All substances on the planet are in the process of circulation. Solar energy causes two cycles of matter on Earth: large (geological, biospheric) and small (biological).

The large circulation of substances in the biosphere is characterized by two important points: it is carried out throughout the entire geological development Earth and is a modern planetary process that takes a leading part in the further development of the biosphere.

The geological cycle is associated with the formation and destruction of rocks and the subsequent movement of destruction products - detrital material and chemical elements. A significant role in these processes was played and continues to be played by the thermal properties of the surface of land and water: the absorption and reflection of sunlight, thermal conductivity and heat capacity. The unstable hydrothermal regime of the Earth's surface, together with the planetary atmospheric circulation system, determined the geological circulation of substances, which at the initial stage of the Earth's development, along with endogenous processes, was associated with the formation of continents, oceans and modern geospheres. With the formation of the biosphere, the products of vital activity of organisms were included in the great cycle. The geological cycle supplies living organisms with nutrients and largely determines the conditions for their existence.

Main chemical elements lithospheres: oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, magnesium, sodium, potassium and others - participate in a large circulation, passing from the deep parts of the upper mantle to the surface of the lithosphere. The igneous rock that arose during the crystallization of magma, having arrived on the surface of the lithosphere from the depths of the Earth, undergoes decomposition and weathering in the biosphere. Weathering products pass into a mobile state, are carried by water and wind to low relief places, fall into rivers, the ocean and form thick strata of sedimentary rocks, which, over time, sinking to depth in areas with elevated temperature and pressure, undergo metamorphosis, i.e., "remelt". During this remelting, a new metamorphic rock appears, entering the upper horizons of the earth's crust and re-entering the circulation of substances. (rice.).

Easily mobile substances - gases and natural waters that make up the atmosphere and hydrosphere of the planet - undergo the most intensive and rapid circulation. The material of the lithosphere cycles much more slowly. In general, each circulation of any chemical element is part of the general large circulation of substances on Earth, and all of them are closely interconnected. The living matter of the biosphere in this cycle does a great job of redistributing the chemical elements that are constantly circulating in the biosphere, passing from the external environment into organisms and again into external environment.

Small, or biological, circulation of substances- this is

circulation of substances between plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms and soil. The essence of the biological cycle is the flow of two opposite, but interrelated processes - the creation of organic substances and their destruction. First stage The emergence of organic substances is due to the photosynthesis of green plants, i.e., the formation of living matter from carbon dioxide, water, and simple mineral compounds using solar energy. Plants (producers) extract molecules of sulfur, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, silicon, aluminum, zinc, copper and other elements from the soil in a solution. Herbivorous animals (consumers of the first order) absorb compounds of these elements already in the form of food of plant origin. Predators (consumers of the second order) feed on herbivorous animals, consuming food of a more complex composition, including proteins, fats, amino acids and other substances. In the process of destruction by microorganisms (decomposers) of organic substances of dead plants and animal remains, simple mineral compounds enter the soil and aquatic environment, available for assimilation by plants, and the next round of the biological cycle begins. (Fig. 33).

The emergence and development of the noosphere

The evolution of the organic world on Earth has gone through several stages. The first is associated with the emergence of the biological cycle of substances in the biosphere. The second was accompanied by the formation multicellular organisms. These two stages are called biogenesis. The third stage is associated with the appearance human society, under the influence of which in modern conditions the evolution of the biosphere and its transformation into the sphere of the mind-noosphere (from gr.-mind,-ball) takes place. Noosphere - a new state of the biosphere, when reasonable activity a person becomes the main factor that determines its development. The term "noosphere" was introduced by E. Leroy. VI Vernadsky deepened and developed the doctrine of the noosphere. He wrote: "The noosphere is a new geological phenomenon on our planet. In it, man becomes a major geological force." V. I. Vernadsky singled out the necessary prerequisites for the creation of the noosphere: 1. Humanity has become a single whole. 2. The possibility of instantaneous information exchange. 3. Real equality of people. 6. Exclusion of wars from the life of society. The creation of these prerequisites becomes possible as a result of the explosion of scientific thought in the twentieth century.

Topic - 6. Nature - man: a systematic approach. The purpose of the lecture: To form a holistic view of the system postulates of ecology.

Main questions: 1. The concept of the system and complex biosystems. 2. Features of biological systems. 3. System postulates: the law of universal communication, environmental laws B. Commoner, Law big numbers, Le Chatelier's principle, The law of feedback in nature and the law of constancy of the amount of living matter. 4. Models of interactions in systems " nature is man” and “man-economy-biota-environment”.

The ecological system is the main object of ecology. Ecology is systemic in its essence and in its theoretical form is close to the general theory of systems. According to the general theory of systems, a system is a real or conceivable set of parts, the integral properties of which are determined by the interaction between the parts (elements) of the system. In real life, a system is defined as a collection of objects brought together by some form of regular interaction or interdependence to perform a given function. In the material there are certain hierarchies - ordered sequences of spatio-temporal subordination and complication of systems. All the varieties of our world can be represented as three sequentially emerged hierarchies. This is the main, natural, physico-chemical-biological (P, X, B) hierarchy and two side ones that arose on its basis, social (S) and technical (T) hierarchies. The existence of the latter in terms of the set of feedbacks in a certain way affects the main hierarchy. Combining systems from different hierarchies leads to "mixed" classes of systems. Thus, the combination of systems from the physico-chemical part of the hierarchy (F, X - "environment") with living systems of the biological part of the hierarchy (B - "biota") leads to a mixed class of systems called ecological. A union of systems from hierarchies C

("man") and T ("technology") leads to a class of economic, or technical and economic, systems.

Rice. . Hierarchies material systems:

F, X - physical and chemical, B - biological, C - social, T - technical

It should be clear that the impact of human society on nature, reflected in the diagram, mediated by technology and technologies (technogenesis), refers to the entire hierarchy of natural systems: the lower branch - to the abiotic environment, the upper - to the biota of the biosphere. Below we will consider the contingency of the environmental and technical and economic aspects of this interaction.

All systems have some common properties:

1. Each system has a specific structure, determined by the form of space-time connections or interactions between the elements of the system. Structural order alone does not determine the organization of a system. The system can be called organized if its existence is either necessary to maintain some functional (performing certain work) structure, or, on the contrary, depends on the activity of such a structure.

2. According to the principle of necessary diversity the system cannot consist of identical elements devoid of individuality. The lower limit of diversity is at least two elements (proton and electron, protein and nucleic acid, "he" and "she"), the upper limit is infinity. Diversity is the most important information characteristic of the system. It differs from the number of varieties of elements and can be measured. 3. The properties of a system cannot be comprehended only on the basis of the properties of its parts. It is the interaction between the elements that is decisive. It is not possible to judge the operation of the machine from the individual parts of the machine before assembly. Studying separately some forms of fungi and algae, it is impossible to predict the existence of their symbiosis in the form of a lichen. The combined effect of two or more different factors on an organism is almost always different from the sum of their separate effects. The degree of irreducibility of the properties of the system to the sum of the properties of the individual elements of which it consists determines emergence systems.

4. Allocation of the system divides its world into two parts - the system itself and its environment. Depending on the presence (absence) of the exchange of matter, energy and information with the environment, the following are fundamentally possible: isolated systems (no exchange possible); closed systems (impossible exchange of matter); open systems (matter and energy exchange is possible). The exchange of energy determines the exchange of information. In nature, there are only open dynamic systems, between internal elements which and the elements of the environment carry out the transfer of matter, energy and information. Any living system- from the virus to the biosphere - is an open dynamic system.

5. Predominance internal interactions in the system over external ones and the lability of the system in relation to external
actions define it self-preservation ability thanks to the qualities of organization, endurance and stability. An external influence on a system that exceeds the strength and flexibility of its internal interactions leads to irreversible changes.
and death of the system. The stability of a dynamic system is maintained by its continuous external cyclic work. This requires the flow and transformation of energy into this. topic. The probability of achieving the main goal of the system - self-preservation (including through self-reproduction) is defined as its potential efficiency.

