Created by María Jesús Campos, teacher of Social Studies, Geoography and History in a bilingual section in Madrid.
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2. It comes from the ancient Greek “bio” which
means life and “sphaira” which means sphere.
It is formed by all living organisms: animals,
plants and microbes. It is the global sum of the
ecosystems.
3.
An ecosystem or a
biome is a
community of living
organisms
interacting with their
environment (air,
water, soil…).
It is the interaction
of:
The Lithosphere
The Hydrosphere
The Atmosphere
The living organisms
(biosphere)
5. The earth’s has different types of climate distributed
according to latitude and altitude:
Warm zone: located between the Tropic of
Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. All of its
climates have an average annual temperature
above 18ºC.
Temperate zones: there are 2 temperate
zones located between the Tropics and the Polar
Circles. Its climate has four seasons.
Cold zones: there are 2 cold zones located
within the polar circles and in mountains higher
than 2,500 metres. The temperature is very cold
and there is no summer.
12. Vegetation
Fauna
• Varied vegetation that competes for
sunlight. Very high and mid-height trees
block the light from reaching the forest
floor. Moss, orchids and vines grow on
them.
•Dense forests of evergreen trees.
•Tropical rainforests cover only 6% of the
Earth’s surface but they produce 40% of
the oxygen in the atmosphere and
support nearly half of all plant and
animal species known to Earth.
• The rainforest is so packed
full of trees that big animals
do not live on them.
• Monkeys, snakes, frogs,
birds, small mammals
(jaguars), reptiles (alligators
and snakes), and lots of
insects.
13.
14.
15. Vegetation
• Less variety of vegetation than
in the equatorial rainforest. The
trees are not so tall or so closely
packed together.
•Mixed species: tropical trees +
temperate trees
Fauna
• Similar to the equatorial
rainforest but less varied.
•Monkeys, lizards, pumas,
anteaters…
16.
17. Vegetation
Temperature
• Savanna: large grassland with
a few scattered trees (baobabs,
acacias).
•Thick grass up to 4 m high
during the rainy season that dry
up during the dry season.
• The lack of regular rainfall
prevents most trees from
surviving.
• Many herbivores who graze in the
grasses. They usually migrate to
find water and grass.
•Elephants, zebras, gazelles,
giraffes…
•Many carnivores also who hunt
the herbivores: lions, cheetahs,
hyenas.
21. Vegetation
• Species from both tropical and
temperate latitude (bamboo,
oak, pine…)
Fauna
•Deer, foxes, birds
22.
23.
24. Vegetation
•Perennial trees (holm oaks, cork
oaks, pine trees).
•Scrubland: instead of trees we
find plants such as thyme and
rosemary.
•Very eroded and in danger
because of human activity.
Fauna
•Deer, rabbits and birds of prey.
25.
26.
27. Vegetation
•Deciduous trees that lose their
leaves in the autumn (oak,
beech, maple…).
•Bushes and low grass grow in
areas where the forest
deteriorate.
•Very eroded and in danger
because of human activity.
Fauna
•Deer, rabbits, many species of
birds.
28.
29.
30. Vegetation
Fauna
•Conifers that resist cold winters •Deer, bears, lynxes, foxes, moles
and do not lose their leaves (pine
and fir trees)
•Deforestation threatens the
ecosystems.
•Steppe: grasslands with no
trees, usually close to the taiga.
34. Vegetation
•No vegetation as the ground is
frozen all the year round.
Fauna
• Few species are able to adapt to
these climate and the lack of
vegetation.
•Seals, polar bears…
•Southern hemisphere: penguins
35.
36.
37. Vegetation
•The vegetaion is in tiers. The
higher up you go, the poorer the
vegetation gets: forests are
replaced by bushes, grassland
and in the highest areas, moss.
•Above certain altitude the
vegetation dissappears as the
peaks are covered with snow or
ice thorughout the year.
Fauna
• Mountain goats, chamois and
variety of birds
38.
39.
40. Vegetation
• Plain coveredby lichens, moss,
shrubs and bushes because of
permafrost.
Fauna
• Arctic hares, arctic foxes,
lemmings, moose and reindeers
that may migrate from higher
latitude.
• A lot of insects.
44. Vegetation
• Very sparse vegetation: grass,
small prickly bushes and plants
such as the cactus that resist the
scarce precipitation and the
differences in temperature
between the day and the night.
•In oasis, there is enough water
for palms and fruit trees to grow.
Fauna
•Snakes, lizards, beetles,
scorpions, doves, falcons, camels,
dromedaries, etc… that can resist
the lack of water.