Environmental Geography Chapter 5 Part 1

1. GEOG 106: ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY
Chapter 5: Ecosystems and
the Bioclimatic
Environment
Pages 67-91
6 and 8 October 2009

2. Chapter 5 Outline:
• Evolution of Earth’s atmosphere,
biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere,
• Organization of food chains and food
webs,
• Biogeography,
• Climate regions, biomes, and plant
productivity,

3. Chapter 5 Outline:
• Terrestrial ecosystems,
• Marine ecosystems,
• Altitudinal zonation,
• Ecological succession,
• Land use: intersection of physical and
natural systems, and
• Human impact upon ecosystems.

4. 5.1: Introduction:
• Our Solar System formed approximately
4.5 to 5 billion years ago,
• Life in Earth’s oceans has been evolving
for the past 3 billion years,
• Life on Earth’s land has been evolving for
the past 500 million years,
• Terrestrial plants have been evolving for
approximately 100 million years,

5. 5.1: Introduction:
• Plants (producers) remain the dominant
organisms on Earth, in terms of total
biomass,
• Of the terrestrial animals, insects are the
dominant species, with millions of species
identified so far, and
• Reptiles, birds, and mammals (that’s us!)
represent the smallest group of life on
Earth.

6. Fig. 5.1: Example of three simple food chains (top) and food webs
(bottom). Food chains describe energy flow through an ecosystem.

7. Where is the Biosphere?

8. Where is the Biosphere?

9. 5.2: Form and Function of an
Ecosystem:
• All ecosystems are comprised of food chains,
• Insolation is the energy source that drives
ecosystems and food chains, and
• Food chains are…

10. Food Chain/Food Web:
• Describes NRG transformations within an
ecosystem.
• These transformations occur in a series of
steps or trophic levels.

11. Food Chain/Food Web:
• First Trophic Level: Producers (otherwise known as
plants… photosynthesis!).
• Second Trophic Level: Primary Consumers (otherwise
known as herbivores).
• Third Trophic Level: Secondary Consumers (otherwise
known as carnivores).
• Fourth Trophic Level: Tertiary Consumers (otherwise
known as “top carnivores”).
• Decomposers: Include bacteria and fungi that break
down organic material and recycle nutrients back into
the ecosystem.

12. Food
Chain/Food
Web:
Which trophic
level(s) can you
identify in this
image?

13. Food Chain/Food Web:

14. Energy
Pyramid:

15. Ecology:
• The study of the interrelationships of
organisms to one another and to the
environment.

16. Ecosystem:
• Interaction of living and non-living
components of the environment.

17. Ecosystem:
• Organism,
• Population,
• Community,
• Ecosystem, and
• Ecosphere.

18. Ecosystem:
Can you identify
both living and
non-living
components of
this ecosystem?

19. NRG flow in the Biosphere:

20. Energy Pyramid
Fig. 5.2: An energy pyramid showing the 90 percent energy
attenuation between each trophic level. Note the importance of the
detrivores within the food chain and energy pyramid.

21. 5.3: Plant Productivity:
Feeding Ecosystems:
• Photosynthesis,
• Plant productivity,
• Efficiency,
• Principle of five limiting factors,
• Climatic limitations, and
• Human impacts on plant productivity.

22. Insolation receipt by vegetation:
Fig. 5.3

23. Climatic Limitations on Plant Productivity:
Fig. 5.4: Environments with no limitations, seasonal limitations, and permanent
limitations.

24. Productivity of Terrestrial Vegetation:
Fig. 5.5: Productivity per square meter for seven major climatic
zones. Note the extreme productivity within tropical forest climate
regions.

25. 5.4: Types of Ecosystems and
Their Characteristics:
• Terrestrial, saltwater, and freshwater
ecosystems,
• Biomes and ecotones,
• Biological organization,
• Biomass,
• Symbiosis, and
• Biogeography.

26. Biomes:
• Includes the total assemblage of plant and
animal life interacting within an ecosystem
(similar to a community).
• We will focus on selected plant/vegetative
biomes.

27. Major Biomes on Earth:

28. Major Biomes on Earth:
• Tropical rainforest,
• Tropical deciduous forest,
• Tropical scrub,
• Tropical savanna,
• Desert,
• Mediterranean woodland and shrub,

29. Major Biomes on Earth:
• Midlatitude grassland,
• Midlatitude deciduous forest,
• Boreal forest,
• Tundra, and
• Mountains and ice caps.

30. Tropical Rainforest Biome:

31. Tropical Deciduous Forest Biome:

32. Tropical Scrub Biome:

33. Tropical Savanna Biome:

34. Desert Biome:

35. Mediterranean Woodland and
Shrub Biome:

36. Midlatitude Grassland Biome:

37. Midlatitude (Deciduous) Forest
Biome:

38. Midlatitude (Deciduous) Forest
Biome:

39. Boreal Forest Biome: