THE BIOSPHERE

By:
Hyacinth Mae V. Curativo
Cyradz M. Alim
WHAT IS THE BIOSPHERE?
• “Bio” means life, by this it means that the
biosphere involves every life forms present
on the planet Earth.
•It contains all the Earth’s living things (plants and
animals).

•It is sometimes referred to as the “zone of life”

•The biosphere is one of Earth’s sub-system.

•From a geophysical standpoint, biosphere is the global

ecological system integrating all living things and their
relationship, including their interactions with the elements
of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

•The term ‘‘biosphere’’ was coined by geologist Edward

Guess in 1875.
WHAT IS A BIOME?

•The biosphere is divided into biomes.

•Biomes are the world’s major
communities.
•They are classified according to
predominant vegetation characterized by
adaptations of organisms to that
particular climate .
There are five major biomes:

1. Aquatic Biomes-
includes fresh
water (ponds,
lakes, rivers, etc.)
and marine
(oceans, estuaries,
etc.). The aquatic
regions house
numerous species
of plants and
animals.
Some examples of organism living in the aquatic biomes
are the following:
Reptiles such as sea turtles:
Sea Lettuce:

Mollusk: Fishes:
2. Forest Biomes-
includes tropical,
temperature, and
boreal forest as well
as a taiga. Each
type of forest has
distinctive features
dominated by
grasses rather than
large shrubs or
trees.
Living organisms in the forest biomes include:

Animals such as rabbits: Fungi:

Fauna such as trees and grass:

Amphibians such as frogs:
 3. Desert Biomes-
characterized by
low rainfall (less
than 50 cm/year).
Most deserts have
specialized
vegetation as well
as specialized
animals that can
adapt to its
condition.
Examples of organisms in the desert biome includes:

Camels and Cacti:

 4.Tundra Biomes-
the coldest of all
the biomes, it has
low biotic diversity
and simple
vegetation
structure.
The typical vegetation of the arctic tundra is sedges, cotton grass, dwarf
birches, heath, lichens, and willows.

While fauna includes wolves and polar bears:

5.Grassland
Biomes-
made up of large
open areas of
grasses. They are
maintained by
grazing animals
and frequent fires.
Type of grassland
include savannas
and temperate
grasslands.
Grasslands support a variety of species. Vegetation on the African savannas,
for example, feeds animals including zebras, wildebeest, gazelles, and
giraffes. On temperate grasslands, you might find prairie dogs, badgers,
coyotes, swift foxes, and a variety of birds.
FLOW OF MATTER IN THE BIOSPHERE

 Movement of the chemicals through the biosphere is

known as “biogeochemical cycle”. The cycle shows
the movement of these chemicals from their non-living
reservoir through the various food chains of the
ecosystem and their return to these oxygen cycle,
carbon dioxide, and water cycle.
NITROGEN CYCLE

 Nitrogen makes up 78% of the atmosphere, but it must

be first “fixed” by specialized organisms or by industrial
processes in order to be used by living organisms. By
fixed it meant that nitrogen must be incorporated in a
chemical compound that can be utilized by plants and
animals.
 NITROGEN FIXATION
NITROGEN FIXATION IS CARRIED OUT INTO TWO PROCESSES:

1.Electrical discharges
arising from electrical
storms in the
atmosphere resulting in
the formation of small
amount of nitrogen
oxides from molecular
nitrogen.
2. Biological processes limited to
a small percentage of living
systems. The two group of micro-
organisms responsible for
nitrogen fixation in the soil are
Acetobacteria found in alkaline
soil and the Clostridium
Pastenium residing in acid soils.

Certain plants, namely the

legumes, in conjunction with the
bacteria Rhizobium are Earth’s
greatest natural source of fixed
nitrogen. Rhizobium invades the
roots of legumes resulting in the
formation of root swellings called
nodules. It is within these
nodules containing the bacteria
that nitrogen fixation takes place.
 In general, a smaller percentage of atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by
ionizing phenomena such as cosmic radiation and lightning. Nitrogen is also
fixed by marine organisms but the single largest source of fixed nitrogen is
terrestrial microorganism. However, man’s intervention through industrial
fixation far exceeds all other processes.

Human activities through industrial fixation obviously tip the

balance of nitrogen cycle. One well known effect of human activities is
that nitrogen fertilizers run of to lakes, streams and rivers. Nitrate in
solution, in small amounts, become nitrate. Nitrate is poisonous and is a
hazard to health. Another effect resulting from the dumping of too much
fertilizer in lake and rivers is the depletion of dissolved oxygen in the
water. This effect lead to “EUTROPHICATION”. Eutrophication is a
condition where the oxygen content reduce due to the growth of algae.
Nitrates “enrich” the water causing algae bloom.
Importance of nitrogen fixation:

The nitrogen fixation step of the

cycle is of prime importance because it
controls the quantities of nitrogen
available for all the other process of
nitrogen metabolism.
How fixation takes place?
Fixation of nitrogen requires energy. Before it can be fixed it
must be activated (molecular nitrogen must be split to into two atoms of
free nitrogen (chemical formula). In actual fixation, two atoms of
nitrogen combine with three molecules of hydrogen to form two
molecules of ammonia (chemical formula).

Once ammonia (NH3) or ammonium ion (NH4) appears in the

soil, it is absorbed by the roots of the plants. Nitrogen is then
incorporated into amino acids then into proteins. If plants are eaten by
animals, the nitrogen is incorporated into a new protein. Proteins are
ultimately returned to the soil when the animals die where they are
decomposed through bacterial action into component of amino acid. The
amino acids are oxidized back to carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O),
and ammonia NH3 due to actions of certain microorganisms.
 NITRIFICATION

 Ammonia in the presence of oxygen is oxidized to

nitrite (NO2). The process of which ammonia or
ammonium is oxidized to nitrates is called nitrification.

