Nature
Nature is an inherent character or constitution,[1] particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part of nature, human activity or humans as a whole are often described as at times at odds, or outright separate and even superior to nature.[2]
During the advent of modern
Within the various uses of the word today, "nature" often refers to geology and wildlife. Nature can refer to the general realm of living plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes associated with inanimate objects—the way that particular types of things exist and change of their own accord, such as the weather and geology of the Earth. It is often taken to mean the "natural environment" or wilderness—wild animals, rocks, forest, and in general those things that have not been substantially altered by human intervention, or which persist despite human intervention. For example, manufactured objects and human interaction generally are not considered part of nature, unless qualified as, for example, "human nature" or "the whole of nature". This more traditional concept of natural things that can still be found today implies a distinction between the natural and the artificial, with the artificial being understood as that which has been brought into being by a human consciousness or a human mind. Depending on the particular context, the term "natural" might also be distinguished from the unnatural or the supernatural.[2]
Etymology
The word nature is borrowed from the Old French nature and is derived from the Latin word natura, or "essential qualities, innate disposition", and in ancient times, literally meant "birth".[5] In ancient philosophy, natura is mostly used as the Latin translation of the Greek word physis (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics of plants, animals, and other features of the world to develop of their own accord.[6][7] The concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is one of several expansions of the original notion;[2] it began with certain core applications of the word φύσις by pre-Socratic philosophers (though this word had a dynamic dimension then, especially for Heraclitus), and has steadily gained currency ever since.
Earth
billion years ago ) |
Earth is the only
Earth has evolved through geological and biological processes that have left traces of the original conditions. The
The atmospheric conditions have been significantly altered from the original conditions by the presence of life-forms,[9] which create an ecological balance that stabilizes the surface conditions. Despite the wide regional variations in climate by latitude and other geographic factors, the long-term average global climate is quite stable during interglacial periods,[10] and variations of a degree or two of average global temperature have historically had major effects on the ecological balance, and on the actual geography of the Earth.[11][12]
Geology
Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition,
Geological evolution
The geology of an area evolves through time as rock units are deposited and inserted and deformational processes change their shapes and locations.
Rock units are first emplaced either by
, push upwards into the overlying rock, and crystallize as they intrude.After the initial sequence of rocks has been deposited, the rock units can be
Historical perspective
Earth is estimated to have formed 4.54 billion years ago from the
Continents formed, then broke up and reformed as the surface of Earth reshaped over hundreds of millions of years, occasionally combining to make a supercontinent. Roughly 750 million years ago, the earliest known supercontinent Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia which broke apart about 540 million years ago, then finally Pangaea, which broke apart about 180 million years ago.[17]
During the Neoproterozoic era, freezing temperatures covered much of the Earth in glaciers and ice sheets. This hypothesis has been termed the "Snowball Earth", and it is of particular interest as it precedes the Cambrian explosion in which multicellular life forms began to proliferate about 530–540 million years ago.[18]
Since the Cambrian explosion there have been five distinctly identifiable mass extinctions.[19] The last mass extinction occurred some 66 million years ago, when a meteorite collision probably triggered the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but spared small animals such as mammals. Over the past 66 million years, mammalian life diversified.[20]
Several million years ago, a species of small African
period, required about 300 million years to culminate.The present era is classified as part of a mass extinction event, the Holocene extinction event, the fastest ever to have occurred.[21][22] Some, such as E. O. Wilson of Harvard University, predict that human destruction of the biosphere could cause the extinction of one-half of all species in the next 100 years.[23] The extent of the current extinction event is still being researched, debated and calculated by biologists.[24][25][26]
Atmosphere, climate, and weather
The Earth's atmosphere is a key factor in sustaining the ecosystem. The thin layer of gases that envelops the Earth is held in place by gravity. Air is mostly nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, with much smaller amounts of carbon dioxide, argon, etc. The atmospheric pressure declines steadily with altitude. The ozone layer plays an important role in depleting the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that reaches the surface. As DNA is readily damaged by UV light, this serves to protect life at the surface. The atmosphere also retains heat during the night, thereby reducing the daily temperature extremes.
Terrestrial weather occurs almost exclusively in the
Weather can have both beneficial and harmful effects. Extremes in weather, such as
Climate is a measure of the long-term trends in the weather. Various factors are known to influence the climate, including ocean currents, surface albedo, greenhouse gases, variations in the solar luminosity, and changes to the Earth's orbit. Based on historical and geological records, the Earth is known to have undergone drastic climate changes in the past, including ice ages.
