Natural complex is the relationship between the components of the natural complex. How natural complexes change

Natural ingredients – components that form landscape complexes. The properties of the components, and some of them themselves, are largely derivatives of their interaction in the hardware and software. Main natural components of PTC: masses of rocks that make up the earth's crust (lithosphere); air masses of the lower layers of the atmosphere (troposphere); water (hydrosphere), presented in landscapes in three phase states (liquid, solid, vapor); vegetation, animals, soil. All natural components, according to their origin, properties and functions in landscapes, are combined into three subsystems:

1. Lithogenic base(geological rocks and relief); lower part of the atmosphere (troposphere air); hydrosphere (water) – geoma.

2. Biota- flora and fauna.

3. Soils– bioinert subsystem.

Sometimes relief and climate are called special components that have a great influence on the formation and properties of landscapes. However, they are only important properties of the earth's crust (lithogenic base) and surface air masses, which represent the external form and set of parameters and processes of the contact layers of the lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere.

Properties of natural components:

1. Real(mechanical, physical, chemical composition).

2. Energy(temperature, potential and kinetic energy of gravity, pressure, biogenic energy, etc.).

3. Information and organizational(structure, spatial and temporal sequence, relative position and connections).

It is the properties of natural components that determine the specifics of the interaction of components within landscape geosystems. At the same time, they are derivatives of these interactions.

Natural components have a wide variety of properties, but they are far from equal in importance for the organization and development of territorial geosystems of geographical dimensions. The most active and important for a specific level of the PTC organization, the interacting properties of the components are called natural factors. Among the factors, there are leading ones, which are main for a certain level of organization of geosystems, and secondary ones, which determine the specifics of geosystems at other levels. They are one of the main reasons, driving forces that determine the results and types of interaction between natural components, as well as the structural and functional features of landscape geosystems (type of relief; climate, type of vegetation, etc.).

The influence of various factors on the properties of natural components in landscape complexes can be represented by the following examples.

The material composition of the Earth's surface layer (granites, basalts, clays, sands, water, ice) affects the albedo (reflectivity) of the surface and the nature of vegetation, which affects the temperature regime of the surface atmosphere. The temperature regime, which depends primarily on the radiation balance of the territory, also affects the vegetation cover and water regime in landscapes. The chemical composition of rocks and water masses, closely related to other natural components, for example, determines the geochemical and

species uniqueness of soils, vegetation and landscapes in general in different areas of land and oceans. Powerful and active landscape-forming factors can be gradients in matter and its properties between components (differences in temperature and heat capacity, differences in chemical composition, moisture, differences in the inertia of structures and processes - lithogenic base and vegetation; lithogenic base and air or water masses ). Due to the fact that each natural component is a special material substance, in the zone of their maximum and active contact, that is, on the surface of the Earth, significant gradients in the substance and its properties are observed. These gradients determine the formation and functioning of landscape complexes.

The main external energy factors that create the primary energy basis for the functioning of landscape geosystems are solar radiation, gravitational forces of the Earth and Moon, and intraterrestrial heat.

Among the factors, there are leading ones that have a major influence on the organization of geosystems of a certain rank and type, as well as secondary ones that determine the specifics of geosystems at other levels.

NATURAL COMPONENTS AS FACTORS DETERMINING THE SPECIFICITY OF LANDSCAPE GEOSYSTEMS

Lithogenic base landscape complexes, or geosystems, are the composition and structure of rocks, the relief of the earth's surface.

The lithogenic base, through the composition of rocks and relief, sets a rigid, very inertial framework for the natural complexes that form on it. In one natural zone, different vegetation forms on rocks of different mechanical composition. Thus, in the forest zone of the temperate zone, PTCs on clay and loamy rocks are characterized by spruce forests, and on sands - by the predominance of pine forests. If the clayey rocks in the southern taiga subzone are carbonated, then coniferous-deciduous forests develop here. Differences are also clearly expressed in desert landscapes formed on sandy, clayey and gravelly deposits.

Rocks of different mechanical and chemical composition determine differences in the ratios and volumes of surface and underground watercourses, ionic runoff, as well as differences in the soils formed on them (loamy, sandy loam, sandy, gravelly, carbonate, acidic, slightly alkaline, etc. ).

The presence of altitudinal zonation in the mountains and its change depending on the height and exposure of the slopes are known. By redistributing the water of atmospheric precipitation, the relief determines the moisture in natural complexes (all other things being equal). It is the difference in the reliefs of territories and the PTCs formed on them that determine the unequal potential and kinetic energy concentrated in the landscapes. This energy is realized, first of all, in the form of various erosion processes, as well as in the structural elements of the relief itself (the shape of the valleys, the dismemberment of the territory, etc.).

