What are natural resources and their types

Natural resources are elements or goods that nature provides us and that they are in the natural environment without being altered by the action of man, that is, that it does not intervene in their production.

These resources can be used to satisfy vital needsboth of man and the rest of living beings. The latter is important, since when we talk about natural resources we seem to forget about the rest of living beings on the planet who also need them. In fact, from the economic point of view these resources are very important for the well -being and development of human society.

First, we can comment that natural resources can exist in nature independently of each other, such as water; Or they can exist in a slightly accessible way, but that after a specific process through other elements can become equally important natural resources, such as metal minerals.

Natural resources are divided into different types according to sources. In general they all coincide by classifying these natural resources in two large groups: Renewable natural resources and non -renewable natural resources. This distinction is based on the time it takes to generate and regenerate these resources by themselves in nature. In this article we will develop and focus on this classification of natural resources.

However, there are also other classifications that can be complementary. Some classify natural resources into omnipresent resourcesthose that are found throughout the planet such as air or solar radiation; or in Located resourcesthose that appear sporadically in very specific places.

In addition, these resources can also be separated into resources located in the soil (mining resources), mineral resources, water resources, biological resources and energy resources.

In this ecology article, you can discover more related issues such as renewable energy and non -renewable energy: examples and summary.

Renewable natural resources, as we commented, refer to the fact that they are permanently available, that is, They are not exhausted in spite of its use because they regenerate at a much higher rate than consumed. But we must be careful in this last aspect. If the use rate was higher than the rate to which the resource is regenerated, it would begin to be in danger of being exhausted and ceasing to be a renewable resource. For this reason, we must always keep in mind making responsible use of our natural resources.

Some Examples of renewable natural resources are:

• The water
• Solar radiation
• The wind
• Biomass

In addition, renewable natural resources are also considered those energies that can be obtained from these sources, called renewable energiessuch as hydraulic energy, tidal energy, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy or biofuels.

Know more with these other ecology articles about renewable resources: what are and examples and examples of inexhaustible natural resources.

Once renewable natural resources are known, we can get an idea of what non -renewable natural resources consist of. They are those whose training has greater difficulties in the time it takes to generate (on a geological scale it takes many thousands of years). Therefore, They cannot be reused, regenerated or produced at a sufficient pace as to maintain a high rate of consumption. This rate is usually very high for all the time they have taken to generate. In addition, these resources exist in limited amounts.

Some Examples of non -renewable natural resources are:

• Fossil fuels such as coal, oil or natural gas.
• Minerals
• Metals
• Nuclear fuels.
• Groundwater confined in isolated aquifers.

Read more about non -renewable resources: what are and examples here.

We know that there are many resources that we need today and that not all are natural. Moreover, it may seem that natural resources can go to the background before, for example, energy resources. But if you are looking for the back of these resources generated by man you will find their importance.

First, these natural resources are completely indispensable so that life can be developed. Examples of this are air or waterwhich are used directly.

From this, these resources are usable from the practical point of view for the production of other raw materials or energies (Transport, electricity, industry …). That is, these resources are the basis and those responsible for us to enjoy our current lifestyle.

We recommend you also consult the information on what is the importance of natural resources in this other informative article of Ecology Verde. In addition, with this video you can learn more about renewable and non -renewable natural resources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea_od5lbwea

If you want to read more articles similar to What are natural resources and their typeswe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.