The Biosphere (Edexcel GCSE Geography A)

Fish and meat

Fruit, berries, and nuts provide sustainable harvests of food

Natural vegetation can be replaced with crops of wheat, rice, etc.

Vitamin C in citrus fruit prevents scurvy

Lichens stop blood loss from cuts

Willow bark provides aspirin to treat pain

Aloe vera plants soothe skin conditions

Timber

Straw for roofing and insulation

Animal dung mixed with clay and straw to make bricks

Clay, stone, cement, marble, etc. for building

Fermenting crops like sugar cane to produce bioethanol

Trees and shrubs for burning

Animal dung is dried and burned

Peat is dried and burned

Large areas of land are cleared, destroying natural habitats that provide resources for local people

Chemicals used in the extraction process are waste products and end up polluting water systems and habitats

The increased demand on water resources by agriculture, industry and urban areas means there is less water in the biosphere for other areas, such as wetlands

Plants and animals do not have enough water to survive in the biosphere

Population growth and development increase demand for energy resources

The production of biofuels reduces the amount of land available for local people to grow crops

Large areas of land are flooded for large-scale HEP schemes

Fossil fuel extraction comes with a high risk of biosphere pollution and has a negative impact on health of local people

Pipelines from oil exploitation damage the permafrost in tundra regions

Pollution and groundwater contamination result from fracking for shale gas