Biological resources and their use. Examination: Forest and biological resources of the Russian Federation. See what "biological resources" are in other dictionaries

Very good information here: http://www.refia.ru/index.php?13+2

Genetic resources, organisms or parts thereof, populations or any other biotic components of ecosystems of actual or potential utility or value to mankind (Convention on Biological Diversity.)

- living sources of obtaining material goods necessary for a person(food, raw materials for industry, material for breeding crops, farm animals and microorganisms, for recreational use).

B.r. - the most important component of the human habitat, these are plants, animals, fungi, algae, bacteria, as well as their combinations - communities and ecosystems (forests, meadows, aquatic ecosystems, swamps, etc.). K B.r. also include organisms that are cultivated by humans: cultivated plants, domestic animals, strains of bacteria and fungi used in industry and agriculture. Due to the ability of organisms to reproduce, all B.r. are renewable, however, a person must maintain the conditions under which the renewability of B.r. will be. At modern system use of B.r. a large part of them are threatened with destruction.

The significance of bioresources for human life is obvious and hardly needs separate explanations, and the assessment of their quantity, the ability to reproduce and the place of a person in the system is a vital and, finally, simply a very exciting task.

How to evaluate bioresources?

Bioresources are the living matter of the Earth, mainly the flora and fauna.

To assess bioresources at the most general level, the following concepts are most often used:

o Biomass - the mass of all living organisms;

o Phytomass - total mass of plants;

o Zoomass - the total mass of animals;

o Bioproductivity - increase in biomass per unit of time.

Bioresources are probably the most difficult object of assessment.

First, bioresources are fundamentally different in terms of their potential uses, and an estimate of the total biomass by itself provides little information (unlike, for example, an estimate of oil or even hydrocarbon reserves in general).

For example, wood is a building material, fuel and at the same time a source of oxygen and the main natural air purifier. Finally, this is a place of rest, i.e. recreational resource.

In addition, in some regions - both in Russia and other countries, the economic importance of hunting, fishing, picking berries, mushrooms, medicinal herbs and other industries. The natural environment continues to feed man.

The biological resources of the World Ocean, primarily fish, are also mainly a source of food.

It turns out that 70% of the Earth's surface occupied by the ocean is dominated by the "primitive", "appropriating" type of economy, albeit with the use of modern technical means.

Secondly, it is difficult to distinguish between bio- and agro-resources. The expansion of agricultural areas can only come at the expense of living nature - forests, steppes, peat bogs.

In this case, do we consider it as a bio-resource in the form in which it is now, or as an agro-resource - potential or already existing (for example, natural pasture)?

Now more than a third of the earth's land surface is occupied by agricultural land. Agricultural crops can be considered part of the total phytomass of the Earth, and domestic animals - part of its zoomass.

Below we will give general estimates of biomass, and then we will evaluate its human and agricultural components.

Thirdly, bioresources are renewable and at the same time vulnerable. Their volume is variable and depends on many factors. In addition, the ratio of volume and productivity for different types bioresources varies dramatically.

Therefore, for economic activity, biomass is “interesting” only in relation to its quality, possible use and growth rate.

Biological resources are objects of nature that humanity uses in its original form, and also uses to create material wealth. Along with this concept, there is also the concept of "conditions".

They differ from natural resources in that they themselves have an impact on human activity and life, but at the moment they do not participate in any production. IN Lately the line between them is getting thinner. For example, now air is also a biological resource. Although earlier it was considered only a natural condition.

Biological resources: classification

They differ in several ways. Among them are: atmospheric, plant, water, soil, energy, animals and other resources. The exhaustibility classification is widely known and interesting. It orients humanity towards the use, first of all, of priority reserves, towards the replacement of some reserves by others. These include, firstly, inexhaustible biological resources as the safest in terms of consequences for environment. For this reason, humanity is obliged to look for ways to use them to the fullest extent. Secondly, they include renewable resources, including slowly recovering vegetable resources (for example, peat deposits).

Their use is promising for the population of the Earth. So, this classification divides biological resources into inexhaustible and exhaustible. Among the latter, renewable, non-renewable (dispersible and destroyed) and relatively renewable are distinguished. In addition, natural reserves are replaceable (for example, metals for plastic) and irreplaceable (for example, water and air).