Different rocks form slopes of different steepness, and slopes of different steepness and their exposure absorb unequal amounts of heat. Warmer habitats are formed on the southern slopes, and colder ones are formed on the northern slopes (V.V. Alekhine’s preliminary rule). All this is reflected in the landscape features of the territory.

So, the lithogenic base is the most inert element of the landscape shell. Therefore, its basic properties are often the leading factors influencing the structural and functional organization of geosystems of a number of regional, and especially local, intra-landscape hierarchical levels of the PTC. This is manifested through the terrain features of the territories, the presence of surfaces with different slopes, hypsometry and exposure, which determine the redistribution of zonal-sector and local hydrothermal resources, the provision of plants with nutrients contained in different types of soils.

Atmosphere, or more precisely, air masses The lower, surface part of the troposphere is also included as a component in the composition and forms landscape complexes. Depending on the rank and type of landscape geosystems (local, regional), the thickness of the air mass included in the geosystems varies from tens to hundreds and a few thousand meters. The most important properties of air that influence the characteristics of other landscape components can be presented as follows.

The chemical composition of the air, namely the presence of carbon dioxide, is one of the basis for photosynthesis of green plants. Oxygen is necessary for breathing by all representatives of living nature, for the oxidation and mineralization of dead organic residues - mortmass. In addition, the presence of oxygen determines the formation of an ozone screen in the stratosphere, which protects proteinaceous life forms characteristic of the landscape shell from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. At the same time, free oxygen in the atmosphere is itself a product of the photosynthesis process and is released by plants

in atmosphere. Nitrogen is an important component of proteins and, accordingly, one of the main elements of plant nutrition.

The air of the atmosphere, relatively transparent to the sun's rays of the visible spectrum, due to the presence of carbon dioxide and water vapor in it, well retains the infrared (thermal) radiation of the Earth. This ensures the “greenhouse effect”, that is, temperature fluctuations are smoothed out, and the heat of solar radiation lingers longer in landscapes.

Air currents in the atmosphere, transferring heat and moisture from one area to another, smooth out hydrothermal differences between landscapes. Air ensures heat and material exchange of substances between various components of geosystems. Thus, the air, enriched with dust raised from the earth’s surface, including salts, can transfer it to bodies of water, and the latter enrich the air with moisture, chlorine ions, sulfates, etc. They are transported to land by air currents. Moreover, wind flows are capable of forming meso- and microforms of relief (barchans, dunes, blowing depressions, etc.) and even determining the shape and character of plants (for example, flag-shaped, tumbleweeds).

If the lithosphere sets a rigid frame and is a very inertial component that defines hard and sharp boundaries in the spatial differentiation of landscapes, then air masses as a dynamic substance, on the contrary, integrate natural complexes, smoothing transitions between geosystems, and enhance the continuity of the landscape envelope.

Hydrosphere, or natural waters- an important part of landscapes. At temperatures prevailing in landscapes, water can exist in three phase states. The presence of more or less watered areas sharply differentiates the landscape envelope of the Earth into terrestrial (land) and aquatic geosystems (aquatic and territorial landscape complexes).

Water is one of the most heat-intensive substances on Earth (1 cal/g degree). In addition, it is characterized by very high costs of absorbed and released heat during phase transitions (ice, water, steam). This determines its main role in heat exchange between regions, as well as components and elements within geosystems. It is water, thanks to its properties, that forms many different-scale cycles of matter and energy, connecting different natural complexes and their components into single geosystems.

Surface runoff is a very powerful factor in the redistribution of matter between geosystems, as well as the formation of exogenous relief-20

pho- and lithogenesis. With water flows, the main types of exchange and migration of chemical elements occur both between landscape components and between landscape complexes, or geosystems, themselves. At the same time, waters with different acid-base properties are formed in different landscape conditions. The latter determine the different conditions of water migration and the concentration of various chemical elements in landscapes. So, A.I. Perelman proposed the following classification scheme of natural waters according to the characteristics of the migration of certain chemical elements into them (Table 2.1).

Geography textbook for 8th grade

Natural zoning

§ 21. Diversity of natural complexes in Russia

Remember what a natural complex is.
What natural complexes of the Earth did you become acquainted with when studying the initial course of physical geography; geography of continents and oceans?
What components of nature are included in the natural complex, how do they interact with each other?

Variety of PTCs. All components of nature are closely and inextricably linked with each other. A change in one of them causes changes in the others.

These relationships are expressed in the exchange of matter and energy. You can trace the relationships using various examples. Thus, a change in the amount of solar radiation entering the earth’s surface leads to a change in the nature of vegetation, and this, in turn, changes the soil cover, wildlife, affects the processes of relief formation, etc.

We already know that the various components of nature change from place to place, that is, they change in space. They also change over time. The relief and climate of the Russian Plain before the Quaternary glaciation were different.

Changes in any component of nature occur within any specific territory.

