CHAPTER 3: THE BIOSPHERE PART 4: ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY

SLIDE 4: 1. Ecosystem Ecology:

SLIDE 5:
 Ecosystem = all organisms
and nonliving entities that
occur and interact in a
particular area at the same
time.
 Include abiotic and biotic
components.
 Energy flows and matter
cycles among these
components.

SLIDE 6:
 Systems of proprieties
 System = set of elements interacting with each other according to
certain principles or rules = network of relationships
- Exchanges of energy, matter or information  systems receive energy,
matter or information, transform these inputs and generate products.
o Ex.) the Earth system. In the Earth system, the biosphere, interacts
chemically and physically with other spheres. All the spheres interact
with each other.
- Generally difficult to understand and predict.
 o Especially living systems, because they are very complicated.

 Feedback loop = interaction in which the disturbance of one variable

causes the change of a second variable, which in turn influences the initial
variable  forms a loop.
- We have 2 forms of feedback loop: Negative feedback loop and positive
feedback loop.

SLIDE 7:
 Negative Feedback loop = process which has the effect of attenuating
disturbances and causes damping which allows regulation.
 The best example for that is that predator prey relationship between Canadian
lynx and snowshoe hares.
 When you have a lot of prey, you’re going to have a lot of predators and vice
versa.
 It’s called a negative feedback because we have a damping.s

 Figure 5.2 < Negative feedback (a)

stabilizes systems. Abundant prey support
many predators, which in turn deplete prey
populations – but because fewer prey
support fewer predators, they prey
population rises again, and the cycle
continues.

SLIDE 8:
 Positive feedback loop = process which has the effect of accentuating
disturbances, the process feeds itself → instead of stabilizing the system, the
product pushes the system towards extremes.
 It’s not stabilizing the effects, it’s accentuated the effects, the consequences of
the disturbances
 Example of albedo:
 1.) In cool climate, sunlight reflects off white surfaces.
 So, it just expresses the portion of solar radiation, which will be returned by the
atmosphere and the Earth surface towards space, and which will therefore not be
used to heat the planet.
 On a perfectly white surface, you’re going to have like 100% reflection of light.
So, all the light is going to be sent back to space.
2.) As climate warms, sunlight is absorbed where dark surfaces are exposed.
 The surface is not going to reflect in light, but it is going to absorb all the solar
radiation it receives. There would be 0%.
 When you have ice and snow, it is quite white and so, albedo is important. On the
contrary in the ocean, the albedo is very low and usually between 5-10%. So, it’s
going to absorb a lot of solar radiation. Usually for the ice and snow, we say about
60% and 90%.
3.) Light absorption speeds warming exposing more dark surfaces.
 As glaciers and sea melts due to global warming, it’s going to increase the dark
surfaces and because you’re going to have more ocean, they’re going to be more
exposed and going to absorb more solar radiation.
 The are going to absorb more solar radiation. As they are going to increase the
global warming, they are increasing the global warming and it’s also going to
increase the melting. Surface of ocean, less ice, less albedo, and more climate
change etc. It’s a positive feedback loop.

SLIDE 9:
 Energy flows in ecosystems
 Abiotic chemicals (carbon dioxide,
oxygen, nitrogen, minerals)
 Producers (plants)
 Consumers (herbivores, carnivores)
 Decomposers (bacteria, fungi)
 Energy is transferred and
transformed.
- Ex. Solar energy entering the system is
transferred and transformed.
- One-way energy flow in food chains.
- Each trophic level loses ~90% of
energy as heat.
 Matter is only transformed.
- The matter is recycled in the ecosystem, resulting in flows of heat, water, or
waste.
 - Biogeochemical cycles.
- The Earth is a finite and closed system.

SLIDE 10:
Relative biomass in gigatons (GT) of carbon (C)
 Energy is converted into
biomass
 Primary production = rate
at which a given quantity
of organic matter
(biomass) is formed, per
unit of time, from mineral
matter and a supply of
energy  conversion of
solar energy into chemical
energy by autotrophic
organisms. It is expressed
as mass of carbon
assimilated per unit of time.
 Net primary production (NPP) = energy remaining after respiration of
autotrophic organisms and which is used to produce biomass available to
heterotrophic organisms.
 Secondary production = biomass generated by heterotrophic
organisms.

SLIDE 11:
 (a) Net primary productivity for major ecosystem types.

