Biosphere, biomes and ecosystem

Biosphere
The biosphere can be
defined as that part of
the earth where the
living organisms are
found.
It is made up of 3 parts.

Atmosphere (air)

Hydrosphere (water)

Lithosphere (rock and

soil)
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is a layer of air around the earth’s surface
Lithosphere
The lithosphere
is all the soil and
rocks that makes
up the upper
layers of the
earth’s surface.
Hydrosphere
Hydrosphere is all the waters of the seas, rivers and lakes.

Here are some examples

of the various sources of
natural water on the
Earth
Terminology:
1. Biosphere: the part of the earth on which living organisms live.
2. Atmosphere: layer of air around the earth’s surface.
3. Lithosphere: the soil and rocks forming the upper layers of the
earth’s surface.
4. Biome: any region with a distinct climate and all the organisms
that live in that area.
5. Savanna: vegetation type with well developed grassy layer and an
upper layer of woody plants.
6. Endemic: organisms found in only one area in the world and no
where else.
7. Mutualism: relationship between two organisms in which both
benefit.
8. Lichen: a close mutualistic association between an algae and
fungi
Biomes
Different parts of the earth have different climates
Plants and animals are adapted to live in particular climates.
Therefore different plants and animals will live in different
regions.
These regions with their particular climates and living
organisms that are adapted to live in there is called a biome
A biome can be defined as a region with a distinct climate
and all the organisms that live in that region.
Biomes of Southern Africa
The map shows the biomes of
the Southern African region.
The countries that make up the
Southern African region are:
South Africa
Namibia
Botswana
Lesotho
Swaziland
Zimbabwe
Mozambique
There 8 different biomes in this
region.
The different biomes of the Southern African region

Grassland
Savanna
Forest
Thicket
Fynbos
Nama-karoo
Succulent Karoo
Desert
The Grassland Biome
This biome is found in
parts of 5 provinces in
South Africa and 2
countries in the South
African region
Grassland: Temperature, rainfall and soil type.
Temperature and Rainfall
The summers are hot with high rainfall.
The winters are cold with frost.

Soil
The soil has a high humus content.
Unfortunately in the areas with high rainfall the soil is easily
leeched and becomes acidic.
Vegetation
This biomes is dominated by
grasses.
There are 2 types of grasses
here.
They are the sweet grasses
and the sour grasses
The sweet grasses grow on
fertile soil and therefore have
good food value and are
therefore preferred by the
animals.
The sour grasses grow on
infertile soil and do not have
much food value and are
avoided by animals.
 Animal Life
Blesbok, black
wildebeest and
springbok are found
here.
Also has a large
variety of birds
including the blue
crane.
The sun gazer lizard is
also found here
Savanna Biome
Savanna refers to a type of
vegetation with a well
developed grassy layers and an
upper layer of woody plants.
It is the largest biome in South
Africa
It is found mainly in
Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
Its also found in the coastal
belt of KZN and Eastern Cape
Province.
Savanna: Temperature, Rainfall and Soil
Temperature and Rainfall:
In this area summers are hot and wet and winters are cool
with little or no rainfall.

Soil:
The soil is mostly sandy.
It has a moderate amount of nutrients.
Some parts have very rich soil.
Vegetation:
This biome is dominated by grasses, large shrubs and
trees.
The lack of sufficient rainfall and fires prevent the trees
from being the main type of vegetation.
This type of vegetation is suitable for grazing animals
example: cattle and buck.
The marula tree grows in this biome.
Baobab Tree

Grows up to
about 15m
tall.
The tree trunk
can grow up
to 30m wide.
Animal Life

The mammals found in this biome are commonly known as

the big five.
This area is also home to many large birds of prey.
Forest Biome
It occurs in patches in spread
over four provinces.

