WHAT IS THE NATURAL SETTING? - ENVIRONMENT - 2024

The natural setting can be defined as an environment that is made up of all living beings and other elements that naturally inhabit the Earth. Therefore, a natural setting is an environment that has not been affected by human activity.

This concept is widely related to the notion of ecosystem, which consists of a group of species located in a given space. In this place the species interact with each other and with the abiotic factors that surround them (factors such as temperature, pressure, humidity, among others).

The natural setting is an environment that is made up of all living beings and other elements that naturally inhabit the Earth. Source: pixabay.com

The natural setting is also linked to biological diversity or biodiversity, which can be defined as the various forms of life that inhabit the planet. Therefore, biodiversity encompasses all species of animals, plants, microorganisms and fungi that coexist in an ecosystem.

Likewise, all natural scenery is made up of the atmosphere, the lithosphere and the hydrosphere. It also involves natural phenomena that are caused by the weather seasons.

It can be established that a natural environment has two main components: ecological units (such as vegetation, soil, microorganisms, and the atmosphere) and universal natural resources (such as air, climate, water, energy, and magnetism).

Currently, the ecosystem and biodiversity are being affected by pollution caused by greenhouse gases and human waste. This also negatively affects the climatic seasons, which have undergone notable modifications and which over time can completely alter the terrestrial life form.

Concept of natural scenery in sustainable development

In order to preserve natural settings, researchers of all kinds have made an effort to develop projects that apply sustainability. This is defined as the balance that exists between a society and its natural environment, which is used correctly to satisfy human needs.

On December 19, 1983, the United Nations (UN) established that sustainability is a way of life that starts from a particular form until it reaches a general form with the objective of achieving sustainable development.

This means that sustainable development is one that has the capacity to satisfy the needs of the communities of the present without compromising the future of the next generations.

At present, human beings carry out certain daily activities that damage the environment, such as fishing, cutting down trees and destroying forests.

One of the reasons why the latter occurs is due to the excessive growth of the population, which causes the supersaturation of artificial spaces and forces communities to destroy natural settings to build new homes and cities.

The principles of sustainability

The principles of sustainability emerged with the aim of explaining the concept of sustainable development in a more concrete and quantifiable way. These are:

1- In ecosystems everything is recycled, therefore nothing accumulates.

2- The development and well-being of organisms is based on using natural resources that are renewable and on the natural flow of energy from the sun.

3- The biosphere is the continuous evolution of all living beings, who form new levels of organization and adaptation.

Sustainability and natural settings

The author María Estrella, in her text Sustainable development: a new tomorrow (2014) affirms that, within sustainability, the concept of natural scenery is linked to the detailed study of physical factors and environmental disturbances that determine the environment.

This dimension arises from the premise that states that the future of development will depend on the capacity of economic agents and institutional actors to manage and understand renewable natural resources and their relationship with the environment.

Following this perspective, María Estrella affirms that special attention must be paid to biodiversity and natural resources that are essential for life on the planet, such as flora, water and soil. These factors in a short period of time determine the productive capacity of the spaces.

Sustainable development has the ability to meet the needs of the communities of the present without compromising the future of the next generations. Source: pixabay.com

Energy flow in the natural setting

For the ecosystem of a natural setting to function properly, it must receive an energy supply. This comes from the Sun and consists of a light energy that penetrates the biosphere. This system is known as energy flow.

The energy flow is used by organic compounds, which feed the herbivores. These in turn serve as food for carnivores. Likewise, decomposing organisms obtain energy from the corpses of all living beings.

In this way the energy flow passes from one degree to another and always through the loss of heat. The different steps that energy takes in an ecosystem are called trophic levels.

Experts assure that, in aquatic systems, with each level up to 90% of the energy received is lost, leaving only 10% for the next degree. On the other hand, in terrestrial systems the percentage may be even lower.

It should be noted that, of all the solar energy that reaches the earth's surface, only 3% of that light is used in the photosynthesis process.

Ways in which living things assimilate energy

It can be established that there are two ways in which living beings assimilate and fix energy. These are called primary production and secondary production.

In the first case, energy is assimilated by autotrophic organisms, which have the ability to produce their own organic matter. Within this category are plants, since they feed on the sun through photosynthesis.

Instead, secondary production is carried out by heterotrophic organisms. Within this classification are all animals and those plants that do not contain chlorophyll, since none of them is capable of producing organic matter from an inorganic substance.

References

1. Arias, M. (2010) Education, environment and sustainability. Retrieved on December 13, 2019 from CPU-e: cdigital.uv.mx
2. Chapin, F. (1996) Principles of ecosystem sustainability. Retrieved on Dec 13. JSTOR 19: jstor.org
3. Estrella, M. (2014) Sustainable development: a new tomorrow. Retrieved on December 13, 2019 from Editorial Patria: editorialpatria.com.mx
4. Pineda, A. (2011) Environmental crisis and sustainability. Retrieved on December 13, 2019 from Redalyc: Redalyc.org
5. Santillán, T. (2005) Sustainable development: theory and practice. Retrieved on Dec 13. 19 of ecosur.repositoioinstitucional.mx
6. Tilman, D. (1996) Productivity and sustainability influenced by biodiversity. Retrieved on December 13, 2019 from Nature.com