Therefore, a natural territorial complex - NTC - is a natural combination of interconnected components of nature in a certain territory.

The doctrine of natural territorial complexes - landscape science- was founded at the end of the last century by V.V. Dokuchaev. It is of great practical importance for agriculture, forestry, land reclamation, recreation, construction of cities, roads, and various enterprises. Without knowledge of the characteristics of a particular natural complex, there can be no talk of rational use, protection and improvement of the natural environment.

In the hierarchy of natural complexes there are three main levels: local, regional, global.

The formation of natural complexes at the local level is associated with local factors that have a short range of action, for example, with individual relief elements. This level includes facies- an elementary indivisible geographical unit, that is, a homogeneous complex. Regional natural complexes are formed as a result of the influence of factors with a wider range of action: tectonic movements, solar radiation, etc. This level is characterized by natural zones and regions.

The global level is geographic envelope, which covers the interpenetrating and constantly interacting troposphere, hydrosphere, upper layers of the lithosphere and biosphere.

Think about what changes in nature a person can record during his life. Analyze the geochronological table again and determine during what period of time any significant changes in the nature of the Earth occur, in the PTC.

Physiographic zoning. Any PTC is the result of more or less long-term development. Scientists record slow tectonic movements, secular climate changes, the advance and retreat of seas, etc. Even a person who has lived a long life does not have time to notice these changes.

Smaller PTCs are particularly diverse. Different geological structures, varied topography and climate from place to place lead to changes in soil and vegetation cover.

There are many different PTCs on the territory of Russia. Natural, or physical-geographical, zoning serves as the main method for identifying PTCs and establishing their boundaries. The identification of large PTCs on the territory of Russia is based on differences in geological structure and topography and significant climatic differences. Based on these characteristics, physical geographers usually distinguish on the territory of Russia:

North Caucasus.
Ural.
West Siberian Lowland, or plain.
Central Siberia.
Northeast Siberia.
Mountain belt of Southern Siberia.
Far East.

In this tutorial we will look at six major natural regions:

Russian (East European) Plain.
North Caucasus.
Ural.
West Siberian Plain.
Eastern Siberia (Eastern Siberia includes: Central Siberia, North-East Siberia and the mountain belt of Southern Siberia).
Far East.

Within these large natural regions, territories with the most typically manifested latitudinal zonation on the plains and altitudinal zonation in the mountains are identified, and natural unique sites and natural monuments of the region are also shown.

PTC natural and anthropogenic. Our time is characterized by an ever-increasing anthropogenic load on the landscape. Man is extracting more and more minerals from the bowels of the Earth, spending more and more water for domestic and economic needs, occupying more and more areas for arable land and construction sites, cutting down forests and destroying meadows. Therefore, there are fewer and fewer natural landscapes left. Almost all natural complexes have been modified by humans to one degree or another. Natural landscapes changed under the influence of human activity are called anthropogenic.

Questions and tasks

What is PTC?
Name PTCs of different ranks.
What is the basis of physical-geographical zoning?
What large natural complexes stand out in Russia?
Give examples of anthropogenic landscapes. Explain why their number especially increased in the 20th century.

Home > Wiki-textbook > Geography > 6th grade > Natural complex and its types: human impact on the natural complex

Natural complexes of the Earth

The geographical envelope has a mosaic structure, this is due to the different natural complexes that are included in it.

The part of the earth's surface that has the same natural conditions is usually called a natural complex.

Homogeneous natural conditions are relief, water, climate, soil, flora and fauna.

Individually, natural complexes consist of components that are interconnected by historically established connections.

That is why, if a change occurs in one of the components of nature, then all the components of the natural complex change.

The geographic envelope is a planetary natural complex and the largest. The shell is divided into smaller natural complexes.

Types of natural complexes

The division of the shell into separate natural complexes is due to the heterogeneity of the earth's surface and the structure of the earth's crust, as well as the uneven amount of heat.

Due to these differences, natural complexes are classified into zonal and azonal.

Azonal natural complexes

The main azonal natural complexes are oceans and continents.

They are the largest in size. Smaller areas are considered to be flat and mountainous areas that are located on continents.

For example, the Caucasus, West Siberian Plain, Andes. And these natural complexes can be divided into even smaller ones - the Southern and Central Andes.

River valleys, hills, and various slopes that are located on their territory will be considered even smaller natural complexes.

Interrelation of components of natural complexes

The interrelation of the components of natural complexes is a unique phenomenon.

This can be seen using a simple example: if the amount of solar radiation and its impact on the earth’s surface changes, then the nature of vegetation in a given area will also change.

This transformation will lead to changes in soil and relief formation.

Human impact on natural complexes

Human activities have had a significant impact on natural systems since ancient times. After all, man not only adapts to the nature of the Earth, but also exerts a constant and extensive influence on it.

Over the centuries, man has improved his skills and created different ways to use nature to his advantage.