The climate of a region depends on a number of factors, especially
Weather is a chaotic system that is readily modified by small changes to the environment, so accurate weather forecasting is limited to only a few days.[28] Overall, two things are happening worldwide: (1) temperature is increasing on the average; and (2) regional climates have been undergoing noticeable changes.[29]
Water on the Earth
Water is a
2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes, and ponds 0.6%. Additionally, a minute amount of the Earth's water is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.Oceans
An ocean is a major body of
The major oceanic divisions are defined in part by the continents, various archipelagos, and other criteria: these divisions are (in descending order of size) the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean. Smaller regions of the oceans are called seas, gulfs, bays and other names. There are also salt lakes, which are smaller bodies of landlocked saltwater that are not interconnected with the World Ocean. Two notable examples of salt lakes are the Aral Sea and the Great Salt Lake.
Lakes
A lake (from Latin word lacus) is a
Ponds
A pond is a
Rivers
A river is a natural
Streams
A stream is a flowing body of water with a
Ecosystems
Ecosystems are composed of a variety of
Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that
A smaller unit of size is called a microecosystem. For example, a microsystem can be a stone and all the life under it. A macroecosystem might involve a whole ecoregion, with its drainage basin.[46]
Wilderness
Wilderness is generally defined as areas that have not been significantly modified by human activity. Wilderness areas can be found in preserves, estates, farms, conservation preserves, ranches,
.Life
million years ago) |
Although there is no universal agreement on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that the biological manifestation of life is characterized by organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli, and reproduction.[48] Life may also be said to be simply the characteristic state of organisms.
Properties common to terrestrial organisms (plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria) are that they are cellular, carbon-and-water-based with complex organization, having a metabolism, a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, and reproduce. An entity with these properties is generally considered life. However, not every definition of life considers all of these properties to be essential. Human-made analogs of life may also be considered to be life.
The
Over nine-tenths of the total biomass on Earth is plant life, on which animal life depends very heavily for its existence.[50] More than 2 million species of plant and animal life have been identified to date,[51] and estimates of the actual number of existing species range from several million to well over 50 million.[52][53][54] The number of individual species of life is constantly in some degree of flux, with new species appearing and others ceasing to exist on a continual basis.[55][56] The total number of species is in rapid decline.[57][58][59]
Evolution
The
Species that were unable to adapt to the changing environment and competition from other life forms became extinct. However, the fossil record retains evidence of many of these older species. Current fossil and DNA evidence shows that all existing species can trace a continual ancestry back to the first primitive life forms.[65]
When basic forms of plant life developed the process of
Microbes
The first form of life to develop on the Earth were microbes, and they remained the only form of life until about a billion years ago when multi-cellular organisms began to appear..
These life forms are found in almost every location on the Earth where there is liquid water, including in the Earth's interior.[69] Their reproduction is both rapid and profuse. The combination of a high mutation rate and a horizontal gene transfer[70] ability makes them highly adaptable, and able to survive in new environments, including outer space.[71] They form an essential part of the planetary ecosystem. However, some microorganisms are pathogenic and can post health risk to other organisms.
Plants and animals
Originally
Among the many ways of classifying plants are by regional floras, which, depending on the purpose of study, can also include fossil flora, remnants
of plant life from a previous era. People in many regions and countries take great pride in their individual arrays of characteristic flora, which can vary widely across the globe due to differences in climate and terrain.
Regional floras commonly are divided into categories such as native flora and agricultural and garden flora, the lastly mentioned of which are intentionally grown and cultivated. Some types of "native flora" actually have been introduced centuries ago by people migrating from one region or continent to another, and become an integral part of the native, or natural flora of the place to which they were introduced. This is an example of how human interaction with nature can blur the boundary of what is considered nature.
Another category of plant has historically been carved out for weeds. Though the term has fallen into disfavor among botanists as a formal way to categorize "useless" plants, the informal use of the word "weeds" to describe those plants that are deemed worthy of elimination is illustrative of the general tendency of people and societies to seek to alter or shape the course of nature. Similarly, animals are often categorized in ways such as domestic, farm animals, wild animals, pests, etc. according to their relationship to human life.
