How the life of nature changes. How nature changes
The world around us is constantly changing. This applies to both microscopic organisms and landscapes over vast territories. This spread presents examples of various changes that occur in nature and are associated with human activity.
Over billions of years, powerful forces of nature - such as movements of continental plates (see article ““), volcanic activity, soil erosion, rise and fall of ocean levels - have radically changed the surface topography of our planet and the environment. Very slowly this continues to this day. Less lasting changes in nature are usually called. Succession is when entire groups of plants and animals replace each other over certain periods of time, forming climatic communities. Such a community can exist without any changes if nothing changes. Example - .
Continuity is the reason for the emergence of the climate community. Changes to the natural environment as a result of human activity are found everywhere. In many countries, industry, agriculture and urban growth have transformed natural landscapes into new types of environments. Most of these changes have been going on for centuries, but recent population growth and industrial development have dramatically increased both the scope and intensity of these changes.
The climate in different parts of the world changes several times a year, depending on the time of year. This is explained by the tilt of the earth's axis as our planet revolves around the sun. In the tropics, where it is constant all year round, the season is determined by the amount of precipitation - dry or rainy. To the south and north of the equator, climate changes are much more significant, especially in temperature. There are four seasons here: winter, spring, summer and autumn.
Photographing Seasonal Changes
If you know how to use a camera, take pictures of the same place at different times of the year, or even better, in the first days of each month. The changes you will see in the photographs will be impressive. With these photographs you can demonstrate the changes in nature during different seasons. There are also longer-term climate changes that negatively affect the environment. Over the past 900 thousand years, there have been about 10 cold snaps (ice ages), in between which warming occurred. We are living in one of these warm periods.
Natural climate changes occur gradually, over thousands of years, and do not threaten us with anything serious. Much more dangerous is human industrial intervention in the environment and climate of the Earth. Then the climate changes very quickly, and the consequences are threatening. The real danger to all emus on Earth is the greenhouse effect, smoke and dust that cover them, as well as the destruction of the ozone layer.
The ozone layer in the upper layers protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, which causes skin cancer. This vital layer has been found to be gradually destroyed by chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons, which are used in some aerosols and refrigerators, as well as in the production of polystyrene. Some measures are already being taken to slow down the accumulation of chlorofluorocarbons, but many scientists believe that they are clearly insufficient.
Changes in living organisms
Everything around us is constantly changing. Cells in living organisms are destroyed and replaced by new ones. Plants and animals are born, grow, reproduce and die: they are replaced by new generations. Life cycles and habitats are also constantly changing. The change of climatic seasons affects the life of most organisms. Many animals adapt their life cycles to changes in temperature and food type. Some migrate (move) to other places, often located many hundreds of kilometers away, where conditions for life and reproduction are more favorable (see article ““). 
Arctic terns breed in the summer on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and then fly 20 thousand km to where they spend the Antarctic summer. Every year they cover more than 40 thousand km. Many plants adapt to the changing seasons, adjusting their flowering and fruiting times. Thus, perennial herbaceous plants die off at the end of the year, and their underground part and roots overwinter and wake up again in the spring. These plants bloom and produce seeds in the summer and die back in the fall. Animals such as snakes and hedgehogs survive the harshest times of the year by hibernating. They spend long months in a state of deep sleep, and almost all functions of their body freeze. Fat reserves accumulated in the summer provide them with the necessary minimum of energy. In many ways, it resembles hibernation and torpor, except that in a state of torpor, animals, such as African lizards, can survive in conditions of heat and drought.
Metamorphosis of a butterfly
One of the most amazing transformations in living nature is the degeneration of a caterpillar into a butterfly or moth. It is called metamorphosis. To observe it, you will need a cardboard box like the one shown in the picture. Place some plant food in the box and then find and plant some caterpillars in it. Check beforehand whether the prepared food is suitable for them. After some time, the caterpillars will turn into pupae, and then butterflies will hatch from them. It is better to release butterflies into the wild as soon as possible.
When you are in nature, you are filled with a sense of wonder. And it doesn’t matter whether you are walking in the forest, breathing in the fresh sea air or admiring the luxurious flowers in the field.
There is good reason that many artists and poets have drawn inspiration for their creations from natural beauty.
Research has shown that spending time in nature provides not only mental benefits, but also physical benefits. And now a little more about scientifically proven facts.
