44
What’s the biosphere?
Living things
1
Describe this ecosystem to a partner. What living
and non-living things can you see?
G
E T T I N G S T A R T E D
Biosphere
The biosphere is the biggest
known biome. It includes all
of the habitats on Earth.
Habitat
The place where a population
lives is called its habitat. There
can be many habitats in a single
ecosystem. Sometimes living
things can share a habitat. For
example, different populations
can all live in the same desert
habitat at the same time.
Biome
An ecosystem that has several
types of habitat is called a
biome. For example, prairie
ecosystems in Africa are called
savannahs. Various habitats
are found in savannahs. Some
parts of the savannah have
grasses and bushes. In other
parts, trees can be found.
Areas with ponds and small
lakes form habitats for aquatic
animals and plants.
The
biosphere
is all of the ecosystems on the Earth. It includes
the oceans, the land and the atmosphere, and all the living
things on the planet.
Some vultures y
10 km above the
Earth’s surface! Some
microscopic organisms
live far below the Earth’s
surface. As a result of
facts like these, scientists
think the biosphere
extends up about 10 km
into the atmosphere and
down about 10 km below
the surface of the Earth!
S
C
I
-
F
A
C
T
