One of the central links of the concept of the biosphere is the doctrine of living matter. Investigating the processes of migration of atoms in the biosphere, V. I. Vernadsky approached the question of genesis (origin, emergence) chemical elements in the earth's crust, and after that to 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.” Later he formulates the concept of “living matter”: “The living matter of the biosphere is the totality of its living organisms... I will call the totality of organisms reduced to their weight, chemical composition and energy, living matter.” The main purpose of living matter and its integral attribute is the accumulation of free energy in the biosphere. The ordinary geochemical energy of living matter is produced primarily through reproduction.

The scientific ideas of V. I. Vernadsky about living matter, about the cosmic nature of life, about the biosphere and its transition to a new quality - the noosphere, are rooted in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when philosophers and natural scientists made the first attempts to comprehend the role and tasks of man in the general evolution of the Earth. It was through their efforts that man began his advancement to the heights of the natural evolution of living things, gradually occupying the ecological niche allotted to him by nature.

In the 30s, V.I. Vernadsky singled out 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. The nature of mankind's assimilation of biogeochemical energy is determined by the human mind. On the one hand, man is the culmination of unconscious evolution, a “product” of the spontaneous activity of nature, and on the other hand, he is the initiator of a new, intelligently directed stage of evolution itself.

What characteristics inherent in living matter? First of all, it is a huge free energy. In the process of evolution of species, biogenic migration of atoms, i.e., the energy of living matter of the biosphere, has increased many times and continues to grow, because living matter processes the energy of solar radiation, atomic energy radioactive decay and cosmic energy of scattered elements coming from our Galaxy. Living matter is also characterized by a high rate of chemical reactions compared to non-living 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 as it weighs in a day

It is characteristic of living matter that the chemical compounds that make it up, the most important of which are proteins, are 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 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. Living matter is characterized by the presence of an evolutionary process. The genetic information of any organism is encrypted in each of its cells. V.I. Vernadsky classified living matter into homogeneous And heterogeneous. The first in his view is a generic, specific substance, etc., and the second is represented by regular mixtures of living substances. This is a forest, a swamp, a steppe, i.e. a biocenosis. The scientist proposed to characterize living matter on the basis of such quantitative indicators as chemical composition, the average weight of organisms and the average speed of their colonization of the surface of the globe.

V.I. Vernadsky gives average figures for the rate of “transmission of life in the biosphere.” The time it takes a given species to capture the entire surface of our planet in different organisms can be expressed by the following numbers (days):

Cholera bacterium 1.25

Ciliates 10.6 (maximum)

Diatoms 16.8 (maximum)

Green 166-183 (average)

plankton

Insects 366

Pisces 2159 (max)

Flowering plants 4076

Birds (chickens) 5600-6100

Mammals:

wild pig 37600

Indian elephant 376000

Life on our planet exists in non-cellular and cellular forms.

Non-cellular form living matter is represented by viruses that lack irritability and their own protein synthesis. The simplest viruses consist only of a protein shell and a DNA or RNA molecule that makes up the core of the virus. Sometimes viruses are isolated into a special kingdom of living nature - Vira. They can only reproduce inside certain living cells. Viruses are ubiquitous in nature and pose a threat to all living things. By settling in the cells of living organisms, they cause their death. About 500 viruses have been described that infect warm-blooded vertebrates, and about 300 viruses that destroy higher plants. More than half of human diseases owe their development to tiny viruses (they are 100 times smaller than bacteria). These are polio, smallpox, influenza, infectious hepatitis, yellow fever, etc.

Cellular forms life is represented by prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Prokaryotes include various bacteria. Eukaryotes are all higher animals and plants, as well as unicellular and multicellular algae, fungi and protozoa.

The concept of organic or inorganic substance becomes too small and the concept is introduced to replace it living matter of the biosphere.

At the beginning of the 20th century V.I. Vernadsky gave a definition to this concept.

Living matter - the entire set of bodies of living organisms in, regardless of their systematic affiliation.

The definition did not appear because of scale.

