Environmental Science

GE 15 – Subject Code: 1603

Why is it that there are various ecosystems?
Biomes

A biome is a large region of Earth that has a certain climate and certain
types of living things. The plants and animals of each biome have traits
that help them to survive in their particular biome. Plants and animals
that live within smaller areas of a biome also depend on each other for
survival. These smaller areas are called ecosystems. Each biome has
many ecosystems
Biomes are grouped into;
I. Freshwater
II. Marine
III. Desert
IV. Forest
V. Grassland
VI. Tundra
I. Freshwater

• Freshwater is defined as having a low salt concentration — usually

less than 1%. Plants and animals in freshwater regions are adjusted to
the low salt content and would not be able to survive in areas of high
salt concentration (i.e., ocean).
Different Types of Freshwater Regions
• Ponds and lakes
o Various range in sizes some are small and others are big. Many ponds are seasonal,
lasting just a couple of months while lakes may exist for hundreds of years or more
• Streams and rivers
o These are bodies of flowing water moving in one direction. Streams and rivers can
be found everywhere — they get their starts at headwaters, which may be springs,
snowmelt or even lakes, and then travel all the way to their mouths, usually
another water channel or the ocean
• Wetlands
o Wetlands are areas of standing water that support aquatic plants. Marshes,
swamps, and bogs are all considered wetlands
Ponds and Lakes
• Ponds and lakes are both inland bodies of freshwater that contain living
creatures.
• They are often isolated from one another and from other water sources
like rivers and oceans.
• Lakes are normally much deeper than ponds and have a larger surface
area.
• All the water in a pond is in the photic zone, meaning ponds are
shallow enough to allow sunlight to reach the bottom.
• Lakes have aphotic zones, which are deep areas of water that receive
no sunlight, preventing plants from growing.
Ponds and Lakes
• An Example of a pond located
at Philippine Eagle Park in
Malagos, Davao City

• Taal Crater Lake in Talisay and

San Nicolas, Batangas
 Streams and rivers

River Stream
A large flowing body of water A smaller flowing body of water

Very large and deep Can be crossed by foot

Is formed of several streams Single flowing water
Streams and rivers The Loboc River in Bohol, Philippines

Stream

River
Tanato, Bataan, Philippines
Wetlands
• The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms
or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants,
adapted to the unique hydric soil.

Liguasan Marsh. The marsh covers an area of around

2,200 square kilometers spanning the provinces of 
Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat.
II. Marine

• Marine regions cover about three-fourths of the Earth's surface and

include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries. Marine algae supply much
of the world's oxygen supply and take in a huge amount of
atmospheric carbon dioxide. The evaporation of the seawater
provides rainwater for the land.
Different Types of Marine Regions
• Oceans
o The largest of all the ecosystems, oceans are very large bodies of saline water
that dominate the Earth's surface.
• Coral reefs
o Coral reefs are widely distributed in warm shallow waters. They can be found
as barriers along continents (e.g., the Great Barrier Reef off Australia) and
fringing islands
• Estuaries
o Estuaries are areas where freshwater streams or rivers merge with the ocean.
 Oceans

• The ocean covers about 71% of the

surface of the Earth

• As per estimates, 97% of the water

on our planet is found in the ocean.
Coral Reefs
• They support 25% of all marine
animals, from thousands of fish
species to sponges to marine
mammals

• Coral reefs are also our first line of

defense against tropical storms,

Great Barrier Reef – Australia

 Estuaries

• Where freshwater rivers meet the salty

open sea
• Estuaries are among the most productive
ecosystems in the world. Many animals
rely on estuaries for food, places to breed,
and migration stopovers.
• This salty freshwater mix is where life
begins and is the nursing grounds for 75%
Estuary in Davao city from Davao River
of the fish we catch
(Bankerohan river and Salof river) and Davao
gulf
III. Desert

• Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface and occur where
rainfall is less than 50 cm/year. Soils often have abundant nutrients
because they need only water to become very productive and have
little or no organic matter. Disturbances are common in the form of
occasional fires or cold weather, and sudden, infrequent, but intense
rains that cause flooding.
III. Desert

Sahara desert in Africa is the largest hot desert in the

world.
IV. Forest

• A forest is a large area dominated by trees. Hundreds of more precise

definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating
factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing and
ecological function.
Forest are categorized into;

• Tropical rainforest
• Temperate Deciduous Forest
• Boreal forest (Taiga)
 Tropical Rainforest
• Tropical forests are
characterized by the greatest
diversity of species.
• They occur near the equator
• Only two seasons are present
(rainy and dry)

Amazon tropical rainforest located in South America

Temperate Deciduous Forest
• Temperate deciduous forests are
most notable because they go
through four seasons: Winter,
Spring, Summer, and Fall
• Leaves change color (or senesce)
in autumn, fall off in the winter,
and grow back in the spring; this
adaptation allows plants to
The Laurentians, Quebec Canada
survive cold winters.
Boreal forest (Taiga)
• Boreal forests, or taiga,
represent the largest terrestrial
biome
• These comprise of a belt of
coniferous forest that encircles
the northern hemisphere,
running through North
America, Europe and Asia
Covers large areas in Russia
• This forest characterized by the
abundance of pine trees.
V. Grassland

• Grasslands are characterized as lands dominated by grasses rather

than large shrubs or trees
Two Main Divisions of Grasslands

• Tropical Grasslands or Savannas

• Temperate Grasslands
Tropical Grasslands or Savannas
• Savanna is grassland with
scattered individual trees.
• Savannas of one sort or
another cover almost half
the surface of Africa

Savanna in Africa
Temperate grasslands
• Temperate grasslands are
characterized as having
grasses as the dominant
vegetation
• Trees and large shrubs
are absent.

Temperate grassland in Africa

VI. Tundra

• Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes. It is noted for its frost-molded
landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little precipitation, poor
nutrients, and short growing seasons. Dead organic material functions
as a nutrient pool
Two Main Divisions of Tundra

• Arctic tundra

• Alpine tundra
Arctic Tundra
• Arctic tundra is located in the northern hemisphere, encircling the
north pole and extending south to the coniferous forests of the
taiga. A layer of permanently frozen subsoil called permafrost exists,
consisting mostly of gravel and finer material.

Arctic tundra in Siberia

Alpine tundra
• Alpine tundra is located on mountains throughout the world at high
altitude where trees cannot grow. The nighttime temperature is
usually below freezing. Unlike the arctic tundra, the soil in the alpine
is well drained. 

Alpine tundra in Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington