1. The Biosphere and Ecosystems
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2. Let’s start big:The Biosphere
The biosphere is the sum of all ecosystems on earth.

3. The Biosphere
It has 3 components that interact with each other:

4. The Atmosphere
The air of the atmosphere is primarily a mixture of gases.
Nitrogen makes up 78%, oxygen 21%, and the rest less than 1% (CO2 is 0.04%).

5. The Atmosphere But the atmosphere also contains water (water vapour)
earth (dust and
volcanic ash)
organic material (pollen, spores, and bacteria)

6. The Lithosphere
The lithosphere is the crust of the Earth and also contains pockets of air, water (groundwater), and organic material – rotting plants, and organisms living in the soil.

7. The Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere is Earth’s water, both freshwater and ocean water.

8. The Hydrosphere It will also contain: air (dissolved gases)
earth (sediment)
organic material

9. What is the biosphere? The sum of all ecosystems

10. Ecosystems
An ecosystem is a biological system that contains all the living and non-living parts to it. For the boreal ecosystem where the oil sands project is, this would be the trees, bears, deer, fish, mosquitos, etc. interacting with the water, soil, and sunlight.

11. Ecosystem examples
A marine ecosystem
A terrestrial ecosystem

12. Alberta’s oil sands: a disturbed ecosystem within the earth’s biosphere
The boreal forest is an ecosystem but there are many ecosystems within the boreal forest like individual lakes, rivers, swamps, etc. Every ecosystem has plants, animals and other organisms as well as the air, water and soil they interact with.

13. Energy flows through ecosystems

14. Ecosystems have food chains
What is a food chain? It is a way to show what eats what in an ecosystem. It usually starts with plants that get energy from the sun and usually ends with decomposers (bacteria, fungi in the soil).

15. The food chain
Plants are called primary producers (they are first on the food chain; they produce food for consumers from sunlight)
Things that eat only plants are called herbivores and primary consumers (they are they first to consume anything come next on the food chain)
Things that eat the herbivores are called carnivores or secondary, tertiary, etc. consumers.
Bacteria and fungi break down what has died and are called decomposers.