This had an extremely negative impact on the development of most natural complexes.

It is for this reason that people are increasingly talking about such a phenomenon as rational environmental management. This concept is usually understood as human activity aimed at careful development of natural complexes and conservation of natural resources in any circumstances.

After all, the negative impact on natural systems harms the person himself, and we need to protect nature both for our health and for future generations.

Need help with your studies?

Previous topic: Biosphere: distribution of organisms and their impact on shells
Next topic: The Earth's population: races and peoples

list of main ingredients of the natural complex

Answer:

The environment around us is made up of parts, or ingredients as they are called. Natural parts include topography, climate, water, plants, animals and soil. All these components have come a long way in development, so their combinations are not random, but natural.

Thanks to their interaction, they are closely interconnected, and this interaction unites them into a single system, where all parts depend on each other and influence each other. Such a unified system is called a natural-territorial complex or landscape. L. S. Berg was attributed to the founder of Russian landscape studies. Natural-territorial complexes were defined as similar areas in accordance with the prevailing nature of the relief, climate, water, vegetation and soil.

Natural complexes of deserts, forests, steppes, etc. can be distinguished.

L. S. Berg wrote that a landscape (or a natural-territorial complex) is, in fact, an organism in which the parts determine the whole and even affect the parts. The size of natural territorial complexes varies. The maximum can be considered as a whole geographical envelope, the smaller - continents and oceans. The smallest natural and territorial complexes may include plains, plains, and ponds.

It is important that all components of these complexes are closely interconnected, regardless of their size. The reason for the formation of natural-territorial complexes is natural ingredients. They are divided into two groups:

natural complexes are very diverse. Which of them are called natural areas?

Complexes that have common temperature conditions, moisture, soils, vegetation and fauna are called natural zones.

natural ingredients.

They are usually divided into two groups:
Zonal and azonal.
An example of zonal natural-territorial complexes is the tundra,
animals and soils. All these components have gone through a long development path,
regions) are the East European Plain, the Ural Mountains,
Amazonian lowland, Cordillera, Himalayas, etc.

natural-territorial complex, or landscape.

The reason for the formation of natural-territorial complexes is
one influence the other. Such a unified system is called

Natural components include relief, climate, water, plants,
steppes, taiga, mixed forest zone, alpine meadows in the mountains;
Non-zonal (or azonal). Examples of azonal natural-territorial complexes (natural
therefore, their combinations are not random, but natural.

Thanks to his
combines them into a single system, where all parts depend on one another and
interaction they are closely related to each other, and this interaction

Page 1 of 3

NATURAL COMPLEX

The nature around us consists of parts, or, as they are also called, components. Natural components include topography, climate, water, plants, animals and soils. All these components have gone through a long development path, so their combinations are not random, but natural. Thanks to their interaction, they are closely related to each other, and this interaction unites them into a single system, where all parts depend on one another and influence each other.

Such a unified system is called a natural-territorial complex, or landscape. L. S. Berg is deservedly considered the founder of Russian landscape science. He defined natural-territorial complexes as areas similar in the prevailing nature of the relief, climate, waters, vegetation and soil cover. Natural complexes of deserts, forests, steppes, etc. can be distinguished. L. S. Berg wrote that a landscape (or a natural-territorial complex) is like an organism in which the parts determine the whole, and the whole influences the parts.

The sizes of natural-territorial complexes are different.

The important thing is that, regardless of size, all components of these complexes are closely interrelated with each other.

23 Next >To the end >>

They can cover both vast territories and completely small areas of the Earth. What natural complexes are there? What is the difference? What are they characterized by? Let's find out.

Geographical envelope

When telling what natural complexes are, it is impossible not to mention the geographical envelope. This is a conditional concept that unites several spheres of the Earth at once, which intersect and interact with each other, forming a single system. In fact, it is the largest natural complex on the planet.

The boundaries of the geographical envelope almost repeat the edges of the biosphere. It includes the hydrosphere, biosphere, anthroposphere, the upper part of the lithosphere (the earth's crust) and the lower layers of the atmosphere (troposphere and stratosphere).

The shell is solid and continuous. Each of its components (earthly spheres) has its own patterns of development and characteristics, but at the same time it is influenced by other spheres and influences them. They constantly participate in the cycles of substances in nature, exchanging energy, water, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, etc.

Natural complex and its types

The geographical envelope is the largest, but not the only natural complex. There are a lot of them on the globe. What are natural complexes? These are certain areas of the planet that have homogeneous geological vegetation, fauna, climatic conditions and the same water character.

Natural complexes are also called landscapes or geosystems. They differ in the vertical and horizontal directions. Based on this, complexes are divided into zonal and azonal. The main reason for their diversity is the heterogeneity of the geographical envelope.

