The mass of living matter is only 0.01% of the mass of the entire biosphere. Nevertheless, the living matter of the biosphere is its most important component.
The greatest concentration of life in the biosphere is observed at the boundaries of contact between the earth's shells: the atmosphere and the lithosphere (land surface), the atmosphere and the hydrosphere (ocean surface), and especially at the boundaries of three shells - the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere (coastal zones). These are the places with the greatest concentration of life V.I. Vernadsky called them “films of life.” Up and down from these surfaces the concentration of living matter decreases.
All systems studied by ecology include biotic components, which together form living matter.
The term “living matter” was introduced into literature by V.I. Vernadsky, by which he understood the totality of all living organisms, expressed through mass, energy and chemical composition. Life on Earth is the most outstanding process on its surface, receiving the life-giving energy of the Sun and setting into motion almost all the chemical elements of the periodic table.
According to modern estimates, the total mass of living matter in the biosphere is about 2400 billion tons (table).
Table Total mass of living matter in the biosphere
The mass of living matter on the surface of the continents is 800 times greater than the biomass of the World Ocean. On the surface of continents, plants sharply predominate in mass over animals. In the ocean we see the opposite relationship: 93.7% of the sea's biomass comes from animals. This is mainly due to the fact that the marine environment provides the most favorable conditions for animal nutrition. The smallest plant organisms that make up phytoplankton and live in the illuminated zone of seas and oceans are quickly eaten by marine animals and, thus, the transition of organic substances from plant to animal form sharply shifts the biomass towards the predominance of animals.
All living matter in its mass occupies an insignificant place in comparison with any of the upper geospheres of the globe. For example, the mass of the atmosphere is 2150 times greater, the hydrosphere is 602,000 times greater, and the earth’s crust is 1,670,000 times greater.
However, in terms of its active impact on the environment, living matter occupies a special place and is qualitatively very different from other inorganic natural formations that make up the biosphere. First of all, this is due to the fact that living organisms, thanks to biological catalysts (enzymes), perform, in the words of Academician L.S. Berg, from a physicochemical point of view, something incredible. For example, they are capable of fixing molecular nitrogen from the atmosphere in their body at temperatures and pressures typical for the natural environment.
In industrial conditions, the binding of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia (NH 3) requires a temperature of about 500 o C and a pressure of 300-500 atmospheres. In living organisms, the rates of chemical reactions during metabolism increase by several orders of magnitude.
IN AND. In this regard, Vernadsky called living matter a form of extremely activated matter.
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The main properties of living things include: 1. Unity X chemical composition. Living beings consist of the same chemical elements as non-living ones, but organisms contain molecules of substances characteristic only of living things (nucleic acids, proteins, lipids). 2. Discreteness and integrity. Any biological system (cell, organism, species, etc.) consists of individual parts, i.e. discrete. The interaction of these parts forms an integral system (for example, the body includes individual organs connected structurally and functionally into a single whole). 3. Structural organization. Living systems are capable of creating order from the chaotic movement of molecules, forming certain structures. Living things are characterized by orderliness in space and time. This is a complex of complex self-regulating metabolic processes occurring in a strictly defined order, aimed at maintaining a constant internal environment - homeostasis. 4. Metabolism and energy. Living organisms are open systems that constantly exchange matter and energy with the environment. When environmental conditions change, self-regulation of life processes occurs according to the feedback principle, aimed at restoring the constancy of the internal environment - homeostasis. For example, waste products can have a strong and strictly specific inhibitory effect on those enzymes that formed the initial link in a long chain of reactions. 5. Self-reproduction. Self-renewal. The lifetime of any biological system is limited. To maintain life, a process of self-reproduction occurs, associated with the formation of new molecules and structures that carry genetic information found in DNA molecules. 6. Heredity. The DNA molecule is capable of storing and transmitting hereditary information, thanks to the matrix principle of replication, ensuring material continuity between generations. 7. Variability. When transmitting hereditary information, various deviations sometimes arise, leading to changes in characteristics and properties in descendants. If these changes favor life, they can be fixed by selection. 8. Growth and development. Organisms inherit certain genetic information about the possibility of developing certain characteristics. The implementation of information occurs during individual development - ontogenesis. At a certain stage of ontogenesis, the body grows, associated with the reproduction of molecules, cells and other biological structures. Growth is accompanied by development. 9. Irritability and movement. All living things selectively react to external influences with specific reactions due to the property of irritability. Organisms respond to stimulation with movement. The manifestation of the form of movement depends on the structure of the body. |
To the main unique features of living matter, which determines its high transformative activities, can be attributed to:
1. Ability to quickly occupy free space , which is associated both with intensive reproduction and with the ability of organisms to intensively increase the surface of their body or the communities they form ( plenitude life ).
