Nature

Introduction

Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. It encompasses the phenomena of the physical world, and also life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are part of nature, human activity is often understood as a separate category from other natural phenomena.

Natural Science

Natural Science is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction, and understanding of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. It can be divided into two main branches: life science (or biological science) and physical science. Physical science is subdivided into branches, including physics, chemistry, astronomy and earth science. These branches of natural science may be further divided into more specialized branches (also known as fields).

Natural Environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning not created or significantly altered by humans. It includes all the components of the Earth's biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The concept of the natural environment can be distinguished by components:

Complete ecological units that function as natural systems without massive human intervention, including all vegetation, microorganisms, soil, rocks, atmosphere, and natural phenomena that occur within their boundaries.
Universal natural resources and physical phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries, such as air, water, and climate, as well as energy, radiation, electric charge, and magnetism, not originating from human activity.

Natural Phenomena

Natural phenomena are observable events that occur in the universe and that we can use our science to explain or predict. The natural phenomena can be classified into two main categories: physical phenomena and biological phenomena. Physical phenomena include all the processes that are not related to living organisms, such as rain, wind, earthquake, flood, etc. Biological phenomena are all the processes that are related to living organisms, such as growth, aging, disease, birth, evolution, etc.

Natural Resources

Natural resources are resources that exist without actions of humankind. This includes all valued characteristics such as magnetic, gravitational, electrical properties and forces, and the natural resources of the earth, including air, water, land, along with all vegetation and animal life that naturally subsists upon or within the previously identified characteristics and substances.

Natural Beauty

The concept of natural beauty is an aesthetic paradigm that is associated with the appreciation of the natural world. This includes elements of the natural world such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and bodies of water, as well as the natural changes to these elements brought about by changes in light and weather.