(b) Global map of net primary

2
production (g C/m /year)

SLIDE 12:
 Productivity = primary production relative to biomass = rate at which
ecosystems generate biomass.
 Ecosystems for which autotrophic organisms rapidly convert solar energy into
biomass = high primary productivity.
  (a) Net primary productivity for
major ecosystem types.

SLIDE 13: 2. BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

SLIDE 14:
 Energy and matter
 Nutrients cycle = process by which organic and inorganic compounds
are reused for a new purpose of producing the material → recycling
 In this process, the nutrients are absorbed, transferred, released, and then
reabosrobed.
- Autoregulation.
 Nutrients = set of organic and inorganic compounds necessary for living
organism to maintain life.
 It can be carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen etc. that are all nutrients for
living organisms.
- Nutrient availability limits productivity.
- Biogeochemical cycles recycle nutrients and transport them.
- The cyclic pathway through which nutrients pass includes cells,
organisms, community, ecosystem and large systems.
Cycle of Matter in Ecosystems
SLIDE 15:
 Nutrients circulate via biogeochemical cycles.
 Pools (reservoirs) = where nutrients reside for varying amount of time.
- They can stay in the pool for a short time or long time.
- You have different types of pools. You have sources and our pool that release
more nutrients than they accept and the opposite thinks accept more
nutrients that they release.
 Flux = movement of nutrients among pools, which change over time and
are influenced by human activities.
 Sources = pools that release more nutrients than they accept.
 Sinks = accept more nutrients than they release.
 Figure 3.12: The properties of reservoirs
and how cyclical fluxes move materials into
and out of reservoirs are fundamentally
important concepts in environmental science
today.

SLIDE 16:

 Nutrient cycling occurs at the local scale through the action of the biota.
  For example, it’s through the action of living organisms. When talking about
geological processes, it’s more through geological processes.
 Nutrient cycling occurs at the global scale through geological processes,
such as, atmospheric circulation, erosion and weathering.

SLIDE 17:
 The carbon cycle

 Carbon is present in all living matter.

 Two main inorganic forms: CO2 and carbonate rocks (XCO3).
- Inorganic carbon is stored in living tissues and in fossil fuels.
 Carbon sink = reservoir of carbon absorbing the element from the
carbon cycle.
- They’re going to store them and store more carbon they released.
 Short-term sinks: living things, decomposed organisms, atmosphere,
oceans.
 Long-term sinks: fossil fuels, sedimentary rocks (limestone etc.)
- The carbon can be stored for millions of years.
- It’s important to understand that the carbon is present in all different spheres
in the Earth system.

SLIDE 18:
 We have carbon storage in the
atmospheric ocean where Gezi or
CO2 is stored by photosynthesis
organizers.
 We have sedimentation with
livestock information where
organism shall die.
 There’s also part of the organic
matter that is going to be
preserved in sedimentary deposits.
We call them carbonaceous rocks.
 Carbon storage:
 Dissolution in the oceans
(equilibrium)
  Photosynthesis
 Formation of sedimentary rocks (limestone, fossil fuels…)
 Release of CO2 into the atmosphere:
 Cell respiration
 Decomposition of organic matter
 Human activities
 Volcanism
 Forest fires

SLIDE 19:
 Carbon flow in living beings.
 This is short-term carbon flows.

 Photosynthesis

6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight  C6H12O6 + 6O2.

 Cellular respiration
 C6H12O6 + 6O2  6CO2 + 6H2O + ATP
 Glucose + Oxygen  Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy
 Decomposition  CO2

SLIDE 20:
  Carbon biomass in plants: greatest
biomass in regions where conditions are favorable for photosynthesis.

