Block 4 Structure and Function of Human Body

Block 4: Structure and Function of Human Body

Humans as Part of Biosphere

Mutiara Budi Azhar

Faculty of Medicine Sriwijaya University

Dr MBA

Humans as Part of Biosphere

Block 4 Structure and Function of Human Body

Introduction
Biosphere means sphere of life (bios). The term biosphere was first used by a
geologist named Eduard Suess in 1875. He defined biosphere as the place on earth's
surface where life dwells". It is the highest level of organization which forms the
largest biological system. The biosphere is the life zone of the Earth and includes all
living organisms: the trees in the park, the birds in the air, fish in the rivers and oceans,
the fly on your wall, the viruses that make you sick, bacteria in the trash can, mold on the
bread, your pets, and even you and all your friends. The biosphere is interconnected in
the other Earth system spheres (Atmosphere, Lithosphere, and Hydrosphere). The
biosphere also includes all organic matter that has not yet decomposed (rotted).
Biosphere means the blanket of living organisms that envelops Earth, and all the
places life has made its own, from the roots of ocean trenches, to bacteria living 1/2
mile deep in the continental crust, to spiderlings sailing at 30,000 feet into the
atmosphere.
Ecology is the study of how life works. Ecology was first proposed by a zoologist
named H. Reiter in 1885.
Ecology comes from the Greek word oikos, which means house. Ecology is the study
of the earth household. A household includes all members of the family. Thus,
ecology is the branch of biology which deals with the study of the relationship of
living organism to each other and with their environment. All life on Earth is one
family household. We are all relatives.
Ecologist regards these as the living part of a system called ecosystem. The different
ecosystem are united to form the Biosphere.

Biosphere Composition
The biosphere is composed of biomes. A biome can be defined as a large region
characterized by a specific type of climate and the plants and animals that live there. . A
biome is characterized by its plant life, the types of which are determined by a locations
climate. A biomes boundary is characterized by the regional climate. Biomes found in
North America include: tundra, chaparral, grassland, taiga, desert, mountain zones,
temperate evergreen forest, temperate deciduous forest, and, polar ice cap.

Biosphere Parts
The interaction of plants and animals comprise a particular ecosystem. An ecosystem is a
part of a biome. The definition of an ecosystem is a community of living parts (biotic i.e.
plants, animals) together with the non-living parts (abiotic i.e. rocks, weather) of the
environment. On Earth there are two main ecosystems; terrestrial (land) and aquatic
(water). These two ecosystems are then subdivided into much smaller areas depending on
the type of plants, animals and habitat. Whereas a biomes boundary is defined by the

Dr MBA

Humans as Part of Biosphere

Block 4 Structure and Function of Human Body

regional climate, an ecosystems boundary is defined by physical features such as river

banks, a meadow or a tidal pool. For the study of Earth System Science we will divide the
biosphere into three parts: plant life, animal life and human activity.

Plant Life:
The vegetation (type of plant life) in a large region defines the biome type. For example
the temperate evergreen forest biome is comprised of evergreen trees like spruce, fir, pine,
and cedar while the desert biome is dominated by sagebrush, cacti, and salt brush. Plants
makeup more than 99 percent of all the Earths living matter! The history of the biosphere
is largely the history of the origin and diversification of plants. Plants have made Earth
the livable planet we have today. Plants have a direct impact on temperature, the type of
rocks, the composition of the atmosphere (oxygen) and even the chemical makeup of our
oceans. Plants are the primary producers in the biosphere. A primary producer can make
biomass from inorganic compounds. Thus plants use photosynthesis to make their own
food (autotrophs).

Animal Life:
Currently there are about 1.5 million known kinds of animals. Some scientists think that
there could be from 2 to 50 million kinds of animals alive today. Over half of the known
animals are classified as insects. One will first notice that a main difference between
plants and animals is that animals are not autotrophs. Animals need plants to survive;
whether for food as an herbivore (plant eater) or an omnivore (plant and animal eater) or
for shelter and hiding. Animals can be classified as a primary consumer (herbivore) or
secondary consumer (omnivore/carnivore). Another category of animal is the
decomposer. A decomposer feeds on dead plant and animal matter. Animals are also
able to move under their own power. This enables animals to move to different areas to
find food, escape predators and adverse weather conditions. Though animals are able to
adapt to changing conditions there are certain animals that will found in certain biomes.
Why? Because the biome has a certain vegetation type and climate. For example, in the
desert biome you will find snakes, lizards, and kangaroo rats. However in the temperate
evergreen forest you will find deer, rabbits, blue jays, hawks and ground squirrels.