Something for you to do:

Carefully study the map
and answer the following
question:
Name the provinces in
which this biome occurs.
Solution:
The four provinces are:
a. Western Cape: in the George-Knysna-Mossel Bay area
b. KwaZulu Natal
c. Limpopo
d. Eastern Cape
e. Mpumalanga and also occurs as
f. Patches of forest in the deep river valleys
Forest Biome: Temperature, rainfall and soil:
Temperature and Rainfall
Temperature varies form about 20⁰C to 30⁰C.
Temperature can get higher.
Rainfall seasons vary, in some forests it rains only in winter,
while in other forests it rains in summer only and others it rains
all year round.
Soil
This biome has a thick layer of soil and it may be shallow in other
parts.
The soil here is very rich, because it is mixed with the falling
leaves, fruit and bird and mammal dropping.
Forest Biome: Vegetation
 Dominated by large shrubs and
trees.
 The largest South African
Forest tree is the Outeniqua
yellowwood.
 These large trees form a
canopy, under this canopy large
ferns and tall woody shrubs
form the next layer.
 Herbaceous and bulbous
plants, together with grasses
form the ground level.
 The climbing plants and
epiphytes are also found here.
Something for you to do:
1. Herbaceous plants have…
A. green, fleshy stems.
B. woody brown stems.
C. dicot stems
D. broad, flat leaves.

2. A canopy is a…
A. roof like layer of leaves over the forest
B. tent shading one from the sun
C. part of a dicot plant
D. lowest layer of trees in a forest
Something for you to do:
3. Epiphytes are
A. Ground cover in the forest
B. Plants with no stomata
C. Climbing plants found in a forest.
D. Plants with no leaves.
Solution:
1. A
2. A
3. C
Forest Biome: Animal life
 Bush buck, bush pig, blue
duiker, baboon, vervet
monkey, and leopard are
some of the larger mammals
found here.
 Many birds are found in this
biome.
 Some examples are: the fruit
eating rameron pigeon, the
insect eating paradise fly-
catcher and seed eaters.
 The Knysna lourie and the
Knysna woodpecker are some
examples of endemic birds
found here.
The Thicket biome
 It occurs in finger-like
projections along the
coasts of KwaZulu-Natal,
Eastern Cape and some
other areas.
 Most of the thicket biome
occurs in the river valleys.
Thicket Biome: Temperature, Rainfall
and Soil.
Temperature and Rainfall
These areas experience fairly high rainfall.
Since periods of little rain does occur , it means rainfall
is not high enough the vegetation does not develop into
forests.
During the dry periods the life forms living here get their
moisture from the mists and fog that often occurs in this
biome.
Thicket biome: Temperature, Rainfall and Soil
Soil
There is a thick layer of soil.
The falling leaves, fruit and droppings of birds and
mammals mixes with the soil and
increasing its humus content.
This makes the soil very rich.
This rich soil can support
woody vegetation.
Thicket Biome: Vegetation
This biomes has many short trees,
low intertwining shrubs and vines.
The vines often have spines for Spekboom-left
protection.
The vegetation does not have
distinct layers like the forest.
Common trees found in this area are
the Spekboom and many species of
Euphorbia.
Cape honeysuckle and Plumbago are
some examples of shrubs found in
this biome. Cape honeysuckle

Plumbago
Thicket biome: Animal life
Some examples of animals
found here are monkeys, birds
and squirrels.
These animals feed on the fruit
of the trees.
The black rhino, elephants and
kudu were once found here in
large numbers.
Now they are only found in
protected areas e.g.. Shamwari
Private Game Reserve.
Nama Karoo Biome
It is a semi desert area.
It forms a large part of the
____________.
Nama Karoo: Temperature, Rainfall and
Soil Type
Temperature and Rainfall
This is a semi desert area.
It receives very little rainfall
Summers are very hot and winters are very cold.

Soil
The soil is rich in nutrients.
Vegetation

Vegetation is dominated by
grasses and dwarf shrubs.