Spending time in nature increases feelings of alertness
A number of studies have examined the influence of nature on vitality levels. The results showed that time in nature (even if you were looking at a photograph or visualizing scenes of nature) increased energy areas. And it is not surprising that our feelings are awakened. Surrounded by the colors, smells and sounds of all living things in nature, you literally feel life around you and within you.
Exposure to nature makes you more resilient to stress
In one study, participants were shown traumatic videos of work accidents. And then they showed footage of nature and urban conditions.
So, those who viewed scenes of nature recovered faster from the effects of stress caused by the video they watched than those subjects who were then shown city scenes.
Being outdoors can be a natural remedy for various types of healing.
Exercising in nature lifts your spirits
We all know that exercise releases endorphins and improves your mood. So, feel free to exercise in nature and experience a new level of natural mood boosting.
A review of several studies found that outdoor exercise improved participants' mood and self-esteem after just five minutes. Interestingly, the presence of water in the environment has a particularly beneficial effect on humans.
Time in nature helps you focus
Research has shown that when people spend time in nature, it improves their ability to concentrate. For example, one study found that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder became more alert after a 20-minute walk in the fresh air than after walking for the same time in an urban environment.
Another study found that spending time in a park (or even just looking at green space) improves brain function and concentration.
By spending time outdoors, we feel connected to the larger picture of life, attuned to the rhythms of nature, and as a result, less distracted by daily stress.
People living near green spaces have better mental health
One study found that participants who lived outside the city for five years had an increased sense of well-being. And this effect lasted for three years!
Spending time in nature can improve your immune system
Researchers have found that spending time in nature increases feelings of awe, such as that feeling when watching the beauty of a sunset.
But it's not just awe and awe that increases your satisfaction with life. These sensations lower the levels of cytokines that contribute to inflammation in the body.
In other words, science says you'll be healthier and less likely to get sick if you get outside more often.
Those who live closer to nature increase their life expectancy
A five-year study of Japanese older citizens found that living near areas with walkable green spaces added years to their lives.
This association was found even after considering variables such as income, age, gender, marital status, and other relevant factors.
Even indoor plants have a positive effect on health
A study of hospital patients recovering from surgery found that people who stayed in rooms with indoor plants recovered faster. Namely, pain, anxiety and fatigue decreased, they required lower doses of painkillers compared to other patients.
What is the conclusion? One naturalist said: the best thing you can do is climb the mountains and get their energy. Nature will flow through you like the sun flows through the trees. The wind will bring its own freshness into you, and negative energy and worries will fall away on their own, like leaves in autumn.
Irina Zartayskaya
“Cat and Horse. All year round"
Artist Katerina Bauman
Publishing house "Young Mother", 2018
“Cat and horse. All Year Round" is a collection of meditative stories from the life of two friends, a white cat and a white horse. Each spread is dedicated to a new month, into which the everyday life of the heroes is organically integrated. The book is intended for younger preschoolers, whose concepts of the calendar have already been practically formed. But getting to know him is not the main task of the author and artist. The book opens up for children the possibility of a poetic, rather than didactic, perception of time; it teaches them to feel the mood of each month, and not just memorize formal signs such as precipitation norms. For example, June “filled the air with a warm fragrant wind and flower dust,” but still “it’s still too cool for fishing.”
The book also includes a real calendar that can be hung on the wall, and a diary where you can write down the most memorable events of the past year and come up with what you would like in the future.
Writer and artist Suzanne Riha develops the theme of seasonal changes in nature in great detail. She has the books “A Year in the Garden” (a gardener’s diary) and “A Year in the Forest” (virtual forest walks, during which the reader gets to know a variety of forest inhabitants - animals and plants - and learns how they change from season to season). The book “Come Out! Who Lives Where" can be considered an introductory book excursion into nature. It tells not only about the life of wild animals and plants (those that can be found close to human habitation), but also about the seasonal concerns of farmers. Illustrations carry a huge information load, which, if desired, can be viewed separately from the text, limiting oneself to reading the accompanying captions. This option for introducing the book is suitable for children four to five years old. Older children can also read texts. They are short, meaningful and at the same time understandable. And you can read them not in a row, but selectively.
A child will most likely be able to read this book independently only towards the end of primary school - primarily because of the small print.