SLIDE 21:
 Carbon storage in the oceans:
 Gaseous CO2 – dissolved CO2 balance
= dissolution of atmospheric carbon
in the oceans
- But the ocean cannot dissolve all the
CO2 we released in the atmosphere.
 H2CO3 - Transformation of dissolved
CO2 into organic matter and O2 by
phytoplankton
- H2CO3 is carbonic acid.
- Phytoplankton is very important
because it produces half of the
atmospheric oxygen. As they do
exotic photosynthesis, they are going
to absorb the carbon and release
oxygen. So, they produce half of the
atmospheric oxygen.
- They also feed all the marine
organism and are essential to all marine food web.
 Sedimentation of dead organisms at the bottom of the oceans →
carbonate (limestone…) or carbonaceous rocks (fossil fuels)
- We have different ways of sedimentation: Either the calcium cabinets are
going to crystallize out of solutions through evaporation. And its going to lead
to the formation of limestone. For example, the evaporation of water in
limestone caverns forms another variety of limestones that you already know
called stomach mites.
- We have the case to cabinets that are going to crystallize from the skeleton of
small organism with shells of small sea urchins of coral etc. and the shells of
molluscs.
- The other way of sedimentation is when the dead organism falls at the bottom
of the ocean. When the organism is dead, there is decomposition of body and
it’s going to reach CO2. But in sea vents, we have a partial mineralization
because of the condition. All this organic matter is going to be buried and then
form carbonaceous rocks and then fossil fuels.
SLIDE 22:
 Underground carbon storage
 Transformation of organic matter in an anaerobic environment 
production of kerogen at depth.
- When a living organism dies, it’s organic matter is broken down by the
microbiological activity. In an anaerobic environment, when you have oxygen
circulating freely, all the carbon is transformed into carbon dioxide.
- Kerogen is mainly carbon and hydrogen. The more charging is carried to great
depth, the more it undergoes a significant pressure and temperatures. It
undergoes important pressures and temperature. And so, we have what we
call “paralysis”. When there is no oxygen, it’s going to form oil and gas. Gas
can be glutton, propane, methane, hydrogen etc.

 Oil and gas formation in the seabed.

 Natural outcrop of a bituminous coal seam (Nova Scotia) © M.

Rygel
  COAL FORMATION

 Coal = particular variety of kerogen formed from organic matter of plants.

Accumulation of plants in anaerobiosis → gradual modification of T, P and
redox conditions → carbonization → formation of coals increasingly rich in
carbon.
 T = Temperature; P = Pressure
 Here, we are talking about long term carbon flows.

SLIDE 23:

 Carbon biomass in soils.

 Biomass in soils differs from biomass in plants.
 Most of the carbon in soils is stored in high latitudes (permafrost,
peatlands, etc.)

SLIDE 24:
 Peatlands

 Peat harvesting
The Hudson Bay Lowland peatlands © Marc Doucette Mer Bleue Bog, Ottawa

 In the peatlands, there are terrestrial wetlands ecosystems. In wetlands, we

have waterlogged conditions that is going to prevent the plants material from
fully decomposing when the plants die.
 In this environment, we have a production of organic matter that exceeds its
decomposition. So, we have a very net accumulation of partly decomposed
organic matter.
 Peatlands will cover about 3% of the Earth’s territory surface. They are
amazing because, due to this process of accumulation, they are carbon rich
ecosystems, and they store and sequester more carbon than any other type of
terrestrial ecosystem. These surfaces store so much carbon because we have
decomposition of plants. Ex.) Spider mosses grow very fast and accumulates a
lot of carbon very fast and they don’t start to decompose at the mineralization
is only partial, while the carbon is going to stay in the pit and it’s not going to
be released in the atmosphere.
 We use peats for agriculture or temperature because it helps plants to grow
since it is very rich. When you buy a soil to add to your plants interior etc.,
most of it composed of peats since it helps plants grow.
 We also excavate heat for energy because when we burn it, it’s going to
produce energy and heat the same way we burn a coal. We burn a lot of heat.
 To form peatlands, it takes millions of years to form and destroy in a several of
hours. The problem with that is that it stores a lot of carbon. When we drain
the peatland, we burn the peat etc., all the carbon from organic matter that is
contained in peat is going to dry and oxidizes gradually in CO2. And when we
burn the peat, we’re bring back to the atmosphere in the form of CO2 and we
are losing all the carbon.

SLIDE 25:
 Weathering and carbon flux
 1.) Volcanic degassing of CO2
2.) Warming & enhanced hydrological cycle
3.) Intensified weathering. CaSiO3 + 2H2CO3  Ca2+ + 2HCO3 + SiO2
4.) Weathering products taken up by calcifiers.
5.) Seafloor CaCO3 burial sequesters CO2
 CO2 is released into the atmosphere by volcanoes and metamorphism.
 Atmospheric CO2 is carried to Earth by precipitation.
 CO2 from rocks and soils is washed away by rain and ends up in the
oceans.

SLIDE 26:
 Human activities change flows in the carbon cycle.

 Carbon emissions from changes in land use (e.g. logging) and burning of
fossil fuels.
 Some of this carbon is absorbed by the oceans and increased primary
productivity, but most is released into the atmosphere.

