Science Degree Program in China - Environmental Biology

1. Introduction

Environmental Biology is a branch of environmental science studying the law and mechanism of the interaction between biology and human interference, and taking the concept of ecosystem as the main theoretical basis. Based on the research methods of biology and ecology, environmental biology has formed its own set of research methods, mainly including the field investigation, indoor experiment and ecological simulation.

2. Research Objects

The study object of environmental biology is the ecosystem intervened by human. The human intervention includes two aspects: one refers to the pollution caused by human activities to ecological system; the second refers to the influence and destruction of human activities on the ecological system, mainly is the unreasonable utilization of natural resources by human beings. Ecological effect caused by environmental pollution is the main content of environmental biology, biological or ecological system of pollution purification function, the use of biological monitoring, evaluation principles and methods as well as the natural protection to the environment. Its purpose is to provide a theoretical basis for the rational use of nature and natural resources, to protect and improve the living environment of human beings, and to promote the environment and biology to develop towards the direction which is beneficial to human being.

3. Environment Science

Environment is relative to the center things. Thing that is related to a central thing is the environment of this thing. The environment that environmental science studies is the external world of human being, which is the combination of the material conditions of human survival and development, including the natural environment and social environment. The natural environment is the direct or indirect impact on the human nature of all the natural forms of matter and energy of the overall. Most of the earth's surface has been intervened by human beings, and the primary natural environment is not much. The social environment that environmental science studies is the artificial environment created by human beings in the natural environment. It is a symbol of the development of human material civilization and spiritual civilization, and with the development of human society, the rich and the evolution of the human society. Environment has a variety of levels, a variety of structures, can be used for a variety of different. According to the environmental factors can be divided into the atmosphere, water, soil and biological environment; divided according to the range of human activities for the workshop, factories, villages, cities, regional and global, the universe and other environment. Environmental science is a comprehensive study of the environment as a whole.

4. Earth Environment

The surface of the earth has four layers, namely, aerosphere, hydrosphere, soil-lithosphere and the biosphere that three circle intersect which is suitable to living creatures. These four circles mainly carry on the material cycle and energy flow under the action of solar energy. Human is only the product of a certain stage of the earth's environment.

5. Research Methods

1) Field investigation

Through the study of the indicator organisms, farmland biological community structure, forest biomass and community structure, prairie biological community structure and community structure of aquatic organisms, biological sewage system of field investigation, and of biological index, pollution index and species diversity index, analysis, from a macro study of environmental pollutants and human intervention of various biological or ecological system have an impact on the basic law.

2) Indoor experiment

Through a variety of experimental methods, such as artificial plant smoked gas, hydrostatic biological test, water biological test, aquatic acute toxicity test, aquatic subacute toxicity test, chronic toxicity test for aquatic organism and avoidance reaction experiment etc., from the microscopic study of pollutants and human intervention on biological produce toxic effect and its mechanism.

3) Ecological simulation

Use mathematical models to simulate the behavior and characteristics of the ecosystem, and to predict the possible impact of human activities on the ecosystem. Anthropogenic emissions of waste, more and more greatly exceed the environmental self purification capacity, thus affecting the global environment.

6. Outlook

Environmental biology will further study the impact of pollution on the structure and function of ecological system, establish ecosystem simulation (including controlled ecosystem experiment) research methods and mathematical models, making ecological pollution model, forecast and prediction of pollution on ecosystem stability influence qualitative, community structure, material cycle and energy exchange, provide the basis for the optimization of environmental zoning and planning; further research on various ecosystems (such as mining, farmland, forest, grassland and aquatic ecosystems) regulation, control and balance between internal and mutual, and study area due to pollution or global change on the biosphere of biological resources; to strengthen the research on basic theory of the biological purification and biological degradation, the establishment and improvement of the biological effect database and biological pollutants Sample library, to strengthen the toxic mechanism of poison on organisms (including human) and the biological basis of distortion, mutation and carcinogenesis induced by environmental factors.

7. Related Disciplines

Environmental science, environmental geoscience, environmental geology, environmental soil science, oceanography, pollution meteorology, environmental geochemistry, environmental chemistry, environmental chemistry, environmental pollution chemistry, environmental medicine, environmental toxicology, environmental epidemiology, environmental physics, environmental optical, environmental acoustical, environmental thermal, environmental aerodynamics, environmental economics, environmental engineering.