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How did Vladimir I. Vernadsky describe life as a geological force?

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Diagram illustrating Earth's environmental spheres, with labeled sections showing the geosphere (land and crust), biosphere (living things), atmosphere (air), and hydrosphere (water), each extending vertically from the Earth's surface. — Biosphere Earth's environment includes the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the lithosphere, and the biosphere.

In his seminal work The Biosphere (1926), the Russian geochemist and mineralogist Vladimir I. Vernadsky characterized life as a major geological force that fundamentally shapes the planet.1

Vernadsky argued that living matter does not merely inhabit the Earth but actively transforms it. He observed that biota—the sum of all living forms—erodes, levels, transports, and chemically alters surface rocks, minerals, and other geological features. Furthermore, he noted that life processes, particularly human activity, accelerate the movement and cycling of materials through the biosphere.1

His research established the field of biogeochemistry, as he recognized that living organisms are responsible for creating and maintaining the chemical composition of the atmosphere, including the presence of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. By viewing life as a planetary phenomenon, Vernadsky demonstrated that the Earth's crust and atmosphere are inextricably linked to the biological cycles of the organisms that dwell upon them.12