THE BIOSPHERE

EPS 131 – TA

Chemistry for Engineers

Remejie Maano

BS Computer Engineering – 1st year

Engr. Marinela C. Bansuela, Ph.D

The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists. The biosphere extends from the

deepest root systems of trees, to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush rainforests and

high mountaintops.

Scientists describe Earth in terms of spheres. The solid surface layer of Earth is the lithosphere.

The atmosphere is the layer of air that stretches above the lithosphere. The Earth’s water—on the

surface, in the ground, and in the air—makes up the hydrosphere.

Since life exists on the ground, in the air, and in the water, the biosphere overlaps all these

spheres. Although the biosphere measures about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from top to bottom,

almost all life exists between about 500 meters (1,640 feet) below the ocean’s surface to about

six kilometers (3.75 miles) above sea level.

Origin of the Biosphere

The biosphere has existed for about 3.5 billion years. The biosphere’s earliest life-forms, called

prokaryotes, survived without oxygen. Ancient prokaryotes included single-celled organisms

such as bacteria and archaea.

Some prokaryotes developed a unique chemical process. They were able to use sunlight to make

simple sugars and oxygen out of water and carbon dioxide, a process called photosynthesis.

These photosynthetic organisms were so plentiful that they changed the biosphere. Over a long

period of time, the atmosphere developed a mix of oxygen and other gases that could sustain new

forms of life.
The addition of oxygen to the biosphere allowed more complex life-forms to evolve. Millions of

different plants and other photosynthetic species developed. Animals, which consume plants

(and other animals) evolved. Bacteria and other organisms evolved to decompose, or break

down, dead animals and plants.

The biosphere benefits from this food web. The remains of dead plants and animals release

nutrients into the soil and ocean. These nutrients are reabsorbed by growing plants. This

exchange of food and energy makes the biosphere a self-supporting and self-regulating system.

The biosphere is sometimes thought of as one large ecosystem—a complex community of living

and nonliving things functioning as a single unit. More often, however, the biosphere is

described as having many ecosystems.

Prokaryote

A prokaryote is a single-celled organism that lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound

organelles.

Biotic Factors

Biotic factors are the living parts of an ecosystem.

Because of the way ecosystems work – as complex systems of competition and cooperation,

where the action of every life form can affect all the others – any living thing within an

ecosystem can be considered a biotic factor.

shape which organisms can live in an ecosystems and what survival strategies they use.

Biotic factors, together with non-living abiotic factors such as temperature, sunlight, geography,

and chemistry, determine what ecosystems look like and what ecological niches are available.

Types of biotic factor

 Producers

 Producers are organisms which can make their own food by photosynthesis. Like plants,

algae, bacteria.

 They obtain their source of energy from abiotic factors like sunlight, humidity, water, etc.

As all these factors are important for proper synthesis of food.

 Chlorophyll is present in the procedure and they absorb all these abiotic factors for

synthesis of food. Part of synthesized food is utilized by producers only for their proper

functioning and growth.

 Consumers

 Organisms that feed on producers are known as consumers.

 Consumers are further divided into three or more types.

 Herbivore: Is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant

material.

 Carnivore: Is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from

animal tissues whether through hunting or scavenging.

animal matter.

 Decomposer

 Living organisms that break or decompose the dead bodies of plants and animals are

known as decomposers.

 They are heterotrophic in nature.

 Decomposers secrete enzymes of the decaying process due to this reason they are known

as reducers.

Abiotic Factors

Nonliving parts of an ecosystem are termed abiotic factors. They play a crucial role in shaping

ecosystems as both biotic and abiotic factors interaction is a must for the stability of the

ecosystem.

Examples of the Biosphere

The biosphere is made up of living organisms and the physical environment. The physical

environment comprises the non-living components such as the rocky substance of the Earth’s

crust, water, light, and atmospheric gas.

