article on the water cycle here.

Carbon Cycle

• Carbon is a vital ingredient in all organic compounds. It is introduced into the biosphere through photosynthesis.
• Carbon is found in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up between 0.03 and 0.04 percent of the atmosphere’s total mass. Seawater contains carbon dioxide as well.

Also, check out other topics of People development and Environment, here.

We hope this article helped you learn more about the Basics of the Environment. Download the Testbook app for more exam preparation material.