Learn Class 6 Science - Our Environment (Water, Air Around us, Garbage in Garbage out)

The environment is the natural surroundings that include both non-living things and living things. The word environment derives from the word Environ. Environ is a French word that means surrounding.

Ecosystem

An ecosystem refers to the living and nonliving things that live in the environment.

There are two types of ecosystems.

• Natural ecosystems
• Artificial ecosystems

Natural ecosystems

Natural ecosystems refer to the things that are already present by nature. Some examples are lakes, mountains, and deserts.

Artificial ecosystems

Artificial ecosystems refer to the environment that human beings make. Some examples are aquariums, gardens, zoos.

Components of the environment

The environment consists of two main components

• Biotic environment
• Non-biotic environment

Biotic environment

The biotic environment is an environment that consists of all living organisms like animals, birds, mammals, bacteria, insects, and many more.

Abiotic environment

The abiotic environment consists of non-living things such as air, water, mountains, sand, and many more.

The vitality of the environment

All living things depend on the environment for food, water, and shelter. It helps in maintaining a healthy flow of life. Therefore, it is very important to protect the environment.

Human activities and the environment

With the increase in technology and developments, humans started activities that affect the environment intensively. The activities are deforestation, acidification of oceans and seas, global warming, pollution, overpopulation, etc.