Lesson video

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

Let's have a look at our key question.

So our question for today's lesson is how are biomes being damaged? Well, in this lesson, we're going to be learning about global warming and climate change.

We'll learn about how climate change, predominantly caused by human activity, is putting the world's biomes at risk.

In today's lesson, all you'll need is an exercise book or a piece of paper, a pencil, and your brain.

Please take a moment now to clear away any distractions, including turning off the 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.

Great, now you have everything you need, let's carry on.

So we are geographers.

Now geographers are types of scientists who study the Earth, and this includes the physical features, the land, and it includes the people who live within the land, the human features.

We're going to be asking three questions in today's lesson.

What is global warming? How are biomes threatened by climate change? And how are biomes threatened by human activity? Here is a video for you.

As you watch this video, I'd like you to list all of the causes of global warming that are mentioned.

So list all of the causes of global warming that are mentioned.

Global warming.

The climate has been changing on our planet ever since it first existed, but there is a problem.

The Earth is getting hotter faster than ever before.

Scientists call this global warming.

What is the evidence of global warming? Temperature recordings using thermometers have shown an increase in the Earth's temperature, especially over the past few decades.

Photographs show us that the world's glaciers are melting.

Arctic sea ice is melting, too.

Because of this sea levels are rising.

The seasons have changed.

Spring arrives earlier, and winters are less harsh.

This affects wildlife migration.

Why is global warming happening? Scientists believe that an increase in the greenhouse effect is the major cause of global warming.

A greenhouse keeps the plants inside warm.

Greenhouse gases stop heat escaping from the Earth's atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the amount of greenhouse gases is increasing because of human activity.

How are we creating more greenhouse gases? Carbon dioxide is released from transport.

And when fossil fuels such as coal and gas are burned, carbon dioxide is stored in trees.

Deforestation releases the stored carbon dioxide, and fewer trees means less trees to absorb the new carbon dioxide.

Methane is released when landfill decomposes.

Methane is also released when cows burp.

This increase in greenhouse gases is trapping more heat in the Earth's atmosphere, causing the Earth's surface temperature to rise and the climate to change.

So well done for watching that video.

Did you list greenhouse gases and human activities, such as driving cars, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation? Well done if you've got all those.

So let's think more about greenhouse gases.

In that video, we learned about what greenhouse gases were.

I'm wondering if you were listening carefully because we have a task.

So the greenhouse effect is when.

Let's look at the four options.

I'm going to read them and you can read them at home with me.

A, the greenhouse effect is when gases stop heat escaping from the atmosphere, keeping the Earth surface warm.

B, the greenhouse effect is when gases stop heat escaping from the surface, keeping the Earth surface warm.

C, the greenhouse effect is when gases stopped heat escaping from the greenhouses, keeping the Earth's surface warm.

Or, D, the greenhouse effect is when liquid stops heat escaping from the atmosphere, keeping the Earth's surface warm.

Pause the video now and choose the answer that you think is correct.

I wonder which answer you chose.

Let's check the correct answer.

So the correct answer is A, the greenhouse effect is when gases stop heat escaping from the atmosphere, keeping the Earth's surface warm.

I'll give you a moment to tick or fix your answer.

Pause the video now while you do that.

Excellent, let's carry on.

So global warming, and we've just found out what that is, is the cause of climate change.

We can describe climate change as a change in global or regional climate patterns.

What's climate change? Shout out.

That's right.

Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns.

Now these changes to regional and global climates has been particularly apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards, and can be attributed largely to the increased levels of greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and agricultural farming, in particular, the methane released by cows.

So climate change is.

We've got four options.

Let's have a look.

Climate change is A, a change in the weather.

Climate change is a change in the temperature in a single area.

Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns.

Climate change is a change in the temperature across the globe.

Pause the video now and choose the answer that you think is correct.

Let's see how you did.

So the answer was C.

Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns.

Pause the video now so you can tick or fix your answer.

Well done, everyone.

