What is Environmental Science?

• Many people

• Scientists & non-scientists

• Decisions – Our role on the Earth

Who are the people involved?

• Scientists Non-Scientists

Biologists Engineer

Chemists Politician

Meteorologists Doctors

Geoscientist Engineers

What is the Biosphere?

• Zone of life, where life exists

What are the Earth Systems the Biosphere depends on?

• Lithosphere – minerals

• Atmosphere – gasses

• Hydrosphere – water

What supplies the energy to our Earth systems?

• The sun – solar energy

What does the sun’s energy do to our systems?

• Makes them circulate

What is a biome?

• Large geographic region with shared characteristics that allow distinct plant life

What are the two features used to characterize each biome?

• Climate

• Soil

Seven Biomes

• Tundra – Very cold, permafrost

• Desert – very hot, low humidity

• Tropical Rainforest – very wet, hot

• Grasslands- Temperate, prairie dog,bison

Tropical Savannah lion, zebra

Taiga – Conifers = pine trees

Temperate Deciduous Forest- our biome

What is difference between abiotic and biotic?

• Living vs. non-living

Biotic Items

• Predator

• Competition

• Populations

• Plants

• Fungus (fungi)