You can cache nature in action at the Albany Pine Bush , Columbia Land Conservation, or in Lincoln Park, but first...
...let's talk about change itself.
Nature is constantly changing
Erosion: the displacement of solids on Earth's surface by abiotic factors such as wind, rain, water currents or ice. When a biotic factor contributes to erosion, it's called bioerosion. |
Trees fall and animals make their mark while weather causes erosion.
Some changes occur fast enough that we can observe them. We can watch nature undergo seasonal changes. And there are tides that follow the moon and daily changes that follow the sun.
Ecological succession: the long-term directional process of change in the species structure that makes up an ecological community. |
Other changes occur very slowly. An abandoned farm field, for example, will grow grasses and wild flowers from seeds that blow onto the barren soil. These plants provide habitat for animals that bring other types of seeds, such as burrs stuck to their fur or raspberry seeds in their droppings. Some of those seeds will grow into bushes and thickets that will attract other animals bringing more seeds. Other seeds form trees that grow tall as the habitat matures into a forest. But you have to watch a long time to see this ecological succession.
Natural refers to all living and non-living things present in, or produced in, the wild by nature, and are not the result of human activity. |
Biotic refers to life or living organisms, while abiotic refers to non-living physical and chemical factors. |
Succession is a natural biotic change that occurs slowly as each species interacts with every other factor in the ecosystem. And even those interactions can change if a new species enters the community.
Some new species are exotic - those that come from human activity. Some exotic species don't survive well in the wild, such as prized imported flowers that require lots of tender loving care. But other exotic species spread quickly into neighboring woodlands and fields where they out-compete native species and become invasive. Invasive species can change the natural habitat in unpredictable ways.
An exotic species is any living thing that occurs outside its natural habitat, introduced either intentionally or accidentally by human activity. An exotic species becomes invasive when it dominates the landscape and changes the natural composition of the plant and animal community. |
Other changes are abiotic. Wind and water cause erosion which changes the habitat, and human land use can start the cascade of abiotic changes in soil and water that, in turn, change the biotic composition of the landscape.
Most changes are caused by a combination of rapid, slow, biotic, abiotic, natural and human factors.
We can cache all of these changes with NatureCache in the Albany Pine Bush and Lincoln Park.