That part of the Earth's crust, waters, and surrounding air-layer which is inhabited by living organisms.

The totality of living things on Earth, along with their habitats—the largest ecosystem.

The world of living organisms.

The region of the Earth and atmosphere inhabited by life; this region stretches from a few km below the Earth's surface to a few km above.

A term that includes all of the ecosystems on the planet along with their interactions. The sphere of all air, water, and land in which all life is found.

A biosphere is an ecosystem which is closed to the input or output of matter, but open with respect to energy. The earth is a good example: It receives energy in the form of sunlight and radiates energy (infra-red) into space, but does not receive any materials (at least not enough to have an impact on life). Biosphere 2 in Arizona is another example, though they have not yet achieved a very good closure; food material has been imported, air has been leaking in & out and a few other miscellaneous things have crossed the 'boundary'. However they have (by far) the most impressive closed system built by man. The Russians are the first to work with CELSS. They have supported people inside their facility for months, and have graduated from simple closure using algae to a much more complex system using higher plants. Their systems are probably the closest to what we are building, though they weren't very well closed since many of their supporting materials (hydroponics) were imported or stored. The European term for biosphere ( CELSS) is BLSS, or Biological Life Support System.

Portion of Earth's atmosphere, ground, and water where life can flourish.

Zone of earth where life is found. It consists of parts of the atmosphere (the troposphere), hydrosphere (mostly surface water and groundwater), and lithosphere (mostly soil and surface rocks and sediments on the bottoms of oceans and other bodies of water) where life is found. Sometimes called the ecosphere.

the part of the world in which life can exist.

The zone of air, land, and water at the surface of the earth that is occupied by organisms.

The living and dead organisms found near the earth's surface in parts of the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. The part of the global carbon cycle that includes living organisms and biogenic organic matter.

The worldwide system within which all life functions; composed of smaller systems including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.

all living organisms of the Earth and the environments with which they interact

Literally, the part of the earth that supports life; more broadly, a large community of life-forms sharing a similar environment, such as a rain forest or prairie grassland.

living beings and their environment

that portion of the surface of the earth in which life exists.

the blanket of living things that surrounds the substratum of the earth.

all the Earth's ecosystems, including all living organisms and the environments in which they live

The zone of terrestrial life including the earth's surface plus the lowest part of the atmosphere and the upper part of the soil layer.

( by-oh-sfeer) [Gk. bios, life + sphaira, globe] The entire portion of Earth that is inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet's communities and ecosystems.

A narrow zone of the earth and its atmosphere in which living things exist.

All the area occupied or favorable for occupation by living organism. It includes parts of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere

the part of the planet where life can exist or the living beings that inhabit the Earth.

Sum Total of All the Ecosystems on the Planet BMC Black Mountain College, Asheville, NC, USA

includes terrestrial ecoregions, oceans, atmosphere, is a big body

The part of the Earth on which life is possible. The biosphere is now known to extend thousands of feet down into deep rock formations.

where living species are found, within a few meters of the earth's surface, in soil, water, or in the atmosphere.

the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth (or other planet) where living organisms exist

a contained area (either on a planet or space) where life can be supported

a maximal Ecosystem in the sense that it is ont contained by any other Ecosystem as a part

a region where beings live without support from outside (and are not just visiting, like astronauts in a space station or on the Moon )

a region where life can exist

a stable, complex, adaptive, evolving life system with the potential of operating in the right conditions as the major geological force transforming a planet's crust and as the source of sufficient free energy to power the start-up of a technosphere

is the term for the living components of the world that meet the seven characteristics of life: movement, feeding, respiration, excretion, growth, reproduction and sensitivity.

The biosphere is the whole region of the Earth's surface, including the sea and the air, that is inhabited by living organisms.

the parts of the earth's lithosphere, atmosphere, pedosphere, cryosphere, and hydrosphere in which all living organisms exist and interact; the zonal space extending from the immediate subsurface of the earth to the upper atmosphere.

Part of the earth and its atmosphere in which organisms live. The biosphere is a very thin layer and includes the land surface and subsurface, the world ocean, and a thin part of the troposphere.

The part of Earth where all living creatures are found. It extends upwards into the atmosphere and downwards into the lithosphere of rock.

The living part of the planet consisting of a thin layer that extends from just above to just below the earth's surface. The combined ecosystems of the earth

portion of the Earth that supports living organisms—on land (the terrestrial biosphere) and in the oceans (marine biosphere), and in the atmosphere. It includes all ecosystems and living organisms, and also dead organic matter. Marine and terrestrial biospheres contribute to the atmosphere's composition.

the collective name for living organisms on the planet

The part of the earth and atmosphere inhabited by or affecting living organisms.

The part of the world in which living beings can exist, or, as used in this text, all of the living beings of a world.

BI-o-sfere The ecosystem of the entire planet. 9, 858

the part of the Earth and atmosphere containing life.

The global ecosystem, composed of the earth's surface, its waters, atmosphere and all the living things it supports.

The earth and all its ecosystems.

web of organic life forms existing in air, water and surface of the earth.