Nitrate is utilized by green plants and other

microorganisms as a nitrogen source thus closes the ring
to complete the cycle.
 DENITRIFICATION

 In the nitrogen cycle, denitrifiying bacteria play

significant role. Under anaerobic (absence of oxygen)
conditions they attack nitrate to obtain oxygen as source
of energy and release gaseous nitrogen. The process is
referred to as denitrification.
OXYGEN CYCLE
 Oxygen not only support life; it arise from life. In the
origin of life, oxygen was not present in the primordial
atmosphere but rather was biological origin. It was
product of the photosynthesis of plants.
 Oxygen plays a fundamental role as a building block of
practically all vital molecules. Almost all organic matter
in the present biosphere originates in the process of
photosynthesis.
 THE THREE NON-LIVING SOURCES OF
OXYGEN ATOMS ARE:
1. Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
2. Water (H2O)
3. And, Molecular Oxygen (O2)

Oxygen sources for living organisms which in turn

reduce them to ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide
(H2S):

•Nitrate (NO3)
•And, Sulfates (SO4)
 The process of oxygen cycle :
 Molecular oxygen (O2) passes from a free state to combine
form, the water molecules, through respiration. It is returned in
the form of oxygen (O2) through the photosynthesis. Water
molecules take part in ionization and in hydrolytic reactions.
 Oxygen, as part of organic molecules in living system, may
leave the system as a combustion product carbon dioxide
(CO2). Subsequent photosynthesis convert CO2 and H2O once
again into organic molecules.
 A minor source of O2 in the atmosphere is the stratosphere or
dissociation of water by ultraviolet light in the outer
atmosphere.
 Another minor source of molecular oxygen is the dissociation
of ozone.
 CARBON CYCLE

 The study of carbon cycle in the atmosphere is

fundamentally the study of the overall global interactions
of living organisms and their physical and chemical
environment.

 In the operation of the carbon cycle in nature, an overall

dynamic equilibrium has been established in which the
concentration of each of the principal substances remain
more or less constant. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is in
equilibrium with dissolved carbon dioxide and
precipitated carbonates.
 Carbon cycle on land begins with the fixation of atmospheric carbon dioxide
by the process of photosynthesis conducted by plants and microorganisms. The
carbohydrates produced are directly consumed to supply the plant with energy: CO2, so
generated is released either through the plant's leaves or through its roots. Part of the
carbon fixed by plants is consumed by animals, which also respire and release CO2,
Plants and animals die and are ultimately decomposed by microorganisms in the soil.
The carbon in their tissues is oxidized to CO2 and returns to the atmosphere.

The carbon cycle in sea is self-contained in that phytoplanktons assimilate

the CO, dissolved in seawater and release oxygen back into solution. Zooplankton and
fish consume the carbon fixed by the phytoplankton using the dissolved oxygen for
respiration. Eventually the decomposition of organic matter replaces the CO2
assimilated by the phytoplankton. Accelerated use of fossil fuel has increased the
amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 10%. This increase will result in the
greenhouse effect of the atmosphere. This turn would make artificial climatic changes
which might cause floods and thus the raise levels of oceans.
WATER CYCLE
 The water enters the atmosphere through evaporation of water from seas, ocean,
lakes, rivers, and other water forms and from transpiration of water from the
leaves of plants. Sometimes the terms evaporations and transpiration are part
together to form one word called evapotranspiration.
 As water vapor rises into the atmosphere, it cools, then condenses to form cloud.
As water droplet becomes bigger, it falls as rain.
 The water that falls to the ground can evaporate, collect, runoff or infiltrate. When
it collects on the surface of the land, it produces, standing water, puddles, ponds,
or lakes. When rain flows over the ground and into the body of water, it is called
runoff. Runoff flows into streams and rivers and eventually back to the ocean or
sea.
 Water can also infiltrate or soak into the ground where it can be stored as
groundwater. Water will infiltrate into the ground as long as there are pores or
spaces between the particles of soil, sand, and rock.
 The materials that water can reside or flow through are called aquifers. When
water returns to the ocean, one cycle of water is completed.
 MOVEMENT OF ENERGY IN THE
BIOSPHERE

Sun is Earth's major source of energy. When light energy

reaches Earth, three things happen:
•Light is reflected back into space

•Light is transmitted through an object

•Light energy is absorbed and captured in photosynthesis

 Once the energy is captured by autotrophs
(producers) as stored energy (chemical energy) it can be
transferred from one trophic level to another. Trophic level
represents the feeding positions that a biotic component
occupy in a food chain.

There are considerations in energy transfer. It is

governed by the laws of thermodynamics. In layman's
terms, the laws can be stated as:

1.Energy can neither be created nor destroyed (first law)

2.No transfer of energy is 100% complete (second law).

 It is easy to understand the first law the second law means
that it is not possible for a cow eating grass to obtain 1000 of the
energy contained in the grass and be incorporated into the cow's
tissues. There are losses in energy. The total amount of energy is
accounted for in these ways:

•Energy used in metabolism of the organisms

•Energy remaining as organic waste utilized by bacteria and fungi
(decomposers)
•Energy incorporated in tissues that will be available for the next
trophic level
 The energy transfer between trophic levels is
inefficient. As a general rule, only ten percent (10%) of
the energy contained in the organisms of one trophic
level are available to consumers in the next level. This
is referred as ten percent rule.
A concrete example of energy flow in the biosphere would be the food chain and food
web:
THANKS FOR PAYING
ATTENTION!