Meaning of Environment?
An Environment is everything that is around us, which includes both living and nonliving things such as soil, water, animals, and plants, which adapt themselves to their surroundings. It is nature’s gift that helps in nourishing life on Earth.
The environment plays an important role in the existence of life on the planet Earth. The word Environment is derived from the French word “Environ,” which means “surrounding.” An ecosystem refers to all the living and non-living things present in the environment, and it is a foundation of the Biosphere, which determines the health of the entire planet Earth.
Ecology and Environmental science are branches of life science that mainly deal with the study of organisms and their interactions with other organisms and their environment.
Types of Ecosystems
There are two main types of ecosystems. Listed below
- Natural – It is a naturally produced biological environment found in nature. It includes deserts, forests, grasslands, lakes, mountains, ponds, rivers, oceans, etc.
- Artificial – It is an artificial environment that is created and maintained by man. It includes an aquarium, crop fields, gardens, parks, zoos, etc.
The components of the environment are mainly divided into two categories.
- Biotic environment–It includes all living organisms such as animals, birds, forests, insects, reptiles, and microorganisms like algae, bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc.
- Abiotic environment– It includes all non-living components such as air, clouds, dust, land, mountains, rivers, temperature, humidity, water, water vapour, sand, etc.
