Lecture 10 The biosphere

What is biosphere?
The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where living organisms
exist.

Processes essential to all living organisms:

• Metabolism – sum of all the chemical reactions by which energy is

provided and used for life processes.

• Growth – ordering and organizing of atoms and molecules to make larger

molecules, requires a source of energy

• Reproduction - creation of new organisms through cell division, asexual

or sexual means

• Evolution – process by which genetic changes occur in populations of

organisms
Metabolisms
Metabolism refers to the entire set of chemical reactions by which an
organism derives energy for life processes

1. Autotroph = “self feeder”, organisms that produce their own

organic food energy from inorganic chemicals.
Produce food using energy:
from the sun (photosynthesis)
from chemical reactions (chemoautotrophs)

Photosynthesis: CO2 + H2O + energy = CH2O + O2

(sunlight) (glucose)

2. Heterotroph = “other feeder”, organisms that derive food

energy by feeding on other organisms or on organic compounds
produced by other organisms.
Respiration: CH2O + O2 = energy + CO2 + H2O
(glucose)
Reproduction
Living organism can reproduce themselves

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) stores the genetic plan of living things

RNA (ribonucleic acid) decode and execute DNA, to construct proteins
that make up the cell

Two types of reproduction

1. Asexual reproduction: an organism can reproduce without the
involvement of another organism. (single-celled & multi-celled)
2. sexual reproduction: involves combining genetic information from
two different individuals; the genetic information is then passed along
to the resulting offspring.
Growth
Growth is a fundamental characteristic of living organisms. Growth in living
organisms requires a source of energy, and this energy is acquired
through metabolism.

The amount of usable energy in an ecosystem sets the upper limit on how
much production can occur and how many organisms can be supported

Primary production = carbohydrate production by autotrophs

- gross primary production (GPP) includes all carbohydrates
produced
- net primary production (NPP) = GPP – respiration
- unit g/m2/yr, varies over time human demand:
~25% of NPP

Secondary production = body mass production by heterotrophs

Biomass is the total mass of living things in an ecosystem

• Usually expressed per area (e.g. g/m2)
• Accumulates through time (except when organisms die)
Evolution
Evolution refers to the potential to develop new forms (or species).

Species is a group of genetically distinct organisms that can have offsprings. It also indicate that the
evolutionary changes are heritable as they lead to the development of new species.

Evolution
Evolution is achieved through natural selection, in which Mechanisms:
individuals adapted Natural
to theselection
environment
survive and reproduce, and individuals not adapted become
• Changes ineliminated overin time.
the frequency of genes a population because
organisms who are better suited to an environment are more
likely to pass on their genes

Genetic level: mutation and drift.

Mutation is the main source for new genetic
variants. errors in copying DNA, could be
detrimental, beneficial or neither.

Drift refers the changes in gene population

due to chances (sampling error). Esp.
strongest for small populations.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from
genes to ecosystems There are 3 different aspects of biological
diversity:
1. Genetic diversity (within a species or population)
2. Ecosystem or Habitat diversity (different habitats per area)
3. Species diversity e.g., total number of species

~1.5 million species so

far identified
Actual number probably
3 – 30 million species

Greatest in places with less climate variability and largest production.

Maintained by barriers such as mountains, oceans, continents and climate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSUfsWzWbeg gradients which keep populations isolated.
Ecosystems
Definition: An ecosystem is a community of living organisms and their physical environment,
interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through
flows of materials (i.e., carbon, water, nitrogen, etc) and energy.

The concept of the ecosystem provides a framework for understanding the diversity of form
and functioning of Earth’s physical and biological processes

Biomes are classes of ecosystems (e.g. boreal forests, tropical rainforests, etc.).

Tropical forests in Panama Savannah woodland in

Boreal conifer forests northern Botswana
Global biome distribution
Distribution of global biomes depends on climate
What would happen under climate change?

