Biogeography

What sets the Earth apart from other planets?

- Hæfileg fjarðlægð frá sólu

- Lofthjúpur þéttur

- Næginlegt vatn

The Earth's surface:

- Continous flow of energy from the sun

○ Passes through the biosphere (lífhvolf)

- Cycling of matter (nutrients) through the biosphere

- Gravity

Energy cannot be created or destroyed - only transformed

- Matter cannot be created or destroyed - only transformed

The lithosphere (stinnhvolf):

- Most massive

- The rock part

- Mantle and core

- Only upper 100 km of the mantle

- Divided into tectonic plates

- Shapes the oceans

The atmosphere (gufuhvolf):

- Most of the heat and moisture is in the trophospere (10-16) km above the Earths surface

The hydrosphere (vatnshvolf):

- The blue planet:

○ The core of the hydrosphere

§ Lakes, water, streams, ocean

- 71% of the earths surface is covered in oceans

- Human 50-60% water

- Mammals 60% water

- Trees 60% water

The biosphere/ecosphere:

- Where the spehres interact

- On the Earths surface (land or ocean)

- Most biodiversity and life in the rainforest (from the bedrock to the top of the canopy)

- Least biodiversity and life in the desert (3 m...?)

- Photic zone (ljóstillífun)

○ Efst í sjónum

- Aphtic zone in the ocean

○ Less life:

§ Phytoplankton

- Life occupies terrestrial 29% and marine 71%

Drivers of change on the surface:

- Temporal change:

○ The seasons

- Catastrophic change:

○ A sudden event that has a big impact on biomass- and diversity

○ How often and the magnitude

§ Earthquakes

§ Eruptions

§ Avalanches

§ Landslips

§ Jökulhlaup

- Anthropogenic changes:

○ Human impact

- Land use:

○ Mining

○ Dams

○ Grazing lifestock

- Pollution:

○ Waste disposal

- War:

○ Weapons testing

○ Weapon decomissioning

○ Destructuon of infrastructure

- Climate change:

○ Alters the atmosphere

§ And oceanic circulation patterns

Nutrient and biogeochemical cycling:

- Macro nutrients

- Others are micro

The gaseous cycle

- Cycling of C, H, O and N

○ The cycle is brief

○ Hudreds years or less

§ This system doesn't go to the lithosphere

The sedimentary cycle

- Nutrients in the bedrock are released into the hydrosphere and go to the biosphere (consumption, decomposition) and then the lithosphere (fossilised)

The CO2 cycle

- Both gaseous and sedimentary cycles

- The CO2 balance

○ Combustion of fossil fuels is greater then the natural deposit

Hydrologic cycle

- H2O

- Exhange of water between the reservois

- Salt water > fresh water

- Driven by heat, derived by solar energy

Transpiration - goes through the plants

The oxygen cycle:

- Photosythesis

- Volcanism

○ Releases oxygen

- Removing atmospheric oxygen:

○ Oxidiation

○ Respiration of animials and plants

○ Combustion

○ Deforestation

§ Anthropogenic and natural

The nitrogen cycle:

- Only get nitrogen through plants

- Ends up in the top soil

Phosphorous

- China, morocco and USA at the forefront

- Essential to life

- Small amounts available

- Held in the rocks

○ Released slowly by plants

System of biological classification:

- Trophic hierarchy:

○ 1% of solar energy used for life on earth..?

○ Plants are the only organism capable of transforming solar energy and using it for other purposes

§ Photosynthesis:

□ CO2 + H2O + Sólarorka (and heat) = glúkósi + súrefni

® Takes place in the green parts

® Clorophil (primary catcher of sunlight)

○ Trophic levels:

§ Photosynthetic plants are on top of the hierarchy (ototophs)

§ Primary consumers (those who eat plants)

§ Secondary etc...

§ Food chain vs food web

□ Energy flows through the levels in linear fashion

□ Biodiversity

® Dreifð tegunda

□ Biomass

® The biological productivity

◊ Gross primary productivity

} Total enegy fixed in an ecosystem by photosyntehsis

◊ Net primary productivity

} The amount of biomass that's left after respiration > goes into producing more plant cells

- Ecological hierarchy:

○ Individuals:

§ Smallest unit

□ T.d. Put a tracker on an animal and monitor their activity

§ Population studies:

□ Track a pack of animals

§ Ecological community:

□ Samfélag

□ Interactions and relations between species

□ Vegetation calssification

§ Ecosystem:

□ Interactions and relations between species

□ Also the relationships of communities with the environment

® Water, mountain...

§ Biomes:

□ Large areas

® Similar fauna and flora in areas

® Ecological niches

® Lognitudianal trends

} Altitude and heat relations here

® An idealised view of the nature, without manmade elements

§ Biosphere

□ A thin layer of life on Earths surface

- Taxonomic hierarchy:

○ Classification and naming of organism

§ Kingdoms

□ Animalia

□ Plantea

□ Fungi

□ Protista (amoeba)

□ Monera (bacteria)

® Divisions and classes:

◊ Gróplöntur

◊ Fræplöntur

} Ein- eða tvíblöðunagr (classes)

– Orders

– Families

– Genur

– Species

w *Subspecies (sometimes)

w They can breed with parent species (not infertile)

Names of species: (Latin)

- First part is

The gentic part (First letter capitalised)

- Second

○ The species part

§ Specific (miniscule)

Always italic