SLIDE 27:
  Consequences of increasing CO2 emissions.
 Current levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are the highest in the last
10, 000, 000 years and reaching Eocene levels!
 CO2 is a greenhouse gas that influences the Earth’s climate.
 On the right of the graph, we see a big increase. So, it is since the industrial
revolution and the current level of CO2 are the highest in the last 10 meeting
years.
 They are currently reaching the ocean levels because we had like hot and cool
periods over time.
 In this graph, we have an important acceleration of the amount of CO2 in the
atmosphere, and the curse is not natural but are human activities.
 The CO2 we release in the atmosphere is going to influence the Earth’s
climate because it is greenhouse gas.

SLIDE 28:
 Climate change could further alter the carbon cycle.

 Climate-driven thaw of permafrost preserved glacial

landscapes northwestern Canada.
Figure 1. Megaslumps in fluvially incised hummocky moraine. Peel
Plateau, northern Canada. A: Digital terrain model showing thaw slumps
(light blue) in headwater valleys. These slumps, 30 ha and 8 ha, are
eroding ~0.5 x 106m3 of material per year. The debris tongue in the
foreground has a volume of ~3.5 x 106m3. B: Banded massive ice in the 30-
m-high headwall reveals in an ice-cored landscape. C: Saturated materials
in the slump scar zone are evacuated by mass flows.
 This could be a good example of positive feedback loop because it’s going to
release CO2 in the atmosphere, increase climate change and increase the
amount of permafrost melting

SLIDE 29:
 The nitrogen cycle.
 Considered the worst biochemical cycle.

 Where is nitrogen found?

- Nitrogen (N2) is the majority constituent of the Earth's atmosphere
(78%).
- Nitrogen present in the earth's crust mainly in the form of nitrates.
- Nitrogenous bases of DNA, proteins, etc. → nitrogen is essential for the
functioning of living beings.
- But atmospheric nitrogen cannot be assimilated by the majority of
living beings.
o So, we need bacteria to transform the nitrogen of the atmosphere into
a form that can be assimilated by all other living organisms.
 It is thanks to its biogeochemical cycle that nitrogen can pass from
one form to another.
 Dinitrogen and nitrogen can’t be assimilated directly in this form. The
gases form by the majority of living organisms. So, we need the help of
bacteria to transform the nitrogen of the atmosphere into a form that
can be assimilated by all the other living organisms.
 And so, that’s how the nitrogen is going to enter in a cycle. Thanks to
it’s biological cycle, that nitrogen can pass from one form to another.

SLIDE 30:
 Nitrogen sources:
  Natural ecosystems receive nitrogen from the soil by biological fixation
and atmospheric deposition (N2 → NH4+)
 Agricultural ecosystems receive additional nitrogen by adding fertilizer (in
the form of ammonium ion NH4+) • Lightning was the main source of
nitrogen in the soil until recent times.
- Because of our human activities adding nitrogen in the environments, we are
acting on the carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle, because we are adding a
nitrogen through the form of fertilizers.
 The combustion of fossil fuels is today the majority source of nitrogen →
nitrogen oxides.

SLIDE 31:
 Processes involved in the nitrogen cycle.

 The main processes that take place during the nitrogen cycle are:
- Nitrogen fixation
- Nitrification
- Nitrogen absorption by plants and animals
- Ammonification
- Denitrification

SLIDE 32:
 Processes involved in the nitrogen cycle
  Nitrogen fixation: capture and transformation of atmospheric nitrogen
(N2) by specific soil bacteria*
- into ammonia (NH3), directly usable by plants and animals
o This form we use is Ammonia and we can use it directly. But it is very
toxic in high dose and we can use it only a few H3.
- into ammonium (NH4+) = reaction between ammonia and hydrogen
*some cyanobacteria, bacteria of the Rhizobium genus (particularly living in
symbiosis with legumes) …
 These bacterias of the Rhizobium genus leave in nodule. So, here you have roots of
legumes and you can see the little spheres here. They are nodules where the
bacterias are living in the symbiosis with the plants. They are able to carry the
nitrogen fixation and to give nitrogen in a form that the plants can assimilate can
use.

SLIDE 33:
 Processes involved in the nitrogen cycle
  Nitrification =
- Oxidation of ammonium (NH4+) into nitrites (NO2-) by certain bacteria.
- Oxidation of these nitrites to nitrates (NO3-) by other bacteria.
 Double oxidation.