The mass of living matter is relatively small and is estimated at 2.4-3.6 10 12 tons (dry weight) and is less than 10 −6 the mass of other shells of the Earth. But it is “one of the most powerful geochemical forces on our planet.”

Basic properties of living matter in the biosphere

1. The ability to quickly explore free space. This connected both with ability to reproduce especially in the simplest organisms, and with the fact that many organisms significantly increase their body surface as they grow (plants, for example, or the range of a community).
2. Active and passive movement.Active movement of living matter of the biosphere- independent movement of organisms that requires energy expenditure: fish can swim against the current, birds fly against gravity, etc. Passive movement of living matter in the biosphere- movement that does not require energy expenditure - under the influence of natural forces - gravity, gravity, etc.
3. Stability of living matter(organisms) during life and rapid decomposition(due to the action of decomposers) after death.
   If we talk about chemical elements, then precisely due to this property of living matter they participate in various -, etc.
4. High degree of adaptation of living matter of the biosphere to environmental conditions. The fact that living organisms have mastered all 3 environments - land, water and air - no longer surprises anyone. In addition, there are microorganisms that can withstand both high and very low temperatures.
5. High speed of biochemical reactions of living matter. Indeed, the speed of reactions in living organisms is no more than a few minutes, the speed of the carbon cycle is several years (no more than 10).
   Vernadsky believed that sedimentary rocks are formed mainly by the waste products of living organisms. And this is a layer about 3 km thick!
   

High rate of renewal of living matter. It is calculated that on average for the biosphere it is 8 years, while for land it is 14 years, and for the ocean, where organisms with a short life span (for example, plankton) predominate, it is 33 days. As a result of the high rate of renewal over the entire history of life, the total mass of living matter that passed through the biosphere is approximately 12 times the mass of the Earth. Only a small part of it (a fraction of a percent) is preserved in the form of organic residues (in the words of V.I. Vernadsky, “went into geology”), the rest was included in the processes of circulation.

Functions of living matter in the biosphere

1. Energy function
   Producers absorb solar energy, converting inorganic substances into organic ones, while decomposers decompose organic substances into inorganic ones. Part of the energy in the process is converted into heat.
2. Concentration of living matter
   As a result of the vital activity of organisms, certain substances accumulate.
3. Destructive
   This is a consequence of the energy function - organic matter decomposes as a result of the cycle of substances and turns into a mineral (inorganic) form.
4. Environment-forming function of living matter
   Living matter changes and transforms the environment.

5. Transport
   Nutritional interactions of living matter lead to the movement of huge masses of chemical elements and substances against gravity and in the horizontal direction.
   

More on this topic:

The material composition of the biosphere is diverse. Vernadsky identifies seven deeply heterogeneous parts.The following main ones are currently offered

· Living matter , formed by a collection of organisms;

· Bone substance is non-living, formed without the participation of living organisms (solid, liquid, gaseous it can be) basic rocks, volcanic lava, meteorites);

· Biobone substance is a combination of living and bone substances, i.e. bone matter transformed by living organisms (water, soil, silt, weathering crust)

· Nutrients are substances necessary for the existence of living organisms , which is created during the life activity of organisms (atmospheric gases, coal, limestone)

· Radioactive decay substance

· Scattered atoms of terrestrial matter and cosmic radiation

· Substances of cosmic origin in the form of meteorites and cosmic dust.

The living comes only from the living; there is a sharp boundary between them, although they constantly interact.

One of the central links of the concept of the biosphere is the doctrine of living matter. Vernadsky formulates the definition of living matter. Vernadsky called living matter a form of extreme activity.

The living matter of the biosphere is a collection of living organisms. The main purpose of living matter is the accumulation of free energy. In terms of energy reserves, only lava formed during volcanic eruptions can compete with living matter.

Let us note the main, essentially unique, properties of living matter:

1. Ability to quickly occupy all available space . Vernadsky called this property “everythingness of life.” The ability to quickly develop space is associated with the intensity of reproduction.

2. Movement is not only passive (under the influence of gravity, gravitational forces), but also active(against the current, gravity, air currents)

3. High stability during life, rapid decomposition after death

4. High adaptability (adaptation) to various conditions and, in connection with this, the development of all living environments

5. High reaction rate. The rate of processing of a substance by organisms in the process of life. Food consumption is 100-200 times body weight

6. High rate of renewal of living matter The living matter of the biosphere is renewed every 8 years, with land taking 14 years and oceans taking 33 days. As a result of this property, the total mass of living matter passing through the biosphere is approximately 12 times the mass of the Earth. A small part of it is preserved in the form of organic residues, the rest is included in the processes of circulation.

All activity of living matter in the biosphere can be reduced to several fundamental functions. Vernadsky identified 9, but currently the names of these functions have been slightly changed and some of them have been combined. Classification proposed by A.V. Lapo (1987)

1. Energy. Associated with the storage of energy during photosynthesis, its transfer through food chains, and dissipation.

2. Gas . The ability to change and maintain a certain gas composition of the habitat and the atmosphere as a whole. The biosphere carries out two global processes that determine the gas composition of the atmosphere: the release of oxygen and the absorption of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, as well as the absorption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide during respiration. These processes ensure the relative constancy in the atmosphere of the two gases that determine the unique conditions of the Earth. Yes, thanks carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere there is a so-called Greenhouse effect significantly softening daily temperature fluctuations. Oxygen plays not only the role of an important oxidizing agent. At altitudes of about thirty kilometers, it actively absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays. The current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 0.03% O2-21%. In the development of the biosphere, two turning points are noted (Pasteur's points). 1st Pasteur point – when the oxygen content in the atmosphere has reached 1% of the current level. This led to the emergence of aerobic organisms, i.e. capable of living in environments containing oxygen. This happened 1.2 billion years ago. 2nd Pasteur point – 10% of the current level. This created the conditions for the creation of the ozone layer in the upper layers of the atmosphere and the conditions were created for organisms to reach land (before that protective screen there was water from the destructive ultraviolet rays.)

3. Redox . Intensification of oxidation processes, due to the enrichment of the environment with oxygen, and restoration in the process of vital activity of organisms. Thanks to enzymes, redox reactions in living organisms occur at rates significantly higher than the rates of reactions occurring in the geological shells of the planet.

4. Concentration. The ability of living organisms to accumulate chemical elements in their bodies. The result of this function is mineral deposits. The carbon content in coal is the highest in concentration. Oil is a concentrate of carbon and hydrogen under high pressure. Phosphorus accumulates in the bones of vertebrates (Apatites). Cretaceous deposits are of animal origin. They are formed by an accumulation of microscopic calcareous shells of marine amoebas. Over millions of years, chalk deposits undergo gradual crystallization, turning into limestone and marble.

5. Destructive . Destruction of bone substances and residues of organic substances by organisms and their metabolic products. Associated with the circulation of substances (fungi and bacteria), resulting in mineralization organic matter and turning it into inert.

6. Transport . Transfer of matter and energy as a result of the active form of movement of organisms. (Migrations and migrations).

7. Environment-forming . Creation natural environment and maintaining its parameters in a relatively stable state. Soil formation process, humus.

8. Scattering . Energy dissipation by trophic levels, death of organisms when moving in space, changing covers.

Very important information function– living organisms and their communities accumulate certain information, consolidate it in hereditary structures and transmit it to subsequent generations.

Introduction

The biosphere is the outer shell of the earth, the development of which is determined by the constant influx of solar energy. The complex organization of the biosphere is associated with the activity of living matter - the totality of all individuals of each species of living beings.

Living matter exists on Earth in the form of a continuous alternation of generations. Thanks to this, modern living matter turns out to be genetically connected with the living matter of all past geological eras. Living matter is associated with inert matter - the atmosphere (up to the level of the ozone screen), completely with the hydrosphere and lithosphere, mainly within the boundaries of the soil, but not only.

The atmosphere, hydrosphere and soil influence the living matter of the biosphere, providing it with mineral nutrition, water and air. For example, the nature of vegetation depends on the degree of soil moisture.

