Symposium Introduction

Global processes of formation and motion of living matter in the biosphere are linked and are accompanied by cycles of matter and energy. In contrast to the purely geological processes, biogeochemical cycles, with the participation of living matter have a much higher intensity, speed and number involved in the turnover of the substance.

With the advent and development of human evolution has changed markedly. In the early stages of civilization cutting and burning of forests for farming, grazing livestock, fishing and hunting of wild animals, war devastated entire regions, led to the destruction of plant communities, the extermination of certain types animals. With the development of civilization, especially since the Industrial Revolution late middle ages, mankind has possessed all the more powerful, more and more ability to engage and be used to meet its growing needs of the huge mass of matter - both organic, living, and mineral, tap.

These changes in the biosphere processes began in XX century as a result the next industrial revolution. The rapid development of power engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, transport has meant that human activity has comparable in scale with the natural energy and material processes occurring in the biosphere. The intensity of human consumption of energy and material resources increases in proportion to population and even ahead of its growth. Vernadsky wrote: "A man becomes geological force that could change the face of the Earth. "This is a warning prophetically true. Effects of human (undertaken by man) activity is manifested in the depletion of natural resources, pollution of the biosphere industrial waste, destruction of natural ecosystems, changing the structure Earth's surface, climate change. Anthropogenic effects lead to violation of virtually all the natural biogeochemical cycles.

In accordance with the density of population change and the degree of human impact on the environment. With the present level of development of productive forces activities of human society affects the biosphere in general.