Mallard flush at the Funk Lagoon Waterfowl Production Area, Nebraska. Photo: Brandon Jones/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, via Flickr
Ecosystems
Human well-being is dependent on natural and managed ecosystems, which provide crucial functions and resources for nearly everything we eat, make, and do. Clean water and air, soils and nutrients for food production, timber for construction, and other supplies and services we depend on all come from nature.
- Climate change is driving rapid ecosystem transformations.
- Species changes and biodiversity loss are accelerating.
- Impacts to ecosystem services create risks and opportunities.
Adapted from the Ecosystems chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
Wildflowers of Bremner, Alaska. By Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service, Alaska Region. CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, via Flickr.
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Featured resources for building ecosystem resilience
Caroline Dougherty. Used with permission.
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Photo attributed to lessandro Cai (OliverZena). This work has been released into the public domain by its author. No endorsement by licensor implied.
San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program/FWS
