Lesson video

Hi everyone, I'm Miss Reid and welcome to another lesson on biomes.

Let's have a look at our lesson question.

So our lesson question for today is are biomes all equally fragile? And this is the first of two lessons, on this particular question.

Well in this lesson, we're going to be learning about the threats that the forest biomes across the globe are facing.

We will learn about the outcomes or consequences of these threats on the biomes, Flora and Fauna, as well as the impact on us as humans.

We will conclude the lesson by considering which of the three forest biomes, is the most fragile and why? So in this lesson you'll need an exercise book or a piece of paper, you'll need a pencil and you'll need your brain.

In fact, we're going to be working really hard today.

So we'll need to be thinking hard and working hard, but I know you can do it.

Please do take a moment now to clear away any distractions, including turning off any notifications or apps or conversations that you have running in the background if you know how to.

Finally, if you can try to find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed during the lesson.

Pause the video now, so you can get the things you need, and try to find a quiet place to work.

Great.

Now you have everything you need, let's move on.

So of course we are Geographers.

Now Geographers are types of scientists who study the earth.

And that includes the lands, the physical features, and the people who live within it, the human features.

In this lesson, we're going to be drawing a table, we're going to be thinking about biome fragility, and then we're going to be doing a writing task.

So your first task for today is to draw a table that looks like this.

You can see that there are three columns, a column that outlines the biomes, in this lesson, we're looking at the tropical rainforest.

We're thinking about the temperate deciduous forest, and we're thinking about the coniferous forest or the taiga.

You then have the column for the threats, and a column for the outcomes.

You need to make sure that each of the rows, for each biome is about eight to 10 lines long.

How how many lines should each row be? That's right.

Eight to 10 lines.

Pause the video now, so that you can draw this table.

Well done everyone, we're now ready to start.

So fragility.

Well, fragility is the quality of being easily broken or damaged.

We think of biomes as being fragile, because slight variations in temperature can lead to huge climatic shifts, that disrupt the natural balance of living and non-living things within them.

So we're going to start by thinking about the threats that face the tropical rainforest.

So, the biggest threat that faces the tropical rain forest is deforestation.

And deforestation happens for a number of reasons in the tropical rain forest.

We're going to go through those.

So, pastoral farming is one of the reasons for deforestation.

Pastoral farming, is the farming of animals.

Now for example, we as humans or many of us eat meat.

Now meat, obviously starts as an animal and these animals need to be raised or reared somewhere.

There are so many humans on the planet eating meat, that new spaces need to be created to farm, or rear these animals.

And rearing cattle is one of the reasons, why forestry or land, within the tropical rain forest is being cleared.

Arable farming or the growing of crops, is another reason why forests, or parts of forests are being cut down.

The crop soya, is widely eaten by humans but it's also used to feed livestock.

Trees are also being cut down as logging for timber, timber is used to build for example, houses.

Another reason why trees are being cut down is to make space for mining, for natural resources, for example, coal and gas.

But also some trees are being cut down, so that mines can be built for precious stones.

Roads like the road you see in the image, are also being built, because people need to be able to get, to the places such as farms, or places where they're cutting down trees for logging.

Or mines that are being built in the middle of the rainforests.

Hydroelectric power stations or plants, are also being built within rainforests.

And that means huge spaces need to be cleared, to make room for them and roads need to be built to let people get to them.

And finally, population growth.

As populations grow, it means villages, towns, and cities need more space, so that more houses can be built to accommodate the people living in them.

And that often means that rainforests, are being cut down to make room for people.

Pause the video now so that you can record, the threats, to the tropical rain forest in the threats column.

Remember you're looking at the tropical rain forest.

Pause the video now, while you record the threats.

Great work.

Now you've recorded the threats, using this page.

Let's have a think about the outcomes of these threats.

What is going to happen to these rainforests? Or what has happened already that is an outcome of deforestation? So, the first is a loss of medicinal species.

