NATURE

Nature, in its broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, material world or material
universe. The term refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. In
general, it does not include artificial objects or human intervention, unless it is qualified so as to
refer to it, for example, with expressions such as "human nature" or "the totality of nature".
Nature also is differentiated from the supernatural. It extends from the subatomic to the galactic
world.

The word "nature" comes from the Latin natura meaning "belonging to or relating to nature or
according to the quality or property of things", "natural character".

The "nature" is the dynamics and harmony of the set of living beings and inert matter in its wide
diversity in all its varieties and combinations through time and space, from climatic, seismic,
volcanic, geological, geographical activities and atmospheric.

The concept of nature as a whole - the physical universe - is a more recent concept that has
acquired an increasingly wider use with the development of the modern scientific method in
recent centuries.

Within the various current uses of this word, "nature" can refer to the general domain of various
types of living beings, such as plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes associated
with inanimate objects - the way in which the various particular types of things and their
spontaneous changes-, as well as the weather, the geology of the Earth and the matter and energy
that all these entities possess. Often, it is considered to mean "natural environment": wild
animals, rocks, forests, beaches, and in general all things that have not been substantially altered
by humans, or that persist despite human intervention. This more traditional concept of natural
things implies a distinction between the natural and the artificial (the latter understood as
something made by a human mind or conscience).
THE EARTH

The Earth is the fifth largest planet in the solar system and the third in order of distance from the
Sun. It is the largest of the telluric or inner planets and the only place in the universe where life is
known to exist.

The most prominent features of Earth's climate are its two great polar regions, two relatively
narrow temperate zones and a broad equatorial, tropical and subtropical region.4 Precipitation
patterns vary greatly depending on location, from several meters of water per year to less than a
millimeter. Approximately 70 percent of the earth's surface is covered by saltwater oceans. The
rest consists of continents and islands, with most of the habitable Earth being located in the
northern hemisphere.

The Earth has evolved through geological and biological processes that have left vestiges of the
original conditions. The external surface is fragmented into several tectonic plates that move very
slowly as the geological time advances (although at least several times in history they have
changed their position relatively quickly). The interior of the planet remains active, with a thick
layer of molten materials and a core rich in iron that generates a powerful magnetic field. The
atmospheric conditions have varied significantly from the original conditions due to the presence
of life forms, which create an ecological balance that stabilizes the surface conditions. Despite
large regional variations in climate due to latitude and other geographical factors, the long-term
average global climate is fairly accurately regulated, and variations of a degree or two in the
average global temperature have had very important effects on the ecological balance and in the
geography of the Earth.

Based on the available evidence, scientists have gathered detailed information about the planet's
past. It is believed that the Earth formed about 4550 million years ago from the protosolar nebula,
along with the Sun and other planets.6 The Moon formed relatively soon after (approximately 20
million years later, 4530 million years ago ). At first melted, the outer layer of the planet cooled,
giving rise to the solid crust. Gas emissions and volcanic activity formed the primary atmosphere.
The condensation of water vapor, together with the ice of the comets that at that time hit the
Earth, created the oceans.7 It is believed that the highly energetic chemistry produced a molecule
that self-multiplied approximately 4 billion years ago.

The continents were formed, separated and re-united for hundreds of millions of years,
sometimes combining to form a supercontinent. About 750 million years ago, the first known
supercontinent, Rodinia, began to fracture. Later, the continents re-united to form Pannotia,
which was divided approximately 540 million years ago. The last supercontinent we know is
Pangea, which began to break about 180 million years ago.
There is significant evidence, still discussed among the scientific community, that a severe ice age
during the Neoproterozoic covered much of the planet with a thick layer of ice. This hypothesis
has been called the "Snowball Earth", and is of special interest, since it precedes the Cambrian
explosion in which pluricellular life forms began to proliferate, 530-540 million years ago.

Since the Cambrian explosion there have been five major mass extinctions. The last massive
extinction took place approximately 65 million years ago, when probably the meteorite crash
caused the extinction of dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but not that of small animals such as
mammals, which at that time resembled Shrews Over the next 65 million years, mammals
diversified.

