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Biosphere To Ecosystems

The document provides information about ecosystems and the biosphere. It defines an ecosystem as an area with relationships between living organisms and their environment. The biosphere is made up of the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere, and contains all living organisms on Earth. Ecosystems contain biotic factors like plants and animals, as well as abiotic factors from the non-living environment like temperature, water, and soil that influence living things.

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Chelain Boucher
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3K views31 pages

Biosphere To Ecosystems

The document provides information about ecosystems and the biosphere. It defines an ecosystem as an area with relationships between living organisms and their environment. The biosphere is made up of the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere, and contains all living organisms on Earth. Ecosystems contain biotic factors like plants and animals, as well as abiotic factors from the non-living environment like temperature, water, and soil that influence living things.

Uploaded by

Chelain Boucher
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAPTER 1

BIOSPHERE TO
ECOSYSTEMS.

Grade 10 Life Sciences


ECOSYSTEMS
• An ecosystem is an area in which there exists relationships
between living organisms themselves and the living organisms
and the non-living environment.
• Some examples of ecosystems are: a river, a grassland, a fallen
rock.
• The study of all the relationships in an ecosystem is called
ecology.
BIOSPHERE

The biosphere can be defined as


that part of the earth where the
living organisms are found.
It is made up of 3 parts.
• Atmosphere (air)
• Hydrosphere (water)
• Lithosphere (rock and soil)
BIOSPHERE

The biosphere is
made up of the
atmosphere,
lithosphere.
AT M O S P H E R E
The atmosphere is a layer of air around the earth’s surface
LITHOSPHERE
The lithosphere is all
the soil and rocks that
makes up the upper
layers of the earth’s
surface.
HYDROSPHERE
Hydrosphere is all the waters of the seas, rivers and lakes.
Here are some examples
of the various sources of
natural water on the
Earth
B I O T I C A N D A B I O T I C FA C T O R S :
• From it is clear that the ecosystem is made up of 2 components.
• These 2 components are living and non-living components.
• The living components are also called biotic components or factors.
• Examples of the biotic factors are plants and animals.
• The non-living components are also called abiotic components or factors.
• Water, air, soil and temperature are some examples of abiotic factors.
B I O T I C FA C T O R S :
• The biotic components are the plants and animals.
• It also includes organisms such as the fungi and lichens as well as the very
small organisms like bacteria.
• The bacteria are so small that it can be seen only with a microscope.
• Such organisms that are invisible to the naked eye are called micro-organisms.
• Some algae and fungi are also examples of micro-organisms.
C L I M AT I C FA C T O R S
• Climatic factors include light, temperature, water and atmospheric gases.
Temperature:
The temperature of an area can determine the plant life growing in that area.
Remember the places closer to the equator are warmer than those places near the poles.
Animals are also affected by the temperature.
Some animals like the exothermic animals become inactive in the cold winter months
because the temperatures are so low.
Some of these animals hibernate to overcome the cold weather.
Some animals like the snail also become dormant when the weather is very dry.
C L I M AT I C F A C T O R S :
T E M P E R AT U R E
Some plants experience excessive water loss as a result of the high temperature.
The process responsible for this high-water loss is called transpiration.
However, plants have many adaptations to reduce the water loss.
The picture alongside shows
some of these adaptations.
SOLUTION
Adaptation of plants to reduce water loss
• Leaves are long and thin to reduce the surface area to reduce water loss.
• Leaves are covered with a thick cuticle to reduce water loss.
• Leaves have more stomata on the lower surface to reduce water loss by
transpiration and these stomata may be sunken.
• Leaves may be covered by tiny white hairs to reflect the sunlight so that water
loss can be reduced.
• Some leaves maybe reduced to thorns to reduce the surface area exposed to
the sun thereby reducing water loss.
• Stems may be able to store water to survive the dry months.
C L I M AT I C FA C T O R S : L I G H T
Light is needed by green plants for the process of photosynthesis.
Plants will always be in competition with each other for light.
Here are some examples:
When plants are crowded together, they will grow thin and tall in the hopes of
receiving light.
Some plants will climb on others in an attempt to reach the light. Example:
vines
Still others will grow on larger trees to reach the sunlight. Example: epiphytes
AT M O S P H E R I C G A S E S :
• The atmosphere contains air.
• Air is a mixture of gases.
• Some of the more important gases that make up the air are: oxygen, carbon dioxide,
nitrogen and water vapour.
• The composition of these gases are about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 0.03% carbon
dioxide.
• Oxygen is required by the both plants and animals for the process of cellular
respiration.
• During the process of photosynthesis plants absorb carbon dioxide, which is a
requirement of photosynthesis.
AT M O S P H E R I C G A S E S :
• Nitrogen is required by plants to manufacture proteins.
• However, plants cannot absorb nitrogen as the N2 gas as it occurs in the
atmosphere.
• Plants are only able to absorb nitrogen as a nitrate.
• Therefore, the nitrogen must be first converted to nitrate before it can be
absorbed.
• Remember animals get their nitrogen from the plants they eat or other
animals that may have eaten plants.
E D A P H I C FA C T O R S : S O I L T Y P E S
• There are 3 types of soil.
• These 3 types are sand, loam and clay.
• Plants grow best in loam soil because it has a good water holding capacity, and is well aerated. It
also has a high humus content.
• The loam soil has a good water holding capacity because it is made up of medium sized particles.
• Plants cannot grow in sandy soil because the soil is very loose and does not offer enough
anchorage.
• The large particles of sandy soil provides it with a poor water holding capacity.
• Clay is made up of very fine particles that become sticky when wet.
• Therefore, it has a poor water holding capacity.
• It is not good for plants because the roots can become waterlogged.
E D A P H I C FA C T O R S : S O I L
ACIDITY OR ALKALINITY
• The pH scale can be used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of
substances in solution.
• An example of a pH scale is shown below.