2. Movement is not only passive (under the influence of gravity) , but also active. For example, against the flow of water, gravity, air currents.
3. Stability during life and rapid decomposition after death (inclusion in the cycles), while maintaining high physicochemical activity.
4. High adaptability (adaptation) to various conditions and, in connection with this, the development of not only all environments of life (aquatic, land-air, soil), but also extremely difficult ones in terms of physical and chemical parameters.
5. Phenomenally high speed of chemical reactions . It is several orders of magnitude greater than in inanimate nature. This property can be judged by the rate of processing of the substance by organisms in the process of life. For example, the caterpillars of some insects process an amount of substance per day that is 100–200 times their body weight.
6. High rate of renewal of living matter . It is estimated that on average for the biosphere it is about 8 years (for land it is 14 years, and for the ocean, where organisms with a short life span predominate, it is 33 days).
7. Variety of shapes, sizes and chemical options , significantly exceeding many contrasts in inanimate, inert matter.
8. Individuality (there are no identical species and even individuals in the world).
All of the listed and other properties of living matter are determined by the concentration of large energy reserves in it. IN AND. Vernadsky noted that only lava formed during volcanic eruptions can compete with living matter in energy saturation
Functions of living matter. All activity of living matter in the biosphere can, with a certain degree of convention, be reduced to several fundamental functions that can significantly supplement the understanding of its transformative biosphere-geological activity.
1. Energy . This one of the most important functions is associated with the storage of energy during the process of photosynthesis, its transmission through food chains and dissipation in the surrounding space.
2. Gas – is associated with the ability to change and maintain a certain gas composition of the habitat and the atmosphere as a whole.
3. Redox – is associated with an increase in the intensity of processes such as oxidation and reduction under the influence of living matter.
4. Concentration – the ability of organisms to concentrate dispersed chemical elements in their body, increasing their content by several orders of magnitude compared to the environment, and in the body of individual organisms – by millions of times. The result of concentration activity is deposits of combustible minerals, limestones, ore deposits, etc.
5. Destructive – destruction by organisms and the products of their vital activity, including after their death, of both the remains of organic matter themselves and inert substances. The main mechanism of this function is related to the circulation of substances. The most significant role in this regard is played by lower forms of life - fungi, bacteria (destructors, decomposers).
6. Transport – transfer of matter and energy as a result of an active form of movement of organisms. Often such transfer is carried out over enormous distances, for example, during migrations and migrations of animals.
7. Environment-forming . This function largely represents the result of the combined action of other functions. Ultimately, it is associated with the transformation of the physical and chemical parameters of the environment. This function can be considered in a broader and narrower sense. In a broad sense, the result of this function is the entire natural environment. It was created by living organisms, and they also maintain its parameters in a relatively stable state in almost all geospheres. In a narrower sense, the environment-forming function of living matter is manifested, for example, in the formation and preservation of soils from destruction (erosion), in the purification of air and water from pollution, in enhancing the nutrition of groundwater sources, etc.
8. Scattering function opposite to concentration. It manifests itself through the trophic (nutritional) and transport activities of organisms. For example, the dispersion of matter when organisms excrete excrement, the death of organisms during various types of movements in space, or changes in integument.
9. Information The function of living matter is expressed in the fact that living organisms and their communities accumulate information, consolidate it in hereditary structures and transmit it to subsequent generations. This is one of the manifestations of adaptation mechanisms.
Despite the huge variety of forms, all living matter is physical and chemically united . And this is one of the basic laws of the entire organic world - the law of physical and chemical unity of living matter. It follows from it that there is no physical or chemical agent that would be fatal to some organisms and absolutely harmless to others. The difference is only quantitative - some organisms are more sensitive, others less, some adapt faster, others slower. In this case, adaptation occurs in the course of natural selection, i.e. due to the death of those individuals who were unable to adapt to new conditions.
Thus, the biosphere is a complex dynamic system that captures, accumulates and transfers energy through the exchange of substances between living matter and the environment.
For a long time it was believed that alive differs from nonliving such properties as metabolism, mobility, irritability, growth, reproduction, adaptability. However, separately, all these properties are also found among inanimate nature, and therefore cannot be considered as specific properties of the living.
Features of the living B. M. Mednikov (1982) formulated in the form axioms of theoretical biology:
1. All living organisms turn out to be a unity of a phenotype and a program for its construction (genotype), which is inherited from generation to generation (Axiom of A. Weisman) * .
2. The genetic program is formed in a matrix way. The gene of the previous generation is used as a matrix on which the gene of the future generation is built (axiom of N.K. Koltsov).