SLIDE 34:
 Processes involved in the nitrogen cycle

 Assimilation =
- Absorption of ammonia (NH3), nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) by
plant roots. - Nitrogen then follows the food chains.
 Not only plants, but we also need the absorption by animals. How does it work?
Nitrogen is going to follow the food chain. We have the assimilation by plants is going
to be eaten by animas, and so animals are going to assimilate the nitrogen from the
plants and this first animal on the left is going to be eaten by the second animal.

SLIDE 35:
 Processes involved in the nitrogen cycle
  Ammonification: decomposers convert organic nitrogen (CHON) into
ammonia (NH3 ), which then dissolves into ammonium (NH 4+).
 When the living organism are not living anymore, they go back to the soil after being
decomposed, and among these decomposers, we have bacteria that are able to
convert the organic matter into ammonia. Exact same thing with the waste with the
detritivores.

SLIDE 36:
 Processes involved in the nitrogen cycle

 Denitrification: denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates (NO3-) present in

soil or water into gaseous nitrogen (N 2), then release it into the
atmosphere.
 It’s to have a complete cycle. The nitrogen needs to go back to the atmosphere, and
it’s performed by denitrifying bacteria that are going to convert the nitrates present
into soi o nitrous present in the water.
 Denitrifying bacteria are going to convert these nitrates into gaseous nitrogen (N 2)
and release into atmosphere.
 This N2 can be removed from the soil when the water carries it away. The problem
with this leaching is that when we add fertilizer, (usually we add a lot of fertilizers
when it rains) it is going to reach rivers or water courses etc. and so it’s going to
pollute the water because we are going to have more nitrogen in water in the levels
the organisms need. It going to change the pH of the soil and the soil is going to be
feasible for the bacteria.

SLIDE 37:
 Humans affect the nitrogen cycle
 Haber-Bosch process = synthetic production of fertilizers by combining
nitrogen and hydrogen to synthesize ammonia → atmospheric nitrogen
fixation by humans.
  Human activities today factor that has the greatest impact on the modification of the
nitrogen cycle because of the fertilizer that we spread. And all this fertilizer are rich in
ammonia, ammonium, and nitrates.
 Denitrification increased when you add a lot of fertilizers but the things is,
denitrification also emits a small quantity of nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere
during the whole process. Nitrogen oxide is a greenhouse gas, and so it also helps to
destroy the ocean layer in this stratosphere. That’s the big problem. There’s also
disrupt in the nitrogen cycle when we use fossil fuels for example, in energy and
thermal power plants etc. and because we are transforming the nitrogen into
nitrogen oxides and nitrogen oxide and ammonia are volatile because of acid rain and
they acidify the water and the soil.

 Human impacts:
 Increased emissions of greenhouse gases containing nitrogen (nitrogen
oxides).
 Reduction in the diversity of plants adapted to soils poor in nitrogen.
 Acidification of soil and water
 Eutrophication of watercourses.
- Eutrophication means when you put excessive nutrient in the water and it is
going to lead to energy blooms and it improve the organic matter production
and the ecosystem degradation.

SLIDE 38:
 Phosphorus cycle
  The phosphorus represents:

 Peloidal phosphorite, Phosphoria Formation, Idaho © J.

St John.

 P is a vital nutrient necessary for plants and animals (DNA, bones, teeth…)
- It’s also important for the secretion of almonds for the energy production and
storage for every living organism.
- Phosphorus is a limiting element because that means that the ecosystem
productivity and the biomass are often limited by the amount of edible
phosphorus. It’s not an element we found a lot in every ecosystem, and this is
the primary reason we mine phosphorus. Because we need to find phosphorus
as we use it as a major component of the fertilizers like the nitrogen.
- Phosphorus was also used in mass in soft drinks as in addictive soda.
- It’s used for batches in fireworks because it’s important capacity of ignition.
- And so, we use to mine a lot of phosphorus because we can find it in rocks
and mineral reserves of phosphorus are estimated to last between a few
decades and 300 years at the most because, it’s a limiting element.
 About 80% of the world’s P is used in fertilizers and soft drinks.
 Phosphorus cannot be found in atmosphere as a gas.
 It usually cycles through water, soil, and sediments.
- Can’t find it in the form of gas. No gaseous phosphorus.
 Geology:
- Most phosphorus is within rocks and is released by weathering
- With naturally low environmental concentrations, phosphorus is a
limiting factor for plant growth.