6. The action of the system in time is called it behavior. The change in behavior caused by an external factor is denoted as reaction system, and a change in the reaction of the system, associated with a change in structure and aimed at stabilizing behavior, as its fixture, or adaptation. Consolidation of adaptive changes in the structure and connections of the system in time, in which its potential efficiency increases, is considered as development, or evolution, systems. The emergence and existence of all material systems in nature is due to evolution. Dynamic systems evolve in the direction from more probable to less probable organization, i.e. development proceeds along the path of complication of the organization and formation of subsystems in the structure of the system. In nature, all forms of system behavior - from elementary reaction before global evolution - essentially non-linear. An important feature of the evolution of complex systems is
unevenness, lack of monotony. Periods of gradual accumulation of minor changes are sometimes interrupted by sharp qualitative jumps that significantly change the properties of the system. They are usually associated with the so-called bifurcation points- bifurcation, splitting of the former path of evolution. A lot depends on the choice of one or another continuation of the path at the bifurcation point, up to the emergence and prosperity of a new world of particles, substances, organisms, societies, or, conversely, the death of the system. Even for decision systems the choice result is often unpredictable, and the choice itself at the bifurcation point may be due to a random impulse. Any real system can be presented in the form of some material similarity or symbolic image, i.e. respectively analog or sign system model. Modeling is inevitably accompanied by some simplification and formalization of the relationships in the system. This formalization can be
implemented in the form of logical (causal) and/or mathematical (functional) relationships. As the complexity of systems increases, they acquire new emergent qualities. At the same time, the qualities of simpler systems are preserved. Therefore, the overall diversity of the qualities of the system increases as it becomes more complex (Fig. 2.2).

Rice. 2.2. Patterns of changes in the properties of system hierarchies with an increase in their level (according to Fleishman, 1982):

1 - diversity, 2 - stability, 3 - emergence, 4 - complexity, 5 - non-identity, 6 - prevalence

In order of increasing activity in relation to external influences, the qualities of the system can be ordered in the following sequence: 1 - stability, 2 - reliability due to awareness of the environment (noise immunity), 3 - controllability, 4 - self-organization. In this series, each subsequent quality makes sense in the presence of the previous one.

Steam Difficulty system structure is determined by the number P its elements and the number t

connections between them. If in any system the number of private discrete states is investigated, then the complexity of the system FROM is determined by the logarithm of the number of bonds:

C=logm.(2.1)

Systems are conditionally classified by complexity as follows: 1) systems with up to a thousand states (O <С < 3), относятся к simple; 2) systems with up to a million states (3< С < 6), являют собой complex systems; 3) systems with more than a million states (C > 6) are identified as very complex.

All real natural biosystems are very complex. Even in the structure of a single virus, the number of biologically significant molecular states exceeds the latter value.

Biological (small) cycle - the circulation of substances between plants, wildlife, microorganisms and soil. Its basis is photosynthesis, i.e., the transformation by green plants and special microorganisms of the radiant energy of the Sun into the energy of chemical bonds of organic substances. Photosynthesis caused the appearance of oxygen on Earth with the help of green organisms, the ozone layer and the conditions for biological evolution.[ ...]

The small biological cycle of substances is of particular importance in soil formation, since it is the interaction of biological and geological cycles that underlies the soil-forming process.[ ...]

The nitrogen cycle is currently heavily impacted by humans. On the one hand, the mass production of nitrogen fertilizers and their use lead to excessive accumulation of nitrates. Nitrogen supplied to the fields in the form of fertilizers is lost due to crop alienation, leaching and denitrification. On the other hand, when the rate of conversion of ammonia to nitrates decreases, ammonium fertilizers accumulate in the soil. It is possible to suppress the activity of microorganisms as a result of soil contamination with industrial waste. However, all these processes are rather local in nature. Much more important is the release of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere when fuel is burned at thermal power plants and in transport. Nitrogen "fixed" in industrial emissions is toxic, in contrast to biologically fixed nitrogen. By natural processes, nitrogen oxides appear in the atmosphere in small quantities as intermediate products, but in cities and industrial areas, their concentrations become dangerous. They irritate the respiratory organs, and under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, reactions occur between nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons with the formation of highly toxic and carcinogenic compounds.[ ...]

Cycles as a form of movement of matter are also inherent in the biostrome, but here they acquire their own characteristics. The horizontal cycle is represented by a triad: birth - reproduction - death (decomposition); vertical - the process of photosynthesis. Both of them, in the formulation of A. I. Perelman (1975), find unity in a small biological cycle: “... chemical elements in the landscape make cycles, during which they repeatedly enter living organisms (“organize themselves”) and leave them ( “mineralized”)”2.[ ...]

The biological (biotic) cycle is a phenomenon of continuous, cyclic, regular, but uneven in time and space redistribution of matter, energy1 and information within ecological systems of various hierarchical levels of organization - from biogeocenosis to the biosphere. The circulation of substances on the scale of the entire biosphere is called a large circle (Fig. 6.2), and within a specific biogeocenosis - a small circle of biotic exchange.[ ...]

Any biological cycle is characterized by the repeated inclusion of atoms chemical elements into the bodies of living organisms and their release into the environment, from where they are again captured by plants and involved in the cycle. A small biological cycle is characterized by capacity - the number of chemical elements that are simultaneously in the composition of living matter in a given ecosystem, and speed - the amount of living matter formed and decomposed per unit time.[ ...]

The small biological cycle of substances is based on the processes of synthesis and destruction of organic compounds with the participation of living matter. Unlike a large one, a small cycle is characterized by an insignificant amount of energy.[ ...]

On the contrary, the biological circulation of matter takes place within the boundaries of the inhabited biosphere and embodies unique properties living matter of the planet. Being part of a large, small cycle is carried out at the level of biogeocenosis, it consists in the fact that the nutrients of the soil, water, carbon accumulate in the substance of plants, are spent on building the body and life processes of both themselves and consumer organisms. The decomposition products of organic matter by soil microflora and mesofauna (bacteria, fungi, molluscs, worms, insects, protozoa, etc.) are again decomposed into mineral components, again available to plants and therefore again involved by them in the flow of matter.[ ...]

The described circulation of substances on Earth, supported by solar energy - the circular circulation of substances between plants, microorganisms, animals and other living organisms - is called the biological cycle of substances, or a small cycle. The time of complete metabolism of a substance in a small cycle depends on the mass of this substance and the intensity of the processes of its movement through the cycle and is estimated at several hundred years.[ ...]

There are large and small - (biological) cycles of matter in nature, the water cycle.[ ...]

Despite the relatively small thickness of the water vapor layer in the atmosphere (0.03 m), it is atmospheric moisture that plays the main role in water circulation and its biogeochemical cycle. In general, for the entire globe there is one source of water inflow - precipitation - and one source of flow - evaporation, which is 1030 mm per year. In the life of plants, a huge role of water belongs to the implementation of the processes of photosynthesis (the most important link in the biological cycle) and transpiration. Evapotranspiration, or the mass of water evaporated by woody or herbaceous vegetation, the soil surface, plays an important role in the water cycle on the continents. Groundwater, penetrating through the tissues of plants in the process of transpiration, brings mineral salts necessary for the vital activity of the plants themselves.[ ...]

On the basis of a large geological cycle, a cycle of organic substances arose - a small one, which is based on the processes of synthesis and destruction of organic compounds. These two processes provide life on Earth. The energy of the biological cycle is only 1% captured by the Earth solar energy, but it is she who does the enormous work of creating living matter.[ ...]

Solar energy provides two cycles of matter on Earth: geological, or large, and small, biological (biotic).[ ...]