3. In the process of transmission from generation to generation, genetic programs, as a result of various reasons, change randomly and undirectedly, and only by chance such changes can be successful in a given environment (1st axiom of Charles Darwin).
4. Random changes in genetic programs during the formation of a phenotype are greatly amplified (axiom of N.V. Timofeev-Resovsky).
5.Multiply enhanced changes in genetic programs are subject to selection by environmental conditions (2nd axiom of Charles Darwin).
From these axioms one can deduce all the basic properties of living nature, and first of all such as discreteness And integrity- two fundamental properties of the organization of life on Earth. Among living systems, no two individuals, populations or species are identical. This unique manifestation of discreteness and integrity is based on the phenomenon of convariant reduplication.
Convariant reduplication(self-reproduction with changes) is carried out on the basis of the matrix principle (the sum of the first three axioms). This is probably the only property specific to life, in the form of its existence on Earth known to us. It is based on the unique ability for self-reproduction of the main control systems (DNA, chromosomes, genes).
Reduplication is determined by the matrix principle (N.K. Koltsov’s axiom) of the synthesis of macromolecules (Fig. 2.4).
Fig. 2.4. Scheme of DNA replication (according to J. Savage, 1969)
Note. The process is associated with the separation of base pairs (adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine: A-T, G-C) and unwinding of the two chains of the original helix. Each chain is used as a template for the synthesis of a new chain
Ability to self-reproduction according to the matrix principle DNA molecules were able to fulfill the role of carrier of heredity of the original control systems (A. Weisman’s axiom). Convariant reduplication means the possibility of inheriting discrete deviations from the original state (mutations), a prerequisite for the evolution of life.
Living matter in terms of mass it occupies an insignificant fraction compared to any of the upper shells of the globe. According to modern estimates, the total amount of mass of living matter in our time is 2420 billion tons. This value can be compared with the mass of the Earth’s shells, to one degree or another covered by the biosphere (Table 2.2).
Table2.2
Mass of living matter in the biosphere
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Divisions of the biosphere |
Weight, t |
Comparison |
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Living matter Atmosphere Hydrosphere Earth's crust |
In terms of its active impact on the environment, living matter occupies a special place and is qualitatively sharply different from other shells of the globe, just as living matter differs from dead matter.
V.I. Vernadsky emphasized that living matter is the most active form of matter in the Universe. It carries out gigantic geochemical work in the biosphere, completely transforming the upper shells of the Earth during its existence. All living matter on our planet makes up 1/11,000,000 of the mass of the entire earth's crust. In qualitative terms, living matter is the most organized part of the matter of the Earth.
When assessing the average chemical composition of living matter, according to A.P. Vinogradov (1975), V. Larcher (1978) and others, the main components of living matter are elements widely distributed in nature (atmosphere, hydrosphere, space): hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur (Table 2.3, Fig. 2.5).
Table2.3
Elementary composition of stellar and solar matter in comparison with the composition of plants and animals
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Chemical element |
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Zvezdnoe substance |
Sunny substance |
Plants |
Animals |
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Hydrogen (H) |
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Helium (He) |
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Nitrogen(N) |
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Carbon (C) |
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Magnesium (Md) |
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Oxygen(0) |
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Silicon(Si) |
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Sulfur(S) |
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Iron(Fe) |
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Other elements |
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Fig. 2.5. The ratio of chemical elements in living things
matter, hydrosphere, lithosphere and the mass of the Earth as a whole
The living matter of the biosphere consists of the simplest and most common atoms in space.
The average elemental composition of living matter differs from the composition of the earth's crust in its high carbon content. In terms of the content of other elements, living organisms do not repeat the composition of their habitat. They selectively absorb elements necessary to build their tissues.
In the process of life, organisms use the most accessible atoms capable of forming stable chemical bonds. As already noted, hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur are the main chemical elements of earthly matter and are called biofshy. Their atoms create complex molecules in living organisms when combined with water and mineral salts. These molecular structures are represented by carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. The listed parts of living matter are in close interaction in organisms. The world of living organisms in the biosphere that surrounds us is a combination of various biological systems of different structural order and different organizational positions. In this regard, different levels of existence of living matter are distinguished - from large molecules to plants and animals of various organizations.
1.Molecular(genetic) - the lowest level at which the biological system manifests itself in the form of the functioning of biologically active large molecules - proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates. From this level, properties characteristic exclusively of living matter are observed: metabolism occurring during the transformation of radiant and chemical energy, transmission of heredity using DNA and RNA. This level is characterized by the stability of structures over generations.
2.Cellular- the level at which biologically active molecules are combined into a single system. With regard to cellular organization, all organisms are divided into unicellular and multicellular.