Human Activity:
Humans as part of the biosphere have grown exponentially since 1650. It is estimated
that there are 6.8 billion people in the biosphere. The human component of the biosphere
is called the anthrosphere. The definition of the anthrosphere is that part of the
environment that is made or modified by humans for use in human activities. Humans
impact on the environment are a function of three major, interconnected elements:
population size, consumption, and technology. A prime example is the slash and burn
agricultural practice in the tropics where rainforest is cut and burned and the land is
converted to pasture. On a positive side man has been able to grow crops in areas that in
the natural untouched state could not sustain crops.

Man and Biosphere:

Human beings depend on natural resources such as plants and animals to meet
their basic needs and wants.
These needs are obtained from plants and animals.

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Humans as Part of Biosphere

Block 4 Structure and Function of Human Body

1. Foods: All animals require energy for the vital activities as well as
physical activities. The energy is fulfilled by food.
2. Shelter: Human beings need shelter to protect themselves from various
climatic factors such as extreme cold and hot temperature, wind, rain,
and others disaster. For this we build a house on land. The material for
the construction of house is provided by plants.
3. Cloth: We wear the clothes to protect our body from heat and cold.
Plants and animals provide raw materials for manufacturing various
types of cloth

Energy Transfers
Almost all of the energy that reaches Earth comes from the Sun. Energy is needed for the
functions that organisms perform, such as growth, movement, waste removal, and
reproduction. It is the only requirement for life that is supplied from a source outside the
biosphere. Plants capture sunlight and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into
organic molecules, or food, in a process called photosynthesis. Plants and some
microorganisms are the only organisms that can produce their own food. Other organisms,
including humans, rely on plants for their energy needs. Further transfer of energy in the
biosphere and out of the biosphere is through the different biogeochemical cycles.

Biosphere Cycles
A cycle is when certain substances move endlessly throughout the earth's biosphere,
hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere, existing in different forms and being used
by different organisms at different times, but always moving, always circulating.
Biogeochemical Cycles
The major elements or chemical building blocks that make up all living organisms are
carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. The circulation of the elements and
water through the biological and physical work or biosphere is known as biogeochemical cycle. Organisms are able to acquire these elements only if they occur in
usable chemical forms as nutrients. In a process called cycling, the elements are
transformed from one chemical form to another and then back to the original form.
The four important biogeochemical cycles in nature are:
1. Water cycle
2. Oxygen cycle
3. Carbon cycle
4. Nitrogen cycle
Water Cycle
The most abundant compound present in all organisms is water. Water covers more
than three fourth of earths surface. It is also found within the crust of earth. Heat of
sunlight evaporates the water on the earth and forms vapour. The water vapour being
lighter than air rises up and goes into atmosphere.

Dr MBA

Humans as Part of Biosphere

Block 4 Structure and Function of Human Body

The unutilized water absorbed by plants from soil is given off into atmosphere by
transpiration. The water vapour produced due to respiration of living organism also
goes into atmosphere.
As the water vapour rises up into atmosphere, gets cooled and condensed to form tiny
droplets of water and form cloud and finally falls down as rain. The rain water passes
into soil and some part is absorbed in soil and utilized by plants.
Oxygen Cycle
Oxygen represents about 21% of atmospheric gases. It is available in free molecular
form and in combined state like carbon-dioxide, water etc. All living organism take
oxygen from atmosphere for respiration and is converted it into carbon dioxide and
water and is released in to atmosphere.
The burning of fuels also requires oxygen from atmosphere and releases carbon
dioxide and water vapour into atmosphere.
The carbon dioxide and water vapour released in atmosphere are utilized by
photosynthesis and oxygen gas formed in this process is released into atmosphere. In
this way oxygen cycle is completed in nature.
Carbon Cycle
Carbon is the basic constituents of living organism. It is the most essential
constituents of all the major organic compounds of the carbohydrate, fats, protein and
nucleic acids.
Carbon dioxide is removed from the air by plants and incorporated into organic
compounds (such as carbohydrates) by photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is returned to
the atmosphere when plants and animals break down organic molecules (a process
known as respiration) and when microorganisms break down wastes and tissue from
dead organisms (a process known as decomposition).
Some dead plants and animals are changed into fossils fuel which when burnt,
produce carbon dioxide. Volcanic eruption also releases carbon dioxide formed from
decomposition of carbonate minerals. Carbon dioxide is also released into
atmosphere when acid rain falls on carbonate rocks such as limestone. In this way the
carbon cycle in nature is completed.
Nitrogen cycle
The nitrogen cycle is a very complex cycle. Although 79 percent of the atmosphere
consist of free nitrogen, at least the same amount of bound nitrogen is found in the
lithosphere. These large reservoirs are not immediately available for plants. In this
context, microorganisms have a central role by nitrogen fixation (using a complex
biochemical pathway) that is extraordinarily energy-consuming. Plants then use the
fixed nitrogen in their metabolism.
The nitrogen forms the structural and functional component of the cell protoplasm and
its organelles.

