1. The Biosphere Our Home. Part 1

2. The Biosphere: • “A thin layer of air, land and water on or near the Earth’s surface” • All living things exist in the biosphere

3. A biome is the largest subdivision of the biosphere. • A biome is defined by two characterises: biotic and abiotic components. • Biotic component: relates to the living organisms that exist in an biome. • (i.e. Animals, plants, fungi, bacteria etc.) • Abiotic component: the non-living portion of an environment. • (i.e. Sunlight, soil, moisture, temperature etc.) • A biome consists of similar biotic and abiotic components Biomes

4. There are 8 main terrestrial biomes: boreal forest, desert, grassland, permanent ice, temperate deciduous forest, temperate rainforest, tropical rainforest & tundra. Biomes

5. Two main abiotic factors which influence biomes are temperature and precipitation (rain, snow, mist and fog) Factors that influence biomes

6. Latitude: the distance (north or south) from the equator (horizontal line crossing through the earth) • Elevation: The height of land compared to sea level • Ocean Currents: The flow of ocean water Factors which influence temperature and precipitation

7. The equator is found at 0◦. Moving away will change the degrees away from the equation • For example, the border between British Columbia and Washington State is 49 ◦ North. • The equator is almost directly underneath the sun, and therefore it receives almost 12 hours of sunlight each day all year long (influences temperature) • The latitude also influences precipitation (rain, snow ,sleet and hail) the equator receives the most rainfall on earth. Latitude