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biosphere

From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008

biosphere irregularly shaped envelope of the earth's air, water, and land encompassing the heights and depths at which living things exist. The biosphere is a closed and self-regulating system (see ecology ), sustained by grand-scale cycles of energy and of materials—in particular, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, certain minerals, and water. The fundamental recycling processes are photosynthesis , respiration, and the fixing of nitrogen by certain bacteria. Disruption of basic ecological activities in the biosphere can result from pollution .

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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press

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