3.Fabric- the level at which a combination of similar cells forms a tissue. It covers a collection of cells united by a common origin and functions.
4.Organ- the level at which several tissue types functionally interact to form a specific organ.
5.Organismal- the level at which the interaction of a number of organs is reduced into a single system of the individual organism. Represented by certain types of organisms.
6.Population-species, where there is a collection of certain homogeneous organisms related by unity of origin, way of life and habitat. At this level, elementary evolutionary changes in general occur.
7.Biocenosis and biogeocenosis(ecosystem) is a higher level of organization of living matter, uniting organisms of different species composition. In biogeocenosis, they interact with each other on a certain area of the earth's surface with homogeneous abiotic factors.
8.Biosphere- the level at which a natural system of the highest rank was formed, covering all manifestations of life within our planet. At this level, all cycles of matter occur on a global scale associated with the vital activity of organisms.
Based on the method of nutrition, living matter is divided into autotrophs and heterotrophs.
Autotrophs(from the Greek autos - oneself, trof - to feed, to eat) are organisms that take the chemical elements they need for life from the bone matter surrounding them and do not require ready-made organic compounds of another organism to build their body. The main source of energy used by autotrophs is the Sun.
Autotrophs are divided into photoautotrophs and chemoautotrophs. Photoautotrophs use sunlight as an energy source, chemoautotrophs use the energy of oxidation of inorganic substances.
Autotrophic organisms include algae, terrestrial plants, bacteria capable of photosynthesis, as well as some bacteria capable of oxidizing inorganic substances (chemoautotrophs). Autotrophs are the primary producers of organic matter in the biosphere.
Heterotrophs(from the Greek geter - other) - organisms that require organic matter formed by other organisms for their nutrition. Heterotrophs are capable of decomposing all substances formed by autotrophs, and many of those synthesized by humans.
Living matter is stable only in living organisms; it strives to fill all possible space. V.I. Vernadsky called this phenomenon “pressure of life.”
Of the existing living organisms on Earth, the giant puffball mushroom has the greatest reproductive power. Each specimen of this fungus can produce up to 7.5 billion spores. If each spore served as the beginning of a new organism, then the volume of raincoats already in the second generation would be 800 times greater than the size of our planet.
Thus, the most general and specific property live- the ability for self-reproduction, convariant reduplication based on the matrix principle. This ability, together with other characteristics of living beings, determines the existence of the main levels of organization of living things. All levels of life organization are in complex interaction as parts of a single whole. Each level has its own laws that determine the features of the evolution of all forms of organ
nization of the living. The ability to evolve acts as an attribute of life, directly resulting from the unique ability of the living to self-reproduce discrete biological units. The specific properties of life ensure not only the reproduction of their own kind (heredity), but also the changes in self-reproducing structures necessary for evolution (variability).
Definition of the term biosphere.
Biosphere (from ancient Greek βιος - life and σφαῖρα - sphere, ball) is the shell of the Earth populated by living organisms, under their influence and occupied by the products of their vital activity; “film of life”; global ecosystem of the Earth.
The biosphere is the shell of the Earth populated by living organisms and transformed by them. The biosphere began to form no later than 3.8 billion years ago, when the first organisms began to emerge on our planet. It penetrates the entire hydrosphere, the upper part of the lithosphere and the lower part of the atmosphere, that is, it inhabits the ecosphere. The biosphere is the totality of all living organisms. It is home to more than 3,000,000 species of plants, animals, fungi and bacteria. Man is also part of the biosphere, his activity surpasses many natural processes and, as V.I. Vernadsky said: “Man becomes a powerful geological force.”
French naturalist Jean Baptiste Lamarck at the beginning of the 19th century. for the first time, he essentially proposed the concept of the biosphere, without even introducing the term itself. The term "biosphere" was proposed by the Austrian geologist and paleontologist Eduard Suess in 1875.
A holistic doctrine of the biosphere was created by the biogeochemist and philosopher V.I. Vernadsky. For the first time, he assigned living organisms the role of the main transformative force on planet Earth, taking into account their activities not only at the present time, but also in the past.
There is another, broader definition: Biosphere - the area of distribution of life on a cosmic body. While the existence of life on space objects other than Earth is still unknown, it is believed that the biosphere can extend to them in more hidden areas, for example, in lithospheric cavities or in subglacial oceans. For example, the possibility of the existence of life in the ocean of Jupiter’s satellite Europa is being considered.
The concept of living matter.
Living matter is the entire collection of living organisms in the biosphere, regardless of their systematic affiliation. The term was introduced by V.I. Vernadsky.
This concept should not be confused with the concept of "biomass", which is part of the biogenic substance.