Animals as a category have several characteristics that generally set them apart from other living things. Animals are
With a few exceptions—most notably the two
Human interrelationship
million years ago ) |
Human impact
Although
The development of
Humans employ nature for both leisure and economic activities. The acquisition of natural resources for industrial use remains a sizable component of the world's
Although early humans gathered uncultivated plant materials for food and employed the
Aesthetics and beauty
Beauty in nature has historically been a prevalent theme in art and books, filling large sections of libraries and bookstores. That nature has been depicted and celebrated by so much art, photography, poetry, and other literature shows the strength with which many people associate nature and beauty. Reasons why this association exists, and what the association consists of, are studied by the branch of philosophy called
Although natural wonders are celebrated in the
Matter and energy
Some fields of science see nature as matter in motion, obeying certain laws of nature which science seeks to understand. For this reason the most fundamental science is generally understood to be "physics"—the name for which is still recognizable as meaning that it is the "study of nature".
Matter is commonly defined as the substance of which physical objects are composed. It constitutes the observable universe. The visible components of the universe are now believed to compose only 4.9 percent of the total mass. The remainder is believed to consist of 26.8 percent cold dark matter and 68.3 percent dark energy.[92] The exact arrangement of these components is still unknown and is under intensive investigation by physicists.
The behaviour of matter and energy throughout the observable universe appears to follow well-defined
Beyond Earth
Outer space, also simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the
Outer space is sparsely filled with several dozen types of
Although Earth is the only body within the Solar System known to support life, evidence suggests that in the distant past the planet Mars possessed bodies of liquid water on the surface.[95] For a brief period in Mars' history, it may have also been capable of forming life. At present though, most of the water remaining on Mars is frozen. If life exists at all on Mars, it is most likely to be located underground where liquid water can still exist.[96]
Conditions on the other terrestrial planets, Mercury and Venus, appear to be too harsh to support life as we know it. But it has been conjectured that Europa, the fourth-largest moon of Jupiter, may possess a sub-surface ocean of liquid water and could potentially host life.[97]
Astronomers have started to discover extrasolar
See also
Media:
- National Wildlife, a publication of the National Wildlife Federation
- Natural History, by Pliny the Elder
- Natural World (TV series)
- Nature, by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Nature, a prominent scientific journal
- Nature(TV series)
- The World We Live In (Life magazine)
Organizations:
Philosophy:
- Balance of nature (biological fallacy), a discredited concept of natural equilibrium in predator–prey dynamics
- Mother Nature
- Naturalism, any of several philosophical stances, typically those descended from materialism and pragmatism that do not distinguish the supernatural from nature;[99] this includes the methodological naturalism of natural science, which makes the methodological assumption that observable events in nature are explained only by natural causes, without assuming either the existence or non-existence of the supernatural
- Nature (philosophy)
Notes and references
- ^ "Definition of NATURE". Merriam-Webster. January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
- ^ .
- Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687), for example, is translated "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", and reflects the then-current use of the words "natural philosophy", akin to "systematic study of nature"
- ^ The etymology of the word "physical" shows its use as a synonym for "natural" in about the mid-15th century: Harper, Douglas. "physical". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "nature". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
- .. The word φύσις, while first used in connection with a plant in Homer, occurs early in Greek philosophy, and in several senses. Generally, these senses match rather well the current senses in which the English word nature is used, as confirmed by Guthrie, W.K.C. Presocratic Tradition from Parmenides to Democritus (volume 2 of his History of Greek Philosophy), Cambridge UP, 1965.
- ^ The first known use of physis was by Homer in reference to the intrinsic qualities of a plant: ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας πόρε φάρμακον ἀργεϊφόντης ἐκ γαίης ἐρύσας, καί μοι φύσιν αὐτοῦ ἔδειξε. (So saying, Argeiphontes [=Hermes] gave me the herb, drawing it from the ground, and showed me its nature.) Odyssey 10.302–303 (ed. A.T. Murray). (The word is dealt with thoroughly in Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon Archived March 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.) For later but still very early Greek uses of the term, see earlier note.
- ^ "World Climates". Blue Planet Biomes. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2006.
- Science Daily. September 11, 2005. Archivedfrom the original on August 30, 2006. Retrieved January 6, 2007.
- ^ "Past Climate Change". U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
- ^ Hugh Anderson; Bernard Walter (March 28, 1997). "History of Climate Change". NASA. Archived from the original on January 23, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
- ^ Weart, Spencer (June 2006). "The Discovery of Global Warming". American Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on August 4, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-8047-1569-0.
- ^ Morbidelli, A.; et al. (2000). "Source Regions and Time Scales for the Delivery of Water to Earth". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 35 (6): 1309–1320. .
