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In 1922 the Russian geologist Vladimir Vernadsky coined the term “biogeochemistry” in recognition of the intimate connections that exist between living organisms and the physical components of the Earth. This insight came after many failed attempts to understand the chemical makeup of the Earth’s atmosphere and crust through strictly geochemical processes, ignoring the influence of element interactions mediated by living organisms. In his landmark book Biosfera (The Biosphere), which was completed in 1926 at Charles University in Prague, Vernadsky wrote: