the 'living' layer of Earth below the atmosphere

people who have inhabited an area from the earliest times before the arrival of colonists

materials available in the environment (such as water, food and wood) that support our wants and needs

the extraction and trading of materials, such as wood, for profit

economically-valuable material concentrated in the Earth's crust, such as copper and oil

Biosphere resources

Geography

The distribution and characteristics of global biomes

The factors affecting biome distribution

Understanding the regulatory functions of the biosphere

Population and resources

Using GIS to visualise the distribution and characteristics of global biomes

This unit teaches pupils about ecosystems and biomes at different scales. Pupils learn about the factors influencing biome distribution and the physical systems and processes regulating them. Pupils will also learn about the impact of population growth and resource extraction on biomes.

Global biomes

Which of the following refers to goods or resources obtained or extracted from ecosystems?

Which of these is an example of a mineral resource?

The Hongana Manyawa are an {{}} people living on the Indonesian island of Halmahera.

The {{}} provides the Hongana Manyawa people with the resources they need to live: food, freshwater, fuel, medicine and the building materials needed to construct their homes. 

foraging or gathering food and/or hunting wild animals

lifestyle that involves staying in one place temporarily before moving

farming a plot for just a few years before leaving it to regenerate

cutting and burning small areas of forest to create plots to farm

Match the following terms that relate to the lifestyle of indigenous peoples to the correct definitions.

The clearance of rainforest areas to enable the {{}} of nickel and other minerals may result in Hongana Manyawa indigenous people losing their homes and their livelihoods.

Which of these terms is a more accurate way of saying the sun's rays are 'spread over a larger area'?

Climate is the key factor influencing biome distribution because it influences {{}} growth. 

Which of these biomes would be most likely to have developed in a tropical region with both a wet and a dry season?

Altitude influences the {{}}: the height above which trees can’t grow.

there are lower temperatures because of increased albedo.

there are too many nutrients due to weathering.

there is less surface water available for plants.

there are problems with soils becoming waterlogged.

trees cannot grow due to the dry seasons in this climate zone.

Limestone is a permeable rock and so limestone landscapes can have less vegetation because ...

Google Earth is an example of a GIS application. GIS stands for ...

Biosphere resources

Lesson outcome