The living matter of the biosphere is heterogeneous and has three types of trophic interactions: autotrophy, heterotrophy, mixotrophy. Trophic ecological interactions contribute to the transformation of inorganic (inert) matter into organic matter and the reverse restructuring of organic matter into mineral matter. Representatives of each kingdom, type and class perform their functions in ecological interactions at the biosphere level.

Cosmic radiation in the biosphere is converted into various types of energy. The transformation of energy occurs in the process of its circulation between the substance of the planet and living organisms of the biosphere - the biogeochemical cycle of substances: the movement of huge masses of chemical elements, the redistribution of energy accumulated during photosynthesis, the transformation of information. The biogeochemical cycle of substances ensures the continuity of life in the biosphere with a finite amount of substance and a constant influx of solar energy, transforms the face of the planet, the physical and chemical habitat of living beings, including humans.

Nature management is an objective assessment of the state and optimization of the use of natural resources and environmental conditions, their protection and reproduction.

Living matter

According to V.I. Vernadsky, the substance of the biosphere consists of:

· Living matter- biomass of modern living organisms;

· Nutrient- all forms of detritus, as well as peat, coal, oil and gas of biogenic origin;

· Bioinert substance- mixtures of nutrients with mineral rocks of non-biogenic origin (soil, silts, natural waters, gas and oil shale, tar sands, part of sedimentary carbonates);

· Inert substance - rocks, minerals, sediments not affected by the direct biogeochemical influence of organisms.

Central to this concept is the concept of living matter, which V.I. Vernadsky defines it as a collection of living organisms. In addition to plants and animals, V.I. Vernadsky includes here humanity, whose influence on geochemical processes differs from the influence of other living beings, firstly, in its intensity, which increases with the course of geological time; secondly, by the impact that human activity has on the rest of living matter.

This impact is reflected primarily in the creation of numerous new species of cultivated plants and domestic animals. Such species did not exist before and without human help they either die or turn into wild breeds. Therefore, Vernadsky considers the geochemical work of living matter in the inextricable connection of the animal, plant kingdoms and cultural humanity as the work of a single whole.

According to V.I. Vernadsky, in the past they did not attach importance to two important factors that characterize living bodies and the products of their vital activity:

· Pasteur's discovery of the predominance of optically active compounds associated with the dissymmetry of the spatial structure of molecules, such as distinctive feature living bodies

· The contribution of living organisms to the energy of the biosphere and their influence on inanimate bodies was clearly underestimated. After all, the biosphere includes not only living matter, but also various inanimate bodies, which V.I. Vernadsky calls inert (the atmosphere, rocks, minerals, etc.), as well as bioinert bodies formed from heterogeneous living and inert bodies (soils, surface water, etc.). Although living matter in volume and weight constitutes an insignificant part of the biosphere, associated with changes in the appearance of our planet.

Since living matter is a defining component of the biosphere, it can be argued that it can exist and develop only within the framework of an integral system of the biosphere. It is no coincidence that V.I. Vernadsky believes that living organisms are a function of the biosphere and are closely connected materially and energetically with it, and are a huge geological force that determines it.

The initial basis for the existence of the biosphere and the biogeochemical processes occurring in it is the astronomical position of our planet, and first of all, its distance from the Sun and the inclination of the earth’s axis to the ecliptic, or to the plane of the earth’s orbit. This spatial location of the Earth determines mainly the climate on the planet, and the latter, in turn, determines the life cycles of all organisms existing on it. The sun is the main source of energy in the biosphere and the regulator of all geological, chemical and biological processes on our planet. This role was figuratively expressed by one of the authors of the law of conservation and transformation of energy, Julius Mayer (1814-1878), who noted that life is the creation of a solar ray.

