THE 7 MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT - ENVIRONMENT - 2025

The elements of the environment can be classified into natural and artificial. Perhaps it is too concise a cataloging for everything that nature forms, but precisely for this reason it is necessary to resort to more general concepts to cover everything.

The environment can also be understood as a system in which a series of elements of different nature converge and in which physical, chemical and social interactions occur.

Currently, when one thinks of the environment, one thinks of the notion of sustainable development because it is understood that when one part of the system does not work, the functioning of the rest of the components is altered and that is what is being experienced today with global warming.

Another important aspect of the environment is that, as a general rule, it conditions the way of life of the beings that inhabit it, so it is not the same to live in an area that has enough water, to live where there is no vital liquid, for example.

In the following lines an attempt will be made to list and describe the main natural elements that make up the environment.

What are the main elements of the environment?

1- Air

It is the invisible, insipid, odorless and colorless substance that allows us to breathe, which makes up the earth's atmosphere and is mainly composed of nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen.

However, it also contains other gases, among which are: argon, helium, xenon and krypton, as well as water vapor and particles (organic and inorganic) in suspension.

This composition is what determines the quality of the air. The presence or absence, as well as the proportion of such gases, determines how good the air quality is.

It is worth saying that this composition can be altered naturally (volcanic eruptions, forest fires, etc.), or by human action.

Air is an element that exerts atmospheric pressure and being located in a horizontal extension of kilometers with a relatively similar temperature, it is called an air mass.

2- Water

A vital element for humanity and abundant on planet earth (71% covered by water), in any of its states: liquid, solid and gaseous.

However, in its potable state (suitable for human consumption), it is a rather scarce resource, since 96.5% of the earth's water is in the oceans (that is, it is salt water).

Then, the fresh water reserve is made up of glaciers (68.6% of the total), groundwater (30%), and rivers and atmospheric humidity.

Water, in addition to being essential for human life, is used in industry and in multiple processes in the daily life of any population.

The chemical composition of water is hydrogen and oxygen (H2O).

3- The soil

It is the most superficial layer of the earth that supports life in it. It is formed by the interaction of climate, bedrock, glaciers, sedimentary rocks, and vegetation.

The proportion of these elements as well as their geological time and the microorganisms it harbors, affect their chemical composition. The "older" a soil is, the more evolved and with a greater amount of organic matter.

The soil has three layers:

• Horizon A: where the organic matter is found.
• Horizon B: where many of the chemicals released from the first layer accumulate.
• Horizon C: is the deepest layer of the soil and houses loose rocks.

Due to their structure, soils can be: sandy, limestone, humid, clayey, stony and mixed.

While their physical characteristics can be: lithosols, cambisols, luvisols, acrisols, gleysols, fluvisols, rendzin and vertisols.

Other ways to classify soils are:

• Because of its texture: fine or thick.
• By its structure: level of porosity.

And finally it can be classified taking into account its chemical characteristics, its colloid absorption power and / or its degree of acidity (pH).

4- The fauna

To speak of fauna is to speak of the set of animal species that inhabit a certain region or ecosystem.

A very general classification of fauna refers to its habitat: aquatic, terrestrial or amphibian. While its origin classifies it as: wild, autochthonous or native, exotic, and domestic.

5- The flora

It refers to the plant species that inhabit a specific geographic region, determining the vegetation of that region.

The flora refers to the number of species, while the vegetation refers to the distribution of the plants.

This element is of utmost importance since it serves as a source of raw material for the paper, wood, pharmaceutical and food industries.

6- Climate

It refers to the conditions that result from the combination of latitude, topography, vegetation, the presence or absence of bodies of water and their currents, or the proximity of the sea.

It affects the ways of life, the clothes they wear and even the most common diseases in people who live in a certain geographical area.

7- radiation

It is a process by which the emission, propagation and transfer of energy occurs in the form of electromagnetic waves or particles.

These waves or electromagnetic radiation are classified into: ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, which basically differ by having or not having the ability to break the bonds between the atoms in the environment that they radiate.

References

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