biosfer

The biosfer is the global sum of all ecosystems and the living components of Earth, encompassing all organisms from microbes to plants and animals, and their physical environment. It integrates life with the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere, and its extent and composition change over time due to natural processes and human influence.

In the biosfer, energy from the Sun drives primary production by photosynthesis, forming the base of food webs. Through respiration and decomposition, matter is recycled in biogeochemical cycles such as carbon and nitrogen. The biosfer extends across land, oceans, freshwater, soil, and the interfaces with air where life exists, but its boundaries are not fixed and can shift with climate and ecological changes.

The concept has roots in late 19th-century geography and geology, with the term biosphäre introduced by Eduard Suess and later developed by Vladimir Vernadsky to describe the life-containing shell of the planet as a dynamic, interacting system. The biosfer is central to Earth system science and is closely linked to ecosystems, biodiversity, and biogeochemical processes. Human activities—climate change, pollution, habitat loss, and resource exploitation—affect the biosfer's balance, highlighting the importance of sustainable management and the study of planetary boundaries to maintain the resilience and functioning of life-supporting systems.