SLIDE 39:
 Fluxes of phosphorus:
  The system model for the Phosphorus cycle.
 Phosphorus is through abiotic and biotic part of Earth system, especially in the
biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.
 P is eroded from rocks and deposited in the soil
- Whether erosion is going to dissolve the phosphate and the phosphate are
going to enter the soil and trouble through rivers to the ocean and the primary
producers.
- Photosynthesizing organisms are going to absorb the phosphate as they need
it to produce organic compound for their survival and growth, and the
phosphate acquired by organism, is then returned to the soil or water through
animal excretion and through the decomposition of a dead organism.
 Plants get P from the soil when it is dissolved in water transmitting it to
herbivores and carnivores.
 P is deposited back into the soil when plants/animals decay or through
their wastes.

SLIDE 40: (56:54)

 Humans affect the phosphorus cycle
 The use of phosphorus in agriculture and in fertilizers increase the amount of
chemical nutrients that is in soil or water and especially phosphorus and nitrogen.
These nutrients are going to increase the plants and algae growth.
 Increased nutrients aren’t always a good thing. Ex.) When you are in aquatic
environments and you have a lot of nutrients, it can cause a large number of algae to
grow and when too many algae die, they’re going to be consumed by bacteria, and
all these big bloom can reduce oxygen level in the water. When you have less
oxygen, the fish species are going to die. This is called “Eutrophication”.
 Example of Eutrophication is Leake are in 2011, it was the largest harmful algae
bloom in this lake in history. Likely caused by the conference of changing farming
practices and weather conditions we had at that moment. In spring, incense
rainstorms washed the soil away and carry all the phosphorus from the fertilizer that
were used in abundance. And so, all this phosphorus was washed away directly into
the lake and the rivers around the lakes, it caused a eutrophication.
 Mining rocks for fertilizer moves phosphorus from the soil to water
systems
 Wastewater discharge also releases phosphorus.
  Household detergents may contain phosphorus.
 Runoff containing phosphorus causes eutrophication of aquatic systems.

 Algae bloom that

occurred in Lake Erie in 2011. ©NASA via USGS (on the left) and Tom Archer (on the right)

SLIDE 41:

 The quantity of nutrients limits the primary productivity of an ecosystem. If a

nutrient is no longer limiting, ecosystems can be permanently affected  loss
of equilibrium.

 Adding the nutrients in the ecosystem is going to change this primary productivity of
this ecosystem. So, we’re going to modify the whole cycle and disrupt the balance in
the ecosystem.
 Examples: The colored are not modificated but rather very intense green.
 The tree diagram on the bottom shows the effects of what happens after acid rain.

SLIDE 42: 3. BIOME ECOLOGY

SLIDE 43:

 Biome = a portion of the biosphere characterized by a distinct climate and a

particular assemblage of plants and animals adapted to its specific climate.
 We know that different patterns of plants and animals you find usually have
similarities over vast areas called biomes. Each one is a large geographical region
with its own distinctive plants and animal community and ecosystem.
 The geographical spread of plants and animals (mainly plants) is determined
mainly by climates. The different biomes reflect variations in climates.
 Factors shaping biomes:

Aquatic biomes Terrestrial biomes

Water temperature Temperature
Salinity Precipitation
Nutrients
Currents
Depths.
 This is what determines the different biomes we have in terrestrial lands.

SLIDE 44:
 These are the different biomes
that we can find on Earth. So, it
depends on the temperature,
precipitation, and the latitude.
SLIDE 45:

SLIDE 46:

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) Tundra extends west from the Neacola Mountains, Alaska © L.
Wilcox

 Tundra
 Arctic tundras (Arctic Circle) and alpine tundras (high mountains)
 - We can find alpine tundras in high mountains because we have very low
temperature, and the wind is too strong for trees to grow. So, we find the
same type of vegetation that you can find in the Northern hemispheres.
 Tree growth limited by cold temperatures and a short growing season 
shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens.
- This is a tundra landscape in Alaska. This is the kind of vegetation you can
find in Tundra.
- Rock ptarmigan is the bird you can find in this type of biomes.
- Landscapes in tundra into the biomes is buried under the snow for majority of
the year.
- We have low temperatures in summer in very short growing seasons where
the wind can be strong.
- So, these short and half growing season gives tends less time to grow. And so,
it results in them being smaller and closer to the ground. So, that’s why you
have this type of vegetation.
- We have endemic species there in terms of species that we can find on it. Ex.)
Cariboo, ground squirrels, polar bears, arctic fox, snowy owls etc.
 Permafrost (perennially frozen ground) → threaten by climate change
- Permafrost is the soil that is always frozen.