Biological resources of Russia

Not all natural resources are distributed evenly throughout the world. Thus, Russia has the largest land resources in the world. Its area is huge - 17 million km². However, there is not so much land suitable for arable land, pastures and hayfields - only 13%. But in terms of forest reserves, Russia ranks first among the rest of the world. They make up 40% of the entire territory of the country. And coniferous forests predominate. The vegetation of the temperate zone, tundra, desert and steppe is also widespread on its territory. The world of animals is represented by fur-bearing animals (squirrel, arctic fox, fox, muskrat, sable) and fish (marine, freshwater).

Biological resources of the oceans

This source of natural reserves is extremely important for the planet. After all, the growing shortage of food makes us turn to it more and more often. The species diversity of all plants and animals living in the oceans is much less than on land. However, their number and biomass reaches several tens of billions of tons. Nekton occupies the leading place in terms of the scale of application and significance. Up to 85% of its biomass is fish. The rest is accounted for by cephalopods. The next complex of ocean animals and plants is benthos, which is used to a lesser extent. It is represented by bivalves, echinoderms, crustaceans, and some algae. The third complex is plankton. It is inhabited by some crustaceans, mollusks and

Of course, the indicator of resource availability is primarily affected by the wealth or poverty of the territory in natural resources. But since the availability of resources also depends on the scale of their extraction (consumption), this concept is not natural, but socio-economic.

Example. The world general geological reserves of mineral fuel are estimated at 5.5 trillion tons of standard fuel. This means that at the current level of production, they can be enough for about 350400 years! However, if we take into account the reserves available for extraction (including taking into account their placement), as well as the constant growth in consumption, such a security will be reduced many times over.

It is clear that in the long term, the level of security depends on what class of natural resources this or that type of them belongs to, exhaustible (non-renewable and renewable) or inexhaustible resources. (creative task 1.)

2. Mineral resources: are they enough?

People in ancient times learned to use some of these resources, which found its expression in the names of historical periods in the development of human civilization, such as the Stone Age. There are over 200 different types in use today. mineral resources. According to the figurative expression of academician A.E. Fersman (1883-1945), now the entire periodic system of Mendeleev is laid down at the feet of mankind. .

The biological resources of Russia are a combination of flora and fauna, spreading in the halos of their habitat throughout the Russian Federation. Taking into account the large length of the borders of the Russian Federation, one can observe a significant variety of plant and animal complexes and species: the animals inhabiting the Arctic tundra, as well as the plant surface of this natural zone of Russia, are extremely different from the flora and fauna of the Russian subtropics.

In total, there are nine natural zones in Russia, each of which is dominated by its unique representatives of the animal world and certain types of plants can freely and abundantly grow. Together, biological resources create biomass and the image of our country.

Importance of biological resources

The importance of biological resources cannot be overestimated. One can only list what biological resources do for our planet, and in particular for our country - Russia:

Biological resources create the soil layer;

They enrich the atmosphere with oxygen and participate in gas exchange between living beings;

Protect the soil layer from leaching and erosion;

They are a source of food for humans;

Serve as food for other living organisms;

Used in a variety of industrial areas;

Keep the planet's water resources clean.

Thus, biological resources are living organisms that can be used by a person and bring him any benefit.

Biological resources are divided into:

Zoomassu - a set of animal species;

Phytomass (a set of plant and wood resources)

Bioresources are exhaustible and renewable.

In order to somehow imagine all the diversity and impressive number of biological resources, you need to comprehend the figure of two million - that is how many living creatures live on our planet.

Absolutely all types of biological resources are present in the Russian Federation - they are inextricably linked with the natural zones of our country. From the Arctic to the desert, all biological resources must be classified.

Flora and fauna are the two main blocks that together form the concept of "biological resources".

Flora

Flora (phytomass) is subdivided into:

Forest resources (timber/non-timber);

Feed

Food oceanic (algae)

Feed resources are divided into:

Agricultural land and arable land;

Fruit and vegetable plantations, orchards and orchards;

Industrial fields (hayfields for livestock feeding)

Russia rightfully ranks first in terms of forest plantations (45% of the entire territory Russian Federation), both primary and secondary stands (planted by man). Primary forest plantations include forests that have arisen independently of human efforts. Secondary forests are planted thanks to man, usually in places of mass clearing, along roadsides, along river banks to protect soil from leaching, in desert places to prevent soil erosion under the influence of wind.

