Biosphere

The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on Earth, a closed
system (apart from solar and cosmic radiation and heat from the interior of the Earth), and largely self-
regulating.
[1]
By the most general biophysiological definition, the biosphere is the global ecological system
integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of
the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The biosphere is postulated to have evolved, beginning with a
process of biopoesis (life created naturally from non-living matter such as simple organic compounds)
or biogenesis (life created from living matter), at least some 3.5 billion years ago.
[2][3]
The earliest evidences
for life on Earth are graphitefound to be biogenic in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks discovered
in Western Greenland
[4]
and microbial matfossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered
inWestern Australia.
[5][6]
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with
the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a
system.
[2]
These biotic and abiotic components are regarded as linked together through nutrient cycles and
energy flows.
[3]
As ecosystems are defined by the network of interactions among organisms, and between
organisms and their environment,
[4]
they can be of any size but usually encompass specific, limited
spaces
[5]
(although some scientists say that the entire planet is an ecosystem).
[6]
Energy, water, nitrogen and
soil minerals are other essential abiotic components of an ecosystem. The energy that flows through
ecosystems is obtained primarily from the sun. It generally enters the system through photosynthesis, a
process that also captures carbon from the atmosphere.
Community
A community is a social unit of any size that shares common values. Although embodied or face-to-face
communities are usually small, larger or more extended communities such as
a national community, international community and virtual community are also studied.
In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions
may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.
Since the advent of the Internet, the concept of community has less geographical limitation, as people can
now gather virtually in an online community and share common interests regardless of physical location. Prior
to the internet, virtual communities (like social or academic organizations) were far more limited by the
constraints of available communication and transportation technologies.
Population
A population is a summation of all the organisms of the same group or species, who live in the
same geographical area, and have the capability of interbreeding.
[1][2]

In ecology, the population of a certain species in a certain area is estimated using the Lincoln Index. The area
that is used to define a sexual population is defined as the area where inter-breeding is potentially possible
between any pair within the area. The probability of interbreeding is greater than the probability of cross-
breeding with individuals from other areas. Under normal conditions, breeding is substantially more common
within the area than across the border.
[3]

In sociology, population refers to a collection of human beings. Demography is a social sciencewhich entails
the statistical study of human populations. This article refers mainly to human population.