The stone plants are a group of

plants that occur here that use
camouflage, since it looks like
pebbles around it.
Nama Karoo: Animal Life
The animals that are found here are those that can survive
extremes of temperature and very little water.
Some examples of the animals found here are:
Foxes, jackals, dassies and hares.
Succulent Karoo Biome
Found on the west coast of
the Northern Cape Province
and the northern parts of
the Western Cape Province.
Succulent Karoo: Temperature, Rainfall
and Soil type.
Temperature and Rainfall.
Hot in summer and cold in winter.
Rainfall is very low.

Soil
The soil is very fertile.
It is red clay with rocks in between.
There are large parts of shale in other parts.
White quartz pebbles can be seen
Succulent Karoo: Vegetation
This area is dominated by dwarf
shrubs.
40% of the species are endemic
to this area
The Namaqualand region of this
biome is world famous for the
colourful wild flowers.
Annual plants germinate, grow,
flower and seed in the moist
winter and spring.
They die off in the dry months
with the seeds surviving and
grow again the next winter.
 Succulent Karoo: Vegetation
The perennial plants survive the dry season by using water
stored in the leaves or stems.
These plants are called succulents.
These plants are adapted to reduce transpiration by
having a:
thick waxy cuticle
reducing the number of stomata.
The non-succulent perennials have very small leaves to
reduce water loss by transpiration.
Those with large leaves lose their leaves during the dry
months.
 Succulent Karoo: Animal Life
Animal life is not as abundant as the plant life.
The bat eared fox, the meercat
and the barking gecko are
examples of the animals found here.
Fynbos
Biome
Found in the
major parts of
Western Cape.
Fynbos Biome: Temperature, Rainfall and
Soil
Temperature and Rainfall
Hot and dry summers
Winters are cold and wet.
Soil
The soil is very varied of different pH and quality
The soil is sandy and alkaline along the coast
The soil is sandy but acidic inland
In the lowlands the soil is fertile and more or less neutral.
The soil on the mountain tops are acidic and of a very poor
quality
Something for you to think about
 How does the varied quality and pH of the soil in this
biome affect the plant life?
A. Has no effect of the plant life
B. Ensure there is a wide variety of plant life.
C. Reduces the number of plant species in this biome.
D. Prevents the plants from reaching their full growth.
Solution:
 How does the varied quality and pH of the soil in this
biome affect the plant life?
A. Has no effect of the plant life
B. Ensure there is a wide variety of plant life.
C. Reduces the number of plant species in this biome.
D. Prevents the plants from reaching their full growth
Fynbos Biome: Vegetation
 Fynbos refers to dwarf shrubs with fine leaves.
 However when it is used to describe a biome it refers to all the vegetation
found in this biome.
 This includes:
dwarf shrubs
large shrubs
trees

 There is very little grass here but

 Leafless tufted grass plants occur here.
Fynbos: Animal Life
 There is a limited variety of species found in this biome.
 Examples of animals found in this biome are:
Grysbok, klipspringer, bontebok
 There are a large number of bird species.
Desert Biome
This biome occurs mainly as
the Namib Desert.
The Namib desert is found
along the west coast of
Namibia
Some scientist believe that
the Succulent Karoo Biome
and the very parts of the
Savanna Biome form parts
of the Desert Biome.
Desert Biome: Temperature,
Rainfall and Soil
Temperature and Rainfall
Average temperature in the Namib Desert ranges from
20⁰C to about 34⁰C.
The rainfall is low and unpredictable.
The air is very dry because of the high temperature and
low rainfall.
Therefore it has a very high evaporating power.
Soil
The soil is sandy and has a very low water holding
capacity.
 Desert Biome:
vegetation
A large part of this biome
has no visible plant life.
However they do carry
seeds.
When there is sufficient
rainfall, these seeds will
germinate and grow into
grasses very quickly.
The land will now be
covered by large amounts Flowers in the desert The desert
after rainfall biome after
of golden coloured high volume of
grasses and will not rain
resemble a desert at all. The desert in
times of no rain
 Desert Biome: Vegetation

