A Global Concern: An Introduction

What is
What is

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Renewable and Non-renewable
Non-renewable Resources

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Nonrenewable Resources
are made from
decomposing plants
and animals. These
fuels are found in the
Earth’s crust and
contain carbon and
hydrogen, which can
be burned for
energy.
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Coal Mining
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally
occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and
is found in geological formations. The name petroleum covers both
naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products
that consist of refined crude oil
Radioactivity-the result of nuclear
decay

Transmutation happens
Identity of the individual atoms remain
Alpha Decay
Beta Decay
Gamma Decay
Renewable Resources

• Renewable resources include solar energy, wind, falling water,

geothermal (heat of the earth ), biomass (plant materials ), waves,
ocean currents, temperature differences in the oceans and the
energy of the tides.
Renewable Resources
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Levels of Biological Organization
An organism that refers to a single species is
the lowest level in the ecological hierarchy.
A population consists of all the members of a
species living in a given area at the same time.

All of the populations of organisms living and

interacting in a particular area make up a
biological community.
Ecosystem is * Biome is a major community of plants and
composed of a animals with similar life forms and
biological environmental conditions. They can be found
community and its over a range of continents.
physical
environment. In * Biosphere is the sum of all ecosystems and
short, an ecosystem the zone or area of Earth where life exist.
is a combination of
biotic (biological
community) and
abiotic (non-living)
components.
• A biome is commonly defined as a large category of
ecosystem characterized by its distinctive
association of plants and animals, which in turn are
best adapted to the climate, topography and soils
of the region
• The National Geographic defines five main types of
biomes: aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra.
• These can be subdivided into many further biome
categories, including tropical rainforest, temperate forest,
taiga, temperate grassland and savannah grassland.
• Different types (and subcategories) of biomes are
influenced by climatic factors, in particular temperature
and precipitation levels – however, they can occasionally
be influenced by physical factors, as is the case with
freshwater and marine aquatic biomes.
• Any wildlife and plants that live in a biome must be
adapted to its specific climatic conditions.
• For example, tropical rainforests have a rather constant year-
round climate of hot temperatures and incredibly high levels of
rain, whereas temperate forests experience season-related
temperature (and often rainfall) fluctuations occurring during
the year. The typical flora and fauna found in each forest biome
is therefore rather different, with plant and animal species
adapted to their respective environment.
 Aquatic Biome
• The aquatic
biome is
divided into
freshwater and
marine regions.
Freshwater
regions, such as
lakes and rivers,
have a low salt
concentration.
Marine regions,
such as
estuaries and
the ocean, have
higher salt
concentrations.
• Terrestrial biomes are ecosystems found in a
similar climatic pattern in a region that need
not be located in proximity but span across
the earth. Temperature and precipitation or
rainfall are the main driving factors
determining the terrestrial biome type.
• There are four major terrestrial biomes:
1. Forest Biome
2. Grassland
3. Desert Biome
4. Tundra
Forest Biome
• It is characterized by three types of tree
ecosystems: tropical, temperate, and taiga or
boreal forests.
• When warm and wet, tropical forests are called
rainforests, while dry and cool conditions result
in deciduous forests.
• They are characterized by thick canopy and tall
or short trees.
• Temperate forests are found in regions that have
mid-range temperatures and all four seasons.
• Taiga or boreal forests are the ones that have
cold, dry winters and short, cool, wet summers.
Tropical Rainforest
• Tropical rainforests are also referred to as tropical wet
forests. This biome is found in equatorial regions.
• Tropical rainforests are the most diverse terrestrial
biome. This biodiversity is still largely unknown to
science and is under extraordinary threat primarily
through logging and deforestation for agriculture.
• Climate in these biomes shows little seasonal variation
with high yearly rainfall and relatively constant, warm
temperatures
Temperate Deciduous Forest
• Temperature deciduous forests occur in mid-
latitudes where cool winters, warm summers, and
high year round precipitation occurs.
• This biome is named for the dominant trees that
drop their leaves during the winter months. These
forests may have an overstory of 20–30 m tall
trees, an understory of 5–10 m trees and shrubs, a
shrub layer around 1–2 m in height, and a ground
layer of herbaceous plants.
Taiga/Boreal Forest
• The taiga, or also known as coniferous forest
is a forest of the cold, subarctic region. The
subarctic is an area of the Northern
Hemisphere that lies just south of the Arctic
Circle. The taiga lies between the tundra to the
north and temperate forests to the south.
Grassland Biome
• Grasslands are land regions that do not have
trees but only grass vegetation.
• It is of two types: temperate and tropical.
• Tropical Savannas are characterized by hot
temperatures with tall grass and scattered
short trees. They have limited rainfall or
precipitation.
• Temperate grasslands have shorter grass.
They are also classified as pampas, steppe,
prairie, and savanna.
Temperate Grassland
• Temperate grasslands are characterized as having
grasses as the dominant vegetation. Trees and large
shrubs are absent. Temperatures vary more from
summer to winter, and the amount of rainfall is less
in temperate grasslands than in savannas.
• The major manifestations are the veldts of South
Africa, the puszta of Hungary, the pampas of
Argentina and Uruguay, the steppes of the former
Soviet Union, and the plains and prairies of central
North America. Temperate grasslands have hot
summers and cold winters. Rainfall is moderate
Tropical Grassland/Savanna
• Savanna is Grassland with a few scattered trees. Savannas of
one kind or another cover nearly half of Africa's surface (about
five million square miles, mostly in central Africa) as well as
large areas of Australia, South America, and India.

• Savanna is a mix of different trees and grass, their proportion

depends directly on the rain in that area. Some may range
below 0.3 m while some can outgrow this and grow up to 2.1 m
that is approximately 7 feet. It is also spelled as “Savannah”.
Desert Biome
• They are dry regions that hardly have any
vegetation, and if there is, they are adapted
specially to suit the dry climate with the least
rainfall to access water for survival.
• The deserts have hot days and cold nights with
extreme summers and winters.
• There are three types of deserts – hot, cold,
and coastal deserts.
Tundra
• Tundra is a polar desert and is entirely covered with
snow throughout the year, with the depth of snow
forming as a part of the layer of soil called permafrost.
• The vegetation is seen as short herbs to shrubs or
grass only during the summer.
• Tundra regions are found only in the earth's polar
regions and are cold year-round.
• Alpine and arctic tundra are the two common types of
tundra regions.
• - Arctic tundra
• This is found in the northernmost regions of the earth,
closer to the poles.
• - Alpine tundra
• This is found in multiple regions in the world and are
usually located at higher altitudes of around 10,000
feet above sea level.