8.4 Environment

8.4 Environment (ESGB3)

The environment refers to everything that surrounds us, including the place where we live. We usually use the term 'environment' to refer to the physical aspects of our surroundings, which may be living (biotic) or non-living (abiotic). This means that if you live in a city, the environment consists of the buildings, roads and other infrastructure, while if you live on a farm, your environment consists of you pastures, farm house etc.

Although an environment consists of non-living and living things, the term 'environment' really just describes one's surroundings, but does not really define the relationships, connectedness or dynamic nature of those surroundings. To study how the living and non-living parts of the environment depend on and are influenced on each other, we need to understand a different concept- the ecosystem.