1 Characteristics of living matter
2 The meaning and functions of living matter
3 See also
4 Literature
5 Notes
Characteristics of living matter[edit wiki text]
The composition of living matter includes both organic (in the chemical sense) and inorganic, or mineral, substances. Vernadsky wrote: The idea that the phenomena of life can be explained by the existence of complex carbon compounds - living proteins, has been irrevocably refuted by the totality of empirical facts of geochemistry... Living matter is the totality of all organisms.
The mass of living matter is relatively small and is estimated at 2.4-3.6·1012 t (dry weight) and is less than 10−6 of the mass of other shells of the Earth. But it is “one of the most powerful geochemical forces on our planet.”
Living matter develops where life can exist, that is, at the intersection of the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. In conditions unfavorable for existence, living matter goes into a state of suspended animation.
The specificity of living matter is as follows:
The living matter of the biosphere is characterized by enormous free energy. In the inorganic world, only short-lived, unhardened lava flows can be compared with living matter in terms of the amount of free energy.
A sharp difference between living and nonliving matter of the biosphere is observed in the speed of chemical reactions: in living matter, reactions proceed thousands and millions of times faster.
A distinctive feature of living matter is that the individual chemical compounds that make it up - proteins, enzymes, etc. - are stable only in living organisms (to a large extent, this is also characteristic of the mineral compounds that make up living matter).
Voluntary movement of living matter, largely self-regulating. V.I. Vernadsky identified two specific forms of movement of living matter: a) passive, which is created by reproduction and is inherent in both animal and plant organisms; b) active, which is carried out due to the directed movement of organisms (it is typical for animals and, to a lesser extent, for plants). Living matter also has an inherent desire to fill all possible space.
Living matter exhibits significantly greater morphological and chemical diversity than nonliving matter. In addition, unlike non-living abiogenic matter, living matter is not represented exclusively in the liquid or gas phase. The bodies of organisms are built in all three phase states.
Living matter is presented in the biosphere in the form of dispersed bodies - individual organisms. Moreover, being dispersed, living matter is never found on Earth in a morphologically pure form - in the form of populations of organisms of the same species: it is always represented by biocenoses.
Living matter exists in the form of a continuous alternation of generations, due to which modern living matter is genetically related to the living matter of past eras. At the same time, the presence of an evolutionary process is characteristic of living matter, i.e., the reproduction of living matter occurs not by the type of absolute copying of previous generations, but through morphological and biochemical changes.
The meaning and functions of living matter[edit wiki text]
The work of living matter in the biosphere is quite diverse. According to Vernadsky, the work of living matter in the biosphere can manifest itself in two main forms:
a) chemical (biochemical) – I type of geological activity; b) mechanical – II type of transport activity.
Biogenic migration of atoms of the first kind is manifested in the constant exchange of matter between organisms and the environment in the process of building the body of organisms and digesting food. Biogenic migration of atoms of the second kind consists in the movement of matter by organisms during their life activity (during the construction of burrows, nests, when organisms are buried in the ground), the movement of the living matter itself, as well as the passage of inorganic substances through the gastric tract of ground eaters, silt eaters, and filter feeders.
To understand the work that living matter does in the biosphere, three basic principles are very important, which V.I. Vernadsky called biogeochemical principles:
Biogenic migration of atoms of chemical elements in the biosphere always strives for its maximum manifestation.
The evolution of species over geological time, leading to the creation of forms of life that are stable in the biosphere, goes in a direction that enhances the biogenic migration of atoms.
Living matter is in continuous chemical exchange with the cosmic environment surrounding it, and is created and maintained on our planet by the radiant energy of the Sun.
Functions of living matter:
1. Energy function
Absorption of solar energy during photosynthesis and chemical energy during the decomposition of energy-saturated substances, energy transfer through food chains.
As a result, there is a connection between biosphere-planetary phenomena and cosmic radiation, mainly solar radiation. Due to the accumulated solar energy, all life phenomena on Earth occur. It is not for nothing that Vernadsky called green chlorophyll organisms the main mechanism of the biosphere.
The absorbed energy is distributed within the ecosystem among living organisms in the form of food. Part of the energy is dissipated in the form of heat, and part of it accumulates in dead organic matter and turns into a fossil state. This is how deposits of peat, coal, oil and other combustible minerals were formed.
2. Destructive function
This function consists of decomposition, mineralization of dead organic matter, chemical decomposition of rocks, involvement of the resulting minerals in the biotic cycle, i.e. causes the transformation of living matter into inert matter. As a result, biogenic and bioinert matter of the biosphere is also formed.
