Transcript The Biosphere and Ecosystems

The Biosphere and
Ecosystems
SVN3E
Let’s start big:The Biosphere
The biosphere is the sum of all ecosystems
on earth.
The Biosphere
It has 3 components that interact with each
other:
The Atmosphere
The air of the atmosphere is primarily a
mixture of gases.
Nitrogen makes up 78%, oxygen 21%, and
the rest less than 1% (CO2 is 0.04%).
The Atmosphere
But the atmosphere also
contains
• water (water vapour)
• earth (dust and
volcanic ash)
• organic material (pollen,
spores, and bacteria)
The Lithosphere
The lithosphere is the crust of the Earth
and also contains pockets of air, water
(groundwater), and organic material –
rotting plants, and organisms living in
the soil.
The Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere is Earth’s water, both
freshwater and ocean water.
The Hydrosphere
It will also contain:
• air (dissolved gases)
• earth (sediment)
• organic material
What is the biosphere?
The sum of all
ecosystems
Ecosystems
An ecosystem is a biological system that
contains all the living and non-living parts
to it.
For the boreal ecosystem where the oil
sands project is, this would be the trees,
bears, deer, fish, mosquitos, etc.
interacting with the water, soil, and
sunlight.
Ecosystem examples
A marine ecosystem
A terrestrial
ecosystem
Alberta’s oil sands: a disturbed
ecosystem within the earth’s biosphere
The boreal forest is an ecosystem but there
are many ecosystems within the boreal
forest like individual lakes, rivers,
swamps, etc.
Every ecosystem has plants, animals and
other organisms as well as the air, water
and soil they interact with.
Energy flows through ecosystems
Ecosystems have food chains
What is a food chain?
It is a way to show what eats what in an
ecosystem. It usually starts with plants
that get energy from the sun and usually
ends with decomposers (bacteria, fungi in
the soil).
The food chain
Plants are called primary producers (they
are first on the food chain; they produce
food for consumers from sunlight)
Things that eat only plants are called
herbivores and primary consumers (they
are they first to consume anything come
next on the food chain)
Things that eat the herbivores are called
carnivores or secondary, tertiary, etc.
consumers.
Bacteria and fungi break down what has
died and are called decomposers.