Geochemical ecology and problems of health

The state of health or disease is determined by the nature of the organism, the properties of the biosphere, the heterogeneity of its natural geochemical composition and changes brought about by technology (technogenic changes). For a systematic study of the conditions of health and endemic diseases we have suggested a system of biogeochemical regionalizing of the biosphere with the aid of biospheric taxa: regions of the biosphere, subregions of the biosphere, biogeochemical provinces. The main criteria of the regionalizing are biogenous cycles of chemical elements (links of the biogeochemical food chain from soil-forming rocks to man). An important criterion of the biogeochemical regionalizing is threshold concentrations of chemical elements. The organism regulates its metabolism within the ranges of chemical element concentration between the upper and lower thresholds (necessity range). When chemical elements are present in concentrations above the upper threshold and below the lower threshold, dysfunctions and endemic diseases are observed. Hence, the biogeochemical food chain allows us to establish critical links responsible for the state of health or endemic disease. Principles of optimizing the conditions of the environment and life have been worked out. The creation by us in the U.S.S.R. of biogeochemical maps relating conditions of the environment to biological reactions of organisms has proved a useful method of studying the ecological structure of the biosphere.