Several million years ago, a kind of little African monkey acquired the ability to stand up. The later
advent of human life and the development of agriculture and, later, of civilization, allowed
humans to reverberate on Earth more than any other previous form of life, in a relatively short
time. Human actions influence both the nature and quantity of other life forms, as well as the
global climate.

A survey carried out by the American Museum of Natural History in 1998 revealed that 70% of
biologists saw the current era as part of a massive extinction event, the mass extinction of the
Holocene, which would be the fastest of all known. Some experts, such as E. O. Wilson, of Harvard
University, predict that human destruction of the biosphere could cause the extinction of half of
all species in the next 100 years. However, the scope of this current extinction is still being
investigated, discussed and calculated by biologists.
ATMOSPHERIC TIME AND CLIMATE

The Earth's atmosphere is a key factor that sustains the planetary ecosystem. This thin layer of
gases that surrounds the Earth remains in place thanks to the gravity of the planet. It is composed
of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and traces of other gases. Atmospheric pressure decreases with
altitude. The Earth's ozone layer plays an essential role in reducing the amount of ultraviolet
radiation that reaches the surface. Since DNA can be easily damaged by this radiation, the ozone
layer acts as a shield that protects life on the surface. The atmosphere also retains heat during the
night, thus reducing daily extreme temperatures.

The variations of the weather take place almost exclusively in the lower part of the atmosphere,
and act as a convective system to redistribute the heat. Ocean currents are another important
factor in determining climate, especially submarine thermohaline circulation, which distributes the
heat energy from the equatorial oceans to the polar regions. These currents help to moderate the
temperature differences between winter and summer in temperate zones. Moreover, without the
redistributions of heat energy carried by oceanic and atmospheric currents, the tropics would be
much warmer and the polar regions much colder.

Time can have both beneficial and harmful effects. Extreme weather events, such as tornadoes or
hurricanes, can use large amounts of energy in their trajectory and wipe out everything in their
path. Surface vegetation has developed a dependence on the seasonal variation of time, and
sudden changes, even if they only last a few years, can have a devastating effect, both on the
vegetation and on the animals that depend on it for food.

The planetary climate is a measure of the trend of weather over time. It can be influenced by
several factors, such as ocean currents, surface albedo, greenhouse gases, variations in solar
luminosity and changes in the planet's orbit. Based on historical records, today we know that the
Earth has undergone drastic climate changes in the past, including glaciations. The climate of a
region depends on a certain number of factors, such as latitude. A latitudinal strip of the surface
with similar climatic characteristics forms a climatic region. On Earth, there are several of these
regions, ranging from the tropical climate in Ecuador to the polar climate at the poles. In time, the
seasons also influence, resulting from the inclination of the Earth's axis with respect to its orbital
plane. In this way, at any given time during summer or winter, there is a part of the planet that is
most directly exposed to the sun's rays. This exposure is alternating as the Earth is describing its
orbit. At all times, regardless of the season, the northern and southern hemispheres experience
opposite weather conditions.

Time is a chaotic system that can be easily modified with only small changes in the environment,
so the exact weather forecasts are only limited to a few days. Altogether, two things are
happening globally: (1) the temperature is increasing on average; and (2) the weather patterns are
changing and becoming increasingly chaotic.
LIFETIME

The fact that the most basic forms of plant life began to perform photosynthesis was key to the
creation of conditions that allowed the development of more complex life forms. The oxygen
resulting from the process accumulated in the atmosphere and gave rise to the ozone layer. The
symbiosis relationship between small and larger cells gave rise to the development of even more
complex cells called eukaryotes. The cells were grouped into colonies and began to specialize,
giving rise to authentic multicellular organisms. Thanks to the ozone layer, which absorbs harmful
ultraviolet radiation, life colonized the surface of the Earth.

Although there is no universal consensus on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that
the biological manifestation of life is characterized by the following factors or functions:
organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli and reproduction . More
simply, we can consider life as the characteristic state of organisms. The properties common to
terrestrial organisms (plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea and bacteria) are the following: they
are cellular, have a complex organization based on water and carbon, have a metabolism and
ability to grow, respond to stimuli and reproduce. Therefore, it is considered that an entity that
gathers these properties is alive. However, not all definitions of life consider all these properties
essential.