Special mention should be made of the chemical decomposition of rocks. “We do not have on Earth a more powerful crusher of matter than living matter,” wrote Vernadsky. Pioneers
life on rocks - bacteria, blue-green algae, fungi and lichens - have a strong chemical effect on rocks with solutions of a whole complex of acids - carbonic, nitric, sulfuric and various organic ones. By decomposing certain minerals with their help, organisms selectively extract and include in the biotic cycle the most important nutritional elements - calcium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, silicon, and microelements.
3. Concentration function
This is the name for the selective accumulation during the life of certain types of substances for building the body of the organism or those removed from it during metabolism. As a result of the concentration function, living organisms extract and accumulate biogenic elements of the environment. The composition of living matter is dominated by atoms of light elements: hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sodium, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, calcium. The concentration of these elements in the body of living organisms is hundreds and thousands of times higher than in the external environment. This explains the heterogeneity of the chemical composition of the biosphere and its significant difference from the composition of the inanimate matter of the planet. Along with the concentration function of a living organism of a substance, the opposite to it in terms of results is distinguished - scattering. It manifests itself through the trophic and transport activities of organisms. For example, the dispersion of matter when organisms excrete excrement, the death of organisms during various types of movements in space, or changes in integument. Iron in blood hemoglobin is dispersed, for example, through blood-sucking insects.
4. Environment-forming function
Transformation of physical and chemical parameters of the environment (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere) as a result of vital processes in conditions favorable for the existence of organisms. This function is a joint result of the functions of living matter discussed above: the energy function provides energy to all links of the biological cycle; destructive and concentration contribute to the extraction from the natural environment and the accumulation of scattered, but vitally important for living organisms, elements. It is very important to note that as a result of the environment-forming function, the following important events occurred in the geographic shell: the gas composition of the primary atmosphere was transformed, the chemical composition of the waters of the primary ocean changed, a layer of sedimentary rocks was formed in the lithosphere, and a fertile soil cover appeared on the land surface. “An organism deals with an environment to which not only it is adapted, but which is adapted to it,” is how Vernadsky characterized the environment-forming function of living matter.
The four functions of living matter considered are the main, determining functions. Some other functions of living matter can be distinguished, for example:
The gas function determines the migration of gases and their transformations, and ensures the gas composition of the biosphere. The predominant mass of gases on Earth is of biogenic origin. In the process of functioning of living matter, the main gases are created: nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, etc. It is clearly seen that the gas function is a combination of two fundamental functions - destructive and environment-forming;
The redox function consists of the chemical transformation of mainly those substances that contain atoms with a variable degree of oxidation (compounds of iron, manganese, nitrogen, etc.). At the same time, biogenic processes of oxidation and reduction predominate on the Earth's surface. Typically, the oxidative function of living matter in the biosphere is manifested in the transformation by bacteria and some fungi of relatively oxygen-poor compounds in the soil, weathering crust and hydrosphere into more oxygen-rich compounds. The reducing function is carried out through the formation of sulfates directly or through biogenic hydrogen sulfide produced by various bacteria. And here we see that this function is one of the manifestations of the environment-forming function of living matter;
Transport function is the transfer of matter against gravity and in the horizontal direction. Since the time of Newton, it has been known that the movement of matter flows on our planet is determined by the force of gravity. Nonliving matter itself moves along an inclined plane exclusively from top to bottom. Only in this direction do rivers, glaciers, avalanches, and screes move.
Living matter embraces and rearranges all chemical processes of the biosphere. Living matter is the most powerful geological force, growing with the passage of time. Paying tribute to the memory of the great founder of the doctrine of the biosphere, A. I. Perelman proposed calling the following generalization “Vernadsky’s law”:
“The migration of chemical elements on the earth’s surface and in the biosphere as a whole occurs either with the direct participation of living matter (biogenic migration) or it occurs in an environment whose geochemical features (O2, CO2, H2S, etc.) are predominantly determined by living matter as the one that currently inhabits this system, and the one that has acted on the Earth throughout geological history.”
Due to active movement, living organisms can move various substances or atoms in the horizontal direction, for example, through various types of migrations. Vernadsky called the movement, or migration, of chemical substances by living matter biogenic migration of atoms or matter.
