Biosphere = Earth Ecosystem = Rainforest Community = trees, birds, and bugs in the area
2 How Does the Biosphere Support Life on Earth (NOT FINISHED)
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Transcript of 2 How Does the Biosphere Support Life on Earth (NOT FINISHED)
How does the biosphere support life on earth?
Aim:
To understand the interdependence between ecosystems and people.
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/rainforest-processes-costa-rica/3091.html watch this clip and answer the questions in notes at the back of your bookWhere do you find rainforests?What distinguishes them from other forests?What’s the average annual rainfall?How does the rainforest return moisture to the atmosphere after rainfall? (2 ways)How much of the rainfall is transpired back and falls as rain again?How much sunlight does the rainforest receive each day? http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/rainforest-photosynthesis/3093.html What does rainforest take in? release out?Which 3 things do rainforests rely on?
• Biosphere= life support system. Why?
What’s in a rainforest?
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/rainforest-layering/3092.html
• Use the video clip to outline the structure of a typical rainforest- describe each layer
• Describe the distribution of tropical rainforests across the Earth
• Emergent - or forest giants, 50 metres or taller. These trees are usually supported by buttress roots.
• Canopy - This is a dense layer forming almost complete cover. Trees 20 - 30 metres tall include many hardwoods such as mahogany.
• Under Canopy - This dark and humid area contains saplings between the trunks of larger trees.
• Shrub Layer - This contains small trees and shrubs especially near rivers.
• Forest Floor - This is covered with ferns and a deep litter of fallen leaves
Contrasting uses of a rainforest.
• For each image create a spider diagram to illustrate the use of and effect on the rainforest.
Biomes – Goods and Services
• What do you think is the difference?
• Goods – products and items sourced from the biome for survival or commercial use.
• Services – measures the biome takes to serve the planet. e.g. regulating the composition of the atmosphere, maintaining the health of the soil.
List as many different goods and services you can think of.
• Goods • Services
What goods and services are provided by rainforests
• Sort the cards you have been given to determine the goods and services produced by our most productive land biome
They provide 80% of all western
foods- like pineapple, coffee
They are a source of Illegal drugs
like cocaine
Many indigenous people in
rainforests live the way they have lived for centuries they
can teach us a lot
They provide saleable
commodities like Rubber and
timber
Rainforests are places we can
visit on treks and holidays,
increasingly as eco-tourists
25% of all cancer fighting drugs
One rainforest drug, Rosie Periwinkle
improved childhood leukaemia sufferers
survival chance from 10 to 90%
Plants from rainforests are
used in the contraceptive pill
One rainforest drug is used to help diabetics
Small monkeys called marmosets from rainforests are used to test
drugs before human tests
Over 50% of the biological
diversity on Earth is found in
tropical rainforests
They provide homes for many
endangered animals species- such as Orang-Utans, Bonobos,
Poison Arrow frogs, etc
They are a unique biome
They regulate the hydrological cycle
They provide nutrients for soil to be productive
They store carbon, a
contributor to global warming
• http://www.at-bristol.org.uk/cz/rainforest/rainforest.htm
• Goes through main goods and services
• Includes people’s opinions of value of rainforest
Goods and services• Cocoa• Rubber• Bananas• Brazil Nuts• Pineapples• Sugar• Many medicines• Animals for drug tests
• Ecotourism• Endangered animals• Cosmetics• Colourings for lipstick• Timber• Plants• Tourism• Pets
Deforested-
Land for farming crops
Grazing cattle for beef production
Extracting underground minerals
How biosphere regulates carbonThe carbon cycle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3SZKJVKRxQ&feature=PlayList&p=C606EB957A1DDF22&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=67 long video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vwa6qtEih8&feature=PlayList&p=C606EB957A1DDF22&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=49 short video
Estimated major stores of carbon on the Earth.