The biosphere is the part of Earth's outermost layer - which comprises air, earth, surface rocks and
water - within which life takes place, and where, in turn, they are altered or transform biotic
processes. From the geophysical point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system that
integrates all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of
the lithosphere (rocks), the hydrosphere (water), and the atmosphere (air) . Currently, it is
estimated that the Earth contains about 75 billion tons of biomass (the mass of life), which lives in
diverse environments within the biosphere. About nine tenths of the total biomass of the Earth is
plant life, on which animal life depends. To date, more than 2 million species of plants and animals
have been identified, and estimates of the actual number of existing species vary between a few
million and about 50 million. The number of individual species is constantly changing: new species
appear and others cease to exist, on a continuous basis. Currently, the total number of species is
experiencing a rapid decline.

The difference between animal and plant life is not as sharp as it may seem, since there are some
living beings that have characteristics of both. Giuliana divided all living beings into plants, which
usually do not move, and animals. In the system of Carlos Linneo, these became the kingdoms
Vegetabilia (later Plantae) and Animalia. From that moment it was seen that the Plantae kingdom,
as it was originally defined, included several unrelated groups, so the fungi and several groups of
algae were removed to move them to new realms, although plants are often still considered some
contexts. In the flora, bacterial life is sometimes understood so much so that certain classifications
use the terms bacterial flora and plant flora separately.
One of the many ways to classify plants is by regional floras, which, depending on the purpose of
the study, may also include fossil flora, which are remnants of past plant life. Many people from
various regions and countries take pride in their characteristic flora, which varies widely across the
globe due to differences in climates and soils. The regional flora is usually divided into
subcategories such as native flora and agricultural and garden flora (the latter are those that the
man intentionally cultivates). Some kinds of "native flora" have actually been introduced by
emigrants from one region or continent to another centuries ago, and over time they have
become part of the native or natural flora of the place where they were introduced. This is an
example of how human action can blur the limit of what is considered to be nature. Another
category of plants is that of "weeds". Although the term has lost its use among botanists as a way
to designate "useless" plants, its informal use (to describe plants that hinder and should be
eliminated) perfectly illustrates the general tendency of people and societies to pretend alter the
course of nature. In the same way, animals are usually classified as domestic, farm, wild, pests,
etc. according to the relationship they have with human life.

Animals as a category have several characteristics that differentiate them from other living beings.
The animals are eukaryotic and usually multicellular (see Myxozoa, however), which distinguishes
them from bacteria, archaea and most protists. They are heterotrophic, and they generally digest
food in an internal organ, which differentiates them from plants and algae. They are also
distinguished from plants, algae and fungi in that they lack cell walls. With a few exceptions,
especially in sponges (Phylum porifera), animals have an organism composed of several tissues,
which comprise muscles, capable of contracting and controlling locomotion, and a nervous
system, which sends and processes signals. In most cases, they have an internal digestive system.
The eukaryotic cells that all animals have are surrounded by a characteristic extracellular matrix,
composed of collagen and elastic glycoproteins. It can calcify to form structures such as shells,
bones, and spicules, in which the cell moves and reorganizes during its development and
maturation, and which support the complex anatomy necessary for locomotion.

Although, at present, humans make up only half of one percent of the total living biomass on
Earth, 28 which estimates the global weight at about 60 kg on average.), The total human biomass
is the average weight multiplied by the current human population, of approximately 6,500 million
people. (see)
ECOSYSTEM

The ecosystem is a relatively autonomous dynamic system, formed by a natural community and its
physical environment. The concept, which began to develop between 1920 and 1930, takes into
account the complex interactions between organisms (plants, animals, bacteria, algae, protozoa
and fungi, among others) that form the community and the energy flows and materials that the
they go through.

All forms of life have the need to relate to the environment in which they live, and also to other
forms of life. In the twentieth century, this premise gave rise to the concept of ecosystem, which
can be defined as any situation in which there is an interaction between organisms and their
environment. Ecosystems consist of biotic and abiotic factors that work in an interrelated manner.
The most important factors of an ecosystem are: soil, atmosphere, solar radiation, water and living
organisms. Each living organism has a continuous relationship with all other elements of its
environment. Within the ecosystem, the species are related and depend on each other in the so-
called food chain, and exchange matter and energy both among themselves and with their
environment. Michael Pidwirny, in his book Fundamentals of Physical Geography, describes the
concept as follows: Ecosystems are dynamic entities composed of a biological community and an
abiotic environment. The abiotic and biotic composition of an ecosystem and its structure is
determined by the state of a number of related environmental factors. Any change in any of these
factors (for example: availability of nutrients, temperature, intensity of light, population density of
a species ...) will result in dynamic changes in the nature of these systems. For example, a fire in a
temperate deciduous forest completely changes the structure of that system. There are no longer
large trees, most of the mosses, herbs and shrubs that populated the forest floor have
disappeared and the nutrients stored in the biomass are quickly released to the soil, the
atmosphere and the hydrological system. After a short recovery period, the community, which
used to be large mature trees, has now become a community of herbs, herbaceous species and
seedlings

All species have limits of tolerance to the factors that affect their survival, their reproductive
success and their ability to continue growing and interacting in a sustainable way with the rest of
their environment. These in turn can influence these factors, whose consequences can extend to
many other species or even to the totality of life. The concept of ecosystem is, therefore, an
important object of study, since this study provides us with the necessary information to make
decisions about how human life can interact in a way that allows varied ecosystems to grow
steadily for the future, instead of plundering them. For such a study a smaller unit called
microecosystem is taken. For example, an ecosystem can be a stone with all the life it houses. A
macroecosystem could comprise an entire ecoregion, with its river basin.

The following ecosystems are examples of those that are currently under intensive study
"Continental ecosystems", such as "forest ecosystems", "prairie ecosystems" such as steppes or
savannas), or agro-ecosystems,

systems in inland waters, which in turn are subdivided into lentic (lakes or ponds) and lotic (rivers)

ocean ecosystems.

Another classification of the ecosystems can be made by attending to their communities, as in the
case of a human ecosystem. The broadest classification (subject today to extensive study and
analysis, and also the object of discussions about its nature and validity) is that of the whole set of
life of the planet seen as a single organism, known as the Gaia hypothesis.
Relationship of the human being with nature

The development of technology by the human race has allowed a greater exploitation of natural
resources and has helped to alleviate part of the risks of natural hazards. However, despite this
progress, the fate of human civilization is closely linked to changes in the environment. There is a
very complex feedback system between the use of advanced technology and changes in the
environment, which are only now beginning to be understood, albeit very slowly.

Humans use nature for both economic and leisure activities. Obtaining natural resources for
industrial use remains an essential part of the global economic system. Some activities, such as
hunting and fishing, have both economic and leisure intentions. The appearance of agriculture
took place around the ninth millennium before Christ. From the production of food to energy,
there is no doubt that nature is the main factor of economic wealth

Humans have used plants for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Plant extracts can treat
cramping, rheumatism and lung inflammation. While science has allowed us to process and
transform these natural substances into pills, dyes, powders and oils, the market economy and the
position of "authority" attributed to the medical community have made its use less popular. The
term "alternative medicine" is often used to designate the use of plants and natural extracts for
curative purposes.

The threats to nature caused by man are, among others, pollution, deforestation, and disasters
such as oil slicks. Humanity has intervened in the extinction of some plants and animals.
Wild areas

A wild or wild area is a natural environment of the Earth whose processes or dynamics are
autonomous. Ecologists consider that wild areas are a part of the planet's natural ecosystem (the
biosphere).

The expression "wild zone" immediately evokes the idea of "wild nature", that is, that humans can
not control. From this point of view, it is the autonomous development of the processes of a
natural area that makes it a wild area.

It should not be confused "wild" with "virgin". An area will be virgin if it has not been altered by
human presence or activity. Today, practically the entire surface of the planet has suffered, to a
greater or lesser degree and directly or indirectly, some type of alteration caused by human beings
(even if only the influence of climate change or certain contaminants), then it can be said that
there are practically no virgin environments in the biosphere. However, the mere presence or
human activity does not necessarily imply that a zone ceases to be wild. Many ecosystems that
are, or have been, inhabited or influenced by human activities can be considered "wild", despite
not being virgins. According to this, the areas in which natural processes run without noticeable
human interference are wild.

The notion of "wild nature" has been an important theme in the visual arts during various eras of
world history. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) there was an early tradition of landscape
painting. This tradition of representing nature as such became one of the objectives of Chinese
painting and had a significant influence on Asian art.

