- •Content
- •Preface
- •Biology as Science and Important Part of Our Life
- •Applying Life Science to Your Life
- •Careers, hobbies and element of personal culture
- •The scientific method
- •1. Basics of organisation of life
- •1.1. Nature and Properties of Life. Cell Theory
- •1.2. Energy and Energy Conversions. Chemistry aspects of life organisation
- •Ionic bonds
- •Ice floats
- •1.3. Life as Phenomenon of Universe
- •Fig. 1.6. Dna structure
- •2. Elements of general biology
- •2.1. Introduction to Cell Biology
- •Internal membranes
- •Pumping Molecules Through Cell Membranes (active transport)
- •Fig. 2.1. Diffusion into and out of cells
- •Fig. 2.2. Active transport of two different ions
- •Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Organisms
- •Stored energy from the sun
- •The role of photosynthetic pigments
- •Identifying Photosynthetic Reactants and Products
- •Respiration in the cells
- •Comparison of photosynthesis and respiration.
- •2.2. Introduction in Genetics
- •Fig. 2.3. Normal human (female) karyotype
- •Fig. 2.4. Dna ladder separates to form two identical dna ladders
- •Mitosis
- •Incomplete Dominance is Neither Dominant nor Recessive
- •X Chromosomes & y Chromosomes
- •Fig. 2.5. Process of meiosis
- •Fig. 2.6. Process of meiosis (continuation)
- •Inheritance of Blood Types
- •Variations and Mutations
- •Initiation of transcription requires a promoter and rna polymerase
- •2.3. The Introduction to Theory of Evolution
- •2.3.3. Classification and Identification
- •The system of Linnaeus
- •The scientific name
- •Bases of Modern Classification
- •Categories of Classification
- •Subdivisions of the Five Kingdoms
- •Identifying Photosynthetic Reactants and Products
- •3. Aspects of biology of viruses, monera, protists, algae, fungi and lichens
- •3.1. Viruses
- •3.1.1. Discovery of viruses. Sizes of viruses
- •Viruses differ greatly in size. They range in length from 0.01 to over 0.3 micrometers; yet over 500 of them can fit on the point of the pin.
- •3.1.2. Characteristics of viruses
- •3.1.3. Kinds of viral infections
- •3.1.4. Defenses against viral infections
- •3.2. Kingdom Monera. Bacteria
- •3.2.1. Bacteria are organisms
- •3.2.2. Main groupes of bacteria Archaebacteria
- •Photosynthetic bacteria
- •Chemosynthetic bacteria
- •Cyanobacteria
- •Some bacteria are helpful
- •Some bacteria are harmful
- •Prevention and control of bacterial disease
- •3.3. Plantlike Protists. Kingdom Protista
- •3.4. Algae
- •Plants that live in water
- •Economic importance of algae
- •3.5. Fungi
- •3.5.1. Terrestrial molds
- •3.5.2. Water molds
- •3.5.3. Slime molds
- •3.5.4. Club fungi
- •3.5.5. Sac fungi
- •3.5.6. Imperfect fungi
- •3.5.7. Fungi and habitats
- •3.5.8. Adaptations to life on land
- •3.5.9. Ecological and economic roles
- •3.6. Lichens
- •3.6.1.Structure
- •3.6.2. Habitats
- •3.6.3. Nutrition
- •3.6.4. Ecological role
- •3.6.5. Reproduction
- •Summary and test questions
- •4. Botany
- •Nonvascular and vascular plants
- •Seed plants
- •4.1. Bryophytes and Mosses
- •4.1.2. Mosses
- •4.2. Ferns
- •4.2.1. Physical structure
- •4.2.2. Life cycle of ferns
- •4.3. Gymnosperms
- •4.3.1. Conifers
- •Importance of conifers
- •4.3.2. Cycads
- •4.3.3. Ginkgoes
- •4.3.4. Gnetales
- •4.4. Angiosperms
- •Kinds of plant tissues
- •Root structure
- •Leaves and water loss
- •Flowers and sexual reproduction
- •Table 4.1 Comparative characteristics of monocots and dicots
- •5.1. Phylum Protozoa
- •5.1.4. Class Sporozoa
- •5.2. Phylum Porifera: Sponges
- •5.3. Phylum Coelenterata
- •5.4. Phylum Plathelminthes. Flatworms
- •5.5. Phylum Nemathelminthes: Roundworms
- •5.6. Phylum Annelids
- •5.7. Phylum Molluska: Mollusks
- •5.8. Phylum Arthropoda
- •Incomplete Metamorphosis
- •5.9. Phylum Chordata
- •Classification and Characteristics of Amphibians
- •The 4,500 species of mammals live throughout the world. Mammals can live in different environments because their flexible body plan has allowed the various species to undergo many special adaptations.