All life forms in the biosphere are categorized into different layers of complexity. The layers

range from an individual organism, to populations, to ecosystems. An ecosystem encompasses

all living things in a given area, plus all of the non-living components of that area.
Ecosystems can be divided into several major biomes. Each biome is characterized by a specific

type of geography, climate, and vegetation. Examples of biomes within the biosphere include

tundra, prairies, deserts, tropical rainforest, deciduous forest, ocean, and more.

Biosphere Reserves

People play an important part in maintaining the flow of energy in the biosphere. Sometimes,

however, people disrupt the flow. For example, in the atmosphere, oxygen levels decrease and

carbon dioxide levels increase when people clear forests or burn fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

Oil spills and industrial wastes threaten life in the hydrosphere. The future of the biosphere will

depend on how people interact with other living things within the zone of life.

In the early 1970s, the United Nations established a project called Man and the Biosphere

Program (MAB), which promotes sustainable development. A network of biosphere reserves

exists to establish a working, balanced relationship between people and the natural world.

Currently, there are 669 biosphere reserves all over the world. The first biosphere reserve was

established in Yangambi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Yangambi, in the fertile Congo River

Basin, has 32,000 species of trees and such endemic species as forest elephants (Loxodonta

cyclotis) and red river hogs (Potamochoerus porcus). The biosphere reserve at Yangambi

supports activities such as sustainable agriculture, hunting, and mining.

 Promotes life on earth

 For organisms to survive on earth, various environmental conditions must exist, such as

favorable temperature and moisture. The organisms also require energy and nutrients. All

the mineral and animal nutrients necessary to uphold life are found in the Earth’s

biosphere. Nutrients present in dead organisms or living cells’ waste products are

converted back into compounds that other life forms can utilize as food. This nutrient

recycling is important because there’s no source of food outside the biosphere.

 Production of organic matter

 Oxygen and nitrogen are produced in the biosphere through oxygen photosynthesis.

These substances are responsible for virtually every biochemical process of organic

matter production. Organic matter is produced through the carbon cycle, which involves

both terrestrial and organic substrates.

 Provides raw material and food

 The living components of the biosphere, also known as the biota, plays an integral role in

providing us with the raw material we need to survive: food, fuel, and fiber.

 Cleans the earth of toxic substances

 The natural cycles of decomposition and biological modification, which take place in the

biosphere, help the planet earth to expel toxins and other components that could be

harmful to life. For example, carbon dioxide is utilized in the photosynthesis process and

organic wastes are reused by biota.

 Virtually all the substances used in the pharmaceutical industry today are derived from

compounds that exist naturally in the terrestrial biosphere. Continuing biological research

in regions of high biological density such as Amazon in South America and Southeast

Asia have provided scientists with new elements that have been utilized in

pharmaceutical applications ranging from chemotherapy to beauty treatments.

 Could serve as a pollution maker

 The study and control of the composition of the biosphere can function as an efficient

marker to keep the levels of terrestrial pollution in check. This will also help to ascertain

if in fact international treaties and public policies have had a real impact on the existing

levels of planetary pollution. Hence, from the information derived from the study of the

biosphere, you can draw historical, as well as interregional, comparisons that show

changes and variations in pollutions levels in various ecosystems.

 Can help track pollutants

 With the study of the composition of the biosphere, you could be able to tell exactly what

the pollutants caused by humans are and how they act. This would help states and the

international community to initiate research and policies that are geared towards dealing

with pollutants and preserving the physical environment.

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https://www.britannica.com/science/biosphere

BD Editors. (October 4, 2019). Biotic Factors. BiologyDictionary.

https://biologydictionary.net/biotic-factors/

Biotic and Abiotic Factors. Vedantu.

https://www.vedantu.com/biology/biotic-and-abiotic-factors

Biosphere. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/biosphere

Biosphere: Importance, Examples and facts. EARTH ECLIPSE.

https://eartheclipse.com/science/geography/biosphere-importance-examples-facts.html

(October 24, 2022). Prokaryote. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prokaryote