Dr MBA

Humans as Part of Biosphere

Block 4 Structure and Function of Human Body

The atmospheric nitrogen can be used only when it is converted into nitrates and
nitrites by nitrogen fixation. There are 3 kinds of nitrogen fixation: atmospheric,
biological and industrial fixation.
1. In atmospheric fixation, nitrogen combines with oxygen during lightening
and form oxides of nitrogen which dissolves in rain water, gets soaked into
soil and forms nitrate.
2. In biological fixation, nitrogen fixing bacteria called rhizobium present in
nodules of certain leguminous plant directly fixes atmospheric nitrogen into
nitrogen compounds. Some blue green algae also fix atmospheric nitrogen.
3. In industrial fixation, the nitrogen gas is made to combine with hydrogen gas
to form ammonia which can be oxidized to form nitrates or made to react
with acid to form ammonium salt. The nitrates of ammonium salt which
contain fixed nitrogen are used as fertilizers.
The nitrates and nitrites absorbed by plants converted into plant protein. The purifying
bacteria and fungi convert nitrogenous substance of dead plant and animals into
ammonia by ammonification. By nitrification, nitrate salts present in soil are
converted into free nitrogen gas. In this way nitrogen cycle is completed.

Human Impacts: Pollution

Diffuse pollution:
This exemplified by eutrophication caused by excessive run-off of nitrates and
phosphates
Dissolved oxygen declines
Fish species change, carp take the place of more desirable species
Can originate from thousands of lawns, farms, golf clubs, etc.
Solutions depend on public education and political action
Pollution from coal burning: acid precipitation
When coal is burned sulfur oxide is released
Sulfur oxide combines with water in the atmosphere to create sulfuric acid
Mercury emitted in stack smoke is a second potential problem
Mercury biomagnifies: causes brain damage in humans
Acid precipitation and mercury pollution affect freshwater ecosystems
pH levels below 5.0, many fish species and other aquatic animals die or are
unable to reproduce
Mercury accumulates in the tissues of food fish: dangerous to public health
Stratospheric ozone depletion
Ozone hole: over Antarctica between 1/2 to 1/3 of original ozone
concentrations are present

Dr MBA

Humans as Part of Biosphere

Block 4 Structure and Function of Human Body

Over United States

Ozone concentration has been reduced by about 4%

Stratospheric ozone is important because it absorbs UV radiation (UV-B)
UV-B damages tissue increases risks for

Cataracts

Skin cancer: 1% drop in ozone leads to a 6% increase in skin cancer

Ozone depletion and CFCs: Major cause of ozone depletion are chlorine and
bromine containing compounds in the atmosphere
Use of CFCs are being phased out in many countries
CFC are chemically stable in the atmosphere for many years
Ozone depletion will continue to occur until all of the CFCs are broken down

Global Warming

CO2 and other gases in the atmosphere maintain the Earths average temperature at
25C
Human activities are now changing the composition of the atmosphere; increasing
the CO2 and other gas levels
Because of the increase, global temperatures are increasing, causing global warming
How CO2 affects temperature
CO2 absorbs electromagnetic radiant energy
Earth receives radiant energy from the Sun
Earth also emits radiant energy

The Earths temperature will be constant only if the rates of these two
processes are equal
The atmosphere allows in short wave radiant energy from the Sun, but does not
allow the long wave radiant energy from the Earth to escape
This is the same principle as a Greenhouse

Dr MBA

Humans as Part of Biosphere

Block 4 Structure and Function of Human Body

Concentrations of CO2 since 1958

Short wave- in, long wave - cannot get out, increase in temperature in the
greenhouse

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Human health
Frequent flooding = loss of safe drinking water
Cholera and other epidemics may occur more often
Tropical diseases may invade nontropical countries
Malaria
Dengue fever

Humans as Part of Biosphere

Block 4 Structure and Function of Human Body

Dr MBA

Humans as Part of Biosphere