The decisive difference between living matter and inert matter is the following:

· Changes and processes in living matter occur much faster than in inert bodies. Therefore, to characterize changes in living matter, the concept of historical time is used, and in inert bodies - geological time. For comparison, we note that a second of geological time corresponds to approximately one hundred thousand years of historical time;

· Over the course of geological time, the power of living matter and its impact on the inert matter of the biosphere increase. This impact, points out V.I. Vernadsky, manifests itself primarily “in the continuous biogenic flow of atoms from living matter into the inert matter of the biosphere and back”;

· Only in living matter do qualitative changes in organisms occur during geological time. The process and mechanisms of these changes were first explained in the theory of the origin of species through natural selection by Charles Darwin (1859);

Living organisms change according to change environment, adapt to it and, according to Darwin’s theory, it is the gradual accumulation of such changes that serves as the source of evolution.

IN AND. Vernadsky suggests that living matter may also have its own process of evolution, manifested in changes with the course of geological time, regardless of changes in the environment.

To confirm his thought, he refers to continuous growth central nervous system animals and its importance in the biosphere, as well as the special organization of the biosphere itself. In his opinion, in a simplified model, this organization can be expressed in such a way that not a single point in the biosphere “ends up in the same place, at the same point in the biosphere that it has ever been in before.” IN modern terms this phenomenon can be described as the irreversibility of changes that are inherent in any process of evolution and development.

The continuous process of evolution, accompanied by the emergence of new species of organisms, affects the entire biosphere as a whole, including natural bioinert bodies, for example, soils, ground and underground waters, etc. This is confirmed by the fact that the soils and rivers of the Devonian are completely different from those of the Tertiary and, especially, our era. Thus, the evolution of species gradually spreads and spreads to the entire biosphere.

Since evolution and the emergence of new species presuppose the existence of its beginning, the question naturally arises: does life have such a beginning? If there is, then where to look for it - on Earth or in Space? Can living things arise from non-living things?

Many religious figures, artists, philosophers, and scientists have thought about these questions over the centuries. IN AND. Vernadsky examines in detail the most interesting points of view that were put forward by outstanding thinkers different eras, and concludes that there is no convincing answer to these questions. He himself, as a scientist, initially adhered to an empirical approach to solving these issues when he argued that numerous attempts to detect traces of the presence of any transitional forms of life in the ancient geological layers of the Earth were unsuccessful. In any case, some remains of life have been discovered even in Precambrian layers dating back 600 million years. These negative results, according to V.I. Vernadsky, make it possible to suggest that life as matter and energy exists in the Universe forever and therefore has no beginning. But such an assumption is nothing more than an empirical generalization based on the fact that traces of living matter have not yet been discovered in the earth's layers. To become a scientific hypothesis, it must be consistent with other results scientific knowledge, including with broader concepts of natural science and philosophy. In any case, one cannot help but take into account the views of those naturalists and philosophers who defended the thesis of the emergence of living matter from non-living matter, and at present are even putting forward a substantiation of the hypothesis and model of the origin of life.

Assumptions regarding the abiogenic, or inorganic, origin of life were made repeatedly back in ancient times, for example, by Aristotle, who assumed the possibility of the emergence of small organisms from inorganic matter. With the emergence of experimental natural science and the advent of such sciences as geology, paleontology and biology, this point of view was criticized as not being justified by empirical facts. Back in the second half of the 17th century. The principle proclaimed by the famous Florentine physician and naturalist F. Redi is that all living things arise from living things. The approval of this principle was facilitated by the research of the famous English physiologist William Harvey (1578-1657), who believed that every animal comes from an egg, although he admitted the possibility of life arising abiogenically.

Subsequently, as physicochemical methods penetrated into biological research, hypotheses about the abiogenic origin of life began to be put forward again and more insistently. Above we have already talked about chemical evolution as a prerequisite for the emergence of the prebiotic, or prebiological stage of the emergence of life. V.I. could not help but take these results into account. Vernadsky, and therefore his views on these issues did not remain unchanged, but, based on the basis of precisely established facts, he did not allow either divine intervention or the earthly origin of life. He transferred the emergence of life beyond the Earth, and also admitted the possibility of its appearance in the biosphere under certain conditions. He wrote: “Redi’s principle... does not indicate the impossibility of abiogenesis outside the biosphere or when establishing the presence in the biosphere (now or earlier) of physicochemical phenomena that were not accepted in the scientific definition of this form of organization of the earth’s shell.”