1. the zone of the earth, extending from its crust out into the surrounding atmosphere, which contains living organisms. 2. all the living organisms of the earth.

The part of a planetâ€(tm)s outer shell, in which all life exists. On Earth, the biosphere starts 200 m below the surface of the oceans, and extends 30 m above it.

The portion of Earth and its atmosphere that can support life. The part (reservoir) of the global carbon cycle that includes living organisms (plants and animals) and life-derived organic matter (litter, detritus). The terrestrial biosphere in-cludes the living biota (plants and animals) and the litter and soil organic matter on land; the marine biosphere includes the biota and detritus in the oceans. Source: EPO.

the total of all areas on Earth -- even the deep ocean and part of the atmosphere -- where organisms are found

That component of the Earth system that contains life in its various form, which includes its living organisms and derived organic matter (e.g., litter, detritus, soil).

The thin covering of our planet that contains and sustains life.

All the living matter in its components: species, genus, groups and individuals.

total of all areas of the planet that contain and support life, including the air, land and water.

All ecosystems on Earth as well as the Earth's crust, waters, and atmosphere on and in which organisms exist; also, the sum of all living matter on Earth.

Portion of the solid and liquid earth where organisms live.

the part of the earth and atmosphere in which living things exist

the portion of the earth that contains all living organisms.

the area in which all living things exist; this sphere includes all of the microorganisms, plants, and animals of Earth, even humans.

The part of the earth and its atmosphere that is inhabited by living organisms.

The totality of life forms on Earth.

All life on planet Earth.

The parts of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere occupied by living organisms.

The realm of all living things.

all living organisms (plant and animal life).

The portion of the earth comprising the lower atmosphere, the seas, and the land surface (mantle rock) in which living organisms exist.

The life zone of the Earth, including the lower part of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, soil, and the lithosphere (the rigid outer crust of rock) to a depth of about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers).

The global ecosystem; that part of the earth and atmosphere capable of supporting living organisms.

That part of the earth and atmosphere capable of supporting living organisms. Biosphère

All of Earth's living organisms inhabiting and interacting with the physical environment (where the atmosphere, lithosphere, pedosphere and hydrosphere function together and support life).

The parts of the Earth and its atmosphere in which organisms can exist. Forest Management

A combination of all living things on Earth—plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, aquatic life, insects, viruses, single-cell organisms, and so on—as well as all formerly living things that have not yet decomposed.

The zone at and adjacent to the earth's surface where all life exists; all living organisms of the earth.

The transition zone between the earth and the atmosphere within which most terrestrial life forms are found. It is considered the outer portion of the geosphere and the inner or lower portion of the atmosphere.

Regions of the earth's surface and atmosphere occupied by living organisms

the total environment of the earth. It is the largest of the ecosystems. It includes all other ecosystems on earth.

The part of the planet that contains living organisms.

Zone incorporating all forms of life on earth: all the earth's ecosystems functioning together on a global scale.

The totality of all regions on the earth that support life and are affected by life, including parts of the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), and the lithosphere (solid portions of the earth, rocks).

A volume including the lower part of the troposphere (as high as living organisms can fly or be lofted) and the surface of the earth including the oceans. This region, by definition, encompasses all the living matter of the earth. Some very important atmospheric chemicals are produced in this region and pass into the atmosphere. This region exchanges chemicals and particulate matter with the atmosphere and soils and waters of the earth. [Journal of Geophysical Research;v99; 16511-16521;1994] Black Carbon - Emitted during the burning of coal, diesel fuel, natural gas and biomass and is part of the composition of soot. Black Carbon can absorb and reflect sunlight cooling the Earth's surface, but also increase solar energy absorbed in the atmosphere warming it. These effects are thought to effect global climate and rainfall cycles. Black Carbon increases the effect of global warming, visibility problems, and health problems. [Science; 4 March 2005; Vol. 307; No. 5714; p. 1454.] [Environmental Science & Technology; March 15 2005; Vol. 39; No. 6; p. 1861.

The part of Earth and its atmosphere capable of sustaining life.

Portion of the planet earth which supports and includes life.

The parts of Earth where life is found, including the land, bodies of water, and the lower part of the atmosphere.

The living portion of the Earth that interacts with all other biological and geologic processes [LCOTE

The part of the Earth system comprising all ecosystems and living organisms, in the atmosphere, on land (terrestrial biosphere) or in the oceans (marine biosphere), including derived dead organic matter, such as litter, soil organic matter and oceanic detritus. ()

That transition zone between earth and atmosphere within which most forms of terrestrial life are commonly found.

Part of the Earth where life is found. The biosphere consists of all living things, plant and animal. This sphere is characterized by life in profusion, diversity, and clever complexity. Cycling of matter in this biosphere involves not only metabolic reactions in organisms, but also many abiotic chemical reactions. Also called ecosphere.

The biosphere is the outermost part of the planet's shell — including air, land, surface rocks and water — within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. From the broadest geophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere (rocks), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere (air). This biosphere is postulated to have evolved, beginning through a process of biogenesis or biopoesis, at least some 3.5 billion years ago.