First of all, differences in natural conditions provide uneven distribution of solar heat on Earth. This is due to the elliptical shape of the planet, the unequal ratio of land and water, the location of mountains (which trap air masses), etc.

complexes

The complexes represent predominantly the horizontal division of the planet. The largest of them are Their arrangement is consistent and regular. The emergence of these complexes is directly related to the climatic conditions of the area.

The nature of geographical zones changes from the equator to the poles. Each of them has its own temperature and weather conditions, as well as the nature of the soil, groundwater and surface water. The following belts are distinguished:

arctic;
subarctic;
Antarctic;
subantarctic;
northern and southern temperate;
northern and southern subtropical;
northern and southern subequatorial;
equatorial.

The next largest zonal complexes are natural zones, which are divided according to the nature of moisture, that is, the amount and frequency of precipitation. They do not always have a purely latitudinal distribution. And they depend on the altitude of the area, as well as proximity to the ocean. There are arctic desert, steppe, tundra, taiga, savannah and other natural zones.

Azonal natural complexes

Azonal complexes are not associated with the latitudinal division of the planet. Their formation is associated primarily with relief and the formation of the earth's crust. The largest azonal natural complexes are oceans and continents, which differ significantly in geological history and structure.

Continents and oceans are divided into smaller complexes - natural countries. They consist of large mountain and plain formations. For example, the natural complexes of the Far East include the Central Kamchatka Plain, the Sikhote-Alin Mountains and the Khingan-Bureya Mountains, etc.

Natural countries on the planet include the Sahara Desert, the Ural Mountains, and the East European Plain. They can be divided into narrower and more uniform areas. For example, gallery forests located on the outskirts of steppes and savannas, mangrove forests located along the sea coast and at river mouths. The smallest natural complexes include river floodplains, hills, ridges, urems, swamps, etc.

Components of natural complexes

The main components of any geographical landscape are relief, water, soil, flora and fauna, and climate. The relationship between the components of the natural complex is very close. Each of them creates certain conditions for the existence of the others. Rivers influence the condition and climate - the appearance of certain plants, and plants attract certain animals.

Changing even one component can lead to a complete change in the entire complex. Drying out the river will lead to the disappearance of vegetation characteristic of the river area and a change in soil quality. This will certainly affect animals that will leave the geosystem in search of conditions familiar to them.

Excessive reproduction of any animal species can lead to the destruction of the plants they eat. There are cases when huge swarms of locusts completely destroyed meadows or fields. This development of events does not go unnoticed by the natural complex and provokes changes in the soil, water, and then climate regime.

Conclusion

So what are natural complexes? This is a natural-territorial system, the components of which are homogeneous in their origin and composition. The complexes are divided into two main groups: azonal and zonal. Within each group there is a division from large to smaller areas.

The largest natural complex is the geographic envelope, which includes part of the lithosphere and atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere of the Earth. The smallest complexes are individual hills, small forests, river mouths, and swamps.

The concept of a natural complex

The main object of study of modern physical geography is the geographical shell of our planet as a complex material system. It is heterogeneous in both vertical and horizontal directions. In the horizontal, i.e. spatially, the geographic envelope is divided into separate natural complexes (synonyms: natural-territorial complexes, geosystems, geographic landscapes).

A natural complex is a territory that is homogeneous in origin, history of geological development and modern composition of specific natural components. It has a single geological foundation, the same type and amount of surface and groundwater, a uniform soil and vegetation cover and a single biocenosis (a combination of microorganisms and characteristic animals). In a natural complex, the interaction and metabolism between its components are also of the same type. The interaction of components ultimately leads to the formation of specific natural complexes.

The level of interaction of components within a natural complex is determined primarily by the amount and rhythms of solar energy (solar radiation). Knowing the quantitative expression of the energy potential of a natural complex and its rhythm, modern geographers can determine the annual productivity of its natural resources and the optimal timing of their renewability. This allows us to objectively predict the use of natural resources of natural-territorial complexes (NTC) in the interests of human economic activity.

Currently, most of the natural complexes of the Earth have been changed to one degree or another by man, or even re-created by him on a natural basis. For example, oases in the desert, reservoirs, agricultural plantations. Such natural complexes are called anthropogenic. According to their purpose, anthropogenic complexes can be industrial, agricultural, urban, etc. According to the degree of change by human economic activity - in comparison with the original natural state, they are divided into slightly changed, changed and strongly changed.