Shrubs grow in areas

into which water drains. Welwitschia
Welwitschia is an
example of such a shrub.
A few trees may also
grow here.
The African moringo,
camelthorn, mustard
trees and Euphorbias
are examples of some of
the trees that grow here. camelthorn

African moringo
 Desert Biome: vegetation
The large variety of lichens are also
found in this biome.
A lichen is a very close association
between a fungi and an algae.
They have such a close relationship
that they actually form a new
organism.
The fungi provides the algae with
water and the algae uses the water
to make food by photosynthesis.
The algae then provides the fungi
with food.
The fungi gets the moisture from
the dew and fog.
This is an example of mutualism.
Something for you to do:
 A quick question for you to answer:
 Explain what is mutualism and why the lichen is an
example of mutualism.
Solution:
 Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship between two
organisms in which both organisms benefit.
 The lichen is considered to be an example of mutualism
because the fungi is heterotrophic and unable to make its
own food, but it is able to absorb water.
 The fungi provides the algae with water. The algae uses
the water to make food and provides the fungi with food
because both organisms benefit this is an example of
mutualism.
Desert Biome: Animal life
 There are many endemic species of animals are found
here.
 Some examples of organisms found in this biome are
lizard, geckos and snakes.

Golden mole

Peringuey’s adder
Web foot gecko
Something for you to do
 Write down the correct biological term for each of the
following:
1. The part of the earth in which living organisms are
found.
2. The soil and rocks of the upper layers of the earth’s
surface.
3. A region with a distinct climate and all the organisms
living their
4. Southern Africa's largest biome.
5. Species occurring in one area only and no where else in
the world
6. The name given to the vegetation found in the Western
cape only and nowhere else in the world
Complete Activity 3.1.1
Other types of biomes
 Aquatic biomes: water covers a major part of the
Earths surface, these became home to many different
biotic species.
2 types of aquatic biomes:
1. Fresh water region: low salt concentration, includes
ponds, lakes, streams and rivers and wetlands.
2. Marine regions: Oceans, which cover nearly ¾ of the
Earths surface.
 Estuaries: partially enclosed areas where salt water
and fresh water meets
Ecosystem
 An ecosystem is an area in which there exists
relationships between living organisms
themselves and the living organisms and the
non-living environment.
 Some examples of ecosystems are: a river, a
grassland, a fallen rock.
 The study of all the relationships in an
ecosystem is called ecology.
Characteristics of Biotic
components
 Respiration
 Movement
 Reproduce
 Produce offspring
 Ecotourism:
South Africa is a country that is rich in biodiversity.
There two reason for this rich biodiversity.
These two reasons are:
a. The country as a very varied climate, for example the
tropical weather
b. The country also has a very varied topography: the low
lying belt of the coast, the escarpment and finally the
plateau inland.
Varied climate and environments varied vegetation  varied
animas.
This rich biodiversity attracts people from all over the world to
come to South Africa.
Ecotourism:
 Ecotourism is the attraction of visitors to ecologically
sensitive areas.

 This type of tourism benefits the local people, the visitor

and the environment.
Benefits of ecotourism
 For local people: Job opportunities and
business opportunities
 For the visitors: enjoyment and learning
experience of what the country has to offer
 For the environment: knowledge and
awareness of environmental issues are
created; monies received from ecotourism
can be used to build more protected areas.
ETHICS/ DISADVANTAGES?
Ethical issues
 While ecotourism can have many benefits such as
promoting public knowledge, creating awareness and
even job opportunities, some tour operators use
ecotourism to promote their own business.
These tour operators are guilty of the following:
a) The local people are employed at the lowest level and in
the lowest paying jobs
b) Accommodation and catering are usually contracted to
large international companies therefore these business do
not contribute to the economy of the country.
c) Very little or no attempts are made to create interest in
the local culture.
d) Usually the tour activities has a negative impact on the
environment
e) Only a small percentage of the profits or none at all is
used for activities that protect the biodiversity.
Activity 3.1.2