- •5.10. Classification of Kingdom Animalia
- •6. Human Biology
- •Introduction
- •6.1. The skeleton system
- •6.2. The muscular system
- •6.3. The integumentary system
- •6.4. The respiratory system
- •6.5. The excretory system
- •6.6. Nervous control and coordination
- •Introduction
- •6.7. Sense organs
- •Introduction
- •Vision, Hearing, and Balance
- •6.8. Endocrine system
- •Introduction
- •6.9. Circulatory system
- •Introduction
- •Immune Response
- •Immunity
- •6.10. Nutrition and digestion
- •Vitamins
- •Vitamins and Minerals
- •6.11. Reproduction and development
- •Introduction
- •Influence of external environmental factors on human health
- •6.12. World populationand its regulation
- •World population, total quantity and annual increase, 1950–2000 (us Bureau, 2001)
- •7. Biodiversity as phenomenon of life
- •Introduction
- •7.1. Biodiversity and problems of its preservation
- •Biodiversity components and levels (Global, 1995)
- •Quantitative assessment of the species diversity of the planet (Global, 2001)
- •7.2. Biodiversity conservation in Ukraine: conceptual developments and challenges
- •7.3. Protected Areas and Econet of Ukraine as instruments of conservation and innovation
- •7.4. Transboundary protected areas and opportunities for cooperation
- •Carpathians case (successful story)
- •The greening of local environment
- •Conclusion
- •Annex 1. Classification of living organisms
- •Bibliography
- •Additional references
- •Other information resources
- •Terms and definition index
7.3. Protected Areas and Econet of Ukraine as instruments of conservation and innovation
Ukraine still has marvelous, virgin areas, forests as well as wetlands. Our country indeed has fantastic treasures, the importance or the ecological value of which are difficult to overestimate. During the last years a great attention was given to new kinds of tourism and particularly to green and rural tourism which combines elements of health-improvement activity, ecological education, rising of awareness in the field of regional ethnography and environmental protection. Returning to the nature, to the land, to one’s roots any person returns to his essence and becomes himself. Ukraine with its historical past as a crossroads of civilizations, with varied, colorful landscapes and lively, welcoming people is ideal for this kind of tourism. Especially good conditions for development of such kind of tourism are at the territories of national and landscape parks because of the possibility to combine the recreation of a full value with becoming acquainted with natural, historical and cultural potential of a region.
National network of the reserves institutions was established in Ukraine and is developing now, the area of reserve territories amounts now about 2.4 mln ha or more than 4% of its territory. This is our “gold fund” which facilitates restoration of the ecological balance, refinement of air and water, increasing of number of animals and plants. National nature parks and biosphere reserves of Ukraine are the main nature protection, cultural, educational, scientific research institutions, which make bright preciousness of natural acquirement, natural, historical and cultural inheritance of Ukrainian people. Basic direction in creation of nature reserve objects is their multifunctional, particularly of national parks, that allowed to combine nature conservation and prerequisites of sustainable use: bioresources, tourism, recreation/resort, aesthetic, eco-education.
The law "On the State Program of Development of National Ecological Network for the Years 2000-2015" has been developed in the context of requirements related to the further refinement, improvement and development of the environmental legislation of Ukraine, as well as in line with recommendations of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy in respect of the issue of the development of Pan-European EcoNet as a single spatial system of areas of European countries with the natural or partly altered condition of a landscapes.
The principal objective of the above Programme is to increase the area of lands under natural landscapes to the level sufficient for the preservation of their diversity close to their initial natural conditions and the development of their territorially integrated system built to ensure a possibility of using natural ways of the migration and propagation of plants’ and animals’ species. At that, the National Environmental Network should meet the requirements to the operation thereof within the Pan-European EcoNet and perform the leading functions in respect of the biodiversity conservation. Besides, the Programme should contribute to the balanced and sustainable use of bioresources in the economy.
The role of EcoNet for environmentally deeply degraded territories, ecological capacity of which to a great degree has been used up and extreme conditions are being formed, is of a great importance. For such territories it is the only possible way out of the crisis situation for the nearest period of time.
The conceptual scheme of Ukrainian EcoNet is represented in the Figure 7.1.
It was foreseen that National EcoNet should meet the requirements to the operation thereof within the Pan-European EcoNet and perform the leading functions in respect of the preservation of biodiversity. In addition, the Program should contribute to the balanced and sustainable use of bioresources. The natural regions, natural corridors and buffer zones in their continuous integrity shall form a network, which unites natural landscape areas into a territorially integrated system. The Program also provides for the integration of the national environmental network with environmental networks of neighboring countries, being members of the Pan-European Environmental Network by means of setting up common trans-boundary elements of the network within natural regions and natural corridors, agreeing upon the land use projects in border areas.
Organization of natural core areas, buffer zones and corridors is attended with integration of nature conservation activity into activity carried out in different sectors, agricultural and forestry (maintenance of traditional management mode), tourist (maintenance of village tourism with taking into account the interests of local population), transport (co-operation, e.g., in determination of transport corridors), fishery (based on principles of ecologically-balanced development), territorial planning (establishing of zones of so-called “green lungs”, taking into account urbanization and also necessity of geographic disposition of EcoNet), and at last into legal sphere (development of adequate normatively-legal guaranteeing).
For Ukraine as well as for the other countries in transition, creation of EcoNet gives an opportunity to stop negative changes of the living component of the environment and facilitate the implementation of the principles of sustainable development and balanced use of natural resources and supporting first of all agrobiodiversity.
One of the main tasks of the Programme is to agree upon the issues related to the transboundary integration of EcoNet elements of the neighboring countries with elements of the National EcoNet in order to develop the Pan-European Network. The Programme provides for the establishing of transboundary nature protection areas of international importance, integration of the National EcoNet with EcoNets of neighbouring countries being members of the Pan-European EcoNet by means of setting up common transboundary elements of EcoNet within natural regions and natural corridors, agreeing upon the land use projects in border areas. The common transboundary elements of the national EcoNet will be set up in cooperation with Republic of Poland, Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation, Romania, Republic of Moldova, and Slovak Republic.