The destabilization of the nitrification process disrupts the entry of nitrates into the biological cycle, the amount of which predetermines the response to a change in the habitat in the complex of denitrifiers. Enzyme systems of denitrifiers reduce the rate of complete recovery, less involving nitrous oxide in the final stage, the implementation of which requires significant energy costs. As a result, the content of nitrous oxide in the above ground atmosphere of eroded ecosystems reached 79 - 83% (Kosinova et al., 1993). The alienation of some organic matter from chernozems under the influence of erosion is reflected in the replenishment of the nitrogen fund in the course of photo- and heterotrophic nitrogen fixation: aerobic and anaerobic. Early stages of erosion rapidly it is precisely anaerobic nitrogen fixation that is suppressed due to the parameters of the labile part of organic matter (Khaziev and Bagautdinov, 1987). The activity of invertase and catalase enzymes in highly eroded chernozems decreased by more than 50% compared to non-eroded chernozems. In gray forest soils, as their washout increases, the invertase activity decreases most sharply. If in slightly eroded soils there is a gradual attenuation of activity with depth, then in heavily eroded soils, invertase activity is very low or not detected already in the subsurface layer. The latter is associated with the emergence of illuvial horizons with extremely low enzyme activity on the day surface. According to the activity of phosphatase and, especially, catalase, no clear dependence on the degree of soil erosion was observed (Lichko, 1998).[ ...]

Landscape geochemistry reveals the hidden, most profound side of the small geographical circulation of matter and energy. The concept of a small geographic circulation has not yet been sufficiently developed in physical geography. AT general view it can be represented as a multi-stringed not completely closed circular flow, consisting of incoming and radiated heat, the biological cycle of chemical elements, a small water cycle (precipitation - evaporation, ground and underground runoff and inflow), aeolian migration - bringing in and removal - mineral matter. [...]

The weakening of the sod process of soil formation is due to the low intensity of the biological cycle, low productivity of vegetation. Annual litter with a total biomass of about Yut/ha does not exceed 0.4-0.5 t/ha. The bulk of the litter is represented by root residues. About 70 kg/ha of nitrogen and 300 kg/ha of ash elements are involved in the biological cycle.[ ...]

Tropical rainforests are fairly ancient climax ecosystems in which nutrient cycling has been brought to perfection - they are little lost and immediately enter the biological cycle carried out by mutualistic organisms and shallow, for the most part airy, with powerful mycorrhiza, tree roots. It is thanks to this that forests grow so luxuriantly on scarce soils.[ ...]

The formation of the chemical composition of the soil is carried out under the influence of a large geological and small biological cycle of substances in nature. The most easily removed from the soil are elements such as chlorine, bromine, iodine, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, sodium.[ ...]

Due to the highest activity of biogeochemical processes and the colossal volumes and scales of the circulation of substances, biologically significant chemical elements are in constant cyclic motion. According to some estimates, if we assume that the biosphere has existed for at least 3.5-4 billion years, then all the water of the World Ocean has passed through the biogeochemical cycle at least 300 times, and the free oxygen of the atmosphere - at least 1 million times. The cycle of carbon occurs in 8 years, nitrogen in 110 years, oxygen in 2500 years. The main mass of carbon concentrated in the carbonate deposits of the ocean floor (1.3 x 1016 t), other crystalline rocks (1 x 1016 t), coal and oil (0.34 x 1016 t), participates in a large cycle. Carbon contained in plant (5 x 10 mt) and animal tissues (5 x 109 mt) participates in a small cycle (biogeochemical cycle).[ ...]

However, on land, in addition to the precipitation brought from the ocean, evaporation and precipitation occur along the water cycle, which is closed on land. If the biota of the continents did not exist, then these additional land precipitation would be much less than the precipitation brought from the ocean. Only the formation of vegetation cover and soil leads to a large amount of evaporation from the land surface. With the formation of vegetation cover, water accumulates in the soil, plants and the continental part of the atmosphere, which leads to an increase in the closed circulation on land. At present, precipitation on land is, on average, three times higher than river runoff. Consequently, only one third of precipitation is brought from the ocean and more than two thirds is provided by the closed water cycle on land. Thus, water on land becomes biologically accumulative, the main part of the water regime of land is formed by biota and can be regulated biologically.[ ...]

It is convenient to identify some of the main features of the manifestation of the first and second forces, based on the idea of ​​the action of matter cycles on Earth: large - geological (geocircle) and small - biological (biocircle from).[ ...]

The plant communities of the southern taiga are more resistant to chemical pollution than those of the northern taiga. The low stability of the northern taiga cenoses is due to their low species diversity and simpler structure, the presence of species sensitive to chemical pollution (mosses and lichens), low productivity and capacity of the biological cycle, and less ability to recover.[ ...]

However, any ecosystem, regardless of size, includes a living part (biocenosis) and its physical, that is, inanimate, environment. At the same time, small ecosystems are part of ever larger ones, up to global ecosystem Earth. Similarly, the general biological cycle of matter on the planet also consists of the interaction of many smaller, private cycles.[ ...]

Soil is an integral component of terrestrial biogeocenoses. It carries out conjugation (interaction) of large geological and small biological cycles of substances. Soil is a natural formation that is unique in the complexity of its material composition. Soil matter is represented by four physical phases: solid (mineral and organic particles), liquid (soil solution), gaseous (soil air) and living (organisms). Soils are characterized by a complex spatial organization and differentiation of features, properties and processes.[ ...]

According to the first corollary, we can only count on low-waste production. Therefore, the first stage in the development of technologies should be their low resource intensity (both at the input and at the output - frugality and insignificant emissions), the second stage will be the creation of a cyclical production (the waste of some can be raw materials for others) and the third - the organization of a reasonable disposal of inevitable residues and neutralization of irremovable energy waste. The idea that the biosphere works on the principle of non-waste is erroneous, since it always accumulates substances leaving the biological cycle that form sedimentary rocks.[ ...]

The essence of soil formation, according to V. R. Williams, is defined as the dialectical interaction of the processes of synthesis and decomposition of organic matter, which occurs in the system of a small biological cycle of substances.[ ...]

At different stages of the development of the biosphere, the processes in it were not the same, despite the fact that they followed similar patterns. The presence of a pronounced circulation of substances, according to the law of the global closure of the biogeochemical cycle, is mandatory property biosphere at any stage of its development. Probably, this is an immutable law of its existence. Particular attention should be paid to the increase in the share of the biological, and not the geochemical, component in the closure of the biogeochemical cycle of substances. If at the first stages of evolution the general biospheric cycle prevailed - a large biospheric circle of exchange (at first only within the aquatic environment, and then divided into two subcycles - land and ocean), then later it began to fragment. Instead of a relatively homogeneous biota, ecosystems appeared and became more and more deeply differentiated. different levels hierarchy and geographical dislocation. Bought importance small, biogeocenotic, exchange circles. The so-called "exchange of exchanges" arose - a harmonious system of biogeochemical cycles with the highest value of the biotic component.[ ...]

In mid-latitudes, the income of energy from the Sun is 48-61 thousand GJ/ha per year. When making additional energy more than 15 GJ/ha per year, processes unfavorable for the environment occur - soil erosion and deflation, silting and pollution of small rivers, eutrophication of water bodies, violations of the biological cycle in ecosystems.[ ...]

The East Siberian region is characterized by severe winters with little snow and mainly summer precipitation, which washes the soil layer. As a result, in the East Siberian chernozems, a periodic flushing regime takes place. The biological cycle is suppressed by low temperatures. As a result, the content of humus in the Trans-Baikal chernozems is low (4-9%) and the thickness of the humus horizon is small. The content of carbonates is very low or absent. Therefore, the chernozems of the East Siberian group are called low-carbonate and non-carbonate (for example, leached low-carbonate or non-carbonate chernozems, ordinary low-carbonate chernozems).[ ...]