- ^ "Earth's Oldest Mineral Grains Suggest an Early Start for Life". NASA Astrobiology Institute. December 24, 2001. Archived from the original on September 28, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-684-81326-4.
- from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-521-36615-1.
- S2CID 43002817.
- ISBN 978-0-684-81326-4.
- PMID 2574887.
- PMID 11344295.
- (PDF) from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
- ^ The Holocene Extinction Archived September 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Park.org. Retrieved on November 3, 2016.
- ^ Mass Extinctions Of The Phanerozoic Menu Archived September 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Park.org. Retrieved on November 3, 2016.
- ^ Patterns of Extinction Archived September 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Park.org. Retrieved on November 3, 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-495-38337-6.
- S2CID 119942734.
- ^ "Tropical Ocean Warming Drives Recent Northern Hemisphere Climate Change". Science Daily. April 6, 2001. Archived from the original on April 21, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
- ^ "Water for Life". Un.org. March 22, 2005. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ "World". CIA – World Fact Book. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
- ^ Water Vapor in the Climate System, Special Report, American Geophysical Union, December 1995.
- UNEP.
- ^ "Ocean Archived January 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 2002. New York: Columbia University Press
- ^ "Distribution of land and water on the planet Archived May 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine". UN Atlas of the Oceans Archived September 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- JSTOR 210385.
- ^
Britannica Online. "Lake (physical feature)". Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
[a Lake is] any relatively large body of slowly moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin of appreciable size. Definitions that precisely distinguish lakes, ponds, swamps, and even rivers and other bodies of nonoceanic water are not well established. It may be said, however, that rivers and streams are relatively fast moving; marshes and swamps contain relatively large quantities of grasses, trees, or shrubs; and ponds are relatively small in comparison to lakes. Geologically defined, lakes are temporary bodies of water.
- ^ "Lake Definition". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ River {definition} Archived February 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine from Merriam-Webster. Accessed February 2010.
- peak; lake and pond; or river and creek?
- from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
- ^ Pidwirny, Michael (2006). "Introduction to the Biosphere: Introduction to the Ecosystem Concept". Fundamentals of Physical Geography (2nd Edition). Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2006.
- ^ Odum, EP (1971) Fundamentals of ecology, 3rd edition, Saunders New York
- ^ Pidwirny, Michael (2006). "Introduction to the Biosphere: Organization of Life". Fundamentals of Physical Geography (2nd edition). Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2006.
- ISBN 978-1-4398-2009-4.
- S2CID 31998098. Archived from the original(PDF) on October 1, 2009.
- ISBN 1-55963-465-0.
- ^ "Definition of Life". California Academy of Sciences. 2006. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-88936-882-8. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010., which takes global average weight as 60 kg.), the total human biomass is the average weight multiplied by the current human population of approximately 6.5 billion (see, e.g., "World Population Information". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 28, 2006.[permanent dead link]): Assuming 60–70 kg to be the average human mass (approximately 130–150 lb on the average), an approximation of total global human mass of between 390 billion (390×109) and 455 billion kg (between 845 billion and 975 billion lb, or about 423 million–488 million short tons). The total biomass of all kinds on earth is estimated to be in excess of 6.8 x 1013 kg (75 billion short tons). By these calculations, the portion of total biomass accounted for by humans would be very roughly 0.6%.
- ^ Sengbusch, Peter V. "The Flow of Energy in Ecosystems – Productivity, Food Chain, and Trophic Level". Botany online. University of Hamburg Department of Biology. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
- ^ Pidwirny, Michael (2006). "Introduction to the Biosphere: Species Diversity and Biodiversity". Fundamentals of Physical Geography (2nd Edition). Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
- ^ "How Many Species are There?". Extinction Web Page Class Notes. Archived from the original on September 9, 2006. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
- ^ "Animal." World Book Encyclopedia. 16 vols. Chicago: World Book, 2003. This source gives an estimate of from 2 to 50 million.
- ^ "Just How Many Species Are There, Anyway?". Science Daily. May 2003. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2006.
- ^ Withers, Mark A.; et al. (1998). "Changing Patterns in the Number of Species in North American Floras". Land Use History of North America. Archived from the original on September 23, 2006. Retrieved September 26, 2006. Website based on the contents of the book: Sisk, T.D., ed. (1998). Perspectives on the land use history of North America: a context for understanding our changing environment (Revised September 1999 ed.). U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division. USGS/BRD/BSR-1998-0003.