Natural complexes can be of different sizes - of different ranks, as scientists say. The largest natural complex is the geographical shell of the Earth. Continents and oceans are natural complexes of the next rank. Within the continents, physical-geographical countries are distinguished - natural complexes of the third level. Such, for example, as the East European Plain, the Ural Mountains, the Amazon Lowland, the Sahara Desert and others. Well-known natural zones can serve as examples of natural complexes: tundra, taiga, temperate forests, steppes, deserts, etc. The smallest natural complexes (terrains, tracts, fauna) occupy limited territories. These are hilly ridges, individual hills, their slopes; or a low-lying river valley and its individual sections: bed, floodplain, above-floodplain terraces. It is interesting that the smaller the natural complex, the more homogeneous its natural conditions. However, even natural complexes of significant size retain the homogeneity of natural components and basic physical-geographical processes. Thus, the nature of Australia is not at all similar to the nature of North America, the Amazonian lowland is noticeably different from the Andes adjacent to the west, an experienced geographer-researcher will not confuse the Karakum (temperate zone deserts) with the Sahara (tropical deserts), etc.

Thus, the entire geographical envelope of our planet consists of a complex mosaic of natural complexes of different ranks. Natural complexes formed on land are now called natural-territorial complexes (NTC); formed in the ocean and other body of water (lake, river) - natural aquatic (NAC); natural-anthropogenic landscapes (NAL) are created by human economic activity on a natural basis.

Geographical envelope - the largest natural complex

The geographic envelope is a continuous and integral shell of the Earth, which includes, in a vertical section, the upper part of the earth's crust (lithosphere), the lower atmosphere, the entire hydrosphere and the entire biosphere of our planet. What unites, at first glance, the heterogeneous components of the natural environment into a single material system? It is within the geographic envelope that a continuous exchange of matter and energy occurs, a complex interaction between the indicated component shells of the Earth.

The boundaries of the geographical envelope are still not clearly defined. Scientists usually take the ozone screen in the atmosphere as its upper limit, beyond which life on our planet does not extend. The lower boundary is most often drawn in the lithosphere at depths of no more than 1000 m. This is the upper part of the earth’s crust, which was formed under the strong combined influence of the atmosphere, hydrosphere and living organisms. The entire thickness of the waters of the World Ocean is inhabited, therefore, if we talk about the lower boundary of the geographical envelope in the ocean, then it should be drawn along the ocean floor. In general, the geographic shell of our planet has a total thickness of about 30 km.

As we can see, the geographical envelope coincides in volume and territorially with the distribution of living organisms on Earth. However, there is still no single point of view regarding the relationship between the biosphere and the geographical envelope. Some scientists believe that the concepts of “geographical envelope” and “biosphere” are very close, even identical, and these terms are synonyms. Other researchers consider the biosphere only as a certain stage in the development of the geographic envelope. In this case, three stages are distinguished in the history of the development of the geographical envelope: prebiogenic, biogenic and anthropogenic (modern). The biosphere, according to this point of view, corresponds to the biogenic stage of the development of our planet. According to others, the terms “geographical envelope” and “biosphere” are not identical, since they reflect different qualitative essences. The concept of “biosphere” focuses on the active and determining role of living matter in the development of the geographical envelope.

Which point of view should you prefer? It should be borne in mind that the geographic envelope is characterized by a number of specific features. It is distinguished, first of all, by the great diversity of material composition and types of energy characteristic of all component shells - the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Through general (global) cycles of matter and energy, they are united into an integral material system. To understand the patterns of development of this unified system is one of the most important tasks of modern geographical science.

Thus, the integrity of the geographical envelope is the most important pattern, on the knowledge of which the theory and practice of modern environmental management is based. Taking this pattern into account makes it possible to foresee possible changes in the nature of the Earth (a change in one of the components of the geographic envelope will necessarily cause a change in the others); give a geographical forecast of the possible results of human impact on nature; carry out a geographical examination of various projects related to the economic use of certain territories.

The geographic envelope is also characterized by another characteristic pattern - the rhythm of development, i.e. recurrence of certain phenomena over time. In the nature of the Earth, rhythms of different durations have been identified - daily and annual, intra-century and super-secular rhythms. The daily rhythm, as is known, is determined by the rotation of the Earth around its axis. The daily rhythm is manifested in changes in temperature, air pressure and humidity, cloudiness, and wind strength; in the phenomena of ebb and flow in the seas and oceans, the circulation of breezes, the processes of photosynthesis in plants, the daily biorhythms of animals and humans.

The annual rhythm is the result of the movement of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun. These are the change of seasons, changes in the intensity of soil formation and destruction of rocks, seasonal features in the development of vegetation and human economic activity. It is interesting that different landscapes of the planet have different daily and annual rhythms. Thus, the annual rhythm is best expressed in temperate latitudes and very weakly in the equatorial belt.

Of great practical interest is the study of longer rhythms: 11-12 years, 22-23 years, 80-90 years, 1850 years and longer, but, unfortunately, they are still less studied than the daily and annual rhythms.

