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-c
osta-rica/3091.html
watch this clip and answer the questions in notes at the back of
your book
Where 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/rain
forest-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/rai
nforest-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% They are a source Many indigenous They provide
of all western of Illegal drugs like people in saleable
foods- like cocaine rainforests live the commodities like
pineapple, coffee way they have lived Rubber and timber
for centuries they
can teach us a lot
Rainforests are 25% of all cancer One rainforest drug, Plants from
places we can visit fighting drugs Rosie Periwinkle rainforests are
on treks and improved childhood used in the
leukaemia sufferers
holidays, contraceptive pill
survival chance from
increasingly as eco- 10 to 90%
tourists
One rainforest Small monkeys Over 50% of the They provide
drug is used to help called marmosets biological diversity homes for many
diabetics from rainforests on Earth is found in endangered animals
are used to test tropical rainforests species- such as
drugs before Orang-Utans,
human tests Bonobos, Poison
Arrow frogs, etc
They are a unique They regulate the They provide They store carbon,
biome hydrological cycle nutrients for soil a contributor to
to be productive global warming
• http://www.at-bristol.org.uk/cz/rainforest/rai
nforest.htm

• Goes through main goods and services

• Includes people’s opinions of value of
rainforest
 Goods and services
• Cocoa • Ecotourism
• Rubber
• Bananas • Endangered animals
• Brazil Nuts • Cosmetics
• Pineapples • Colourings for lipstick
• Sugar • Timber
• Many medicines • Plants
• Animals for drug tests
• Tourism
• Pets
Deforested-
Land for farming crops
Grazing cattle for beef production
Extracting underground minerals
 How biosphere regulates carbon
The carbon cycle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3SZK
JVKRxQ&feature=PlayList&p=C606EB95
7A1DDF22&playnext=1&playnext_from=P
L&index=67
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0Vwa6qtEih8&feature=PlayList&p=C60
6EB957A1DDF22&playnext=1&playnext_
from=PL&index=49 short video
Estimated major stores of carbon on the Earth.

Amount in Billions of
Sink
Metric Tons
578 (as of 1700) - 766 (as
Atmosphere
of 1999)
Soil Organic Matter 1500 to 1600
Ocean 38,000 to 40,000
Marine Sediments and
66,000,000 to 100,000,000
Sedimentary Rocks
Terrestrial Plants 540 to 610
Fossil Fuel Deposits 4000
question answer
 question answer
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

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 fossil fuels are burned  
dioxide when  
volcanoes   release CO2  
• http://www.studystack.com/matching-1461
loads of games on the carbon cycle
• http://www.open2.net/historyandthearts/dis
cover_science/launcher_elementonthemo
ve.html element on move game- move
round a carbon element
 Which biomes hold most carbon?
• Rainforests
• Taiga
• Mangroves
• Coral reefs
 How the biosphere maintains soil health

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/rai
nforest-layering/3092.html
 Nitrogen
Nitrogen 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

Nutrient Stores

The amount of organic

The total mass of
matter, including Soil.
living organisms,
humus and leaf litter,
mainly plant tissue
in the soil.
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
 • Imagine you are a farmer
looking at the vegetation
above. What would be your
thoughts about how productive
that land would be?

• So why after
deforestation are these
areas found to have
some of the least
fertile soils in the
World?
 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)
e.g Methane from cows

The nutrient cycle

Annotate the diagram giving examples of each link.

One has been done for you.
• Study fig 5 Edexcel book.