- ^ "Tropical Scientists Find Fewer Species Than Expected". Science Daily. April 2002. Archived from the original on August 30, 2006. Retrieved September 27, 2006.
- S2CID 42696030.
- S2CID 23011961.
- ISBN 978-92-807-2087-7.
- ^ "Why the Amazon Rainforest is So Rich in Species: News". Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. December 5, 2005. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ "Why The Amazon Rainforest Is So Rich in Species". Sciencedaily.com. December 5, 2005. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- .
- PMID 16754604.
- ISBN 978-0-07-112261-0. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
- ^ PMID 11782495.
- ^ "Photosynthesis more ancient than thought, and most living things could do it". Phys.org. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- .
- PMID 8041691.
- PMID 11607462.
- PMID 14743976.
- PMID 11541716.
- ^ "flora". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on April 30, 2006. Retrieved September 27, 2006.
- ^ "Glossary". Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources. Reston, VA: Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. 1998. SuDocs No. I 19.202:ST 1/V.1-2. Archived from the original on July 15, 2007.
- S2CID 228077506.
- ^ Carrington, Damian (April 15, 2021). "Just 3% of world's ecosystems remain intact, study suggests". The Guardian. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- hdl:10261/242175.
- S2CID 247433264.
- ^ "Feedback Loops in Global Climate Change Point to a Very Hot 21st Century". Science Daily. May 22, 2006. Archived from the original on December 8, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
- ISBN 978-0805092998.
- S2CID 166478506.
- PMID 33288690.
- .
- ^ UK Government Official Documents, February 2021, "The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review Headline Messages" p. 2
- ^ Carrington, Damian (February 2, 2021). "Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations?". The Guardian. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "Natural Resources contribution to GDP". World Development Indicators (WDI). November 2014. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014.
- ^ "GDP – Composition by Sector". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "Plant Conservation Alliance – Medicinal Plant Working Groups Green Medicine". US National Park Services. Archived from the original on October 9, 2006. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
- ^ Oosthoek, Jan (1999). "Environmental History: Between Science & Philosophy". Environmental History Resources. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2006.
- ^ "On the Beauty of Nature". The Wilderness Society. Archived from the original on September 9, 2006. Retrieved September 29, 2006.
- ^ History of Conservation Archived July 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine BC Spaces for Nature. Accessed: May 20, 2006.
- ISBN 978-1-60819-216-8.
- S2CID 218716838.
- ^ Taylor, Barry N. (1971). "Introduction to the constants for nonexperts". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Archived from the original on January 7, 2007. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
- .
- S2CID 13968348.
- ^ Malik, Tariq (March 8, 2005). "Hunt for Mars life should go underground". Space.com via NBC News. Retrieved September 4, 2006.
- ^ Turner, Scott (March 2, 1998). "Detailed Images From Europa Point To Slush Below Surface". NASA. Archived from the original on September 29, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2006.
- ^ Choi, Charles Q. (March 21, 2011) New Estimate for Alien Earths: 2 Billion in Our Galaxy Alone | Alien Planets, Extraterrestrial Life & Extrasolar Planets | Exoplanets & Kepler Space Telescope Archived July 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Space.com.
- ^ Papineau, David (2016) "Naturalism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Archived April 1, 2019, at the Wayback Machine>
Further reading
- Droz, Layna; et al. (May 31, 2022). "Exploring the diversity of conceptualizations of nature in East and South-East Asia". Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. 9 (1): 1–12. ISSN 2662-9992.
- Ducarme, Frédéric; Couvet, Denis (2020). "What does 'nature' mean?". .
- Emerson, Ralph W. (1836). Nature. Boston: James Munroe & Co.
- Farber, Paul Lawrence (2000), Finding Order in Nature: The Naturalist Tradition from Linnaeus to E. O. Wilson. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.
- Lynch, Derek (October 17, 2023). "Have we reached the end of nature? Our relationship with the environment is in crisis". The Conversation.
- Naddaf, Gerard (2006). The Greek Concept of Nature. Albany: SUNY Press.
- Piccolo, John J.; Taylor, Bron; Washington, Haydn; Kopnina, Helen; Gray, Joe; Alberro, Heather; Orlikowska, Ewa (2022). ""Nature's contributions to people" and peoples' moral obligations to nature". S2CID 248769087.
- Worster, D. (1994). Nature's Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
External links
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (iucnredlist.org)
- Ducarme, Frédéric (January 3, 2021). "What is nature?". Encyclopedia of the Environment.