Let's move on.

So we heard in the video that if the temperature rises, even by a small amount, it will have a huge impact on the world, and therefore on the flora and fauna in the biome.

I'm going to talk to you about three ways that biomes are threatened by climate change.

Number one, evolution.

Now, animals and plants have taken thousands of years to adapt to the conditions in which they live and millions of plant and animal species are suddenly facing an uncertain future due to climatic changes.

Two, rising sea levels.

The rise in temperature in the last century has had an impact on the polar ice caps.

Melting ice causes sea levels to rise, which means that people living by the coast or in coastal regions have to move inland.

This means that new houses need to be built where flora and fauna are currently living and will therefore have their habitats destroyed.

Three, desertification.

Now, desertification is also a problem as more and more land becomes desert due to rising temperatures and slash and burn techniques that are used to clear land for farming and housing.

And this generally happens within the grasslands and those areas then become deserts.

And that's what desertification means.

It's the process of land that is fertile turning into a desert, usually due to global warming or climate change.

I've got a task for you.

You can use the images to help you.

How might rising sea levels impact someone living on the coast? Here are some key words.

Polar ice caps, melt, sea-levels, rise, coastal regions, abandoned homes.

Here are some pictures to help you.

The polar ice caps.

There's a boat with the sea-level marked on the end of it.

And that is a coastal region.

Pause the video now and answer that question using the images and the key words to help you.

Great work, everyone.

Now let's compare your answer to the answer that I wrote.

So I said when the polar ice caps melt, this causes the sea levels to rise.

This could mean that people living in coastal regions have to abandon their homes because the sea may rise above the coastline.

Pause the video now and tick or fix your answer.

Well done, everyone.

Let's move on.

So how are biomes threatened by human activity? Well, we have already learned that human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and farming are causing increased levels of gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane to be released into the atmosphere, which are then being trapped, causing the global temperatures to rise.

I have an activity for you.

Here are five biomes.

Tundra, savanna, taiga, rainforest, desert.

You need to link the biome to the way that you think it's being damaged by human activity.

And we're going to read through those now.

A, the clearing of vegetation, as well as using the land to farm cattle, damages the soil and turns it into a desert.

B, driving off-road cars kills off vegetation, which in turn affects the animals.

C, logging and deforestation cause huge amounts of damage to this vulnerable biome.

D, the burning of fossil fuels causes the Earth's temperature to rise, and therefore melts the ice.

E, humans live in this biome and cut down lots of trees in order to build homes.

So you need to use your knowledge of the biomes, and you need to look for clues in the descriptions, and you need to link the biome to the way that you think it's being damaged.

Pause the video now so you can complete that task.

Well done.

That was a tricky task, and I'm really, really proud of you having a go.

Let's have a look at the answers.

Let's zoom in.

So the tundra.

That was linked to D, the burning of fossil fuels causes the Earth's temperature to rise and therefore melts the ice.

That was quite a big clue.

The ice that's found in the tundra is melting.

Savanna, the clearing of vegetation, as well as using the land to farm cattle, damages the soil and turns it into a desert.

The clue there was that it turns into a desert.

We know that the savanna borders the desert.

And as land is cleared to farm cattle, the soil is damaged, and therefore it turns into a desert.

The taiga.

Humans live in this biome and cut down lots of trees in order to build homes.

We know that the taiga's full of coniferous trees that are used for timber to build homes.

And rainforest, logging and deforestation cause huge amounts of damage to this vulnerable biome.

We know that the rainforest is an extremely vulnerable biome and part of the reason is because it has so much plant and animal life within it.

In fact, it holds 50% of our Earth's plant and animal life.

Desert.

Driving off-road cars kills off vegetation, which in turn affects the animals.

So there are all the answers.

Well done if you got all of those right.

Don't worry if you didn't, because I'm going to give you some time to tick or fix your answers now.

Great work, everyone.

That brings us to the end of today's lesson.

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

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

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

That's all that left for me to say.

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