In the western world, the idea of "wild area" (wild nature, etc.) as an intrinsic value appeared in
the 1800s, especially in the works of the romantic movement. British artists such as John
Constable and Joseph Mallord William Turner were dedicated to capturing the beauty of the
natural world in his paintings. Before, the paintings had been mostly of religious scenes or of
human beings. The poetry of William Wordsworth describes the wonders of the natural world,
which used to be seen as a threatening place. Increasingly, the appreciation of nature was
becoming an aspect of Western culture.
Beauty in nature

The beauty of nature is a recurring theme in modern life and art: the books that praise it fill large
shelves of libraries and bookstores. That face of nature, which art (photography, painting, poetry
...) has both portrayed and praised reveals the strength with which many people associate nature
with beauty. The reason for the existence of this association and what it consists of constitute the
field of study of the branch of philosophy called aesthetics. Beyond certain basic characteristics of
nature in whose beauty most philosophers agree, opinions are practically infinite.

Many scientists, who study nature in a more specific and organized way, also share the idea that
nature is beautiful. The French mathematician Jules Henri Poincaré (1854-1912) said:

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful, but because it captivates him, and
captivates him because she is beautiful.

If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if it were not worth knowing, it
would not be worth living. Of course, I am not referring here to beauty that stimulates the senses,
that of qualities and appearances; It is not that I despise it, at all, but that it has nothing to do with
science. I mean the deepest beauty, the one that comes from the harmonious order of the parts
and that can capture a pure intelligence.

A classic idea of the beauty of art involves the word mimesis, that is, the imitation of nature. In the
domain of ideas about the beauty of nature, perfect evokes symmetry, exact division and other
formulas and perfect mathematical notions.
Matter and energy

Some fields of science see nature as "matter in motion", obeying certain "natural laws" that
science is responsible for discovering and understanding.

Matter is usually defined as the substance of which physical objects are composed, and
constitutes the observable universe. According to the theory of special relativity, there is no
unalterable distinction between matter and energy, since matter can be converted into energy
(see particle-antiparticle annihilation), and vice versa (see creation of matter). Now it is thought
that the visible components of the universe constitute only 4 percent of the total mass, and that
the remaining consists of 73 percent dark matter and 23 percent cold dark matter. The exact
nature of these components, which are being thoroughly investigated by physicists, is still
unknown.

The behavior of matter and energy in the observable universe seems to correspond to well-
defined physical laws. These have been used to create cosmological models that satisfactorily
explain the structure and evolution of the universe that we can observe. The mathematical
expressions of physical laws employ a set of twenty physical constants that, through the
observable universe, appear static. Its values have been measured with great precision, but the
reason why they have these specific values and not others remains a mystery.
Nature beyond Earth

The outer space, also called space to dry, designates the relatively empty regions of the universe
outside the atmospheres of the celestial bodies. The external adjective is added to distinguish it
from airspace. There is no definite limit between the Earth's atmosphere and space, since space
gradually diminishes as altitude increases. The cosmic space located within the limits of the Solar
System is known as interplanetary space, whose boundary with interstellar space is what we know
as heliopause.

Although outer space is very broad in itself, it is not empty. There are several dozens of organic
molecules discovered to date, thanks to rotational spectroscopy, microwave background radiation
and cosmic radiation, formed by ionized atomic nuclei and various subatomic particles. There is
also some gas, plasma, cosmic dust and small meteors. In addition, human beings have left traces
of their activity in outer space, through materials from manned and unmanned launches. All these
objects have been called "space debris" and constitute a potential risk for spacecraft. Some fall
into the atmosphere periodically.

The planet Earth is currently the only known celestial body within the solar system in which life
exists. However, recent findings suggest that, in the distant past, the planet Mars had masses of
liquid water on the surface. For a brief period in the history of Mars, it could have been capable of
harboring life. However, at present most of the water on Mars is frozen. If there were still life on
Mars, it was most likely that it was located underground, where there could still be liquid water.

The conditions existing in the other telluric planets, Mercury and Venus, seem to be too hostile for
life to develop as we know it. But it has been conjectured that Europe, the fourth largest moon of
Jupiter, may possess an underground ocean of liquid water, and it would be possible that life
existed in it.