The Biogeography of the Earth Critical Zone
摘要
The active skin of the Earth, the Earth Critical Zone (ECZ), is a complex layer with diffuse limits towards the atmosphere and the lithosphere resulting from interacting physical, chemical, and biological processes. Biodiversity across all biological realms, including bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes, is a substantial component and contribution to the ECZ. Without the activity of organisms, this zone and its ecosystems would not be functional or even exist.