Balance of nature

The self-maintaining, self-renewing dynamic of nature as a system, including the life cycles constituted by the synthesis, use, and degradation of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, sulphur, etc. The 'balance' sustains the qualitative and quantitative needs of the sub-systems: the salt seas and fresh-water bodies, the forests, the soil, and the ecological relationships between the species. Man is the upsetter of the balance, engaged in this role for long centuries, but with ever increasing destabilizing power.