Natural zones of the globe, their brief characteristics

The great Russian scientist V.V. At the end of the last century, Dokuchaev substantiated the planetary law of geographic zoning - a natural change in the components of nature and natural complexes when moving from the equator to the poles. Zoning is primarily due to the unequal (latitudinal) distribution of solar energy (radiation) over the Earth's surface, associated with the spherical shape of our planet, as well as different amounts of precipitation. Depending on the latitudinal ratio of heat and moisture, the law of geographic zonation is subject to weathering processes and exogenous relief-forming processes; zonal climate, surface waters of land and ocean, soil cover, vegetation and fauna.

The largest zonal divisions of the geographic envelope are geographic zones. They stretch, as a rule, in the latitudinal direction and, in essence, coincide with climatic zones. Geographic zones differ from each other in temperature characteristics, as well as in the general characteristics of atmospheric circulation. On land the following geographical zones are distinguished:

Equatorial - common to the northern and southern hemispheres; - subequatorial, tropical, subtropical and temperate - in each hemisphere; - subantarctic and Antarctic belts - in the southern hemisphere. Belts with similar names have been identified in the World Ocean. The zonality in the ocean is reflected in changes from the equator to the poles in the properties of surface waters (temperature, salinity, transparency, wave intensity, etc.), as well as in changes in the composition of flora and fauna.

The concept of a natural complex

Geographical envelope - the largest natural complex

Natural zones of the globe, their brief characteristics

Within geographic zones, natural zones are distinguished based on the ratio of heat and moisture. The names of the zones are given according to the type of vegetation that predominates in them. For example, in the subarctic zone these are tundra and forest-tundra zones; in the temperate zone - forest zones (taiga, mixed coniferous-deciduous and broad-leaved forests), zones of forest-steppes and steppes, semi-deserts and deserts.

1. When briefly characterizing the natural zones of the globe during the entrance exam, it is recommended to consider the main natural zones of the equatorial, subequatorial, tropical, subtropical, temperate, subarctic and arctic zones of the northern hemisphere in the direction from the equator to the North Pole: the zone of evergreen forests (gils), the savannah zone and light forests, zone of tropical deserts, zone of hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs (Mediterranean), zone of temperate deserts, zone of broad-leaved and coniferous-deciduous (mixed) forests, taiga zone, tundra zone, ice zone (arctic desert zone).

When characterizing natural areas, it is necessary to adhere to the following plan.

1. Name of the natural area.

2. Features of its geographical location.

3. Main features of climate.

4. Predominant soils.

5. Vegetation.

6. Animal world.

7. The nature of the use of natural resources of the zone by humans.

The applicant can collect factual material to answer the specified questions of the plan using the thematic maps of the “Teacher’s Atlas”, which is required in the list of manuals and maps for the entrance exam in geography at KSU. This is not only not prohibited, but is also required by the “General Instructions” for standard programs for entrance exams in geography to Russian universities.

However, the characteristics of natural areas should not be “standardized”. It should be borne in mind that due to the heterogeneity of the relief and the earth's surface, the proximity and distance from the ocean (and, consequently, the heterogeneity of moisture), the natural zones of various regions of the continents do not always have a latitudinal extent. Sometimes they have an almost meridional direction, for example, on the Atlantic coast of North America, the Pacific coast of Eurasia, and other places. The natural zones that stretch latitudinally across the entire continent are also heterogeneous. They are usually divided into three segments, corresponding to the central inland and two oceanic sectors. Latitudinal, or horizontal, zoning is best expressed on large plains, such as the East European or West Siberian plains.

In the mountainous regions of the Earth, latitudinal zonality gives way to altitudinal zonality of landscapes to a natural change of natural components and natural complexes with an ascent into the mountains from their foothills to the peaks. It is caused by climate change with altitude: C for every 100 m of rise and an increase in the amount of precipitation and a decrease in temperature by 0.6 to a certain altitude (up to 2-3 km). The change of belts in the mountains occurs in the same sequence as on the plains when moving from the equator to the poles. However, in the mountains there is a special belt of subalpine and alpine meadows, which is not found on the plains. The number of altitude zones depends on the height of the mountains and the characteristics of their geographical location. The higher the mountains and the closer they are located to the equator, the richer their range (set) of altitude zones. The range of altitude zones in the mountains is also determined by the location of the mountain system relative to the ocean. In the mountains located near the ocean, a set of forest belts predominates; Inland (arid) sectors of continents are characterized by treeless high-altitude zones.