The Whittaker's classification of world vegetation types The Köppen classification divides climates into five main
based on annual precipitation and mean climate groups, with each group being divided based on
annual temperature seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns.
Ecosystem – Energy flow
• Energy flow refers to the movement of energy
through an ecosystem, from the external
environment (the Sun) through a series of
organism and back to the external environment
(space). Fundamental to all ecosystems.
• Function of Energy – Biomass production (see
before)
• Pathway of Energy – trophic dynamics
• Organisms are classified by how many
steps they are away from the original
source of energy = trophic levels
• One organism eats another and is, in turn,
eaten by another organisms = food chain
• The food-energy level together form a
trophic pyramid.
• Energy flows one-way through the trophic
pyramid.
Thermodynamic in ecosystems
90% of energy is lost (as heat,
metabolic and digestive waste)
when it is transferred from one level
to the next, higher trophic levels
cannot support as many organisms

Why can’t energy be continuously recycled within an

ecosystem?
Laws of thermodynamics:
Energy cannot be created or destroyed (Law 1),
But changes from a more useful form to a less useful form
(Law 2)
 Ecosystems – Biogeochemical cycles
• Biogeochemical cycle is the complete pathway
that a chemical element follows through the Earth
system – from the geosphere to the biosphere,
atmosphere, and hydrosphere, and back again.

• bio – because these are cycles that involve life

processes and biological reservoirs of the element.
• geo – because the cycles include rocks and soils.
• chemical – because the cycling materials take
various chemical forms and undergo chemical
transformations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn41lXKyVWQ
The carbon cycle
Carbon is the building block of life –
essential to the formation of all organic
substance, including DNA.

Small amount, 0.032% of earth crust mass.

Exist in multiple phases (soil – organic

matter, liquid – bicarbonate ions, gas – CO2).

Global, biologically active carbon is 43500

Pg.

Mostly in ocean (38000 Pg), followed by soil,

atmosphere and vegetation.

Major fluxes on land: photosynthesis (GPP),

respiration, fossil fuel burning, land use
Unit: Pg = 1015 g emissions.

Land and ocean are carbon sinks now.

Carbon budget in 2019

Atmosphere
905 PgC @415 ppm 5 Pg/yr

Autotrophic
respiration: Photosynthesis:
~60 Pg/yr ~122 Pg /yr Carbonate Diffusion: Fossil fuel
chemistry: ~90 Pg/yr burning:
~92 Pg/yr 9 Pg/yr
heterotrophic
respiration:
~60 Pg/yr (5% from cement Land cover
production) change:
Vegetation 1 Pg/yr
450~650 PgC

litterfall +
decomposition Ocean
Runoff: ~38,000 PgC
1 Pg/yr
Soil
~1500 PgC
The nitrogen cycle Nitrogen is a necessary component of all
proteins.

Nitrogen (N2) is relatively unreactive gas –

except for a few bacteria, organisms cannot
use free nitrogen directly. Plants take up
NO32- and NH4+

In nature, 90% of the nitrogen fixation (N2 -

> NO3 or NH4) is done by bacteria, the rest
mostly come from lightings.

The process of converting fixed nitrogen

back to N2 and then release it to the
atmosphere is called denitrification.

The global nitrogen cycle has been

intensively affected by our use of industrial
fertilizer and emission of N2O.

Unit: Tg = 1012 g Land is a nitrogen sink, ocean is a nitrogen

source.
The phosphorus cycle Phosphorus plays essential role in the
biosphere: forms the helical framework of
DNA, and the energy units (ATP, NADPH) in
organisms.

Commonly occurs in oxidized state as

phosphate (PO3-4), lacks a gaseous phase
expect in some dust particles. Also tend to
form compounds that are insoluble to
water.

Much slower than other C and N cycles.

Phosphorus slowly become available to

plants through the weathering of rocks.
Then plants take up PO3-4 so phosphorus
enter into the biosphere.

In a relatively stable ecosystem, P taken up

by plants return to the ground.
Unit: Tg = 1012 g The tropics is most P limited.