Natural reserve

The study of the relationships between organisms and the environment is called ecology, and ecologists are the scholars who deal with it. The set of living organisms and the physical environment (formed by the atmosphere, water and soil) represents the biosphere. A geographical strip with a certain type of vegetation and certain animal communities that characterize it is called a biome. Living beings are influenced by many environmental factors, called abiotic factors: temperature, rain, wind, type of soil, etc. Living organisms constitute the biotic factor of the ecosystem: they are influenced by environmental conditions and influence them in turn. An ecosystem is the part of the biosphere in which the community of living beings interacts with the physical environment. Usually, an ecosystem has some kind of natural boundary. Ecosystems are, for example, a park, a pond or a forest. For an ecosystem to exist at any time, a delicate balance must be established between biotic and abiotic factors. In an ecosystem, for example a forest, there are several spaces in which a living being can live: this is its habitat. In the habitat, each organism provides its own needs in a different way and its relationships with the environment constitute its ecological niche. The human species, like all others, influences the physical and biological aspects of its environment and, in turn, is influenced by it. In recent decades it has come to understand that the indiscriminate use of natural resources causes irreversible damage to the environment, since soil, water, air, plants and animals are elements in constant relationship with each other.