The concept of the biosphere is based on the idea of living matter. More than 90% of all living matter is terrestrial vegetation (98% of land biomass). Living matter- the most powerful geochemical and energy factor, the leading force of planetary development. The main source of biochemical activity of organisms is solar energy, used in the process of photosynthesis by green plants and some microorganisms to create organic matter. Organic matter provides food and energy to other organisms. Photosynthesis led to the accumulation of free oxygen in the atmosphere, the formation of the ozone layer, which protects from ultraviolet and hard cosmic radiation; it maintains the modern gas composition of the atmosphere. Life on Earth has always existed in the form of complexly organized complexes of various organisms (biocenoses). At the same time, living organisms and their habitat form integral systems - biogeocenoses. Nutrition, respiration and reproduction of organisms and the associated processes of creation, accumulation and decay of organic matter ensure a constant circulation of matter and energy. Associated with this cycle is the migration of atoms of chemical elements through living matter. Thus, all atmospheric oxygen circulates through living matter in 2000 years, carbon dioxide in 300 years. The composition of the organisms themselves is characterized by a wide variety of organic and chemical compounds. Thanks to living matter, soils and organic mineral fuels (peat, coal, possibly even oil) were formed on the planet.
Investigating the processes of migration of atoms in the biosphere, V.I. Vernadsky approached the question of the genesis (origin) of chemical elements in the earth's crust, and then the need to explain the stability of the compounds that make up organisms. Analyzing the problem of atomic migration, he came to the conclusion that organic compounds independent of living matter do not exist anywhere. “Under the name of living matter,” wrote V.I. Vernadsky in 1919, “I will mean the totality of all organisms, vegetation and animals, including humans.”
Thus, living matter is the totality of living organisms of the biosphere, numerically expressed in elementary chemical composition, mass and energy. In the 1930s IN AND. Vernadsky distinguishes humanity from the total mass of living matter as its special part. This separation of man from all living things became possible for three reasons.
Firstly, humanity is not a producer, but a consumer of biogeochemical energy. This thesis required a revision of the geochemical functions of living matter in the biosphere. Secondly, the mass of humanity, based on demographic data, is not a constant amount of living matter. And thirdly, its geochemical functions are characterized not by mass, but by production activity.
If man had not separated from the natural animal world, his number would have been about 100 thousand. Such protohumans would have lived in a limited range, and their evolution would have been determined by the slow processes resulting from population genetic changes characteristic of speciation. However, with the advent of man there was a qualitative leap in the development of nature on Earth. There is every reason to believe that this new quality is associated with the mind and consciousness of homo sapiens. Thus, the main species difference of a person is his mind, and it is thanks to consciousness that humanity has developed in its own way. This was also reflected in the process of human reproduction, since the formation of socially mature forms of consciousness requires a long time - at least 20 years.
What characteristic features are inherent in living matter? First of all this huge free energy. During the evolution of species, biogenic migration of atoms, i.e. The energy of living matter in the biosphere has increased many times and continues to grow, because living matter processes the energy of solar radiation, atomic energy of radioactive decay and cosmic energy of scattered elements coming from our Galaxy. Living matter is also characterized high speed of chemical reactions compared to inanimate matter, where similar processes occur thousands and millions of times slower. For example, some caterpillars can process 200 times more food per day than they weigh themselves, and one tit eats as many caterpillars per day as it weighs.
It is characteristic of living matter that its constituent chemical compounds. the most important of which are proteins, stable only in living organisms. After the completion of the life process, the original living organic substances decompose into chemical components.
Living matter exists on the planet in the form of a continuous alternation of generations, due to which the newly formed generation is genetically connected with the living matter of past eras. This is the main structural unit of the biosphere, which determines all other processes on the surface of the earth's crust. It is characteristic of living matter presence of an evolutionary process. The genetic information of any organism is encrypted in each of its cells. These cells are originally destined to be themselves, with the exception of the egg, from which the whole organism develops. Thus, living matter is essentially immortal.
IN AND. Vernadsky noted that living matter is inseparable from the biosphere, is its function and at the same time “one of the most powerful geochemical forces on our planet.” Cycle of substances V.I. Vernadsky called biogeochemical cycles. These cycles and circulation provide the most important functions of living matter as a whole. The scientist identified five such functions:
Gas function - carried out by green plants that release oxygen during photosynthesis, as well as by all plants and animals that release carbon dioxide as a result of respiration;
Concentration function - manifests itself in the ability of living organisms to accumulate many chemical elements in their bodies (in the first place is carbon, among metals is calcium);
Redox function - expressed in the chemical transformations of substances in the process of life. As a result, salts, oxides, and new substances are formed. This function is associated with the formation of iron and manganese ores, limestones, etc.;
Biochemical function - is defined as the reproduction, growth and movement in space of living matter. All this leads to the circulation of chemical elements in nature, their biogenic migration;
The function of human biogeochemical activity is associated with biogenic migration of atoms, which increases many times under the influence of human economic activity. Man develops and uses for his needs a large number of substances in the earth's crust, including coal, gas, oil, peat, shale, and many ores. At the same time, there is an anthropogenic entry of foreign substances into the biosphere, and in quantities exceeding the permissible value. This led to a crisis confrontation between man and nature. The main reason for the impending environmental crisis is considered to be a technocratic concept that views the biosphere, on the one hand, as a source of physical resources, and on the other, as a sewer for waste disposal.