• Different plants require soil with different pH to survive.


• Most plants prefer slightly acidic to neutral soil while other plants
require alkaline soil.
P H Y S I O G R A P H I C FA C T O R S :
• Physiographic factors are those factors that deal with the physical
nature of the area.
• Example of such factors are slope of land, altitude and for our studies
position of area in relation to sun.
• The physiographic factors that we will discuss are:
a) Aspect
b) Altitude.
P H Y S I O G R A P H I C FA C T O R S :
ASPECT
• Aspect refers to the direction a slope faces.
• In the southern hemisphere the suns rays come from the north therefore the north
facing areas receive more light than the south facing slopes.
• The north facing areas would be warmer and drier than south facing slopes.
• The north facing areas are drier because of increased evaporation.
• Therefore, shade loving plants like ferns would be found on the south facing slopes and
xerophytes would be found on the drier, warmer slopes.
• The south facing slopes would have more plant and animal life because more water is
available.
P H Y S I O G R A P H I C FA C T O R S :
A LT I T U D E
• Altitude refers to the height of the land above sea level.
• The climate of areas found at higher altitudes is very different from places at lower
altitude.
• The areas at higher altitude have lower temperatures, atmospheric pressure and are
exposed to stronger winds.
• While those areas at lower altitudes have warmer temperatures, higher atmospheric
pressures and lighter winds.
• These differences means that the plant and animal life in these areas are very
different from each other.
P H Y S I O G R A P H I C FA C TO R S :
E F F E C T S O F A LT I T U D E O N L I V I N G
ORGANISMS.
• Pine trees that grow on the slopes of mountains are cone shaped to allow the snow to
fall off. They have very well-developed roots to absorb whatever little water that may
be available.
• Green and black mambas are found in the warmer coastal areas while the Berg adder
is found more commonly in the cooler mountainous areas.
• Fish like the trout are found in rivers at high altitude because these waters are colder.
• People living in the coastal areas have difficulty in breathing in the higher inland
areas because of the lower pressure and therefore less oxygen at the higher altitudes.
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS:
Abiotic factors can be placed into 3 groups.

These 3 groups are :


• Climatic factors
• Edaphic factors
• Physiographic factors
C L I M AT I C FA C T O R S
• Climatic factors include light, temperature, water and atmospheric gases.
Temperature:
The temperature of an area can determine the plant life growing in that area.
Remember the places closer to the equator are warmer than those places near the
poles.
Animals are also affected by the temperature.
Some animals like the exothermic animals become inactive in the cold winter
months because the temperatures are so low.
Some of these animals hibernate to overcome the cold weather.
Some animals like the snail also become dormant when the weather is very dry.
BIOTIC COMPONENTS:
• The biotic components are the plants and animals.
• It also includes organisms such as the fungi and lichens as well as the very small organisms like
bacteria.
• The bacteria are so small that it can be seen only with a microscope.
• Such organisms that are invisible to the naked eye are called micro-organisms.
• Some algae and fungi are also examples of micro-organisms.
BIOTIC COMPONENTS: PRODUCERS,
CONSUMERS AND DECOMPOSERS.

• Producers:
These are biotic factors that have the ability to make their own food.
They are able to do this by absorbing energy from the sun.
The process by which they are able to manufacture their own food by
using the radiant energy is called photosynthesis.
BIOTIC COMPONENTS:
CONSUMERS
• Consumers:
These are organisms that are unable to manufacture their own food.
Are you able to tell why?
There are 3 categories of consumers.
These 3 categories are:
HERBIVORES:
Herbivores: these are organism that obtain their food from
plant matter.
Can you list some examples?
CARNIVORES:

• Carnivores: these are the organism that feed on


animal matter only.
OMNIVORES

• Omnivores: these are organisms that feed on both plant


and animal matter.
• List some examples.
BIOTIC COMPONENTS:
DECOMPOSERS
• These are organisms that feed on dead organic matter.
• They are usually micro-organisms .
• But some decomposers can be macroscopic e.g. worms.
• Give some examples of decomposers.
• As they break down the bodies of the dead organic matter, they release important
substances back into the environment.
• These substances then can be used by green plants.
• Water, carbon dioxide, mineral salts and energy in the form of heat are some of the
substances that are released by decomposers.
ACTIVITY 1
P G 11

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