Now medicinal species are the plants, that are used to make medicine.

Rainforests are home to 50% of all of earth's species.

Of the 50,000 known medicinal plants, which are the basis of more than 50% of all medications, up to a fifth, are at risk of extinction, at a local national and global level due to deforestation.

If we lose these essential medicinal species, we also lose the ability to treat people who are sick.

So more carbon emissions.

This means cutting down trees means there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, because there are less trees to soak up the CO2, which means carbon dioxide, CO2 means.

Well done Carbon dioxide.

Now the earth's forests have been referred to as the lungs of the earth's, or the lungs of the earth.

As we learned in the previous lesson, rainforests play a critical role in slowing down the impact on climate change, because they soak up carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere.

Trees release oxygen in this process, which is also good for the human population.

Deforestation thus contributes to global warming, by stopping the earth's trees from doing their natural job.

Another outcome of deforestation is a loss of wildlife.

Scientists have concluded that we're in the midst, of the earth's sixth mass extinction.

In biodiversity rich tropical regions, the habitat destruction due to deforestation, results in an estimated 100 species being lost per day.

That's not 100 species per year, it's 100 species lost per day.

Now silverback mountain gorillas, as you can see in the picture from Central Africa, Jaguars, throughout Latin America and orangutans and tigers in Indonesia, are just some of the species that are at risk of extinction, due to deforestation.

Pause the video now and record the outcomes, of the threats to the tropical rainforest in your table.

You're looking at the outcomes column now.

Pause the video while you record the outcomes.

Great work.

You should have a full row completed, for the tropical rainforests.

Well done, let's move on.

So now we're thinking about temperate deciduous forests.

Let's have a look at the threats, to the temperate deciduous forest.

Well, acid rain that has a negative impact on plants and animal species.

Well, the main cause of acid rain is the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels.

The waste gases from which.

Which contain sulphur and nitrogen oxides, combined with water in the atmosphere, to form acid rain.

So when it rains, this water also contains acid which is not good for plant life and it's not good for animal life.

Another threat, is the introduction of non-native plants.

That means, plants that have been introduced to the biome.

These are called invasive species, and they can smother the native plants within a forest.

For example, Rhododendrons in the UK are an example of an invasive species.

Of course, a threat to the temperate deciduous forest is deforestation.

And again, deforestation happens, because of pastoral farming or animal farming.

Arable farming, or growing of crops.

Logging for timber, roads, and population growth.

Pause the video now, so you can record the threats, to the temperate deciduous forest in your table.

Great work everyone, let's move on to the outcomes.

So what are the outcomes of those threats to the temperate deciduous forest? Let's see.

Well, deforestation leads to a loss of leisure sites.

Now forests, are places of human leisure.

And the loss of forests will mean the loss of much needed green spaces, for people to carry out leisurely activities, such as camping, walking, and cycling.

Put your hand up if you've ever been camping, walking, or cycling in a forest.

If we lose our green spaces, we lose the capacity to do that.

Being amongst green spaces has been proven to increase people's mental wellbeing.

But deforestation could make it increasingly more difficult for people to enjoy these green spaces.

Again, chopping down forests, such as the temperate deciduous forest means there's more carbon emissions, there's more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

And there are.

Because there are less trees to soak up the carbon dioxide or CO2.

Don't forget, that trees also release oxygen in the process which is also good for the human population.

Deforestation in this way contributes to global warming, by stopping the trees from doing their natural job.

And again, there was a loss of wildlife due to deforestation.

Some species that have depleted in numbers, and even become extinct in some regions, within the temperate deciduous forest, are grey and red wolves in America, red crowned.

That was a tricky one.

Red crowned cranes in Japan, Korea, and China, and the European mink as you can see in this image.

And this was native to France, Finland, Russia, and the Balkans.

Pause the video now, so that you can record the outcomes of the threats, to the temperate deciduous forest in your table.

We're looking at the outcomes.

Great work everyone.

Let's look at our next forest biome.

So we're now looking at the coniferous forest or the taiga.

Let's have a think about the threats to the taiga.

Well again, acid rain has a negative impact on plant and animal species.

Deforestation is also a huge threat to the taiga.

And deforestation happens because of pastoral farming, arable farming, logging for timber, roads, hydroelectric power stations being built within the taiga, and population growth.

Pause the video now, so that you can record the threats to the taiga in your table.

Great work, everyone.

Now let's have a look at the outcomes of these threats.

So again if we lose the taiga to deforestation, or to acid rain for example, we lose the capacity to use them as leisure sites.

For example, for walking, camping, or cycling.

And we lose the ability to use them to improve our mental wellbeing.

Again deforestation it means more carbon emissions, more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because there are less trees to soak up the carbon dioxide.

Trees are not able to do their natural jobs, because we are cutting them down.

And that means that we are contributing to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which are heating up on planet.

And again, a loss of wildlife.

Some of these species that have depleted in numbers, throughout the taiga, and have even become extinct in some places, are beavers, wood bison, the Siberian tiger as you can see in this image, the Canadian lynx, and the peregrine falcon.

Pause the video now so that you can record the outcomes of the threats to the taiga.

Excellent work, everyone.

You now have a full table, which means we're ready to complete the writing task.

But let's move on.

So here's the task.

Let's zoom in so you can see it.

Use the information in your table, to write about the threats, and the outcomes to each biome.

Conclude by stating which of the three biomes you feel is most at risk.

Here are some sentence starters.

The threats to the include.

So that's where you would name the biome, and you would then name the threats, that are outlined in your table.

The outcomes of these threats are.

You would then write a paragraph that talks about what the outcomes are.

What does this mean for that particular biome? How is it being damaged? And finally at the end, you're going to write, in my opinion, the biome that is most at risk is because.

When you get to that last paragraph, you're going to choose either the tropical rain forest, the temperate deciduous forest or the taiga, and you're going to use your evidence within your writing, to decide which of those three biomes is most at risk.

Let's have a look at an example, of a threats and an outcomes paragraph, that I've written.

Let's zoom in.

The threats to the tropical rain forest include deforestation through pastoral farming, such as rearing cattle, arable farming, such as growing soya, logging for timber, mining for natural resources, the creation of roads, creating hydroelectric power plants, or HEP, and population growth.

So you can see within that paragraph, I've talked about all the threats to the tropical rain forest.

My next paragraph is going to go on, to discuss the outcomes of these threats.

What has it meant for the tropical rainforest? How is it being damaged? The outcomes of these threats are, a loss of medicinal species, many of which are the basis of more than 50% of all medication.

A contribution to carbon emissions as deforestation means trees cannot soak up carbon dioxide, and a loss of wildlife, such as the orangutans in Indonesia.

So there you have it.

I have written a threats and an outcomes paragraph.

That's what you're going to do for each of the three biomes, the tropical rain forest, the temperate deciduous forest, and the taiga.

Let's go back to the task page so that you have the sentence starters.

Don't forget to use that amazing information, in your table that you've spent this time jotting down, and make sure that you write in full sentences.

Pause the video now, while you complete that task.

Don't forget that at the end, you need to write in my opinion, the biome that's most at risk is because.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done everyone, I'm so proud of you for completing this task.

It's an amazing opportunity to show off all of your learning throughout this unit.

I'm so proud of the work that you've done.

So, that brings us to the end of today's lesson.

A really big well done on all of the fantastic learning you've achieved today.

If you're able to, please take a picture of your work and ask a parent or carer to share it with your teacher, so that they can see all of the fantastic things you've learned today.

And if you'd like ask a parent or carer, to send a picture of your work too @OakNational on Twitter, so I can see your lovely work too.

That's all that's left for me to say.

Thank you, take care and enjoy the rest of your learning today.

Bye.