Most minor elements at concentrations common in many natural ecosystems have little effect on organisms, perhaps because organisms have adapted to them. Thus, the migrations of these elements were of little interest to us, if the environment did not get into the environment too often. by-products mining industry, various industries, chemical industry and modern Agriculture, products containing high concentrations of heavy metals, toxic organic compounds and other potentially hazardous substances. Even more rare element, if it is introduced into the environment in the form of a highly toxic metal compound or a radioactive isotope, it can acquire important biological significance, since even a small (from a geochemical point of view) amount of such a substance can have a pronounced biological effect.[ ...]

Chemical nature vitamins and other growth-stimulating organic compounds, as well as the need for them in humans and domestic animals, have long been known; however, research on these substances at the ecosystem level has just begun. The content of organic nutrients in water or soil is so low that they should be called "micronutrients" as opposed to "macronutrients" such as nitrogen and "micronutrients" such as "trace" metals (see Chapter 5). Often the only way to measure their content is a biological sample: special strains of microorganisms are used, the growth rate of which is proportional to the concentration of organic nutrients. As emphasized in the previous section, the role of a particular substance and the rate of its flow cannot always be judged by its concentration. It is now becoming clear that organic nutrients play an important role in community metabolism and that they may be a limiting factor. This most interesting area of ​​research will undoubtedly attract the attention of scientists in the near future. The following description of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) cycling, taken from Provasoli (1963), shows how little we know about organic nutrient cycling.[ ...]

V.R. Williams (1863-1939) developed the doctrine of the factors of agriculture. According to the first law of agriculture, none of the factors of plant life can be replaced by another. And, besides, all the factors of plant life, of course, are equivalent (the second law). Let's highlight it important idea that the soil is the result of the interaction of a small - biological and large - geological cycle of matter.[ ...]

V. R. Williams closely connected his positions in the field of genetic soil science and the study of soil fertility with practical matters agriculture and put them in the basis of the grass-field system of agriculture. The most important and original views were expressed by V. R. Williams on the role of living organisms in soil formation, on the essence of the soil formation process and the nature of individual specific processes, on the small biological cycle of substances, on soil fertility, soil humus and soil structure.[ ...]

These approaches are essentially related as a strategy and tactics, as a choice of long-term behavior and a measure of first-priority decisions. They cannot be separated: pollution human environment environment harms other organisms and wildlife in general, and the degradation of natural systems weakens their ability to naturally cleanse the environment. But it should always be understood that it is impossible to preserve the quality of the human environment without the participation of natural ecological mechanisms. Even if we master low-polluting technologies, we will not achieve anything if at the same time we do not stop preventing nature from regulating the composition of the environment, purifying it and making it habitable. The cleanest technologies and the most advanced environmental protection devices will not save us if deforestation continues, diversity decreases species disrupt the cycle of substances in nature. It should be emphasized that from an ecological point of view, the concept of “protection” is flawed from the very beginning, since activities should be built in such a way as to prevent all effects and results from which one would have to “protect” later.[ ...]

About 99% of all matter in the biosphere is transformed by living organisms, and the total biomass of the living matter of the Earth is estimated at only 2.4 1012 tons of dry matter, which is 10-9 part of the mass of the Earth. The annual reproduction of biomass is about 170 billion tons of dry matter. The total biomass of plant organisms is 2500 times greater than that of animals, but the species diversity of the zoosphere is 6 times richer than that of the phytospheres. If we lay out all living organisms in one layer, then a biological cover with a thickness of only 5 mm would form on the surface of the Earth. But despite the small size of the biota, it is it that determines the local conditions on the surface of the earth's crust. Its existence is responsible for the appearance of free oxygen in the atmosphere, the formation of soils and the cycle of elements in nature.[ ...]

We have already described mushrooms above, and we actually call its fruiting body a mushroom, but this is only part huge organism. This is an extensive network of microscopic fibers (reefs), which is called mycelium (mycelium) and penetrates detritus, mainly wood, leaf litter, etc. Mycelium, as it grows, releases a significant number of enzymes that decompose wood to a state ready for use, and gradually, the mycelium completely decomposes dead wood. It is interesting, as B. Nebel (1993) writes, that fungi can be found on inorganic soil, since their mycelium is able to extract even very small concentrations of organic substances from its thickness. Bacteria function in a similar way, but at a microscopic level. Very important for maintaining the stability of the biological cycle is the ability of fungi and some bacteria to form huge amounts of spores (reproductive cells). These microscopic particles are carried by air currents in the atmosphere over very considerable distances, which allows them to spread everywhere and give viable offspring in any space in the presence of optimal conditions vital activity.

To endogenous processes include: magmatism, metamorphism (the action of high temperatures and pressure), volcanism, the movement of the earth's crust (earthquakes, mountain building).

To exogenous- weathering, the activity of atmospheric and surface water seas, oceans, animals, plant organisms, and especially man - technogenesis.

The interaction of internal and external processes forms great geological cycle of matter.

Endogenous processes form mountain systems, uplands, ocean trenches, with exogenous - there is a destruction of igneous rocks, the movement of destruction products into rivers, seas, oceans and the formation of sedimentary rocks. As a result of the movement of the earth's crust, sedimentary rocks sink into deep layers, undergo metamorphism processes (the action of high temperatures and pressure), and metamorphic rocks are formed. In deeper layers, they turn into molten ...
state (magmatization). Then, as a result of volcanic processes, they enter the upper layers of the lithosphere, on its surface in the form igneous rocks. So soil-forming rocks and various landforms are formed.

Rocks, from which the soil is formed, are called soil-forming or parent. According to the formation conditions, they are divided into three groups: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary.

Igneous rocks consist of compounds of silicon, Al, Fe, Mg, Ca, K, Na. Depending on the ratio of these compounds, acidic and basic rocks are distinguished.

Acid (granites, liparites, pegmatites) have a high content of silica (more than 63%), potassium and sodium oxides (7-8%), calcium and Mg oxides (2-3%). They are light and brown in color. The soils formed from such rocks have a loose structure, high acidity and are infertile.

The main igneous rocks (basalts, dunites, periodites) are characterized by a low content of SiO 2 (40-60%), an increased content of CaO and MgO (up to 20%), iron oxides (10-20%), Na 2 O and K 2 O less less than 30%.

The soils formed on the weathering products of the main rocks have an alkaline and neutral reaction, a lot of humus and high fertility.

Igneous rocks make up 95% of the total mass of rocks, but as soil-forming rocks they occupy small areas (in the mountains).

metamorphic rocks, are formed as a result of recrystallization of igneous and sedimentary rocks. These are marble, gneiss, quartz. They occupy a small proportion as soil-forming rocks.

Sedimentary rocks. Their formation is due to the processes of weathering of igneous and metamorphic rocks, the transfer of weathering products by water, glacial and air flows and deposition on the land surface, on the bottom of oceans, seas, lakes, in floodplains of rivers.

According to their composition, sedimentary rocks are subdivided into clastic, chemogenic and biogenic.

clastic deposits differ in the size of debris and particles: these are boulders, stones, gravel, crushed stone, sands, loams and clays.

Chemogenic deposits formed as a result of precipitation of salts from aqueous solutions in sea bays, lakes in hot climates or as a result of chemical reactions.

These include halides (rock and potassium salt), sulfates (gypsum, anhydride), carbonates (limestone, marl, dolomites), silicates, phosphates. Many of them are raw materials for the production of cement, chemical fertilizers, and are used as agricultural ores.

Biogenic deposits formed from accumulations of remains of plants and animals. These are: carbonate (biogenic limestones and chalk), siliceous (dolomite) and carbonaceous rocks (coals, peat, sapropel, oil, gas).

Main genetic types sedimentary rocks are:

1. Eluvial deposits- weathering products of rocks remaining on the sheet of their formation. The eluvium is located at the tops of the watersheds, where the washout is weakly expressed.

2. deluvial deposits- erosion products deposited by temporary streams of rain and melt water at the bottom of the slopes.

3. proluvial deposits- formed as a result of the transfer and deposition of weathering products by temporary mountain rivers and floods at the foot of the slopes.