Unfortunately, plant biological resources, in particular this nuance concerns forests, are slowly being renewed. Therefore, the ratio of forests of primary and secondary nature must inexorably increase in favor of the latter, especially taking into account the fact that forests in our country are rapidly being destroyed by mass industrial cutting.

Fauna

Fauna (zoomass) is divided into species:

Hunting and fishing;

Agricultural.

Hunting and commercial species include fur-bearing animals, predators of the taiga, forest-steppe and steppe, specially bred in kennels of hunting dogs and birds of the hawk breed. Fish resources absorb living organisms that live in rivers, lakes and seas. Agricultural resources include cattle, horse herds, deer flocks, sheep flocks, brood pigs, poultry and other animal species. Of the entire biomass of the Earth, 97% (about 1265 billion tons) are plants, and only 3% are representatives of the animal world. But how diverse are the species within these three percent, how many populations, species, and subspecies include these seemingly small numbers!

Protection of biological resources

As mentioned above, biological resources are exhaustible. This must be remembered. Participating in the global circulation of matter, a person is an integral part of the animal and plant worlds, and cannot fully exist and function without maintaining the closest connection with flora and fauna. Proceeding from this, a quite expedient conclusion arises: biological resources, due to their limited nature, must be protected. The protection of flora and fauna in Russia can be expressed in:

Adoption of legislative acts of the Russian Federation, which provide for what actions in relation to biological resources are allowed and which are considered illegal, for example, the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Environmental Protection”;

Activities of law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes against flora and fauna in accordance with Chapter 26 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Environmental Crimes";

Conscious actions of citizens and public associations aimed at protecting biological resources, their careful use and maintenance necessary conditions for their renewal.

Need help with your studies?

Previous topic: Flora and fauna of Russia: characteristic features
Next topic:   Natural resource potential of Russia: characterization and assessment of resources

The most important component of the human environment are. These are plants, animals, fungi, algae, bacteria, as well as their combinations - communities and ecosystems (forests, meadows, aquatic ecosystems, swamps, etc.). Biological resources also include organisms cultivated by man: cultivated plants, domestic animals, strains of bacteria and fungi used in industry and agriculture.

Thus, biological resources- these are natural sources of obtaining the material goods necessary for a person (food, raw materials for industry, material for the selection of cultivated plants, farm animals, microorganisms, for recreational use).

Due to the ability of organisms to reproduce, all biological resources are renewable, but a person must maintain the conditions under which the renewal of these resources will be carried out. With the modern system of using biological resources, a significant part of them is threatened with destruction.

The most important biological resources are the resources of flora and fauna. Man is inextricably linked with wildlife. His apparent current independence, isolation from nature is in fact only a consequence of the fact that man in the process of evolution has gone beyond the limits of its resource cycle. However, nature will live without man, but man without nature will perish. This is the significance of natural biological resources.

Biological resources are the basis of human life. This is his food, dwelling, clothing, source of breath, environment for rest and recuperation. The depletion of biological resources can lead to mass starvation and other unpredictable consequences. To maintain the stability of biological resources, a sufficiently highly developed base for their reproduction is needed. The human population is growing, and the amount of arable land on which the necessary agricultural products are grown, per capita, is decreasing. Even assuming that total area agricultural land will not decrease, then in this case the amount of fertile land per capita will decrease due to the growth in the number of people.

Today, for every inhabitant of the planet, including children, there is 0.28 hectares of fertile land (Table 2). By 2030, the area under crops is expected to increase by 5% (total!), while the world's population is projected to increase to 8 billion. This will reduce the amount of land per capita to 0.19 hectares. Virtually all of Asia, China in particular, will try to feed itself from a much smaller area of ​​fertile soil per capita.

Table 2. Provision of land and arable land (ha/person) in some countries of the world

	Land availability	arable land
Australia
Argentina
Brazil
Great Britain

Man provides the need for food resources mainly due to the fact that he grows various varieties of cultivated plants and breeds domestic animals. Industries like this Agriculture, as plant growing, including field growing, fruit growing, meadow growing, vegetable growing, melon growing, forestry, floriculture, and animal husbandry - fur farming, fishing and other types of trade. Thanks to these industries, man provides himself with food, and industry with plant and animal raw materials.

Plants create the necessary environment for human life, serve as an inexhaustible source of a variety of food products, technical and medicinal raw materials, building materials and so on. It is plants that are the primary link in natural food chains, and therefore, they are the primary link (producers) in relation to the animal world (consumers).