Environmental science is the study and interpretation of natural systems. It is a scientific discipline aiming to understand, conserve and enhance the quality and quantity of the natural environment. In this field, one can look into natural systems at the macroscopic, continental, and micro-level. The natural environment encompasses everything living and non living things existing naturally, which means that not everything is managed or manipulated by man. The word is mostly used to describe the Earth or any specific areas of the Earth.

Natural environments are complex and diverse; they are often times referred to as the” ecosystems of the earth” or the” ecological domains”. The different environments include the physical environment, the ecological domain, the temperature and humidity domains, the biotic community, the hydrologic cycle and the abiotic. Within these domains there exists an intricate web of interacting organisms, systems, structures and processes which together are governed by a set of interacting principles. These principles need to be considered in order to be able to describe, evaluate and improve the conservation and restoration of the earth’s environment.

A part from the earths environment are the terrestrial environments, these can be very large land masses like oceans, seas, lakes and rivers. The terrestrial environments also cover the terrestrial surface including the atmosphere, land surfaces, and subsurface, such as glaciers and ice sheets. Marine environments encompass bodies of water such as oceans, seas, lakes and rivers, and terrestrial sub-biomes that exist within aquatic habitats. They also include marine fishes and aquatic plants.