4. Alluvial deposits- are formed as a result of the deposition of weathering products by river waters entering them with surface runoff.

5. Lacustrine deposits– bottom sediments of lakes. Silts with a high content of organic matter (15-20%) are called sapropels.

6. marine sediments- bottom sediments of the seas. During the retreat (transgression) of the seas, they remain as soil-forming rocks.

7. Glacial (glacial) or moraine deposits- products of weathering of various rocks, displaced and deposited by the glacier. This is an unsorted coarse clastic material of red-brown or gray color with inclusions of stones, boulders, pebbles.

8. Fluvioglacial (water-glacial) deposits temporary streams and closed reservoirs formed during the melting of the glacier.

9. Cover clays belong to extra-glacial deposits and are considered as deposits of shallow-water near-glacial floods of melt water. They overlap the madder from above with a layer of 3-5 m. They are yellow-brown in color, well sorted, do not contain stones and boulders. Soils on cover loams are more fertile than on madder.

10. Loesses and loess-like loams are characterized by pale yellow color, high content of silt and silty fractions, loose structure, high porosity, high content of calcium carbonates. Fertile gray forest, chestnut soils, chernozems and gray soils were formed on them.

11. Aeolian deposits formed as a result of the action of the wind. The destructive activity of the wind is composed of corrosion (honing, sanding of rocks) and deflation (blowing and transport by wind small particles soils). Both of these processes taken together constitute wind erosion.

Basic schemes, formulas, etc. illustrating the content: presentation with photographs of weathering types.

Questions for self-control:

1. What is weathering?

2. What is magmatization?

3. What is the difference between physical and chemical weathering?

4. What is the geological cycle of matter?

5. Describe the structure of the Earth?

6. What is magma?

7. What layers does the core of the Earth consist of?

8. What are breeds?

9. How are breeds classified?

10. What is loess?

11. What is a faction?

12. What characteristics are called organoleptic?

Main:

1. Dobrovolsky V.V. Geography of Soils with Fundamentals of Soil Science: Textbook for High Schools. - M .: Humanit. ed. Center VLADOS, 1999.-384 p.

2. Soil science / Ed. I.S. Kaurichev. M. Agropromiadat ed. 4. 1989.

3. Soil science / Ed. V.A. Kovdy, B.G. Rozanov in 2 parts M. Higher School 1988.

4. Glazovskaya M.A., Gennadiev A.I. Geography of Soils with Fundamentals of Soil Science, Moscow State University. 1995

5. Rode A.A., Smirnov V.N. Soil science. M. Higher School, 1972

Additional:

1. Glazovskaya M.A. General soil science and soil geography. M. High School 1981

2. Kovda V.A. Fundamentals of the doctrine of soils. M. Science. 1973

3. Liverovsky A.S. Soils of the USSR. M. Thought 1974

4. Rozanov B. G. Soil cover of the globe. M. ed. W. 1977

5. Aleksandrova L.N., Naydenova O.A. Laboratory and practical classes in soil science. L. Agropromizdat. 1985

The basis of self-sustaining life on Earth are biogeochemical cycles. All chemical elements used in the life processes of organisms make constant movements, moving from living bodies to compounds of inanimate nature and vice versa. The possibility of repeated use of the same atoms makes life on Earth practically eternal, provided that the right amount of energy is constantly supplied.

Types of cycles of substances. The biosphere of the Earth is characterized in a certain way by the existing circulation of substances and the flow of energy. Circulation of substances – multiple participation of substances in the processes occurring in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere, including those layers that are part of the Earth's biosphere. The circulation of substances is carried out with a continuous flow (flow) of the external energy of the Sun and the internal energy of the Earth.

Depending on the driving force, with a certain degree of conventionality, within the circulation of substances, one can distinguish geological, biological and anthropogenic cycles. Before the appearance of man on Earth, only the first two were carried out.

Geological cycle (great circulation of substances in nature) – circulation of substances driving force which are exogenous and endogenous geological processes.

Endogenous processes(processes of internal dynamics) occur under the influence of the internal energy of the Earth. This is the energy released as a result of radioactive decay, chemical reactions of the formation of minerals, crystallization of rocks, etc. Endogenous processes include: tectonic movements, earthquakes, magmatism, metamorphism. Exogenous processes(processes of external dynamics) proceed under the influence of the external energy of the Sun. Exogenous processes include the weathering of rocks and minerals, the removal of destruction products from some areas of the earth's crust and their transfer to new areas, the deposition and accumulation of destruction products with the formation of sedimentary rocks. Exogenous processes include the geological activity of the atmosphere, hydrosphere (rivers, temporary streams, groundwater, seas and oceans, lakes and swamps, ice), as well as living organisms and humans.

The largest landforms (continents and oceanic depressions) and large forms (mountains and plains) were formed due to endogenous processes, and medium and small landforms ( river valleys, hills, ravines, dunes, etc.), superimposed on larger forms, due to exogenous processes. Thus, endogenous and exogenous processes are opposite in their action. The former lead to the formation of large landforms, the latter to their smoothing.

Igneous rocks are transformed into sedimentary rocks as a result of weathering. In the mobile zones of the earth's crust, they plunge deep into the Earth. There under the influence high temperatures and pressure, they are remelted and form magma, which, rising to the surface and solidifying, forms igneous rocks.

Thus, the geological circulation of substances proceeds without the participation of living organisms and redistributes matter between the biosphere and the deeper layers of the Earth.

Biological (biogeochemical) cycle (small cycle of substances in the biosphere) – the cycle of substances, the driving force of which is the activity of living organisms. Unlike the large geological cycle, the small biogeochemical cycle of substances takes place within the biosphere. The main energy source of the cycle is solar radiation, which generates photosynthesis. In an ecosystem, organic substances are synthesized by autotrophs from inorganic substances. They are then consumed by heterotrophs. As a result of excretion during life activity or after the death of organisms (both autotrophs and heterotrophs), organic substances undergo mineralization, that is, transformation into inorganic substances. These inorganic substances can be reused for the synthesis of organic substances by autotrophs.

In biogeochemical cycles, two parts should be distinguished:

1) reserve fund - it is a part of a substance that is not associated with living organisms;

2) exchange fund - much minority substance that is directly exchanged between organisms and their immediate environment. Depending on the location of the reserve fund, biogeochemical cycles can be divided into two types:

1) Cycles of gas type with a reserve fund of substances in the atmosphere and hydrosphere (cycles of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen).

2) Sedimentary gyres with a reserve fund in the earth's crust (circulation of phosphorus, calcium, iron, etc.).

Cycles of the gas type are more perfect, as they have a large exchange fund, which means they are capable of rapid self-regulation. Sedimentary cycles are less perfect, they are more inert, since the bulk of the matter is contained in the reserve fund of the earth's crust in a form "inaccessible" to living organisms. Such cycles are easily disturbed by various kinds of influences, and part of the exchanged material leaves the cycle. It can return again to the circulation only as a result of geological processes or by extraction by living matter. However, it is much more difficult to extract the substances necessary for living organisms from the earth's crust than from the atmosphere.

The intensity of the biological cycle is primarily determined by temperature environment and the amount of water. So, for example, the biological cycle proceeds more intensively in humid tropical forests than in the tundra.

With the advent of man, an anthropogenic circulation, or metabolism, of substances arose. Anthropogenic cycle (exchange) – circulation (exchange) of substances, the driving force of which is human activity. It has two components: biological, associated with the functioning of man as a living organism, and technical, associated with the economic activities of people (technogenic cycle).

The geological and biological cycles are largely closed, which cannot be said about the anthropogenic cycle. Therefore, they often talk not about the anthropogenic cycle, but about the anthropogenic metabolism. The openness of the anthropogenic circulation of substances leads to exhaustion natural resources and environmental pollution the main causes of all environmental problems of mankind.