Yuri Koval
Artists: Anastasia Zhakulina, Veronika Fedorova, Anna Emelyanova
Publishing house "Ripol-Classic", 2013
The stories of Yuri Koval, collected in this book, are a kind of prose poem, consisting of “seasonal miniatures”. Each miniature has its own motif, in which changes in nature are intertwined with the sensations of the narrator. This book gives the reader a sense of the life of nature through experience. And the word “life” here is identical to the word “beauty”. The illustrations for the book are frames from the animated series of the same name, created by a group of artists.
Due to its figurative complexity and unusualness (in particular, the miniatures do not have a plot in the usual sense of the word), the book “All Year Round” is best read aloud to a child or together with a child over six years old. A child who reads well and has a strong sense of poetry will likely be able to read All the Year Round independently by the end of elementary school.
Christina Bjork
Artist Lena Anderson
Translation from Swedish by Ekaterina Chevkina
Publishing house "White Crow", 2016
“Linnea's Calendar” are short sketches about nature, written from the perspective of a nine-year-old girl and representing, as it were, her diary. In each month, Linnea observes changes in nature and finds different useful activities for herself. The book has wonderful illustrations - gentle, calm, with expressive details: here is a forget-me-not in the herbarium, “a midge dried up by accident”... And even though the reader does not have a country house or even a tiny garden on the outskirts of the city, this book inspires to communicate with nature. Perhaps, after reading “Linnean Calendar”, children will think about how difficult it is for trees, small animals and birds to live in the city, and will want to help them.
The theme of the book by Swiss writer Gerda Müller is the life of the forest at different times of the year. But this is a forest seen through the eyes of children. Changes in nature are observed by two city children - Olya and Denis, who come on vacation to their cousin Yegor. Yegor's dad is a forester. And Yegor becomes, as it were, a “guide” to his brother and sister. He sees life in nature differently than his urban cousins. He knows how to interact with the world around him. But he also has questions. All questions - asked and not yet asked - are answered by Yegor's dad, Uncle Tolya, the forester. Why do trees lose their leaves in the fall, how do trees bloom (it turns out that not only “flowers” bloom), how long they live and how to find out the age of a tree; what do different animals eat in the forest, how do they care for their offspring; what “secrets” do insects and worms have; what you can do while walking through the forest, and what you can’t do - Olya and Denis will learn about all this as they discover the forest kingdom for themselves, and with them, the reader. Among the new knowledge is that people do not always think about their “neighbors” in nature. Due to the fault of people, the air is polluted and acid rain falls (explains what it is). This is dangerous for animals and for the entire forest ecosystem.
The book contains an appendix with short references on various “forest issues”, with diagrams and drawings, as well as something like a short guide to animals and plants. It is especially worth mentioning about the illustrations: on the one hand, they are naturalistic and accurate in the biological sense, and on the other hand, elegant, picturesque and even romantic.
This book can be read and viewed with children over six years of age. And a well-read eight-year-old who is interested in the life of nature will be able to master it himself.
Ivan Sokolov-Mikitov
Artist Georgy Nikolsky
Rech Publishing House, 2019
The book “A Year in the Forest” has four parts: “Winter”, “Spring”, “Summer”, “Autumn”. In each of them, the reader seems to live in the forest for a whole day, watching how the lighting and sound of the forest change, how animals wake up and hunt, how chicks are born and cubs suck milk. On all spreads, next to the text, there is an illustration by Georgy Nikolsky - real picturesque paintings, looking at which will help the child understand and feel forest life even better. The artist managed to give each animal a special, individual characteristic, showing the timidity of the hare and the caring nature of the wood grouse. This book is an example of the highest printing culture; it is distinguished by the excellent quality of illustrations and elegant embossing of the cover. The book also includes four multi-colored ribbon bookmarks. Reading “The Year in the Forest” will be an excellent exercise for a child in developing attention and will help him learn to be contemplative.
Artist and writer Petr Bagin created a hand-drawn nature calendar for children. The book has a subtitle: “Winter. Spring. Summer. Autumn". Each of the 12 months is dedicated to a separate spread: a rich, zoologically accurate, beautiful illustration and a small text about what is happening in the Central Russian forest this month. The text not only describes the image, but also clarifies many details regarding, for example, the relationships between animals and their habits. At the end of the book there are special thematic spreads dedicated to nests and burrows, birds, butterflies, and insects.
Seasons play a huge role in the lives of animals. For them, each season is a period of specific activity. While a person can reschedule his plans or change his lifestyle, animals are not capable of this. Living according to the rules of nature is in their blood.
Spring
How animals welcome spring
Spring is a period of new life for all animals. After a long and calm winter, all representatives of the animal world begin to actively prepare for the onset of a hot summer.
Spring days in the life of animals are accompanied by a change in coat - from winter to summer. Squirrels change their gray skin to bright red. They can increasingly be found in parks. Squirrels jump through the trees in search of food.
Chipmunks wake up after hibernation. Outwardly, it can be confused with a squirrel, but the main difference is the five dark stripes on the back. Chipmunks have been stocking up on food since winter, before they hibernate. Therefore, with the arrival of spring, these animals are not puzzled by the search for what they can get enough of.
But bears, also hibernating in winter, do not care about what they will eat after a long sleep. Therefore, in the spring they come out of their dens in search of food.
For wolves, spring is the time when they breed. Little wolf cubs stay in their parents' den until they have the vision to navigate well in space. Being small, they are very similar to foxes, only the tips of their tails are not white, but gray.
Hares begin to shed, exchanging their winter white coat for a gray and less warm coat. Also, raccoon dogs, waking up after hibernation, change their color to a less noticeable one. The color of the coat is of great importance. In winter, the skins are white, this makes it possible to blend into the snow-white cover of the earth if a predator is hunting nearby. Gray wool also serves as a kind of camouflage in summer.
In early spring, hedgehogs wake up, because in April they have to breed.
Summer
Animal life in summer
Summer is the most favorable period in the life of animals. Long sunny days, warmth and plenty of food undoubtedly delight the animals. They are especially active at this time of year. They are not yet preparing for winter, but they are preparing their offspring for a harsh period. Therefore, animals are in constant search of food for their young in order to saturate them with useful substances and vitamins.
Herbivorous mammals sometimes leave their habitats because what they eat grows everywhere. Fresh juicy leaves allow them to stock up on useful substances for future use.
For birds, summer is a feast, because they can find delicacy absolutely everywhere. Midges, worms, caterpillars, fish - all this is their food in the summer. Birds are also assistants to gardeners. They eat all pests that can destroy the crop.
Despite the fact that summer is the most active period in the life of animals, there is one exception. Gophers prefer to rest on these warm days. And to saturate themselves with vital energy, they go hunting at night.
The most active animals in the summer are squirrels, wolves, bears, and various rodents. This time is also loved by: giraffes, camels, hyenas, cheetahs, monkeys and many others.
Autumn
Changes in the lives of animals in autumn
Autumn is a period of preparation for winter cold. Their life in winter depends on how they live the autumn, what they manage to do during this time. Furry, feathered, predators - everyone must take this preparation responsibly, because their own lives and the lives of their offspring are at stake.
Insects are the first to sense the arrival of cold weather. They begin to build burrows for themselves and look for shelter, which most often comes from fallen leaves or tree bark. This is where they will spend the entire winter.
Butterflies have their own way of surviving the cold period - they turn into pupae.
Also, toads, frogs, snakes and lizards are among the first to hide. Some frogs live closer to bodies of water so that when cold weather sets in, they can dive into them and sleep at the bottom until warm days return. But toads, on the contrary, hide on land. Their winter refuge is tree roots or rodent burrows.
In the autumn, forest animals begin to eat frequently and nutritiously, because they need to accumulate a supply of substances and fat that will help them survive in severe frosts.
And squirrels, mice and moles begin to stock up on food for future use. They bring as many nuts, berries and cones into the house as possible.
Most animals go through the natural process of pre-winter molting. They again change their skins to warmer and less attractive ones.
Winter
How animals winter
As a rule, only those animals that are capable of this hibernate. And those who are categorically afraid of the cold flee to the southern regions.
The life of animals freezes in winter. In the fall, everyone prepared shelters for themselves, in which they now live. The cold is not terrible for those warmly dressed in their furs: hares, squirrels, arctic foxes, foxes, wolves, moose and many others.
And some simply fall asleep: raccoons, marmots, chipmunks, badgers, bears and other animals.
Mollusks bury themselves in mud for the winter. Wasps, bumblebees, and tarantulas also prepared minks for themselves.
Newts hide on the shore, in a thick layer of fallen leaves or branched tree roots.
Gophers, hamsters and jerboas prefer to sleep in winter.
At the end of August - beginning of September, gophers, hamsters, and jerboas climb into their deep holes and fall asleep.