SinkAmount in Billions of
Metric Tons
Atmosphere578 (as of 1700) - 766
(as of 1999)
Soil Organic Matter 1500 to 1600
Ocean 38,000 to 40,000
Marine Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
66,000,000 to 100,000,000
Terrestrial Plants 540 to 610
Fossil Fuel Deposits 4000
question answer
question
How is carbon taken in the environment by photosynthesis
how do organisms get carbon by eating plants
carbon is released back into the atmosphere by humans by
breathing, or cellular respiration
carbon is released back into the atmosphere through carbon dioxide when
fossil fuels are burned
volcanoes release CO2
show by photosynthesis
how do organisms get carbon show
carbon is released back into the atmosphere by humans by
show
show fossil fuels are burned
volcanoes show
answer
• http://www.studystack.com/matching-1461 loads of games on the carbon cycle
• http://www.open2.net/historyandthearts/discover_science/launcher_elementonthemove.html element on move game- move round a carbon element
Which biomes hold most carbon?
• Rainforests
• Taiga
• Mangroves
• Coral reefs
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/rainforest-layering/3092.html
How the biosphere maintains soil health
NitrogenNitrogen is a central component of cell proteins and is used for seed production. It exists in
several chemical forms and various micro-organisms are involved in its transformations. Legumes and algae, are able to transform atmospheric nitrogen into a form available for plant use.
Nitrogen in dead organic materials is available to plants through mineralization. Nitrogen lost from the pasture system through the physical processes of leaching, runoff, and
erosion, and through residue burning. Nitrogen is needed for forage production and is lost easily, this nutrient is often the limiting
factor in crop production. Productive pasture management practices enhance the fixation and conservation of nitrogen while minimizing the potential for nitrogen losses.
Practices for effective nitrogen cycling in pastures include:
1) Maintaining stable or increasing percentages of legumes by not overgrazing pastures and minimizing nitrogen applications, especially in the spring.
2) Protecting microbial communities involved in organic matter mineralization by minimizing practices that promote soil compaction and soil disturbance such as grazing wet soils, tillage, and cultivation.
3) Incorporating manure and nitrogen fertilizers into the soil, and never applying these materials to saturated, snow-covered, or frozen soils.
• Avoiding pasture burning. If burning is required, it should be done very infrequently and then using a slow fire under controlled conditions.
• Applying fertilizers and manure according to a comprehensive nutrient management plan.
Nutrient Stores
Biomass Litter Soil
The total mass of living organisms,
mainly plant tissue
The amount of organic matter,
including humus and leaf litter, in the soil.
Soil.
Nutrient Stores
Biosphere and regulating the hydrological cycle
• Trees intercept precipitation• They then provide basis for evapotranspiration• They provide cover for soil to reduce soil erosion
and leaching of nutrients• The dead leaves create nitrogen stores-
imperative for the nutrient cycle we looked at earlier
• The removal of trees and any vegetation reduces interception and evapotranspiration, increasing surface runoff- interfering with the natural hydrological cycle
• So why after deforestation are these areas found to have some of the least fertile soils in the World?
• Imagine you are a farmer looking at the vegetation above. What would be your thoughts about how productive that land would be?
Goods and services provided by the BIOSPHERE
• What things do we get from rainforests?• What lies under deserts and tundra?• What do coral reefs provide us with?• What services do Savannas provide us with?
Task
Describe the goods and services that are produced by the rainforest ecosystem (4)
Explain why these goods and services are important to us (4)
Homework Task
• Produce a piece of work entitled either-• The rainforest is important to me because……• My rainforest connections….• I rely on the rainforest for…..• Your piece of work can be a written piece, a
poem, a collage, a story, a video, a storyboard• You must include details about-• The things you use that originate in a rainforest• Information about how the rainforest helps your
planet survive- the carbon, nutrient and hydrological cycles info)
Annotate the diagram giving examples of each link.
One has been done for you.
e.g Methane from cows
The nutrient cycle
• Study fig 5 Edexcel book.