Natural complex - part of an ecosystem with established relationships between its various components, limited by natural boundaries: watersheds, common for a given territory, the first regionally widespread layer of low-permeability rocks from the surface (aquitard) and the ground layer of the atmosphere. Natural complexes associated with large water arteries are divided into smaller ones, related to tributaries of various orders. Accordingly, natural complexes of the first, second, third, etc. are distinguished. orders of magnitude. Under undisturbed conditions, two neighboring natural complexes can be almost completely identical, but when man-made impacts occur, any changes in the components of the ecosystem will affect primarily within the natural complex where the source of disturbance is located. In urban agglomerations, natural complexes are the basic elements that form the natural component of the natural-technogenic geosystem. The choice of the order of the natural complex considered in each specific case depends primarily on the scale of the work. In particular, for the city of Moscow, when carrying out small-scale works (1:50000 and smaller), it is advisable to identify natural complexes confined to first-order tributaries of the river. Moscow (Setuni, Yauza, Skhodnya, etc.) More detailed studies require consideration of natural complexes of smaller orders as “basic” ones. For work carried out on a scale of 1:10000, it is optimal to consider natural complexes confined to tributaries of the second, third and (in some cases) fourth orders.

Territories of the natural complex - areas of the earth's surface outlined by urban planning boundaries, within which green spaces are preserved in relatively undisturbed conditions or partially restored. In Moscow, the territories of the natural complex include: urban and suburban forests and forest parks, parks, green areas for various purposes, water surfaces and river valleys.

It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of “natural complex” and “territories of a natural complex”: natural complex - a natural scientific concept, a single element of an ecosystem, whereas territory of the natural complex - an urban planning concept that defines the purpose and status of individual territories within the city of Moscow.

The doctrine of the natural-territorial complex, geographical landscape

Alexander Humboldt pointed out that “nature is unity in plurality, the combination of diversity through form and mixture, is the concept of natural things and natural forces as the concept of a living whole.”

A.N. Krasnov in 1895 formed the idea of “geographical combinations of phenomena” or “geographical complexes” that should be dealt with by private geosciences.

The generally recognized founders of Russian landscape science are V.V. Dokuchaev and L.S. Berg.

Landscape science began to develop especially rapidly in the 1960s in connection with the demands of practice, the development of agriculture and forestry, and land inventory. Academicians S.V. devoted their articles and books to landscape science issues. Kalesnik, V.B. Sochava, I.P. Gerasimov, as well as physical geographers and landscape scientists N.A. Solntsev, A.G. Isachenko, D.L. Ardmand, and others.

In the works of K.G. Ramana, E.G. Kolomyets, V.N. Solntsev developed the concept of polystructural landscape space.

The most important areas of modern landscape science include anthropogenic, in which a person and the results of his economic activities are considered not only as an external factor that disturbs the landscape, but as an equal component of the PTC or natural-anthropogenic landscape.

On the theoretical basis of landscape science, new interdisciplinary directions are being formed that have significant integration significance for all geography (ecological geography, historical geography of landscapes, etc.)

Natural-territorial complex. TPK Groups

Natural-territorial complex(natural geosystem, geographic complex, natural landscape), a natural spatial combination of natural components that form integral systems at different levels (from the geographic envelope to the facies); one of the basic concepts of physical geography.

There is an exchange of substances and energy between individual natural territorial complexes and their components.

Groups of natural-territorial complexes :

1) global;

2) regional;

3) local.

Towards global PTC refers to the geographic envelope (some geographers include continents, oceans and physiographic zones).

TO regional– physical-geographical countries, regions and other azonal formations, as well as zonal – physical-geographical belts, zones and subzones.

Local PTCs, as a rule, are confined to meso- and microforms of relief (ravines, gullies, river valleys, etc.) or to their elements (slopes, peaks, etc.).

Systematics of natural-territorial complexes

Option 1:

a) physical-geographical zoning.

b) physical-geographical country.

c) physical-geographical region.

d) physical-geographical region.

The result of work on physical-geographical zoning is a map of the USSR on a scale of 1:8000000, and then a landscape map on a scale of 1:4000000.

Under physical-geographical country is understood as a part of the continent, formed on the basis of a large tectonic structure (shield, plate, platform, folded area) and the common tectonic regime in the Neogene-Quaternary time, characterized by a certain unity of relief (plains, plateaus, upland shields, mountains and highlands), microclimate and its structure of horizontal zoning and altitudinal zonation. Examples: Russian Plain, Ural Mountain Country, Sahara, Fennoscandia. On maps of the physical-geographical zoning of continents, 65-75, sometimes more, natural complexes are usually identified.

Physiographic region- part of a physical-geographical country, isolated mainly during the Neogene-Quaternary time under the influence of tectonic movements, marine transgressions, continental glaciations, with the same type of relief, climate and a peculiar manifestation of horizontal zoning and altitudinal zonation. Examples: Meshchera Lowland, Central Russian Upland.

Option 2:

Typological classification. Determination of PTC by similarity.

a) Classes of natural complexes (mountain and plain).

b) Types (according to zonal criterion)

c) Genera and species (by the nature of vegetation and some other characteristics).

Comparing the physical-geographical zoning and typological classification of PTC, one can notice that in the system of physical-geographical zoning, the higher the rank of PTC, the more unique it is, while with typological classification, on the contrary, the higher the rank, the less pronounced its individuality