A storm rolls in during field work at the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. Crews were measuring plant cover and other site characteristics. Sagebrush and yellow sweet clover are visible.
Ecosystems like a Puzzle
By Ecosystems Land Change Science Program
February 2025 (approx.)
Detailed Description
A collage of different ecosystem "puzzle pieces" coming together to show how everything is interconnected. This graphic is meant to be a simplified illustration about how different non-living and living things like sunlight, temperature, precipitation, elevation, disturbance, vegetation, wildlife, microbes, and soil, come together to create the ecosystems we know today. The metaphor being if you change parts (swap in different puzzle pieces), you end up with a different final puzzle (ecosystem).
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.
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Related
Storm over sagebrush steppe in Montana
A storm rolls in during field work at the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. Crews were measuring plant cover and other site characteristics. Sagebrush and yellow sweet clover are visible.
A storm rolls in during field work at the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. Crews were measuring plant cover and other site characteristics. Sagebrush and yellow sweet clover are visible.
Salt marsh with ponding in coastal Connecticut
Salt marsh with ponding in coastal Connecticut, with the sun shining brightly overhead.
Salt marsh with ponding in coastal Connecticut, with the sun shining brightly overhead.
This section of brown Icelandic soil and ash
This section of brown Icelandic soil (top) contains 800 years of ash deposits erupted from five different volcanoes. The black layers, 5-10 cm (2-4 in) thick, are from Katla Volcano. A white arrow points to a closeup of the 1755 Katla ash deposit (lower left).
This section of brown Icelandic soil (top) contains 800 years of ash deposits erupted from five different volcanoes. The black layers, 5-10 cm (2-4 in) thick, are from Katla Volcano. A white arrow points to a closeup of the 1755 Katla ash deposit (lower left).
White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
White-tailed deer in a field.