Living matter - living organisms that inhabit our planet.
The mass of living matter is only 0.01% of the mass of the entire biosphere. Nevertheless, the living matter of the biosphere is its most important component.
The greatest concentration of life in the biosphere is observed at the boundaries of contact between the earth's shells: the atmosphere and the lithosphere (land surface), the atmosphere and the hydrosphere (ocean surface), and especially at the boundaries of three shells - the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere (coastal zones). These are the places with the greatest concentration of life V.I. Vernadsky called them “films of life.” Up and down from these surfaces the concentration of living matter decreases.
The main unique features of living matter include the following:
1. The ability to quickly occupy (master) all free space. This property is associated both with intensive reproduction and with the ability of organisms to intensively increase the surface of their body or the communities they form.
2. The movement is not only passive, but also active, that is, not only under the influence of gravity, gravitational forces, etc., but also against the flow of water, gravity, air currents, etc.
3. Stability during life and rapid decomposition after death(inclusion in substance cycles). Thanks to self-regulation, living organisms are able to maintain a constant chemical composition and internal environmental conditions, despite significant changes in external environmental conditions. After death, this ability is lost, and organic remains are very quickly destroyed. The resulting organic and inorganic substances are included in the cycles.
4. High adaptive capacity (adaptation) to various conditions and, in connection with this, the development of not only all environments of life (aquatic, land-air, soil, organism), but also extremely difficult conditions in terms of physical and chemical parameters (microorganisms are found in thermal springs with temperatures up to 140 o C, in waters of nuclear reactors, in an oxygen-free environment).
5. Phenomenally high reaction rate. It is several orders of magnitude greater than in nonliving matter.
6. High rate of renewal of living matter. Only a small part of living matter (a fraction of a percent) is preserved in the form of organic residues, while the rest is constantly included in the processes of circulation.
All of the listed properties of living matter are determined by the concentration of large energy reserves in it.
The following main geochemical functions of living matter are distinguished:
1. Energy (biochemical)- binding and storage of solar energy in organic matter and subsequent dissipation of energy during consumption and mineralization of organic matter. This function is associated with nutrition, respiration, reproduction and other vital processes of organisms.
2. Gas- the ability of living organisms to change and maintain a certain gas composition of their habitat and the atmosphere as a whole. Two turning points (points) in the development of the biosphere are associated with the gas function. The first of these dates back to the time when the oxygen content in the atmosphere reached approximately 1% of modern levels. This led to the appearance of the first aerobic organisms (capable of living only in an environment containing oxygen). The second turning point is associated with the time when the oxygen concentration reached approximately 10% of its current level. This created conditions for the synthesis of ozone and the formation of the ozone layer in the upper layers of the atmosphere, which made it possible for organisms to colonize land.
3. Concentration- “capture” from the environment by living organisms and accumulation of atoms of biogenic chemical elements in them. The concentration ability of living matter increases the content of atoms of chemical elements in organisms compared to the environment by several orders of magnitude. The result of the concentration activity of living matter is the formation of deposits of combustible minerals, limestones, ore deposits, etc.
4. Oxidatively-reductive - oxidation and reduction of various substances with the participation of living organisms. Under the influence of living organisms, intensive migration of atoms of elements with variable valence (Fe, Mn, S, P, N, etc.) occurs, their new compounds are created, sulfides and mineral sulfur are deposited, and hydrogen sulfide is formed
5. Destructive- destruction by organisms and the products of their vital activity of both remains of organic matter and inert substances. The most significant role in this regard is played by decomposers (destructors) - saprophytic fungi and bacteria.
6. Transport- transfer of matter and energy as a result of the active form of movement of organisms.
7. Environment-forming- transformation of physical and chemical parameters of the environment. The result of the environment-forming function is the entire biosphere, and the soil as one of the habitats, and more local structures.
8. Scattering- a function opposite to concentration - the dispersion of substances in the environment. For example, the dispersion of a substance when organisms excrete excrement, change integument, etc.
9. Information- accumulation of certain information by living organisms, consolidation of it in hereditary structures and transmission to subsequent generations. This is one of the manifestations of adaptation mechanisms.
10. Biogeochemical human activity- transformation and movement of biosphere substances as a result of human activity for the economic and domestic needs of humans. For example, the use of carbon concentrators - oil, coal, gas.
Thus, the biosphere is a complex dynamic system that captures, accumulates and transfers energy through the exchange of substances between living matter and the environment.