biospheres
Life-supporting planetary regions
Biospheres are regions capable of supporting life.
Earth's biosphere encompasses all living organisms and the environments they inhabit—from ocean depths to the upper atmosphere.
The term also applies to artificial enclosed ecosystems designed to sustain life independently: The experiment sealed volunteers inside a biosphere for two years.
In science fiction, biospheres often appear as self-contained habitats on spacecraft or other planets.
Glass-walled growing enclosure
- vivariumEnclosure for living specimens
- ecosphereAll habitable regions collectively
- sealedClosed to prevent entry
- artificialMade, not natural
experiment · miniature · controlled · microcosm · greenhouse · habitat · colonization
Finest taxonomic rank
- floraPlants of a region
- faunaAnimal life collectively
- geneticRelating to heredity
- endemicNative to one area
exotic · keystone · invasive · native · extinction · speciation · adaptation · evolution
Ecosystem's feeding relationships
- trophicRelating to feeding
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
- ecotoneBoundary between distinct habitats
- abioticNonliving, in ecology
photosynthesis · decomposer · producer · consumer · detritivore · carnivore · herbivore · omnivore
Measured heat intensity
- greenhouseClimate-controlled plant enclosure
- weatherAtmospheric state outdoors
- precipitationAtmospheric water deposit
- humidityMoisture in atmosphere
warming · cooling · seasons · meteorology · drought · floods · monsoon · albedo
Planet's solid rocky component
- hydrospherePlanet's total water mass
- lithosphereCrust plus upper mantle
- cryosphereEarth's frozen water systems
- ecosphereAll habitable regions collectively
troposphere · ozone · biogeochemical · interconnectedness · homeostasis · planetary · feedback · regulation
terrarium
Glass-walled growing enclosure
- vivariumEnclosure for living specimens
- ecosphereAll habitable regions collectively
- sealedClosed to prevent entry
artificial · experiment · miniature · controlled · microcosm · greenhouse · habitat · colonization
species
Finest taxonomic rank
endemic · exotic · keystone · invasive · native · extinction · speciation · adaptation · evolution · taxonomy
foodweb
Ecosystem's feeding relationships
- trophicRelating to feeding
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
- ecotoneBoundary between distinct habitats
abiotic · photosynthesis · decomposer · producer · consumer · detritivore · carnivore · herbivore · omnivore · predation
temperature
Measured heat intensity
- greenhouseClimate-controlled plant enclosure
- weatherAtmospheric state outdoors
- precipitationAtmospheric water deposit
humidity · warming · cooling · seasons · meteorology · drought · floods · monsoon · albedo · thermoregulation
geosphere
Planet's solid rocky component
- hydrospherePlanet's total water mass
- lithosphereCrust plus upper mantle
- cryosphereEarth's frozen water systems
ecosphere · troposphere · ozone · biogeochemical · interconnectedness · homeostasis · planetary · feedback · regulation
wetlands
Water-saturated terrain
desert · coral · reef · grassland · jungle · riverine · estuary · mangrove · taiga · rainforest
- space coloniesmoon base, lunar colony, lunar base, space station, space habitat
biospheresdead zones
Areas lacking life or signal
void · wastelands · desolate landscapes · empty space · vacuum