Blueberries Permafrost

SLIDE 47:
 Taiga (boreal forest)
 Northern coniferous forest.  Found in Northern Hemisphere.
- World’s largest biome covers more than 10% of the land surface and also 60%
of Canada.
 Canada, Alaska, Russia, Scandinavia…
 Strong seasonal variation between winter and summer.
- Here we have a subarctic climate with strong seasonal variation between
winter and summer
- Long and cold winter and short version too.
- We have a lot of lakes and wetlands, and it is characterized by coniferous
forests consisting mostly of pines, cruises, and notches. We don’t have a lot of
evergreen species in Canada. We find mostly spruce and we don’t have a lot
in this across in this bio.
 Poor and acidic soil.
- This is due to poor climate and lack of deciduous trees too.
- It’s because more organic matter usually is due to leaves. So, here we have
soy pouring nutrients because we don’t have leaves, but we have needles. So,
it’s going to modify the pH of the soil because of the measles of the
decomposition of measles.
 - We can, for example, find moose which is a very emblematic species of the
boreal forest. There is also brown bears, snowshoe

Moose (Alces alces)

(a) Boreal Forest

 (b) Typical location: Jasper National Park, Alberta

SLIDE 48:
 Tropical rainforest

 Located near the equator

- Remains warm and frost-free all year.
- Daily temperature range from 20°C to 29°C.
 Hot, moist biome
- Rainforest received the most pain of all the items in a year.
- So, we have rainfall, biomes, etc.
- Typical year sees 2,000 to 10,000 of rain per year.
 Luxuriant vegetation: giant trees, vines, palm trees, orchids, ferns…
- Giant trees on the top layer, vines in the middle, and palm trees at the
smallest (ferns etc.)
 - We have mountain gorilla in Africa, Jaguar capybara in South America, slough,
green in Uganda, and parrots and poison dot frog. Poison dot frog can’t be
found in tropical forest.
 Sinks for more than 50% of all atmospheric CO2 absorbed by plants
annually.
- Most atmospheric storage of CO2

 Blue poison dart frog (Dendrobates azureus)

SLIDE 49:
 Mediterranean vegetation (chaparral, fynbos, mallee…)
 Mainly in Europe, we can call them chaparral in Southwestern North America
(California and Mexico) we can call them fynbos in Southern Africa, and mallee in
Southwestern Australia etc.

 Chaparral vegetation in southern California © Tim Gray

 Hot dry summers and mild wet winters.

 Dense scrubland composed of broad-leaved evergreen shrubs, bushes,
and small trees adaptation to drought, grazing and frequent fires.
 Large biodiversity.
- Usually Mediterranean vegetation are also hotspot of biodiversity. We can find
the Dartford Warbler in France, Malee in Australia, and Cork Oak.

Dartford Warbler (Sylvia undata) Mallee, Australia Cork

oak (Quercus suber)

SLIDE 50:
 Aquatic and coastal systems also show biome-like patterns
 Areas equivalent to biomes exist in the oceans: coastlines, open ocean,
deep sea, coral reefs…
  Ocean covers 70% of all Earth’s surface.
 Different types of ocean:
- Coastlines: Land and ocean meet
- Open ocean: Largest marine biome characterized by deep dark borders with
no features, pulse lines, islands etc. and home to a wide range of marine
animals.
- Deep sea: we have fish like snailfish which is the most interesting because it’s
one of the deepest fish we observed. It was spotted by the gypsy’s expedition.
- Coral reefs: Widely distributed in warm shallow water and can find them as
barriers and of continents in the Great Barrier reefs in Australia etc. Dominant
organisms are coral reefs and are weird animals consisting of both algae and
tissues of animals polyps. It’s animal symbiosis which includes several
microorganisms and vertebrates, fishes, octopuses, sea stars etc.
 Aquatic systems are shaped by:
- Water temperature, salinity and dissolved nutrients
- Wave action, currents, depth
- Substrate type, and animal and plant life

Coral reef Open ocean biome

 Snailfish swimming in a deep ocean trench. ©

MinderooUWA Deep Sea Research Centre/University of Western Australia