Environment

The term ‘environment’ is complex and conveys different meanings: the word ‘environment’ is employed as a synonym for space, territory, place, or ecosystem. A comprehensive definition of environment describes it as the set of conditions in which living takes place: it is the complex system of physical, chemical and biological factors, of living and non-living elements and of the relationships in which all the organisms that inhabit the planet are immersed. While we can envision many types of environment, the term is commonly used in relation to nature, the so-called natural environment. This latter notion encompasses all forms of living and non-living beings; ecology is the science that studies the interactions of organisms with each other and with their physical surroundings.