Cycles of the main nutrients and elements. Consider the cycles of the most significant substances and elements for living organisms. The water cycle belongs to the large geological, and the cycles of biogenic elements (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and other biogenic elements) - to the small biogeochemical.

The water cycle between land and ocean through the atmosphere refers to a large geological cycle. Water evaporates from the surface of the oceans and is either transferred to land, where it falls in the form of precipitation, which again returns to the ocean in the form of surface and underground runoff, or falls as precipitation to the surface of the ocean. More than 500 thousand km 3 of water annually participate in the water cycle on Earth. The water cycle as a whole plays a major role in shaping the natural conditions on our planet. Taking into account the transpiration of water by plants and its absorption in the biogeochemical cycle, the entire supply of water on Earth decays and is restored in 2 million years.

The carbon cycle. Producers capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into organic substances, consumers absorb carbon in the form of organic substances with the bodies of producers and consumers of lower orders, decomposers mineralize organic substances and return carbon to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. In the oceans, the carbon cycle is complicated by the fact that part of the carbon contained in dead organisms sinks to the bottom and accumulates in sedimentary rocks. This part of the carbon is excluded from the biological cycle and enters the geological cycle of substances.

Forests are the main reservoir of biologically bound carbon; they contain up to 500 billion tons of this element, which is 2/3 of its reserve in the atmosphere. Human intervention in the carbon cycle (burning of coal, oil, gas, dehumification) leads to an increase in the content of CO 2 in the atmosphere and the development of the greenhouse effect.

The CO 2 cycle rate, that is, the time it takes for all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to pass through living matter, is about 300 years.

The oxygen cycle. The oxygen cycle is mainly between the atmosphere and living organisms. Basically, free oxygen (0^) enters the atmosphere as a result of photosynthesis of green plants, and is consumed in the process of respiration by animals, plants and microorganisms and during the mineralization of organic residues. A small amount of oxygen is formed from water and ozone under the influence of ultraviolet radiation. A large amount of oxygen is spent on oxidative processes in the earth's crust, during volcanic eruptions, etc. The main share of oxygen is produced by land plants - almost 3/4, the rest - by photosynthetic organisms of the oceans. The cycle speed is about 2 thousand years.

It has been established that 23% of oxygen, which is formed in the process of photosynthesis, is consumed annually for industrial and domestic needs, and this figure is constantly increasing.

The nitrogen cycle. The stock of nitrogen (N 2) in the atmosphere is huge (78% of its volume). However, plants cannot absorb free nitrogen, but only in a bound form, mainly in the form of NH 4 + or NO 3 -. Free nitrogen from the atmosphere is bound by nitrogen-fixing bacteria and converted into forms available to plants. In plants, nitrogen is fixed in organic matter (in proteins, nucleic acids, etc.) and is transferred along food chains. After the death of living organisms, decomposers mineralize organic substances and convert them into ammonium compounds, nitrates, nitrites, as well as into free nitrogen, which is returned to the atmosphere.

Nitrates and nitrites are highly soluble in water and can migrate to groundwater and plants and be transferred through food chains. If their amount is excessively large, which is often observed with improper use of nitrogen fertilizers, then water and food are polluted and cause human diseases.

Phosphorus cycle. The bulk of phosphorus is contained in rocks formed in past geological epochs. Phosphorus is included in the biogeochemical cycle as a result of the weathering of rocks. In terrestrial ecosystems, plants extract phosphorus from the soil (mainly in the form of PO 4 3–) and include it in organic compounds (proteins, nucleic acids, phospholipids, etc.) or leave it in inorganic form. Further, phosphorus is transferred through the food chains. After the death of living organisms and with their secretions, phosphorus returns to the soil.

With improper use of phosphorus fertilizers, water and wind erosion of soils, large amounts of phosphorus are removed from the soil. On the one hand, this leads to an overconsumption of phosphorus fertilizers and depletion of reserves of phosphorus-containing ores (phosphorites, apatites, etc.). On the other hand, the flow from soil to water bodies large quantities such nutrients as phosphorus, nitrogen, sulfur, etc., causes the rapid development of cyanobacteria and other aquatic plants (“blooming” of water) and eutrophication reservoirs. But most of the phosphorus is carried away to the sea.

In aquatic ecosystems, phosphorus is taken up by phytoplankton and transferred through the food chain up to seabirds. Their excrement either immediately falls back into the sea, or first accumulates on the shore, and then is washed into the sea anyway. From dying marine animals, especially fish, phosphorus again enters the sea and into the cycle, but some of the skeletons of fish reach great depths, and the phosphorus contained in them again enters sedimentary rocks, that is, it is turned off from the biogeochemical cycle.

Sulfur cycle. The main reserve fund of sulfur is found in sediments and soil, but unlike phosphorus, there is a reserve fund in the atmosphere. The main role in the involvement of sulfur in the biogeochemical cycle belongs to microorganisms. Some of them are reducing agents, others are oxidizing agents.

In rocks, sulfur occurs in the form of sulfides (FeS 2, etc.), in solutions - in the form of an ion (SO 4 2–), in the gaseous phase in the form of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) or sulfur dioxide (SO 2). In some organisms, sulfur accumulates in its pure form, and when they die, deposits of native sulfur are formed at the bottom of the seas.

In terrestrial ecosystems, sulfur enters plants from the soil mainly in the form of sulfates. In living organisms, sulfur is found in proteins, in the form of ions, etc. After the death of living organisms, part of the sulfur is restored in the soil by microorganisms to H 2 S, the other part is oxidized to sulfates and is again included in the cycle. The resulting hydrogen sulfide escapes into the atmosphere, oxidizes there and returns to the soil with precipitation.

Human combustion of fossil fuels (especially coal), as well as emissions from the chemical industry, lead to the accumulation of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) in the atmosphere, which, reacting with water vapor, falls to the ground in the form of acid rain.

Biogeochemical cycles are not as large as geological cycles and are largely influenced by humans. Economic activity violates their isolation, they become acyclic.

The cycle of sulfur and phosphorus is a typical sedimentary bio-geochemical cycle. Such cycles are easily broken by various kinds of influences, and part of the exchanged material leaves the cycle. It can return again to the cycle only as a result of geological processes or by extracting biophilic components by living matter.[ ...]

The circulation of substances and the transformation of energy ensure the dynamic balance and stability of the biosphere as a whole and its individual parts. At the same time, in the general single cycle, the cycle of solid matter and water is distinguished, which occurs as a result of the action abiotic factors(large geological cycle), as well as a small biotic cycle of substances in solid, liquid and gaseous phases, occurring with the participation of living organisms.[ ...]

The carbon cycle. Carbon is probably one of the most frequently mentioned chemical elements when considering geological, biological, and in last years and technical problems.[ ...]

The circulation of substances is the repeated participation of substances in the processes occurring in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, including those of their layers that are part of the planet's biosphere. At the same time, two main cycles are distinguished: large (geological) and small (biogenic and biochemical).[ ...]

The geological and biological cycles are largely closed, which cannot be said about the anthropogenic cycle. Therefore, they often talk not about the anthropogenic cycle, but about the anthropogenic metabolism. The openness of the anthropogenic circulation of substances leads to the depletion of natural resources and pollution of the natural environment - the main causes of all environmental problems of mankind.[ ...]

Cycles of the main biogenic substances and elements. Consider the cycles of the most significant substances and elements for living organisms (Fig. 3-8). The water cycle belongs to a large geological one; and the cycles of biogenic elements (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and other biogenic elements) - to a small biogeochemical.[ ...]

The circulation of water between land and ocean through the atmosphere refers to a large geological cycle. Water evaporates from the surface of the oceans and is either transferred to land, where it falls in the form of precipitation, which again returns to the ocean in the form of surface and underground runoff, or falls as precipitation to the surface of the ocean. More than 500 thousand km3 of water participate in the water cycle on Earth every year. The water cycle as a whole plays a major role in shaping the natural conditions on our planet. Taking into account the transpiration of water by plants and its absorption in the biogeochemical cycle, the entire supply of water on Earth decays and is restored in 2 million years.[ ...]