Despite some contradictions, Vernadsky’s doctrine of the biosphere represents a new major step in understanding not only living nature, but also its inextricable connection with historical activities humanity.

The enormous merit of V.I. Vernadsky is the substantiation of the new content of ideas about living matter. Vernadsky called living matter “a set of organisms reduced to their weight, chemical composition and energy.” Living matter in its mass represents an insignificant part of the biosphere. If all the living matter of the Earth is evenly distributed over its surface, then it will cover our planet with a layer 2 cm thick. However, it is living matter, according to V.I. Vernadsky, that performs leading functions in the formation of the earth’s crust.

Living matter has a number of specific properties:

1. Living matter is characterized by enormous free energy.

2. In living matter chemical reactions proceed thousands (sometimes millions) times faster than in inanimate matter. Therefore, to characterize changes in living matter, they use the concept of historical time, and in inert matter, geological time.

3. Chemical compounds that make up living matter (enzymes, proteins, etc.) are stable only in living organisms.

4. Living matter is characterized by voluntary movement - passive, due to growth and reproduction, and active - in the form of directed movement of organisms. The first is a property of all living organisms, the second is characteristic of animals and, in rare cases, of plants.

5. Living matter is characterized by much greater chemical and morphological diversity than nonliving matter.

6. Living matter in the Earth’s biosphere is found in the form of dispersed bodies - individual organisms. The size and mass of living organisms fluctuate greatly (range greater than 109).

7. Living matter arises only from living matter and exists on Earth in the form of a continuous alternation of generations.

Living organisms within the biosphere are distributed very unevenly. On high altitude and in the depths of the hydrosphere and lithosphere, organisms are quite rare. Life is concentrated mainly on the surface of the earth, in the soil and the surface layer of the World Ocean.

V.I. Vernadsky identified two forms of concentration of living matter: films of life, occupying huge areas, and concentrations of life, represented by small areas (for example, a pond). The rest of the biosphere is a zone of rarefaction of living matter.

In the ocean, two life films can be distinguished - planktonic and bottom, which are located at the phase interface. Planktonic lies on the boundary of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, bottom – on the boundary of the hydrosphere and lithosphere. Concentrations of life in the ocean are divided into three types: coastal, sargassum and reef.

On land there are also various forms of concentration of life. The upper layer of life on land is terrestrial, located at the boundary of the atmosphere and lithosphere. Beneath it lies the soil film of life, which is a complex system inhabited by a huge number of bacteria, protozoa and other representatives of living organisms.

Concentrations of life are represented on land by coastal, floodplain and tropical forms.

An important pattern is observed in the ratio of the species composition of living organisms on Earth. Plants make up 21% of total number species, forming 99% of the total biomass. Among animals, 96% of species are invertebrates and only 4% are vertebrates, of which only 10% are mammals.

Thus, organisms standing at a relatively low level evolutionary development, in quantitative terms, significantly predominate.

The mass of living matter is very small compared to the mass of nonliving matter and amounts to only 0.01-0.02% of the inert matter of the biosphere. At the same time, living matter plays a dominant role in geochemical processes. Every year, thanks to the vital activity of plants and animals, about 10% of the biomass is reproduced. Living matter in the biosphere performs important functions:

1. Energy function – absorption of solar energy and energy during chemosynthesis, further transfer of energy through the food chain.

2. Concentration function - selective accumulation of certain chemicals.

3. Environment-forming function - transformation of physical and chemical parameters of the environment.

4. Transport function – transport of substances in vertical and horizontal directions.

5. Destructive function - mineralization of non-biogenic matter, decomposition of non-living inorganic matter.

Living organisms migrate chemical elements in the biosphere in the process of respiration, nutrition, metabolism and energy.

The main function of the biosphere is to ensure the cycle of chemical elements, which is expressed in the circulation of substances between the atmosphere, soil, hydrosphere and living organisms