Symposium Introduction

Water - a critical component of the biosphere, and one of the essential factors of existence living organisms. The bulk of it (95%) is in the oceans, which occupies about 70% of the earth's surface and contains 1,300 million km ³ . Surface water (lakes, rivers) include a total 0,182 million km ³ , and amount of water in living organisms is only 0,001 million km ³ . Significant water reserves (24 million miles ³ ) contain glaciers. Large importance gases dissolved in water: oxygen and carbon dioxide. Their the number varies widely with temperature and the presence of living organisms. Carbon dioxide in water, 60 times more than in the atmosphere. Hydrosphere formed in connection with the development of the lithosphere, which for Earth's geological history has devoted a large amount of water vapor.

Lithosphere.

Most of the organisms living within the lithosphere, is topsoil, the depth of which does not exceed a few meters. Ground includes minerals formed during fracture of rocks, and organic substances - products of vital activity of organisms.

Living organisms (living matter).

Although fairly narrow limits of the biosphere, the living organisms within them distributed unevenly. At high altitude and in the depths of the hydrosphere and lithosphere organisms are relatively rare. Life is concentrated mainly the Earth's surface, in soil and in the surface layer of the ocean. Total mass organisms is estimated in 2,43 x10 ¹² etc. The biomass of organisms, living on land, at 99,2% represented by green plants and 0,8% - animals and microorganisms. In contrast, in the ocean of the proportion of plants account for 6.3%, and proportion of animals and microorganisms - 93,7% of the total biomass. Life focus mainly on land. The total biomass of the ocean is only 0,03 x10 ¹² tons, or 0,13% of the biomass of all creatures living on Earth.

The distribution of living organisms in the species composition observed important regularity. Of the total number of species accounted for 21% of the plants, but their contribution in total biomass is 99%. Among animals, 96% of species - invertebrates and only 4% - vertebrates, of which the tenth part of - mammals. Bulk living matter is only 0,01-0,02% of inert matter of the biosphere, but it plays a leading role in geochemical processes. Matter and energy necessary for metabolism, organisms draw from the environment. Limited quantities of living matter recreated, transformed and decompose. Every year, thanks to the activity of plants and animals, reproduced about 10% of the biomass.