Phosphorus cycle. The bulk of phosphorus is contained in rocks formed in past geological epochs. Phosphorus is included in the biogeochemical cycle as a result of weathering of rocks.[ ...]

Gas-type cycles are more perfect, as they have a large exchange fund, which means they are capable of rapid self-regulation. Sedimentary cycles are less perfect, they are more inert, since the bulk of the matter is contained in the reserve fund of the earth's crust in a form "inaccessible" to living organisms. Such cycles are easily disturbed by various kinds of influences, and part of the exchanged material leaves the cycle. It can return again to the circulation only as a result of geological processes or by extraction by living matter. However, it is much more difficult to extract the substances necessary for living organisms from the earth's crust than from the atmosphere.[ ...]

The geological cycle is clearly manifested in the example of the water cycle and atmospheric circulation. It is estimated that up to half of the energy coming from the Sun is used to evaporate water. Its evaporation from the Earth's surface is compensated by precipitation. At the same time, more water evaporates from the Ocean than returns with precipitation, and the opposite happens on land - more precipitation falls than water evaporates. Its excess flows into rivers and lakes, and from there - again into the Ocean. In the course of the geological cycle, the state of aggregation of water repeatedly changes (liquid; solid - snow, ice; gaseous - vapor). Its greatest circulation is observed in the vapor state. Along with water, in the geological cycle on a global scale, other elements are transferred from one place to another. minerals.[ ...]

The water cycle. At the beginning of the section, its geological circulation was considered. Basically, it comes down to the processes of evaporation of water from the surface of the Earth and the Ocean and precipitation on them. Within individual ecosystems, additional processes occur that complicate the large water cycle (interception, evapotranspiration and infiltration).[ ...]

Geological cycles. The mutual arrangement and outline of the continents and the ocean floor are constantly changing. Within the upper shells of the Earth, there is a continuous gradual replacement of some rocks by others, called the great circulation of matter. Geological processes of formation and destruction of mountains are the greatest energy processes in the Earth's biosphere.[ ...]

CIRCULATION OF SUBSTANCES (on Earth) - repeatedly repeated processes of transformation and movement of substances in nature, having a more or less cyclical nature. General K.v. consists of separate processes (the cycle of water, nitrogen, carbon, and other substances and chemical elements) that are not completely reversible, since the substance is dispersed, removed, buried, changed in composition, etc. There are biological, biogeochemical , geological Q.v., as well as cycles of individual chemical elements (Fig. 15) and water. Human activity at the present stage of development mainly increases the intensity of K.v. and exerts an influence commensurate in power with the scale of natural planetary processes.[ ...]

THE BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE is the movement and transformation of 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 more or less closed paths were called by V.I. Vernadsky “biogeochemical cycles.” These cycles can be divided into two main types: 1) circulation gaseous substances with a reserve fund in the atmosphere or hydrosphere (ocean) and 2) a sedimentary cycle with a reserve fund in the earth's crust. Living matter plays an active role in all biogeochemical cycles. On this occasion, V.I. Vernadsky (1965, p. 127) wrote: “Living matter covers and restructures all chemical processes of the biosphere, its effective energy is enormous. Living matter is the most powerful geological force, growing with the passage of time.” The main cycles include the cycles of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and biogenic cations. Below we consider as an example the main features of the cycle of typical biophilic elements (carbon, oxygen and phosphorus), which play an essential role in the life of the biosphere.[ ...]

The geological cycle (large circulation of substances in nature) is the cycle of substances, the driving force of which is exogenous and endogenous geological processes.[ ...]

because of geological changes On the face of the Earth, a part of the substance of the biosphere can be excluded from this circulation. For example, such biogenic sediments as coal, oil are preserved in the thickness of the earth's crust for many millennia, but in principle their re-inclusion into the biospheric cycle is not excluded.[ ...]

Knowledge of the cycles of matter on Earth is of great practical importance, since they significantly affect human life and, at the same time, are influenced by humans. The consequences of these impacts have become comparable to the results of geological processes. There are new ways of migration of elements, there are new chemical compounds, significantly change the rate of turnover of substances in the biosphere.[ ...]

The large circulation of substances in nature (geological) is due to the interaction of solar energy with deep energy Earth and redistributes substances between the biosphere and deeper horizons of the Earth. This circulation in the system “igneous rocks - sedimentary rocks - metamorphic rocks (transformed by temperature and pressure) - igneous rocks” occurs due to the processes of magmatism, metamorphism, lithogenesis and crustal dynamics (Fig. 6.2). The symbol of the circulation of substances is a spiral: each new cycle of circulation does not exactly repeat the old one, but introduces something new, which over time leads to very significant changes.[ ...]

A large geological cycle involves sedimentary rocks deep into the earth's crust, for a long time turning off the elements contained in them from the system of biological circulation. In the course of geological history, the transformed sedimentary rocks, once again on the surface of the Earth, are gradually destroyed by the activity of living organisms, water and air, and are again included in the biospheric cycle.[ ...]

Thus, the geological cycle of substances proceeds without the participation of living organisms and redistributes matter between the biosphere and more deep layers Earth.[ ...]

Thus, the geological cycle and circulation of rocks consists of: 1) weathering, 2) the formation of sediments, 3) the formation of sedimentary rocks, 4) metamorphism, 5) magmatization. The exit to the daytime surface of magma and the formation of igneous rocks repeats the whole cycle from the beginning. The full cycle can be interrupted at various stages (3 or 4) if, as a result of tectonic uplifts and denudation, rocks come to the surface and undergo repeated weathering.[ ...]

The geological activity of bacteria is of great importance. Bacteria take the most Active participation in the cycle of substances in nature, All organic compounds and a significant part of inorganic ones are subjected to this significant changes. And this circulation of substances is the basis for the existence of life on Earth.[ ...]

In the hydrosphere, the suspension of the carbon cycle is associated with the incorporation of CO2 into CaCO3 (limestone, chalk, corals). In this variant, carbon falls out of the circulation for entire geological epochs and is not included in the concept of the biospheric. However, the rise of organogenic rocks above sea level leads to the resumption of the carbon cycle due to the leaching of limestones and similar rocks by atmospheric precipitation, as well as biogenically - by the action of lichens, plant roots.[ ...]

The removal of part of the carbon from the natural cycle of the ecosystem and "reservation" in the form of fossil reserves of organic matter in the bowels of the Earth is important feature the process under consideration. In distant geological epochs, a significant part of the photosynthesized organic matter was not used by either consumers or decomposers, but accumulated in the form of detritus. Later, layers of detritus were buried under layers of various mineral sediments, where, under the influence of high temperatures and pressure, over millions of years they turned into oil, coal and natural gas(depending on the source material, duration and conditions of stay in the ground). Similar processes are taking place at the present time, but much less intensively. Their result is the formation of peat.[ ...]

CYCLE BIOGEOCHEMICAL [from gr. kyklos - circle], biogeochemical circulation - cyclic processes of exchange and transformation of a chemical element between the components of the biosphere (from inorganic form through living matter again to inorganic). It is performed using predominantly solar energy (iphotosynthesis) and partly the energy of chemical reactions (chemosynthesis). See Circulation of substances. Biological circulation of substances. Geological cycle of matter.[ ...]

All noted and many other geological processes remaining “behind the scenes”, grandiose in their end results, firstly, are interconnected and, secondly, are the main mechanism that ensures the development of the lithosphere, which continues to this day, its participation in the constant circulation and transformation of matter and energy, maintains the physical state of the lithosphere that we observe.[ .. .]

All these planetary processes on Earth are closely intertwined, forming a common, global cycle of substances that redistributes the energy coming from the sun. It is carried out through a system of small cycles. Tectonic processes are connected to large and small cycles, due to volcanic activity and the movement of oceanic plates in the earth's crust. As a result, a large geological cycle of substances is carried out on Earth.[ ...]

Soil is an integral component of terrestrial biogeocenoses. It carries out conjugation (interaction) of large geological and small biological cycles of substances. Soil is a natural formation that is unique in the complexity of its material composition. Soil matter is represented by four physical phases: solid (mineral and organic particles), liquid (soil solution), gaseous (soil air) and living (organisms). Soils are characterized by a complex spatial organization and differentiation of features, properties and processes.[ ...]

Thanks to the unceasing functioning of the “atmosphere-soil-plants-animals-microorganisms” system, a bio-geochemical cycle of many chemical elements and their compounds has developed, covering land, atmosphere and inland waters. 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 for many millions of years. geological significance.[ ...]

The biota of the biosphere determines the predominant part of the chemical transformations on the planet. Hence the judgment of V.I. Vernadsky about the enormous transformative geological role of living matter. During the course of organic evolution, living organisms a thousand times (for different cycles from 103 to 105) passed through themselves, through their organs, tissues, cells, blood, the entire atmosphere, the entire volume of the World Ocean, most of the soil mass, a huge mass of mineral substances. And they not only “missed it, but also modified the entire earthly environment in accordance with their needs.[ ...]

Of course, all non-renewable resources are exhaustible. These include the vast majority of fossils: mountain materials, ores, minerals that arose in the geological history of the Earth, as well as products of the ancient biosphere that fell out of the biotic cycle and buried in the depths - fossil fuels and sedimentary carbonates. Some mineral resources are still slowly formed during geochemical processes in the depths of the ocean, or on the surface of the earth's crust. With regard to minerals, the availability and quality of the resource, as well as the quantitative ratio between unknown but estimated resources (77), estimated potential (77), real explored (P) and operational (E) reserves, are of great importance, and usually N> P> P > E (Fig. 6.6).[ ...]

The study of the ocean as a physical and chemical system progressed much faster than its study as a biological system. Hypotheses about the origin and geological history of the oceans, initially speculative, have acquired a solid theoretical basis.[ ...]

Living organisms are, on the whole, a very powerful regulator of matter flows on the earth's surface, selectively retaining certain elements in the biological cycle. ’ Every year, 6-20 times more nitrogen is involved in the biological cycle than in the geological cycle, and 3-30 times more phosphorus; at the same time, sulfur, on the contrary, is involved 2-4 times more in the geological cycle than in the biological one (Table 4).[ ...]

A complex system feedback contributed not only to an increase in species differentiation, but also to the formation of certain natural complexes that have specific features depending on environmental conditions and the geological history of a particular part of the biosphere. Any combination in the biosphere of naturally interconnected organisms and inorganic components of the environment in which the circulation of substances is carried out is called an ecological system or ecosystem.[ ...]

Synthetic detergents (detergents, tensides). They constitute an extensive group of artificial surfactants, which are produced throughout the world in huge quantities. These substances in large volumes enter the geological environment with household sewage. Most of them do not belong to toxicants, however, synthetic detergents can destroy various ecosystems, disrupt natural processes geochemical circulation of substances in soils and underground waters.[ ...]

The main mass of carbon is accumulated in carbonate deposits of the ocean floor (1.3 - 101 Wt), crystalline rocks (1.0 1016 t), coal and oil (3.4 1015 t). It is this carbon that takes part in the slow geological cycle. Life on Earth and the gaseous balance of the atmosphere are supported by the relatively small amounts of carbon contained in plant (5 10 t) and animal (5 109 t) tissues participating in the small (biogenic) cycle. However, at present, a person is intensively closing the cycle of substances, including carbon. For example, it is estimated that the total biomass of all domestic animals already exceeds the biomass of all wild land animals. The areas of cultivated plants are approaching the areas of natural biogeocenoses, and many cultural ecosystems, in terms of their productivity, continuously increased by man, significantly exceed natural ones.[ ...]

Getting into water bodies with sewage, phosphate saturates, and sometimes oversaturates their ecological systems. Under natural conditions, phosphorus returns back to land practically only with droppings and after the death of fish-eating birds. Absolute majority phosphates forms bottom sediments, and the cycle enters its slowest phase. Only geological processes that have been going on for millions of years can actually raise oceanic phosphate deposits, after which it is possible to re-include phosphorus in the described cycle.[ ...]

The values ​​characterizing the annual removal of sediments from each continent are given in Table. 17. It is easy to see that the greatest loss of soil is characteristic of Asia - the continent with the most ancient civilizations and the strongest exploitation of the earth. Although the rate of the process is variable, during periods of minimum geological activity, the accumulation of dissolved mineral nutrients occurs in the lowlands and in the oceans at the expense of highlands. In this case, local biological mechanisms of return are of particular importance, due to which the loss of substances does not exceed their intake from the underlying rocks (this was discussed when considering the calcium cycle). In other words, the longer vital elements remain in a given area, being used again and again by successive generations of organisms, the less new material will be required from outside. Unfortunately, as we already noted in the section on phosphorus, people often disturb this balance, usually unintentionally, but simply because they do not fully understand the complexity of the symbiosis between life and inorganic matter that has developed over many millennia. For example, it is now assumed (although not yet proven) that dams that prevent salmon from entering rivers for spawning are reducing not only salmon, but also non-migratory fish, game, and even timber production in some northern parts of the Western United States. When salmon spawn and die in the depths of the mainland, they leave behind a supply of valuable nutrients returned from the sea. Removal of large amounts of wood from the forest (and the minerals it contains are not returned to the soil, unlike what happens in nature when fallen trees decompose), no doubt also impoverishes the uplands, usually in situations where the nutrient pool is without moreover poor.[ ...]

The fifth function is the biogeochemical activity of mankind, covering an ever-increasing amount of the substance of the earth's crust for the needs of industry, transport, and agriculture. This function takes special place in the history of the globe and deserves careful attention and study. Thus, the entire living population of our planet - living matter - is in a constant cycle of biophilic chemical elements. The biological cycle of substances in the biosphere is associated with a large geological cycle (Fig. 12.20).[ ...]

Another process that drives carbon is the formation of hummus by saprophages and the subsequent mineralization of the substance by fungi and bacteria. This is a very slow process, the speed of which is determined by the amount of oxygen, chemical composition soil, its temperature. With a lack of oxygen and high acidity, carbon accumulates in peat. Similar processes in distant geological epochs formed deposits of coal and oil, which stopped the process of carbon cycle.[ ...]

As an example, consider the environment-forming role of the forest ecosystem. Forest products and biomass are reserves of organic matter and stored energy created in the process of photosynthesis by plants. The intensity of photosynthesis determines the rate of absorption of carbon dioxide and release of oxygen into the atmosphere. Thus, during the formation of 1 ton of plant products, on average, 1.5-1.8 tons of CO2 are absorbed and 1.2-1.4 tons of 02 are released. Biomass, including dead organic matter, is the main reservoir of biogenic carbon. Part of this organic matter is removed from the cycle on long time, forming geological deposits.[ ...]

Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1863-1945) - a great Russian scientist, academician, founder of biogeochemistry and the doctrine of the biosphere. He is rightfully considered one of the greatest universalists of world science. Scientific interests of V.I. Vernadsky are extremely wide. He made a significant contribution to mineralogy, geochemistry, radiogeology, crystallography; conducted the first studies of the patterns of composition, structure and migration of interacting elements and structures of the earth's crust, hydrosphere and atmosphere. In 1923 he formulated a theory about the leading role of living organisms in geochemical processes. In 1926, in the book "Biosphere" by V.I. Vernadsky put forward new concept biosphere and the role of living matter in the cosmic and terrestrial circulation of matter. Transformations of nature as a result of human activity are seen by V.I. Vernadsky as a powerful planetary process (“Scientific thought as a geological phenomenon”, 1936) and as an opportunity for the biosphere to grow into the noosphere - the sphere of the mind.